Help!!

[Jarvisolat]

HELP ME BEFORE I BECOME A VICTIM TO MY EMOTIONS

I have been through a trying few day and resorted back to bad/old habits and started to emotionally eat, which has blown me right out of ketosis.. I tried to abstain today but have found it very hard to complete and gave in to my hunger... I could kick myself as I started so well!!

I WILL start it again tomorrow but I am very worried that if I encounter another stressfull event i will do the same thing!!

I realise that I use food as an emotional crutch and feel awful/gulity after doing so..

Does any body have any tips/recommendations to prevent this from happening again, before I go round in circles.. I was going to invest in CBT.. has anybody done this before and does it work??

 

[cybill]

I'm using the Beck Diet Solution book - which is a cognitive therapy based book dealing wiht food stuff. I'm finding it's really helping me address these issues - and for only ~£6, not too much of an investment!

This diet really exposes the times when you reach for food, as once you're in ketosis, on the whole you're not actually feeling hungry. I know for me stress and tiredness are two big ones that have me reaching for it almost without thinking. I've started making sure that I stop and drink some water first whenever I think about food. It gives me a bit of a delay to try and work out if I actually really want to eat whatever it is.

There's some really good exercises and stuff to do in the Beck book, if you're prepared to put in about 10 minutes each day, I'd definitely recommend it for dealing with these things. If you have a read of my diary, you'll see some idea of what it covers, as when I was first following Beck I used my diary here as a place to write down what I was doing / how I responded to it - it doesn't have the whole book in it, but may give you a feel for it.

Anyway, good luck, and it's great that you've started to identify the times when you're reaching for food. The best bit for me of the Beck book has been really focusing on what it will mean to you to have lost the weight - I now have my list printed out and stuck on my desk at home, at work, on the fridge, in my bag - and I reach for it all the time, can practically recite it now, to help me focus on my bigger picture.

Good luck xx

 

[txgardenia]

I recommend you read "Addictive Thinking" by Twerski.

I know there are times you probably cannot control your eating... Perhaps one way to slowly wean yourself off it would be to only indulge in those foods which will not take you out of ketosis, regardless of calories. I think you will find after a few days of this, that the urge to binge is not as strong. It is not all emotional-- sugar addiction is a very real thing and it is important to get your body weaned off it so you don't have a biochemical addiction raging at the same time as an emotional one.
If you are at least still in ketosis, you will be one step ahead when you get back on track with Exante, even if you have binged.

 

[reeesh]

You should maybe think about going to counseling about this... because you need to find out the reasons WHY you eat emotionally... i had the same problem and found my roots, and then realised all my bad eating habits were HABITUAL , and not emotional, as i now know them its easier to over ride the problem.

no matter how much help you ask for, habits can only be changed by YOU, and reprogramming the way your brain works is difficult for anyone, but the only way to do it is to over ride the binge... when you get a chocolate bar in your head and think well its calling my name and i wont stop thinking about it till i eat it anyway so i might as well have it ... STOP AND SAY NO... and half an hour later , or maybe an hour you will think WOW i can do it !

 

[reeesh]

also its a slow process... how ever often you emotionally eat you just have to cut down gradually like a smoker, going cold turkey is hard for any addiction... its taken me around 6 months and im still not quiet there yet...stay strong and remember food is never your friend, secret eating is never secret in the long run and the only person that controls your thoughts is YOU... dont be scared of your own self, be STRONG and have CONTROL.

 

[ElmerFudd]

I think this dieting lark is like giving up smoking. I gave up 6 years ago after realising that it was just a habit. I got up..had a cigarette, I drove to work...had a cigarette....I made a phone call...lit up etc etc. Every time I reach one of my 'triggers' I just said to myself that I would give this cigarette a miss and 6 years on a still crave one when in certain situations (before interviews etc) but will not cave in. I think you have to establish your trigger points for eating and deal with them when they hit you.

Good luck with everything

 

[Andie Pandie]

Quitting smoking 6 and half years ago, goes a long way to explaining why I'm now doing a VLCD now! Lol x

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins

 

[bornagain]

This is such a huge area and I don't think anyone has truly cracked the secret. There have been some really good suggestions made here and I, for one, will be getting the Beck book soon as I'm worried about what will happen when the discipline of total meal replacement is removed and I have to start eating normally again. I don't really have the answer for you but just wanted to let you know you're not alone in this. Perhaps if it's possible you could post an SOS on here before you give in. If it stops you a few times you might find it helps you control it yourself. Good luck.

 

[ElmerFudd]

Quitting smoking 6 and half years ago, goes a long way to explaining why I'm now doing a VLCD now! Lol x

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins

TOO true!

 

[Jarvisolat]

Thank you all for your words of encouragement.. I have stopped wallowing in self pity! I'm back on TS and doing good and the scales are once again singing my song!!

I have placed an order for the book recommended.. I am going to give it a go and hope that it will enable me to think differently and help me to understand my relationsip with food, the emotional triggers and establish a new method of feeling towards it.

This really is going to be a journey of self discovery, which will be full of ups & downs.. But if the end product is a better me & preservation of my preacious life, than hey ho.. Gonna have to grin & bear it!!

 

[ElmerFudd]

Well done for getting back on track....you can do it!

:wavey:

 

[Jarvisolat]

Meloncholy setting in again, but I think imma resist... Doing so good, need to maintain this feeling!