johnelka's Journal, 24 January 2016

Don't give up. Keep the fight on. Try to do some breathing exercise and read some books. Busy yourself with anything you like the moment you start feeling negative. This is a fight only you can fight for yourself. Cheer up! You can do it! 

buy zip lock snack bags and potion out all the food in your house... make a meal plan and set out what you can ... it will look like a lot of food and you will be excited to eat it..have one LITTLE sweet thing for each day in your alloted food... have one day a week planned for eating something you like. like a pizza day. but make sure to limit how much... eat vegetables BEFORE you have the pizza so you can't eat too much of it. this way maybe you won't feel like you are missing out. you are just limiting the amount, not restricting WHAT you can eat. just how much for right now. this might help you get a handle on things. I have to give it all up cold turkey personally because I have an addictive personality. if I even so much as lick some sugar I may gorge on it. so I have to stay away. but if that doesn't work for you then you need to maybe try the above. I keep repeating "food is only fuel it has no powe overy me" and I say it over and over when I have a craving. maybe you should go to counseling, talking to someone might help. maybe look into addiction counselors ... Or go to an AA meeting and relate the info to food. weight watchers meetings might help but all the food talk may be a trigger. I don't know, I'm not you.  

Try and keep yourself busy. Anything to take your mind off of food. It takes a while to just look at food as fuel. It sounds like you've had success in the past. Just repeat what works. You can do this! 

Your post made my heart hurt! I am sorry you are having such a terrible time. Sometimes I think about never having a cookie or ice cream again and it makes me sad. I keep repeating in my head "Eat to live, don't live to eat." And I remind myself that the flavor of that cookie or ice cream does not stay in my mouth any longer than the flavor of a stalk of celery. Prayers for strength have been said for you. 

You can do this!! I am not cutting out anything, but doing everything in moderation. I am not telling myself that I can't have this or that, but that I have to find what works for me and stick with it. I know that I can not have sweets in my house, so I am going to buy the fun size candy bars, get 1 or 2 out and give the rest to someone that can have them. We all know that this is hard, but we can do this!! 

I'm sorry to hear your so discouraged. You didn't mention what plan your doing but perhaps its not the right one? One of the funny things about losing weight is that in order to eat right, you constantly are thinking and talking about food. Very counter intuitive. I know that we who need to lose weight got here because we can't control how much we eat. Perhaps that is a skill worth developing. Weight watchers allows you to eat what you want, hopefully healthy food but there is room to plan for the things we can't live without.  

I takes a full 20 minutes to beat a craving, go take a restful bath or even a walk out in the snow and in 20 minutes reevaluate your feelings and if all else fails pray! 

I takes a full 20 minutes to beat a craving, go take a restful bath or even a walk out in the snow and in 20 minutes reevaluate your feelings and if all else fails pray! 

I am so appreciative is the sound advice and encouragement you all have shared. Thank you so much! I made it through the night without binging and for that I am grateful. I know the guilt would have been even worse than the craving had I given in. I'm taking it one moment at a time today. I know this is an addiction I am fitting and I'm going to have these days... I have learned over the years that moderation doesn't work for me, I have to go completely cold turkey. I'm like that in every aspect of my life...very all or nothing and sometimes that does not play out in my favor. I may never be good with moderation but I am learning to stop and breathe. Trying to find a balance I can live with, literally. I got really overwhelmed yesterday and I am sincerely grateful to have the support of others who know exactly what this struggle is all about, it really helps. Thanks you all again, and God Bless each of you! 

Sounds a bit like "cabin fever." It can mess with your head and may be somewhat of a survival instinct, though inappropriate for your real situation. I used to live at Lake Tahoe and when a storm was coming in we would find ourselves at the grocery store, along with everyone else in town, shopping even though we had plenty at home. Like being snowed in, it will pass. Perhaps you can indulge yourself in an escape such as a favorite movie or book that really "takes you away"? By all means, don't be shy about getting group or individual therapy if it could help you. For now, calm yourself - it makes such a difference.  

Well if you need to go cold turkey.. try www.dietdoctor.com. low carb high fat or LCHF that's what has been good for me. been losing .5 pounds a day. cravings are at a minimum . it's totally sugar and carbs (that turn to sugar) Free ... well Im keeping my carbs under 20g. .. if you want cold turkey... this is it.  

Hang on there, my friend! If you're feeling physically ill, trying drinking a couple cups of full sodium chicken broth daily to boost your electrolytes and what not. Its snowing pandas and polar bears here, thus, no sunshine. So, I've been popping vitamin D, St. John's Wort, and making a once-a-week trip to the fake bake (tanning salon) to remind myself what sun feels like. Gosh, does that do wonders! I also crank up my Motown, among other fast music, try to exercise 4 times a week for 20-30 min, and drink caffeinated tea. It helps. Good for you, not giving into the cravings and just stickin to it! That's a sign of hard work that will lead ultimately to success. Just stay the course.  

omg I miss tanning. my mom and sister owned a salon so I could tan in the expensive beds for free... no orange skin for this lady. but now with the baby I don't have time and I moved far away so id have to pay for everything lol... Id be better off in the back yard.  

God hears. 

Stay strong. We have all been there, but you can do this and you will! 

We all have those days/weeks; you can do this! As my body is changing; I am having headaches, stomach aches...but I will get though this and so can you! 

Thank you so much friends... 

Johnelka, have you tried good vitamins? esp vitamin B? I swear it does help with mood and motivation for myself and my sister...stay strong we know you can do this !  

Sounds like you’re in a bit of a tough spot, honey. Other than sending some good mental thought vibes your way, I have a list of things that you can try to get your mind in the right place. 1)Meditation – the upside is that you can do it anywhere, anytime, you don’t have to be a Buddhist, just focus on the present moment and it’s pretty amazing what it can do. Just Google mindful meditation instructions and give it a try. 2)Journaling – this you can also do right now. It’s a little like self-therapy. 3)Making sure you’re getting enough nutrients. I see that your diet calendar is showing a very low calorie intake – below 1000 cal on most days. I’m not here to tell you what to do, but it’s possible that your body is just crying out for more food. Maybe try eating a little bit more and see if it helps. 4)Along the same lines – you might need to supplement your very low calorie intake with some good quality vitamins and minerals. This one you might need to do some shopping for, but I would look into it if I were you. 5)Therapy, or some sort of a group counseling might be the answer for you. Don’t be embarrassed by it – there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We all need some therapy at one point or another. Some commenters here have mentioned some of these things, but I wanted to put it in a list for you, so you can see which one of these might jump out at you. Good luck!