[berryblondeboys]

Originally Posted by owensmommy4

Thank you all for the support. i really need it! i do feel that some of it is brain chemistry or addiction. i can be doing fine and then eat something sweet and then its like i cant stop eating it. its the same if i eat fast food or pizza, then i want sweets and to eat badly. i feel awful when i eat that way and i have gotten so out of shape that its misery to exercise now. i feel like i cant put myself first for any amount of time because i have so much and so many to take care of that there is not enough time in the day or enough of me to go around. also, some days i'm just to tired or too lazy to give any effort to it. my mother became sick from something that no matter how well she took care of herself she still became sick. so then i think why bother to be healthy if you can still become sick. i have recently started antidepressants and that has helped with some things, but not the eating/binges. though i haven't had the binges as frequently. i do think some of it is in "my head". thank you all for the encouraging words and different perspectives!

Baby steps - really. baby steps. Don't think of all the things you AREN'T doing. Just do what you can - one step at a time. You have a lot on your plate, so don't beat yourself up - you're human like the rest of us.

And if you know you have food triggers, try to stay away from them. Easy for me to say as I'm not "clean" of them, but man... 10 months it took me to step away from the junk.

[Koshka]

Just a couple of comments.

First, I do better if I don't worry so much about "motivation" and focus more on commitment, routine and habit.

Motivation comes and goes. At least, mine certainly does. But, I am committed to losing weight. What helps me when the motivation wanes, is to have a routine and set of habits. The more I can create a routine that is anchored by solid habits the better I do.

I tend to get off track when things knock me out of my routine. That is when I tend to not follow my habits.

A couple of books I have found helpful:

Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin talks about forming habits and how to maintain them. I found it extremely helpful.

The Diet Fix by Yani Freedhoff. This is not a "diet" book. It is about how to find a way of eating that you can happily sustain for the long term. I didn't agree with 100% of the book but I found it very helpful on the mental/emotional aspects of weight lost.

And, finally, one caveat. Sometimes people need more help than can be gotten from a forum or a typical diet. Binge eating can be a disorder that really needs a professional to help with. You might consider looking into whether professional help might benefit you.

[Palestrina]

Originally Posted by Koshka

First, I do better if I don't worry so much about "motivation" and focus more on commitment, routine and habit.

....

And, finally, one caveat. Sometimes people need more help than can be gotten from a forum or a typical diet. Binge eating can be a disorder that really needs a professional to help with. You might consider looking into whether professional help might benefit you.

So true. I also think that "motivation" is misconstrued sometimes. Motivation and inspiration are 2 different things. Even if someone is having a bad day and eating junk all day does not necessarily mean they've lost motivation, motivation can be present through even those bad days. I think people expect to wake up each day and feel inspired to lose weight and that's what's hard to come by. Eating, working out etc are all routine, you can't expect to feel empowered by routine every day. I think of it as brushing teeth, washing dishes etc. If I waited for inspiration to brush my teeth every day my teeth would've rotted. It's just a routine, and you don't have to "feel" anything to go through your routine. This is where I think the idea of motivation for weightloss is more harmful than productive.

And ditto on the professional help. I would never in a million years have been able to stop binging if I hadn't sought help from a nutritional therapist. Maybe some people can stop but I couldn't, I really needed the guidance.