emotional eating

Hi all. I'm having a bit of a dilemma. I have really struggled with bingeing lately, for the first time in a while, in fact. I have done some journaling/soul searching, and the emotion that seems to trigger me more than any other is fear. I inherited the worry jean from my mother, I'm afraid. Anyway, I don't know how to get a handle on this. Do any of you have any suggestions for dealing with emotional bingeing/eating? I don't know how to stop the triggers, how do I not succumb to the pressure?

Aaaw, I wish I had some sage advice for you - but I DON'T!! I absolutely was (and still could be) an emotional eater - stress, worry, happiness, sadness, bored, life, gimme food! Heck, that's why I ended up at 400 lbs - emotions came as often as breathing, so with that came food binging. My weight issues were NOT related to family genes, Im the only one of the 4 siblings that even became remotely over weight. The other three spent their entire lives within 10 lbs of ideal weight. So as you can see, although I can so relate to what you're going through and I feel terrible for you, I don't know how to tell you to stop it. Everytime I tried to stop it, I failed, hence my weight loss surgery. Im convinced without a doubt in my mind, that it's the only thing that could/would/did work. I know there are a lot of "general" answers out there... find a hobby, don't bring the food in the house, snack on healthy stuff vs high caloric, stay busy, etc, but Im sure you've thought of them, tried them, done them, etc. The only way "I" could stop the binging was to bring my stomach down to the size of an ice cube. I had to have the options to gorge taken away from me because I truly was not strong enough to do it on my own. ::: sigh ::: I hate admitting that, too. Hey? Speaking of surgery - what's the progress with YOURS??? Any NEW news? Hugs - Lei (who's obviously NOT proofing nuthin' tonight) LOL

Hey Lei. Thanks for the reply. That's the conclusion I came to as well, that surgery was my only option, that's why I'm here. I will continue to fight, but sometimes verbalizing/posting that I'm having trouble can help me get in under control. Thanks for listening. As far as my surgery goes, I'm back in the 6 month thing again. My new insurance company requires weekly weigh ins as opposed to monthly before. They also require a 6 month supervised exercise program, which my old insurance didn't. They reccommend Curves or a gym, but it has to be at an established facility. I can't just have a doctor document that I walked 4 times a week. I have to have a lot of the tests redone because they will have aged out before I am ready for submission and have to have all new psych evals and nutritionist appointments. So I'm back in the "hurry up and wait" zone, more or less restarting the whole process. It does kind of suck that I can get into all the specialists before I can get in to see my new PCP. Also, the weekly weigh in thing is booked and I am on a waiting list. So the 6 month thing doesn't even start until I can get in with them. I will keep you all updated as things develop though. I will say, I do like the new doctor. I didn't want to leave Dr. Schirmer's practice, I really trusted him. However, Dr. Chapman, my new surgeon is very good as well. The practice at the Brody School of Medicine at ECU is as experienced as the one at UVA. They have very similar standards and protocols, so it's not a big change. I know that here, as well as at UVA, I am in good hands. Anyway, that's all I have for now. I will try very hard to stay away from McDonalds tomorrow. Hugs back ~Ellen

Any chance you could work with a therapist who deals with folks with eating disorders? Emotional eating is a tough one. Journaling is definitely a good thing. Taking time before you put anything in your mouth to truly evaluate whether you are hungry or dealing with an emotion can be good. Often if you delay the eating for as little as 15-20 minutes the need can pass. I wish I had great answers for you. I really do. Good luck, Kathy

Funny you should mention that, I was thinking about that earlier. I think that I might look into what hoops I have to jump through and see about counselling. Thanks for the response, as I said above, sometimes just verbalizing it makes it real and I can deal with it. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it works for me. Take Care. ~Ellen

Ellen, I know exactly what you are talking about. Sometimes just putting words down and reading them back to yourself or getting a bit of feedback can really really help. Did that myself yesterday on a messageboard. Good luck to you! Take care and know that we are all here for ya, Kathy

Hi Ellen, I am an emotional eater!! Food is (was) my best friend. It was there through sad times, happy times, not so happy times, whenever I wanted a friend, I had food. I have to echo what Lei said, if it weren't that my stomach now is small, well - who knows where I would be. I always used to love all the tricks - put your fork down, take a sip of water, yada yada yada!! I could do all that, and would do all that, and then proceed to finish eating as much or more than what I started out to eat. And here's another real 'sick' thing I used to do, if I started to lose weight, I would get 'nervous' about it and eat alot just to get back to where I was because it made me so fearful!! Wow, what was that about!!! Anyway, I think there are still alot of us emotional eaters still around. I have found it helpful to journal! It sort of helps me to put it on paper!! Hang in there Ellen, love donna

Hey Ellen... Sorry to hear that you are experiencing this. I too have the same thing as most of us. Have you tried going to a psyche for meds? Or even your PCP. I am on lexipro and it REALLY takes care of the anxiety and fear. For the longest time I would not even go outside unless I absolutely HAD TO because I had the fear that everyone was noticing how fat I was and that I didn't deserve to be seen. Ugh..horrible. I would go to class and think that the ppl in class were noticing my fat roll on the side of me..and probably were BUT once I got on my medicine my life changed so much. I hope you are able to find something that works for you. I give you my prayers! Hugs! Shele

Thanks for the response Shele. I have started the process for an appointment with a psychologist or counselor, so we'll see what they say. I identify with what you've said though, the fear is oppressive, and at least for me, I didn't realize it was even there, let alone how strong it is. Thanks for the prayers. Take Care. ~Ellen

Thanks for the reply Donna. I do all of those same things, and more. It's sort of embarrassing that I can't get a handle on something as simple as food, but obviously after 16 years of being obese, I can't. I will try to journal more faithfully than I have been. I do see the benefit in that. I'm not so sure I would have seen the fear as my trigger if I hadn't been doing that. It's responses from those of you that have been there and are now doing so well that give me confidence that I can change. I appreciate you all. Take Care. ~Ellen