Emotional Eating Relapse and Weight Gain

I am almost 4 years out and had done well for 3 of those years.  I got married a year ago, became a mom to a 5 year old and started homeschooling... that started a bad path for me.  I had not been emotionally eating until then.  I can't seem to stop it.  I want and do eat 24 hours a day.  When I'm not eating... I'm thinking of eating. 

Has anyone else gone through this?  What did you do to stop?  I'm getting desparate.   I am now up 40 pounds and see it getting worse.  I need help!!!

Thanks.

There are some foods that I know are pretty hard to quit once you start(addictive)..white carbs like breads (cookies, donuts, cake..) and pasta..but mostly sugar. If you can cut those bac****il you can cut them out completely, that's the best thing to do. It seems to me that those foods actually make you more hungry than you really are.Trust me, you may want to eat 24 hours a day but if you are eating carrot sticks, it won't amount to a hill of beans for calories..

That's probably the hardest part of losing the weight is wrapping your mind around that idea..that you can't have alittle or have things in moderation because you can't be trusted to just eat one..The next thing is to move more..don't try and be running marathons by the end of the week, start small and just move more..park further away from the store, pick activities to do with the kids or the dog that get you moving..have them ride their bikes while you walk or ride bikes together..or go to a museum for their schooling..or farmers market..get out and MOVE..dance..push a vacuum cleaner even if you think the floor is probably clean enough..it's never clean enough to keep you from moving..


It's not easy, it's hard..but you can do it..

Hi, I'd certainly look into Overeaters Anonymous to see if there are meetings in your area. The doctors operated on your stomach, not your head. I go to OA for support as another tool to help me with this life-long battle.

Ive been thinking about your suggestion a lot since my last post on something similar.
Ive come to the conclusion that Im going to seek this out & at least give it a try.
I suppose the first step is not being too "proud" to admit/ recognize/ accept that yes - i do have a problem. Now i can do something about it instead of remaining in a constant state of denial & continuously running from it...
I guess i just wanted to say thank you for the advise :)

That is a wonderful idea.  I had not thought of that.

If there aren't OA groups in your area you can try to go to AA meetings and replace food for alcohol. Some meetings are open to outsiders who struggle with any type of addiction. Good luck!

I have some of the same problems you do except for the one year marriage, child and homeschooling.  I am 4 years out and can't stop eating.  I have not figured out yet what to do.  I am going to try to reduce some life stresses and maybe that will help.  I have tried to go back to eating the way I did right after surgery and that does not satisfy me anymore.  I am at a loss as to what to do now.  I have retried everything and nothing is working.  I also need ideas.

I just posted something similar. I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone.

 If you think of emotional eating as an attempt to escape - what are you trying to escape?  Sounds like you've taken on a child AND home schooling AND marriage.  It would be OK to say you are not into home schooling.  If it's not, then where is the priority?  You have to stand up for yourself - you are not superwoman.

In my case my regain began when we moved away from the town where I had my surgery (see my recent post on 9th Surgiversary). I think our psyches are so fragile to begin with that it's easy to fall prey to unusal stressors in our lives. And what do we turn to for comfort? The one thing that always worked (or so we thought) -- food! I'm just grateful I turned it around and lost the regain. Now I watch the scale EVERY DAY, and take action over a 2 lb. difference. I now feel empowered.