Whoa! Way Bad Food Day!

Yesterday I was an Eatemus Anythingamus. I just couldn't get a grip. I started out the day wilth 2 ounces of turkey and an ounce of cheese and went to the gym. Not bad. It was pretty much downhill from there. Over the course of the day I grazed my way through crackers, popcorn, pickles, a piece of chocolate and 1/2 a small beef burrito. I know I didn't get in all my protein and have no idea why I sabotage myself this way. This morning I was stretching, as I do every morning, and thinking that I'll never be as toned as I want to be if I don't stop this self-destruction. I don't go on a binge often (maybe 4 times since surgery), but when I do, I don't seem to be able to stop and it frightens me. I'm off to the gym to try to undo some of the damage. Does anyone else have these binge days and how do you stop yourself when you're in mid feeding frenzy? Connie

I try to change my location - get off the couch, leave the house (and go shopping, probably not a great improvement to swap one addiction for the other), excercise.. And sometimes I go with it. I do it intentionally, I can't lie. I'm the one who puts the thoughts of food in my own head, building up whatever I know is in the cupboard to the point that I have to eat it. Usually my binges are because I want to distract myself from something I'm worried/guilty/upset about. If you have the same root cause, I think excercise is probably the best option. Other options are just other forms of distracting yourself. Excercise at least drains some of the stress and gives you a better chance at being clear headed and objective. Don't know if this helps but I like ya so I figured I'd try. Jen

Connie, what I like about your post is you don't sound like you're beating yourself up over this. That's a very healthy first step! And, boy, do you look amazing! I know you don't need to exercise more, you exercise like a fiend already (by the way, how is the rotator cuff problem?) I have given a lot of thought to food lately -- how to manage it, how to relate to it, how to learn to trust it again as being something my body and mind need rather than obssessing over it, wanting it, would probably kill for it! For me (anyone else???) I am beyond "head" hunger -- my cravings are real and far more frequent than even a month ago. So, I am trying very hard to figure out where food belongs in my life, if that makes sense. Look, we're always going to have to deal with the cravings...everyone in our society does, not just abnormally obese people -- we are all bombarded with sights, sounds, smells of food, food, food every day, which is why this country is the fattest country on earth. So, instead of fighting it, we have to learn how to live with it WITHOUT giving in to it. What I'm doing right now seems to be helping; I'm not advocating this, just letting you know that this is working for me, for now. I am very rigid with my eating Monday through Friday, which is easy to do because of my work routine. Atkins protein shake in the a.m., Weigh****chers low carb frozen meal for lunch (generally high protein and low calories); and then, just a protein and veggie selection for dinner (usually small amounts of whatever my family is having). That's it -- plus water, water, water and whatever exercise I can manage during the day). On the weekend, I relax a little with the regimen and have small tastes of whatever I want, sometimes a couple of cookies, or a handful of pretzels or doritos. Just to keep me sane. I am still losing. And I'm not out of my mind with cravings. This is what I'm doing for now. I'm in your corner, kiddo, you know that. Take care and keep us posted. Love, M.

Oh I hear ya girl! I had a bad Sunday! I was eating chex mix (cheddar) and pringles and even had one small chewy sweet tart!!!! I also had one hard taco supreme (my new weakness) oh they are soooo good. I dont think one is really bad though and its a dinner so I dont know... I am not sure of the fat content and calories of a taco... anyways...they are heavenly BUT I had a lousy day too! I cant understand why I cant get it together and control myself and get myself on that diet to kick myself back in gear! ...trying to think what else I ate since I am confessing... hmm... oh pumpkin seeds... hmm... OH and some chocolate milk I was seriously craving Nestles Quick!! that darn little quick bunny was just calling me, whispering in my ear! !!! Hmm... what else did I consume in my weak state of mind.... yeah I think that was it but alot of pringles and chex mix! 'sigh' Oh how the mind wanders off its course! Its just a slip! We will get things back under control. Today is a NEW day!!! A BETTER day! We need to vow against those darn chips and sweets and bad stuff! Its definitely hard to get back on track. It is a daily struggle! BUT we will overcome!!! Oh and to answer your questions (if you havent noticed already ) yeah... Um... no I dont stop myself in mid feeding frenzy. Unfortunately it just takes its course and finishes out. At least there is an end! which is shorter than it was before!!! SOMETIMES if I am in a frenzy ... I will drink something! take a few good gulps! that usually will make me nauseous and it will slow me down. but then I go back a little later... how horrible does that sound! but its not all the time so dont fret. I know what you mean about never being toned! I was cleaning the tub and looked down at the top of my arms and was horrified by the sight of the clumpy cellulite and extra skin that was just hanging there all clumped and nasty looking like some horrid thing that couldnt be a part of me and instantly i felt so ashamed and mad at myself that I got sooo big... 334 was screaming in my head... YOU WERE 334!!! look what you did to yourself. but we cant obsess... I just thought to myself "plastics".... and went on with my cleaning! Its something we just have to come to terms with... we were super big and now we are fixing things and it will take awhile! BUT we will get there!! Chin up everyone!!! ((((hugs)))) Elizabeth M "Courage doesn't always roar... Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying... 'I will try again tomorrow'" 334/2??/?? (I gotta weight myself! )

Elizabeth - We must be joined at the hip, girlfriend! I will do you one better though: I had a DOUBLE DECKER taco supreme last week! Yikes!!!! But of course, I couldn't eat it all. I think when I checked the calorie content the double deckers were around 380 calories. I figure I ate about 300-325 calories worth. Beat myself up over it until I realized...it was a meal. Not the best thing to eat, but not the absolute worst either. In the end it's no different than a Lean Cuisine....and possibly more filling. Still...not the thing to let myself get too used to! I'm curious what your current weight is and if you've stalled like me, since we've been running so close to the same for so long. I had a 3 week stall and FINALLY lost 1 stinking lb and am down to 231 right now. Hopefully by the time I'm off my period I'll have lost another 6! Dina 325/231/150

I know what you mean , I could just cry !!!! I have done pretty good , but now I can eat anything and not get sick. I wish sugar would make me dump or something. I stay hungry all the time now , even when I just got through eating. I guess it's a head thing , but Lord , I just want to eat all the time. We've got to help each other . I need to be accountable to some body !! I'm going to start putting everything I eat on this message board for a few days and see if that will help me. Today so far I've had an oz. of turkey jerkey, One egg , 2 string cheese , 3 oz baked chicken and 1/4 cup of green peas. Now if I can just not eat when I get home !! Well, maybe 3 oz. chicken and some salad and a protien drink. I'll post again tomorrow and tell y'all how I made out by writing down what I eat. Pray for me !! Judy

It doesn't sound to me that it was all that bad. I was on a plateau so long and now I am losing again just by uping the intake that I was eating. I wasn't actually eating enough to lose weight & my body was hanging on to store it.; Ever since I quit worying what i eat, it has dropped weight again.. I have now lost 120 lbs. If you only ate 1/2 of the burrito that won't hurt you & one piece of chocolate wont either if you ate the whole candy bar or the whole bag of candy that would most likely hurt you. I have also been hooked on Muchies lately, so I no the feeling. You will be fine, just take a deep breath & no that you are not completely out of control. P.S. You look really good, don't beat yourself up so much!! Hang in There!! Marilyn, the Bearlady

Okay- you are just so gorgeous! Had to say that again!!! I have had this problem recently myself. Last week I had 3 full days of insatiable hunger and I ate all day long. Didn't know I was pms'ing until this week though, but I think that was what it was. I am fine now, but holy cow - I couldn't snap out of it. I would eat...then a couple hours later I wanted to eat again. I tallied my calories up for one of those days and it was over 1700 calories. I was devastated because I was convinced my appetite wouldn't go away. Thankfully it did. In fact, I'd say I'm back to normal and am right around or just under 1000 calories again. The way I figure it is that we are going to have these days happen to us. For me, the anxiety sets in when it lasts for a few days because it feels like I'm going to crash and burn. I don't think I'd worry about 1 day of bad eating, but 3 is concerning. One of the strategies I have been using lately though - since I have failed at doing Atkins this week - is to eat apples. I ate 2 of them last night and it filled me up quite well. I like that they stay with me for so long. I was still at 900 some odd calories by the time my shift was over. Had I been a really good girl, I wouldn't have had the 1/2 cup of corn bran cereal this morning and kept it under 1000. Anyway, I figure if I start to get on a feeding frenzy again, I'm going to get all the bulky high fiber fruits and veggies I can find and just snarf on them. At least they stay with me. Apples really satisfy the sweet tooth too. It's good to hear I'm not the only going through this. I know it's probably all normal, but it's a new hitch in the gear for me.....and not a pleasant one either! Dina

Well if I have to be in a binge boat, I can't think of a better group of people to be in the same boat with. I did better yesterday and today. Can't remember what I ate yesterday, but today I had the customary turkey and cheese for breakfast. 4 chicken nuggets for lunch, 1/2 a protein bar before step aerobics and 1/2 a cup of steak chili with cheese for dinner. I'll have some melon before I head to bed and that's it. Reenie - the rotator cuff is doing better, but won't ever completely heal without surgery. I asked the surgeon if surgically removing the excess skin and fat on my upper arms would help with my shoulders. He just looked at me like I had grown a third eye. Guess not. However, the physical therapist says that she has noticed that a lot of overweight people have rotator cuff and shoulder problems because their arms don't hang at their sides in a normal way. I'm wondering if I can get my rotator cuff repaired at the same time that I have brachioplasty. I'm going to see if I can get another osteopath to agree that getting my wings clipped will help my shoulders. Can't hurt. Well, it will hurt, but you can't blame a girl for trying. Thanks you guys! You rock! Connie

i've learned to allow myself to have one day a week of eating not so good (but proportioned), but the rest of the week I am super strict. This keeps me from grazing the junk food the rest of the week. The worse time is before the period for me... I get super strong sugar and salt cravings. Plus has anyone other than me noticed how much chicken salads are at restaurants???