NEED HELP!!!!!

hello all, I have set a new goal for myself and I really hope that all of you great support buddies out there can help me.  I want to really work hard on trying to reach an understanding about what made me overweight and unhappy most of my life.  I want to find out more about the basic reasons, thought and feelings, attitudes, and beliefs that I have always carried around on my back, and has led me to such unhealthy lifestyles in my past. 


What I would like to hear from you all is some of your good advice in how to go about doing this goal.  I have often thought about all the things I have done wrong as far as eating goes, but I want to find out the core of those actions.  I hope that you can give me some ideas in going about doing this. I so admire how everyone really seems to care about others and I know this is the best place to ask for help.  Thank you  for your support!!

Roxie

My best suggestion to you is to try Overeaters Anonymous. It has been a tremendous help for me; I have the same issues. OA will help you to see what is going on and how to go about changing.

This group is great and you will find a lot of support here as well.

Colleen

Hoping you get more geat ideas on this. We spoke, and I gave you my thoughts. I hope they help you in moving forward. Contact me if you need to talk.

You may want to contact a therapist that specializes in wls and food issues to work out your basic issues, each of us has individual food/psyche issues to work on.  Try to document foods and thoughts/feelings you are having related to eating the food.  Journaling helps to be able to look back over a day or week to see any patterns that are there and could be adjusted with altered thought patterns.  Best of luck with finding the base of the issue.  Hugs

I'm probably out of the norm on this.  I have tried for 40-some years to "figure out" what makes me want to eat, and have come to the conclusion that there is not a single "reason" for it.  Don't get me wrong, I believe that soul-searching is GOOD and that we should all be more self-aware, but you don't hear alcoholics or gambling or shopping addicts changing because they found the reason.  So unless there is something really obvious, it can be genetic, habit, love of the food, lack of exercise or any number of personal issues - but the truth is it doesn't matter.  NO matter what you find out in this search, you will have to change what you can and let the rest go. 

Think of it this way:  You deal with some situation or life difficulty that "led" you to eat, that's great.  BUT truthfully, other issues will be put in your path.  Life just isn't all that easy.  I thought in my 50s, I had "arrived" and would just be fine.  Then I lost my parents, other relatives, etc. and found a whole other reason to grieve, eat, and be sad.  Life is like that.  

Each opportunity to learn new things or change things is difficult, but worthwhile.  Just focus on the journey and in learning new habits.  That's my recommendation.  OA can be helpful, if you find a balanced (read: not crazy or fanatic) group.  Other support groups and couseling can help, too.  Just know you are on a difficult journey.

"If you focus on results, you will never change.  If you focus on change, you will get results." - Jack Dixon