New icon, new plans

[saddest_smile]

I got a little tired of staring at my own face every time I logged in :) So we get to enjoy penguins for a little while. I stole this from "despair.com"...they have this poster with one of my favorite quotes

Comments

[tulip_fever]

I can completely and utterly relate to just eating and eating without tasting. It's awful and it leaves such a hollow feeling. What's really hard is when you THINK you want that cookie. You're pretty sure you want that cookie. You're almost positive you want that cookie...but if you think about it hard enough you realize it really isn't the cookie you want. You want it because you're stressed or bored or nervous. But sometimes it's really hard to tell, because the craving is so wrapped up in the emotion.

After reading your post yesterday, I applied your plan when I started craving a candy bar. I had finished lunch just a little bit ago, so I knew I wasn't hungry. I thought about it for a while, and realized it was all just stress and tension that made me want sugar. So I did some relaxing visualizations, and the craving went away!

So how's it going for you? Were able to eat what you want without guilt yesterday?

[saddest_smile]

Great--I'm glad that it works for you as well

[tulip_fever]

Long walks are really nice. I live in Oregon, and the weather is nearly perfect. Not too hot (in the mornings and evenings, at least) and no humidity.

Glad it's going well for you. Keep up the good work!

[saddest_smile]

Oregon?

Lucky--I love the northwest!
The weather here is like a tempermental child--it could be incredibly hot and humid (in which case I just hide indoors behind a/c), or really cold and rainy :( We get a few nice days in between...

My campus is gorgeous, though...I enjoy taking long walks around the lake :)

[arwen8]

Eating plans are a nightmare for me. I CAN'T follow any eating plan - my problem for long. I had only few weeks in my life where I put up a plan for what I would cook for dinner... it went well, but i stopped it after a short time. I need the freedom to decide the very moment. But that leads me to days where I eat with no structure at all...

I know ppl say that plans help as they say that a group like overeatng anonymous would help. I didnt find the group useful either... so here i am saying: eating plans are a nightmare...

I already mentioned that it helped me to change towards low carb food last year. I think all those low fat stuff is not pleasing me at all. Eating pasta, potatoes, rice just leads to more hunger within shortest time. Specially rice. So stopping to eat carbs like hell really helped me last year to find my way back to eat...but i wouldn't call it normal. Means my eating habits are still not "normal" again - but i feel much better again.

Take care.

[saddest_smile]

hello,

Low-carb never worked well for me, because I can't stand the idea of not being able to have one food group (or very stricted from one food group). However, that's just me--the forbidden apple is the apple that I must have :)

If it works for you, I'm glad...it's hard to find SOMETHING that works well...stick with it. For some people, carbs are difficult to manage.

Are you sticking with low-carb indefinitely, or using it as a stepping stone?

I think I will stay with this plan indefinitely--it's fairly close to "normal" eating. Unlike most people who become overweight from free range eating, I have a pretty good sense of nutrition and dietary needs (ironically--what anorexic doesn't?)...and my taste buds naturally lean towards lower-fat, healthier choices (sweets not withstanding).

[sephirah3]

Binging scares the hell out of me... this is coming from the girl who has binged the last two days and has no idea how much weight she has put on because she's so scared to hop on the scales. Fact of the matter is, I'm compensating for the binges with starvation...liquid fasts and the like. It's not wise, but I have to do it to appease the guilt. Funny thing is, I know I binge to punish myself. I don't always know the reason for the punishment, but that's why I do it. What's the worst thing I can do in the world to Michelle? Make her fat, how do I do that? I make her eat as much as she can until she feels sick. It's a horrible merry go round which we live in. I just want to get off the ride.

Take care
Michelle

[saddest_smile]

oh Michelle...I know how you feel. Sometimes, bingeing does feel like punishment. Especially on days when I feel fat in the morning...I binge, to push myself for being "fat"--it makes sense in a perverse way, exactly as you described.

Definitely avoid the scale for a few days. Chances are, you didn't put on as much weight as you thought--but the weight of the food (plus bloating, which often happens) can cause the scale to go up much higher then what it really is. There's no point in making yourself feel even worse.

"I just want to get off the ride."

It's hard to stop bingeing when you're still restricting. I tried--for 5 years in a row, I tried. I never succeeded for more than a few weeks...and often, for no more than a few days. Next time that you've gone a few days without bingeing, go easier on the restriction--lighten up on yourself. You can't compensate for a binge--it only pushes the cycle.

You deserve better than that...