Is this a stage thing or just me???

I apologize if this gets kind of long but I just am having a really hard time right now. I feel so out of control. I walk around the kitchen going from cabinet to cabinet to fridge to freezer looking for things to eat. Take a bite of this, a piece of this and another bite of this. Nothing seems to be satisfying ~ even protein bars and the edamame I've been addicted to. I eat my snacks and meals but don't enjoy anything! I want chocolate and have put M&M's and a Hershey's kiss in my mouth but spit them out because they are NASTY!! I've made some "fluff" and find myself picking at it all day. I've also made jello and pudding and just can't find anything that fills me up. I eat fish, chicken and/or eggs and just keep going. My pouch doesn't seem to feel full. I'm going through a huge amount of stress and am sure this is part of it...that emotional eating thing and I know I shouldn't over-eat so I've taken to nibbling. Any suggestions??? I'm struggling to not gain even though I've been told I need to. I want to maintain ~ I like 120 would like to get back to 118 - would be amazing to see 115!! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well I'm probably of no help to you because I'm sorta in the same boat as you. Lately, all I've been doing is EATING. I seem to be hungry all the time and I'm constantly grazing & nibbling on fluff. I've been putting way too many carbs in my mouth and not nearly enough protein. But even when I eat plenty of protein for the day... I still crave FOOD. I'm also eating way too much bread these days. Problem is I'm enjoying all the food I'm stuffing in my face. It all tastes yummy to me. Wi**** didn't and I could spit it out like you. I'm traveling down a bad path and if I don't get off this path now it will destroy me. I know what I need to do, now I just gotta kick myself back into gear and stick with the program. Go back to basics and fill up on protein, water and fruits & veggies. Get rid of the junk food, sweets, and breads. I actually gained 3 pounds within the last couple of weeks and I know it's been because of my poor eating habits. We have come too far to throw it all away for a piece of cake, cookies or chips. To take away that nibbling syndrome snack on cut up veggies and almonds. This keeps your mouth busy crunching and satisfies that need to munch. Stress can destroy us and we need to find ways to control it so it doesn't consume us. Take a few minutes to relax, read a book, read the Bible, talk to God, take a bubble bath, go for a quick walk, watch a movie to take your mind off everything for a while, go get a massage or manicure. Whatever it is take a few minutes for yourself each day and don't let stress destroy all you glorious efforts in losing weight. We have come so far lets not throw it away! Wish I could be more help to you. Hang in there.

I had the same problem this week. We had a lot of problems with smoke and I could not get outside because of air quality. My activities not only give me exercise and tone but are my therapy. I am never gonna be a gym person. I want to walk around or ride around and look at stuff, houses, flowers, other people, etc. It brings me peace. FInd something you love to do. After work and dinner, it is very hard to get up and head outside but once I am out the door it gets easier and I feel better. I also got your questions for the other post. I highly recommend going to B-complex with B12. All the B's are important for energy and nerve function. Your anit-depressants might need adjustment. Those are not set in stone or one size fits all. You and your Dr will need to keep working on them until you get the right levels for you. As to sleep, my surgeon told me we might need less sleep after surgery, maybe only 6-7 hrs. My problem was I was only getting 2-3 so now I take lunesta and it helps alot. I think we fight boredom, depression, stress and Lisa is right, we got to find new ways of dealing. It is not easy but I know that riding does it for me. I hope you find something you love that can feel that void. Best of luck!

Hi Stephanie, I do think it's all part of the process. We have worked SO hard the past 15 months and even though we have learned new habits, we have a lifetime of old ones to work on. The thing is - why do we graze, what are we trying to satisfy. I find that if I ask myself these things first then i am prone to not do it. am i hungry? no, then why eat, what do i want that is telling me i should reach for food. where is something lacking, am i bored, tired, mad, stressed, sad? usually for me i'm bored or upset, so i say to myself ok, go do something to keep yourself busy for 30minutes and THEN if you still think you are hungry, have a protein. Of course there is that one bad pms day and now that i track my period, i know when it's coming and on that day i take my regular meal food and just eat it all day long, so it's the same calories just with different timing, otherwise that day is just horrible for me. it seems to work pretty well and i "think" i'm eating all day long/too much but I'm eating the same stuff/calories as on any other day. fool my poor old mind i had to get rid of any form of nibblers (anything at all potentially snacky) in the house two weeks ago. i just can't do it, i still don't have enough self-control when i know there is a bag of (pretzels, low fat trader joe's cheetos, trail mix, etc.) in the house. I even overate on some trade joes tiny frozen chicken tacos - and those involved BAKING them for 15 minutes, lol. you know it's bad when binging involves cooking! So I would say eliminate the temptation first. then when you reach for food outside of a meal time, ask yourself first, why you are doing that, make yourself answer and face the issue that's prompting you to reach out for the very thing that got us on the surgery table. i honestly think i will have to work on that emotional eating for the rest of my life. hang in there, you can do it!! Inky

Me too... all I seem to want to do is eat. I have been sneaking too. Caught myself eatting a candy bar last week and was aghast. Have alot of stress these days too and am worried sick about gaining this weight back..although I haven't so far. I have stayed steady at 210 for the last eight months. Good to hear (unfortunately) that I'm not the only one. Camai