Stumbling Big Time, need major advice...

Okay, here goes cuz I could really use some advice and tips.  About three months ago, I started working third shift at my job.  It is a tough shift but it works for my family.  The problem is my eating habits.  I eat all the time.  I have gained like 10 pounds.  I am not happy.  I feel bloated, yucky and very unhappy with myself.  I cannot get a handle on my eating habits.  I eat around the clock.  This is pretty much my schedule:  eat when I get home in the morning, like breakfast, I eat when I get up in the afternoon, I eat dinner with my family,  I eat again overnight while working, like a lunch, and then in between, I snack and graze to keep my energy level up at work.


And above all, I know the choices of my foods have been horrible.  I keep choosing the wrong things.  Every time I try to stop eating the wrong food, I tell myself the next meal I will do better.

So I really need some advice and motivation.  I really need to lose this weight I put on and get a handly on my eating habits.  Right now I feel like I am sabatoging all the work I have done.


Thanks,

Kelly

You aren't just feeling like you are self sabotaging, you are actively self sabotaging.

The only person who can stop your behavior is you. We can't motivate you to, beg you to, encourage you to. You have to DO IT, no matter how uncomfortable you feel. And I know you know what you need to do.

You can get all the support in the world, but it still comes down to your actions.

But do get the support. Get therapy with an eating disorders specialist. Go to support groups. Get buddies. Make a plan and a strategy for yourself and FOLLOW IT.

The only person who can ultimately take responsibility for yourself and your wellbeing is you. You have to do the work if you want the payoff.

 I can't recommend anything as highly as the Questbars.  They are really filling and if you order the original flavors have no sugar alcohols.   I drink a bottle of water, then chew a Questbar and feel full for several hours.  Since I started doing that for one meal everyday I have also lost nine pounds.

I get down at least 60 ounces of water everyday.  Sometimes much more than that. I avoid all of the carby things that make me crave more.  But found that I am fine with a bag of lowfat popcorn as a occasional snack.  But Questbars and water make the big difference in how I feel.

 I don't think it's how much you're eating as much as WHAT you're eating.  Take the good foods and make them more "convenient" so you can grab and go these just like the bad things.  That's how I get back on track.

Hello Procrastinator Girl, welcome to the club, I will eat better later, tomorrow, next week etc.  That got me to 283.5 and I refuse to go back, so I torture myself when I gain weight, I put on my favorite jeans and sit around letting them feel tight and me miserable, why not put on a tight belt so you can feel every mouthful hitting your stomach.  I win this war by waging a war because I know I will Procrastinate myself back to where I started and its so easy to do.  As Anne said only you can motivate yourself to change, but not all of us can get counselling and go to support groups etc, so you have to get what you can from where you can.  Your mad at yourself, so you have to find a way to make peace, one thing is you are probably not sleeping enough which leads to weight gain, try to find a way to sleep more.  The off shifts suck for this very reason.  But you can make it work, just have to find the right torture that keeps you on track.  Yeah it might be barbaric but it works if you refuse to let yourself get any fatter.  Believe me I hate feeling my clothes on me, when they get tight I am a pouty ***** and only I can fix whats causing the pout and I do or risk really ******g myself off.  And none of us want to see that.  lol

Good Luck

It looks like I eat as often as you do... but my food choices are mostly proteins. Some nuts, and veggies. And I was able to lose weight..

It is maybe not how often you eat but what you eat that is the problem. 

BTW: when I eat carbs, I crave them, and want more and more... and more... But if I eat proteins... and get enough water....(I drink flavored) I do just fine. 

IMO _ you need to decarb, then once you do - you need to start making good choices.  

Night ****s are associated with body releasing extra adrenaline - that promotes hunger... and cravings. Best if you could change jobs - but if not - change what you snack on.  If you do not have "bad food " around you - but only good snacks - you will not be able to snack on bad food..

You said night ****s.  lol

 ...lol that's how I probably feel about them...

Both suck! LOL

 My DH is a veteran of the graveyard shift - he's done almost nothing but for 35 years. My dad did a bit of swing shift when I was little too and did the same thing my DH does.

If you want to avoid the pitfalls, like screwed up hormones, you have to treat your nights like other people treat their days.  If it takes you 2 hours to dress, breakfast & get to work, then that's when you wake up.  Eat your lunch halfway thru the workday. Have dinner an hour or two after you get home (even if it means everyone else is eating breakfast). Go to bed 8 hours before you need to wake up.

This normalizes your rhythm. Try not to stray from it too much on your days off. Things get out of whack if you go to bed without winding down, then put in a day of chores before going to work - makes you overly fatigued at work which causes adrenalin & other hormones to run thru your system.
Messes up your sleep too.

Yes, it means I don't see a lot of my DH on workdays cuz I have a more traditional schedule...but it keeps him healthy and on track.

if doing this isn't possible you with have to get on a different schedule or plan plan plan - plan your food, plan activities for work downtime, and learn to say no to food at the wrong time.