Thank you all for all of your answers and I will try them all as I can and they come to work in. It is so great to hear from you all. I was really feeling all alone. I just am alone and I am trying to work thru that. You all were so beautiful and so kind thank you very much again.

Hi- I usually recommend that people try to eat something every 4 hours, especially in the first few weeks (or 30 days!).
1. It will keep you from getting too hungry
2. YOu won't feel as anxious, knowing your next meal is fairly soon
3. Your blood sugar will remain stable
4. EAting more often lessens binge-eating

Try including some healthy protein (meat/fish/nuts/beans/dairy)which will keep you satisfied longer in each small meal.

Putting some structure into your eating will help- if you can keep from eating in between, you'll get used to there being times of not eating, when you get to focus on other things, like living! Having boundaries makes us feel safe.

Try not to look at any of this as "deprivation"- it will make you want to binge. Remind yourself that this is a choice you're making that will improve your confidence and your health- it really will.

Hope this helped.

Love and blessings,
Lisa
Link

Hello
I also deal with compulsive overeating... I have struggled for years, and have also had much success dealing with it, especially over the last month.

I find that when I incorporate protein into my daily eating, I just dont feel as hungry, especially at night.

Restricting what you eat during the day may not be the best way to go... You might feel like you have been "cheated" out of a decent meal, and you may not feel satisfied. I found this was one of the reasons I kept eating so much at night. I never really let myself have a decent meal during the day because I thought that was the "right" thing to do, and at night I just grazed to *hopefully* find the "thing" I was lacking during the day. Not the best plan!!

I dont know if that falls in line with what you are experiencing, but if it is, what I have come across that has been of immense help are the Four Golden Rules by Paul McKenna (I Can Make You Thin):

1) When you are hungry, EAT! (Eat before you get Ravenous, like about a fairly hungry to slightly hungry level and eat to a pleasantly satisfied to full feeling.)

2) Eat what you WANT, not what you THINK YOU SHOULD. (Moderation is key, and think healthfully)

3) Savour EVERY bite! Slow down your eating, and enjoy your food mindfully.

4) When you THINK you are full, STOP EATING!

Full feels like a pleasant, warm sensation in your solar plexus, right under your rib cage and above your stomach. If you stop at the right time, you will feel good, not stuffed. If you don't listen and feel for that satisfied feeling, you may go overboard, and then you will feel gross. That isn't good!!!!

I thought at first I wouldnt feel like I had eaten enough, but after realizing how nice life feels without a bloated, over -full stomach, I have been reformed! It only took a few days for me to feel the change was a neccasity.

I hope that something here helps. Check out the book; it really opened my eyes.

Things can be really overwhelming when it comes to food. The thing that I like is that I am not restricting anything, and all i need to feel for are the hunger signals. It really simplifies things!!

Don't get me wrong, I have had a few days that felt out of control, but that is to be expected. Life is not perfect, and you can find beauty in the imperfection. Mistakes are just little reminders that we are only human, and never get things right 100% of the time. And personally, I'm ok with that. It takes the pressure off!

Good luck! I am going through the journey with you!!!!

HI new life
This can be a challenge, I used to struggle a lot with my weight and I would buy all sorts of healthy things only to end up throwing them out after they spoiled!

The first thing you can do is: find that pause right before you are going to eat....start listening to your body... figure out if you are eating for hunger or for emotional reasons.

If it's hunger always eat! If you eat before you are starving you will find that you are more likely to take time to make something healthy. Make sure you eat every three-four hours, as your body tells you.

If it's emotional then you need strategies to address this. You could try deep breathing, coaching yourself through uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, relaxing. etc..

Prevention is really good too, see if you can start visualizing yourself getting through some of these emotional instances without overeating.. Create a mental picture of you at a healthy weight not struggling.

You can do this! My best to you...
Erin Postle

I

i just joined a site called Sparkpeople at sparkpeople.com and they have a nutrition tracker where you input all of your meals and it show you how many calories, how much fat, how many carbs, etc you are eating. it's a really big eye opener!

I joined Weight Watchers on-line and it was a tremedous help. You neeed to track what you are eating and they have a program does that. You can eat what you want, but it will help you make better choices since you only have so many points. There are similiar tools or you can do it on your own, but, I think tracking your in take is the way to go. It may also help you determine your triggers to overeating.

One piece of advice- throw out the bad food and don't bring them in the house. If it's not there you can't eat it.

Plan your meals ahead of time - write what you plan to eat for meals and snacks and follow it. Something I read somewhere and started to do years ago, now I find it helpful when I know I am overeating and need to stop that I start to write everything down that I eat, and I mean everything - with serving sizes and calorie counts. After a couple days of seeing 3000 calories a day of junk then you feel not so hungry. Also, there may be a nutritional imbalance that causes you to go towards certain foods that your body is craving and you may need to look into supplements. Good Luck!