Abstinence - Day 276

Breakfast 4 small buckwheat pancakes with margarine & light syrup 3/4 cup apple/orange juice 1 cup 1% milk 1 cup hazelnut coffee 20 oz. water 1 scrambled egg Unintentional Mid-morning Snack* Lots of cookies and cake! 1 cup coffee Lunch Sourdough Big Buford Small fries Small banana shake* Dinner Rotisserie chicken leg & wing with skin 1 cup mashed potatoes with margarine 1 can New England clam chowder 1/2 can light fruit ****tail 1-1/2 cups 1% milk Evening Snack 2 chocolate graham crackers *I ate a tiny piece of white bread at the bread communion at our church during the service.  All of a sudden, I was terribly hungry, and couldn't wait to eat until lunch time!  I gorged on cookies and cake and had a cup of coffee.  I ordered a shake at lunch time, which I shouldn't have done.  By dinner, I was eating normally and abstinently, again.  I will never eat a piece of bread at communion again! Denise Phares/kitties4

So why the Abstinence?

 

Abstinence is simply refraining from compulsive overeating.  I eat three meals a day, with nothing in between.  This way, I am not obsessing about food in between, and am slowly losing weight.  When I ate that one piece of bread, I broke my abstinence, and also had unwanted cravings.  You see, I don't feel hungry in between meals, normally.  Once I start eating my meal, then I realize how hungry I am.  By eating that bread before lunch, I felt hungry too soon, hence the cravings.  So I had no self control. Denise Phares/kitties4

Are you taking your time to eat? Myself, I have trouble taking time depending on the meal, but I dont go over 2k cal a day. I also try to ride my bike at least an hour every day. There are foods that I have no self control over, like chicken wings and pizza. I just make it a point to stay away and treat myself every once in a while. Hope its working for ya..

Denise, Don't be so hard on yourself.  Also, don't feel you have to not take full communion.  How about putting a couple of approved snacks in your purse for after communion.  That way you can have that instead of the cookies and cake. Melinda

Hi Everybody - I felt compelled to hop in here. The concept of practicing abstinence when it comes to food is extremely hard to grasp. I myslef find it to be the most confusing part about OA - it does not technically "fit".  Obviously, one does not stop eating food.  Denise did a good job of explaining it. I would add that when a person is compulsive about food, as I myself have been(still can be when i least expect it), the walk is a long one.  Teaching ourselves to eat within normal boundaries begins with defining actual meals, no matter how large or good/bad food labeled. Otherwise, a food-compulsive person would literally eat all day long, whenever, filled with shame at the absolute lack of control. I recall eating food I did not even think tasted good - and lots of it.  I learned to also go where it was not slippery - beginning with fast food! Pizza, burgers, fries, ice cream, etc, was nearly impossible for me to eat a "normal" serving. I recall eating enough for three people. I had to cut it out entirely for a period of time, then cautiously work it back it in.  it's a long journey and we may take alternate routes.

Dear Neecee: Thank you for jumping in.  There are some foods I just cannot eat in moderation at all, like spanish rice, or anything that doesn't require alot of chewing.  Pizza is a difficult food for me, too.  I'm trying to stay away from milkshakes, premium ice cream, cookies, cake, donuts, pie (unless it's sugar-free pie), etc.  On special holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter, I'll allow myself one small serving of pie, or cake, etc.  But the rest of the year, forget it!  I know a nurse who got the gastric bypass.  She is doing very well, because she's following orders and eating the way she's supposed to eat.  I found the only advantage of the gastric bypass for me was that you lose weight so fast.  Sometimes it seems like I'm taking forever to lose this weight.  But I am in my mid-50's, and I don't want to go on a really restrictive diet, like 1000 calories or less, like some people on the board do.  That is fine for them.  I'd feel like I was starving if I ate 1000 calories or less.  I don't see how they do it.  We're all different, I guess.  Have a nice Thanksgiving! Denise Phares/kitties4