Confessions of a food addict part 2
So back for some more! One thing I am learning with my therapist is that I need to identify my triggers for binge eating. After some reflection I came up with the following.
- Stress- When I am stressed I go for food. Every time.
- Boredom- This is a big one for me. If I am busy, I do not think about food, but when I am bored it is all I think about
- The other is my emotions. I eat them. Sad? Eat. Happy? Celebrate with food.
So How do I counter act these? I need to find better ways to cope with all of these. Stress at work is a huge trigger and it is so easy to walk in the break room and grab some food. One thing I can do is to keep healthy option, like fruit and nuts with me. If I have to have something, at least it can be healthy. Boredom is odd. I should not be bored. I work full time and I go to school! How the heck am I ever bored?
So what do I need to do? Well the first thing is be prepared. Bringing healthy snacks with me will help. But I need to retrain my brain. My therapist said something that made sense. If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, then are you really hungry? Also she said, drink a glass of water then wait 20 minutes. If you still are hungry, then it is actual hunger. So here is my plan for the next week
I am going to start by packing my breakfast, lunch and snacks the night before work. I am not a morning person so if I o not do it at night, I wont do it in the morning. I am also going to up my water intake and be more mindful of my eating. No eating at my desk at work or home. To combat boredom with the coming winter break from school I am going to get back to working out at least 3 days a week and walking on my breaks at work.
I know I can do this. I have lost over 100lbs already. Whats 75 more? I feel like blogging will help me. I do not feel like anyone in my life wants to hear this from me and i need an outlet to talk it out. So this is going to work out good for me.
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!
DAMN, KUDOS on 100 lbs already! Just make sure you’re aware of the difference between identifying the triggers & making yourself aware of ’em when they happen. That was the most difficult part for me. Once I got past that, it was smooth sailing. And you don’t counteract your triggers – you control ’em. Imagine a gun: YOU’re the one who decides when to pull that trigger, thus learning the amount of pressure needed to fire the weapon. PICK YOUR TARGET (food), set your sights on a part of that target (portion) & squeeze the trigger (control). Put those parentheses words together 🙂 You’ll slowlyl learn to satisfy your stressors w/less & less practice. I kid you not, I used to go to the shooting range & paint food portions on my target – it’s a strange therapy, but it IS satisfying when you nail the portion you want 🙂 An iron will is key, though. You have to want it badly enough. It’s not about coping, but about confronting head-on. EAT at your desk all you want – just don’t eat junk. Like you mentioned, pack a ton of fruit & snack on that.
BTW, my particular experience was that it became better to dump the diet mentality & adopt that of eating six instead of three times a day, but smaller portions. I was satisfied longer & less stressed. Just something to consider 🙂
@thenerve I love the gun gun analogy! And yes, diet is gone! It is such a dirty word and, personally I think it adds to obesity. No food is off limits, its just the amount. It is hard to think like this. so many years of cutting carbs, and fat etc.
@betsylynne – I feel you. But you’re strong and you can kick food’s ass!!
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100 lbs is already a hell of an accomplishment. Identifying triggers is important and then it’s about adjusting how you respond. It sounds like you are doing good work though.
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