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Anonymous #1
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I'm addicted to food
#24545006 - 08/10/17 10:52 PM (6 years, 7 months ago) |
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I'm addicted to food. Ive always been overweight. I'm 33, and during a few periods in my adulthood, I've felt like I've gotten it under control. Right now is not one of those times. More days than not, I eat to the point of being sick. Stuffing myself with pizza, Reese's pieces, Macdonalds, and ice cream. So much of my behavior relating to food is similar to that of a junkie. I hide my actions from others, I let it get in the way of my responsibilities, and feel guilt afterwards.... today I went home sick from work so I could go home and binge.
Ive gained 70lbs over the past 3 years and im tired of being a slave to food. Im disgusted with the way I feel and look. I wish I could quit food like alcohol or drugs but its impossible, I need it to live. Everyday I wake up and tell myself that today is gonna be the day I stop, but I dont have enough willpower. I used to bang all kinds of girls, but now im fat again and have no confidence in myself. I want to love myself again.
Im pretty active, I walk a couple miles a day with my dog and do other activities too. In the past Ive gotten it under control by basically starving myself and avoiding food that tastes good. I need to quit eating for pleasure and comfort entirely. I'm gonna eat only hard boiled eggs, no flavor, for as long as I can, until the weight starts to drop off and inspire me to get my life back together.
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Anonymous #2
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sounds like something a fat person would say.
its a basic part of being human. to do things that cause pleasure while avoiding pain. some people like drugs. some like sex, gambling, shopping, eating, whatever brings pleasure a human does. key is everthing in moderation. Depravity works too. take everything a person cherishes till they have nothing. Only at that point can they appreciate everything
we are also natural problem solvers. when we dont have problems we will create them in order to solve them and feel purpose and accomplish stuff. some people like to make REALLY big problems (like me). And live in a state of massive adversity all throughout life. its stupid.
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Anonymous #1
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I feel like whether I am binging, or diligently controlling my diet... food will always rule my life.
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Anonymous #3
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I've been trying to bulk up lately - and this has been my most serious attempt yet. You seem to have the opposite problem to me. I cant just forget to eat.
I would use this ability you have to start putting on some muscle! You can continue to eat in comfort, and at the same time start building some serious strength and/or muscle.
Have a look at the 5x5 program. There's an app - it's all easy to follow and doesnt take too long (3 sessions that I can finish in a 30 - 45 mins each). It tracks your progress and you begin to feel quite quickly that you are achieving some great progress. It will pull your weight gain into line (or at least turn the weight into more muscle than fat) and before long, you'll start to want to eat properly. I love smoking, I love drinking, I love coffee, but because I dont want to waste my workouts, I have started to appreciate my body and my health and have started reducing all 3. On mornings where I dont want to get out of bed and do the workout, but I force myself to anyway, after 10 minutes of workout I feel amazing and I feel like I have control of myself and my life after having forced myself. I trust myself more.
Now all of this said, it still isn't directly treating the problem. There is a reason you are eating. For comfort. To feel good.
What is it that is making you uncomfortable? What is it that you have to distract your mind with good feelings?
A relationship? Work? A family member? A difficult friend? A struggle with your beliefs? There is a cause somewhere. First, find the cause.
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Anonymous #1
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Quote:
Anonymous #3 said: What is it that is making you uncomfortable? What is it that you have to distract your mind with good feelings?.
My life inst that bad. I have a good job, lots of interesting hobbies to occupy my time, and I get plenty of exercise by training MMA... But the gaping hole is the fact that I have literally nobody in my daily life. No close friends, no close family, nothing. Sure people know me at work and the gym and so on... but I live a life of complete solitude. I go on vacation alone, I spend holidays alone, I go to concerts alone, I do everything alone... and its very boring. Other people would smoke weed or drink... but I cram myself with food instead
Quote:
Anonymous #3 said: I feel like I have control of myself and my life after having forced myself.
Thats where I need to be
Edited by Anonymous (08/11/17 07:24 PM)
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Anonymous #3
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Hmmm. So is the a social anxiety type of thing (I dont have experience there sorry), or that you aren't finding opportunities to make friends, or that you just dont seem to click with the people you meet? Perhaps you moved away from your old friends and are having trouble making new friends as an adult?
I like solitude and I prefer to do a lot of things by myself, but I also know that I do become lonely when I push myself too far away from my friends. Sometimes my friendships feel strained, but after putting in a few weekends of being the 'friend that puts in all the effort', things are comfortable again and I get invited to things.
Do you have old friends you can reconnect with?
I have to say, when it feels like you have no one, a good place to start is just being friends with people you don't click with very well and just put the effort into hanging out with them and trying to do things that they like to do. I have a lot of friends now from work that would never have been my first choice, but from going out with them and sharing some experiences, I can see that they are good, interesting, funny people who care about me.
Try putting in the effort with some acquaintances - find out what they're into from conversation and then tee up something. "Come round for beers if your free next Thursday and we'll watch some MMA" - that sort of thing.
Just to console you, eating a lot is still better for you than smoking or drinking haha. It sounds like you have 90% of the rest of your life sorted, so this one shouldn't be too big a challenge for a capable person like you.
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Anonymous #4
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Adderall.
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Anonymous #5
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get addicted to exercise and then you can eat all you want.
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Anonymous #1
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I dont really have social anxiety. Im pretty confident around crowds and strangers. As far as my old friends, most of them have moved away to bigger and better things... and the rest are only interested in watching TV and smoking weed, they havent matured passed our teenage days and I cant identify with them anymore.
I do seek out socialization, Im a musician and joined a Celtic music session group and other things... but I never click with anyone and just end up being the outcast and then quit.
As far as the eating goes... I havent eaten anything but hard boiled eggs in 3 days. I feel lightheaded and can feel my body going into ketosis, which is the plan. I feel like shit but at the same time I feel liberated from cramming by body full of food all day. I almost got out of bed at 3am and went to McDonalds but I talked myself out of it and had some more eggs. I hope I can keep up a streak and make some progress before I slip up.
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Anonymous #3
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Celtic music group! That's fucking sick! What's your instrument?
I have to say though, going from whatever your normal diet was to now only eating 3 hard boiled eggs a day - that is the the fast track to relapse. You need a proper plan and a goal, not a half-assed hard-boiled diet. It's the same with exercise. If you try to do too much too soon, you get worn out, tired and sick and you go right back to where you were. Make a goal, find (make, copy or modify) an existing diet plan and stick to it for a month.
If that's too much, try eating what you normally do, but start by taking out one thing you normally eat (or drink) that is particularly rich - just one thing - and replace it with something healthier.
I get the 'not clicking with them' thing. If I had to guess, the music group is probably full of people that are too old or too young. They say proximity is the biggest factor for attraction - I'd say it's one of the biggest predictors for friendships too. Who are the people you see most? Start there.
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Anonymous #1
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I play bagpipes, guitar, piano and the turntables... but obviously the session group I would bring the bagpipes and guitar. Its just a bunch of people who meet on a certain day and whoever shows up, we just play songs that we all know. Mostly people my age, but I guess they just weren't my kind of people.
I'm eating more than 3 eggs... more like a dozen or two. Not for the long term, just for about a week to get over cravings and to not think about food for a while. then I can eat clean from there. MMA class is all the exercise I can handle for now. It gets pretty intense.
edit spelling
Edited by Anonymous (08/14/17 11:35 PM)
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Anonymous #3
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Ah ok, sounds like you're not being unreasonable. Eggs are quite fatty and carb-poor though, even if they are high protein and otherwise quite a whole food.
That's cool that you play so many instruments! PM sent. It's a long shot, but it could be cool to jam.
Like I said in one of my earlier replies, sometimes you have to force friendships a little bit until something eventually clicks. It might be that you end up liking the person after a while, or maybe they invite you to a party and you meet some cooler people there. You definitely have to put yourself out there though or things wont change.
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Anonymous #3
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Haha ahhh I just realised its an anon thread. PM not sent haha
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Anonymous #6
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I sympathize. I don't have the same struggle as you. My addiction is to drugs, which I can stop completely and is not apparent on the outside. When food is your addiction, you can't stop completely so you need enormous self control. Also its effects are worn on the outside for all to see.
Starving yourself, only eating food that tastes bad, eating only eggs... you are setting yourself up for failure. Eggs are not healthy. Extreme dieting like you are doing leads to a binge/diet cycle. It's unhealthy and is not an effective way to lose weight. You need to develop a healthy relationship with food. The solution is simple and difficult. You need to count calories. It's unrealistic to think you will eat gross food to get where you want, or only eating eggs and then what? If it is as bad as you describe (and it sounds pretty bad) then I suggest mental health counseling. I don't think there is any better or easier way to do it. Counseling and counting calories. Weigh your food, do the math. Don't eat out - cook it all yourself. Don't neglect the counseling.
Comparing calorie counting to exercising - counting calories is easier than exercising. I think you would have to walk two or three miles just to burn off one slice of pizza.
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Anonymous #7
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OP, you have to be comfortable being alone, it's a major part of life.You need to feel comfortable with yourself, having fun by yourself and not depending on other people for your happiness.
I have been on vacations alone, restaurants/bars, sporting events and concerts. You need to be independent. If there's someone there to share it with then that's great, if not, learn to deal with it.
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Anonymous #1
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Quote:
Anonymous #7 said: OP, you have to be comfortable being alone, it's a major part of life.You need to feel comfortable with yourself, having fun by yourself and not depending on other people for your happiness.
I have been on vacations alone, restaurants/bars, sporting events and concerts. You need to be independent. If there's someone there to share it with then that's great, if not, learn to deal with it.
I agree, but we are social animals and human connection is vital to a happy and healthy life.
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Anonymous #3
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Yeah I agree. I know for a fact that I tend to go a bit weird when Ive been alone too long. And Im already not very normal!
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Anonymous #8
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same
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Anonymous #9
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Samesies
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Anonymous #10
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Same
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