dreamingangel's Journal, 30 April 2015

Congrats on a very insightful post!!! And hopefully I will reinforce what you posted today with my journal post tomorrow :)....Climbing WITH you :) 

PS: Congrats on your loss...and if you can get a pound per week, you will hit our goal in just 57 more weeks...be here before you know it....YAY, YOU!!!!! 

yeah, I found that it was really hard whenever I was at a potluck dinner or an open all you can eat buffet. Once I realized that I was using food for comfort I had to stay away from these places, parties, etc. It took a couple of years and I had to focus on eating lower calorie foods instead of the usual comfort foods. I also tried to get busier and do other things instead of thinking about food. Even reading, or watching YouTube, or walking or talking with friends, or doing house work, or working at a job would all help as long as food wasn't involved. After awhile I forgot about food always being in the forefront and I could actually refuse food when offered to me, refuse desserts, and walk by a table of potluck foods. Another hint is that I became more conscious of what was in each dish and I became more discriminating and selective. In this way, i could ignore all the foods that weren't on my desired list to consume. I eliminated processed foods, most grains, sweets, baked goods, and foods with artificial additives and sweeteners and MSG, and controlled the amount of fat in my diet. Once I developed an epicurean level of eating, it became much easier to control the amounts and the addiction to food in general. :-)  

I went to a charity event last week and there was meats and cheeses I could have, no problem. BUT they had a big display of little tiny desserts that looked soooo good! I haven't had any sweets or baked goods since January and haven't really missed them (I did lick my finger after giving my grandson his cinnamon roll one morning, tho). Those little itty bitty wonderful looking concoctions were calling my name, they were saying just one won't hurt, come on....I had the "discussion" in my head on whether I should or shouldn't and finally decided not to. I was so afraid of not being able to stop at one I didn't want to chance it. Why or why couldn't I be addicted to broccoli or working out?!?!?! 

congrats on the loss, we are all climbing with ya! 

too true. all addictions stay with us, they just get, sometimes for a long time, to be a non-issue. This thing with food and my trigger foods has been a struggle for a really long time. So, we can use 12=step type ideas and format, or do the goal, steps to the goal and strive for consistency. Whatever works best for each of us.  

WTG--fab! 

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! @NovaScotiaNomad Yes, as time goes by the food is becoming less important "emotionally." I find counting every calorie puts me very in the moment and aware of using the food to keep me satisfied while I'm shedding my chubby outer shell. @Rckc Wow, good for you!! That's so awesome. My office has treats and junk daily. I used to look at this as a bad thing, but now I see it as a way to anesthetize myself to it. Every time I fight off the urge, it becomes easier.