Emotional eating - need some support if you can spare it

Hi

I am so sorry for your loss....life does seem to have a way or reaching out and knocking us on our butt no matter how well we are doing or have control. I too had a big loss in my life and after 10 years fell into old habits. After being in a rabbit hole for a year I picked myself up, dusted myself off and got back to the basics and now have only 10 pounds left to get back to my goal weight. Here is my list, I hope it helps you like it helped me. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery? How many meetings, classes and such did we attend? We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success. And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods. Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.

Journaling

Get back to journaling. This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life. Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating. It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband. It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food. Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker. Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself. Make them realistic and small. Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea? I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass. So I was either pushing to be diabetic or get cancer. I found once I started carrying a bottle of water around 24/7 (yes had one at my bedside) I lost the cravings for the sugar and I KNOW those artificial sweeteners are not good for me. Look I am old and if you add up all the artificial sweeteners I have consumed I am sure I am at the rat in the lab getting cancer threshold.

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving. If I could not go to the gym I would walk. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back. So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV. Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group.

Keep me posted on how you are doing.

This is so useful thanks for taking the time to write back. I'm def going to journal and see if i can monitor my moods to foods, & try a different approach next time. Water is important. It is getting colder where I live so I'm figuring out how much even 1 hot chocolate a day can impact on my sugar cravings & calorie intake. Gonna tail end it with some gentle exercise & see how I go. All the best.

I'm so sorry for your loss. You have my deepest sympathies and prayers during this difficult time.

I don't have much to add as the folks above have given you some helpful suggestions.

I am so so sorry for the loss of your brother. I lost my oldest daughter years ago so I know exactly how the emotional eating can kick in.

Post-surgery on a tough day I struggle too. I find that keeping SO snacks where I don't see them easily helps. Journaling EVERYTHING and reporting it to a support group (such as one here on OH) helps a lot (sounds like you did the journaling - good for you!). I can eat lots of slider stuff, but the innards do complain eventually (which is a good thing).

But right now you just need to get through this, so ask for support whenever you can - I find just reading OH posts can help in getting back on track sometimes.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks Liz, I am also sorry for the loss of your daughter.

I realised pretty quickly I needed to reach out for support and I have been so grateful for the awesome OH community since my post. It really has made a difference. All the best.

My recent stresses, my idiot son turning down a full ride scholarship (to Stanford) and joining the military and our chicken sh*t dog biting our new neighbor, have been nothing compared to yours, but I stuffed my face for a few days after each event. If I were allowed to have beer I would have stayed drunk for a week after the dog bite. Usually I do something crafty with my hands until I calm down. I can't eat and work at the same time. Right now I am building a miniature piano...if I am at work I hide in my office and color in "adult" coloring books with gel ink and metallic pens.

You have my condolences and best wishes going forward from this. Be kind to yourself.

hi I'm sorry you are also having a stressful time of things :( I am also keen to keep myself busy I've bought 3 big photo albums and am going to sort thru all of my brothers photos and ensure they are well kept. I figure while sad it will also be nice to remember the good times and feel like I've accomplished something at the end.

I'm also thinking once I have done that I can get to my art supplies and start doing something creative... whilst keeping well away from the kitchen.

Take care of yourself and I hope your doggy is ok!