Comfort eater. can I survive the Cambridge plan?

[rachellee]

Hi all
I've yet to embark on the cambridge weight plan. Am planning to start on it in 3 weeks time. I have some concerns though, and any advice from you guys will be greatly appreciated!

I don't have a normal r/s with food. I'm a comfort eater, and I turn to food when stressed, bored, tired, happy. It's the only thing that relaxes and calms me down. ( though I feel horrible after the binge) I've tried to eat sensibly, but when my emotions run high...I feel so anxious that I give in.

I am so scared of the emotions that will emerge when I don't have food to comfort me when I start the cambridge diet. I really do want to lose weight, I am so sick and tired of being fat and tired, so sick of having food rule my life but yet I am terried of the anxiety that will emerge without food as a coping mechanism.

Do any of you comfort eat, and how did you cope without having food to calm you down?

 

[Hedgehog]

yes I comfort eat, boredom eat, etc etc but generally if I cant eat it wouldnt stress me out, I would be highly emotional about it, but if there is access to food and I'm stressed I definitely eat.

Having done CD 2 years ago and now again, I can honestly say that the urge to comfort eat hasnt been hugely strong, but it does definitely take willpower and a strong motivation to resist at times.

Best of luck with the diet

 

[ghdgirl]

Hi, I am a comforter eater too and am on day five of a re-start. The first few days are good because I am soooo motivated/desparate to loose weight. But I do find it hard as I find myslef obsessing over food and then getting fed up because I can't have any and I can't have any because I'm fat etc etc But on the whole, cutting food out of the equation makes life easier! Good luck x

 

[Awaken Me]

I'm a comfort / boredom eater and yes you can survive . It is hard work and it can be mundane, you obsess, dream and think about food often and after a while you may get bored because of the lack of variety.

On the plus side you'll develop a self control which you never thought you had, feel fantastic and the best thing ever..shed the weight. To keep yourself motivated take photos and also do your measurements (you'll be surprised how much these can change on the weeks you have a lower loss) and read the success stories of people on here - they really do spur you on. Good Luck Hun xx

 

[determinator]

I am a comfort eater too , but you can do it , I find when I feel stressed or upset I get up and do some tidying , or cleaning .. or even baking !!! I find sniffing food very comforting .. it soulds odd but a lot of people on TFR diets say this .. i find if I sniff it .. i can almost taste it .... and i can convince my brain I had some ... so you get the same comfort but none of the guilt .. or lbs Every day that you manage to stay 100% you feel amazing , and you learn that that feeling is as comforting as the food ... you start to feel stronger and more focused than ever before .. to be honest its a real power kick and I love the feeling

I hope you get started on CD and good luck when you do , start it with a positive attitude and you can acheive anything

 

[rose1987]

Ive suffered with a bad addiction to food for a very long time , sometimes i would binge to the stage i was very uncomfortable . Im in week 2 and i still sometimes feel the need to binge eat . This diet helps with the way you think and eat food it changes you . your not alone there are many of us who abuse food , Its like we are loseing our bestfriend . Like many are saying the ending will all be worth it !

 

[trisha]

I'm a comfort/boredom eater too and it is hard, you have to keep busy and like determinator every time you manage a 100% day you feel better.

 

[Tessieg1]

Hiya, I most definitely am a comfort/boredom/emotional eater. I did find Cambridge hard to start with, but I know that food is an addiction and to break any addiction it's hard. CD takes food out of the equation. I find I think of food very often, but I occupy my time now with other types of treats, such as a new nailvarnish, a long hot bath, etc.
It is not easy, but will be so worth it in the end. Good luck on your journey.

 

[oxfordruse]

I think the vast majority of us will recognise your concerns and your tendency to comfort eat... it's why we're here! My view is that CWP is ideal for that, because its side effect of rapid weight loss quickly becomes your new comfort. As others have said, there isn't anything that gives you that endorphin rush as much as knowing that each day you've stuck to the plan has caused you to lose more weight, on average, than someone on a low-fat plan can lose in a week.

You're already at an advantage, because your post shows clear recognition of your own relationship with food. By removing food from the equation (that is, if you're starting with SS), you can explore that relationship much more deeply over the next few weeks or months, and believe me, you'll have some great revelations. Yes, you'll think about food all the time, but not in a longing way. It'll change your attitude completely.

Determinator: what you say is so true! I get great comfort from sniffing other people's food, and am never tempted! When I'm on SS, I also seem to watch cookery programmes non-stop, and I'm amazed that that satisfies me without making me want to eat anything. It's like food porn! :gimi:

 

[Loopy!]

Alot of us are exactly the same as you and I won't lie, it is very hard, especially the first week. My own mentality for not cheating on the diet is that this is costing me over £40 a week, any cheat is just a waste of my money and I don't like that. So when I am feeling like comfort eating, I think about the money.

Different people have different ways of coping when they want to emotional eat, you just need to find yours whilst on this diet.

Good luck for when you start xx

 

[courtneysmummy]

I was also a comfort eater, whether it was being stressed or just having nothing to do to work, I would eat choclate biscuits, any type of sweets and big cream cakes. I'm not proud of it though.

I have managed so far for 6 days now. I started to do cross stitch again which keeps my mind occupied and my hands busy (this also helped me quit smoking over a year ago).

I'm sure you will be able to do it.

Do you have a hobbie, either cross stitching, knitting, making cards, making jewellery, etc?

 

[rose1987]

no i dont have a hobbie , but i would like to just cant think what to do i know it sounds stupid but most of my time is taken up with the children or i read . Any suggestions ?

 

[sumayyah]

Determinator: what you say is so true! I get great comfort from sniffing other people's food, and am never tempted! When I'm on SS, I also seem to watch cookery programmes non-stop, and I'm amazed that that satisfies me without making me want to eat anything. It's like food porn! :gimi:

lol i spent today watching man versus food and cake boss, then i went and baked a cake, am very satisfied after that, lol ( no food found its way into my mouth btw )

rachelelle, your amongst folks that understand here, if we had normal relationships with food we wouldnt be on cambridge

wont lie, the first week is hard but distract yourself. go for a walk, take a bath, paint your nails, have a gossip with a mate ( over the phone if needs be ) read a book, play online games, come on the forum. before you know it your in the swing of it and not feeling hungry

as for the emotions you have to find a way to deal with them, after all if you dont deal with them then after your off cambridge what then? back to the comfort eating and gaining again?

i can be a cow bag to live with on cambridge as if i cant eat my feelings i have to deal with them which means my other half has to listen to me ramble on and on about whats bothering me until i come to the conclusion of how to deal with the problem or i drop it as one of lifes unsolvables

 

[hugeherbo]

I'm sure you'll do great, i am a big comfort eater, but you get used to it. Good Luck

 

[rachellee]

Thank you all for your encouragement and words of advice.
I'm still very daunted but I feel more hopeful and determined.
Even though I'm starting the cambridge diet in 3 weeks time, I've decided to try to eat healthily until then. Previously I have been eating the most unhealthy things as I've been using the ' I'll be going on a VLCD soon!' mentality.

I've been trying to pick up hobbies so that I can distract myself from food. Am reading up on how to sew stuffed animals!

It's going to be a long journey...I'm going to give it my all.

 

[courtneysmummy]

You could either cross stitch, reading, crosswords/puzzles, arts and crafts with the children (depending on their ages.

Hope this helps x