Several years ago I attended Overeater’s Anonymous and their big thing was about “letting go” and NOT trying to control this demon myself. I guess it’s about getting to the point of realizing that I am powerless and it’s out of my control. And I couldn’t ever quite understand that concept. I wasn’t sure how to let go or what to let go of. I’ve been in control of everything for so long - never having anyone to rely on but myself (which wasn’t ever really the case). I was always thinking it was the “dieting” I was to let go of. But, I had an epiphany (I love them) that it’s not about the food or the dieting that I needed to let go of - but whatever it is that is causing me to eat or be out of control. That’s what I need to let go of and hand that over to a “higher power”.
Now I need to pay more attention to exactly why I’m overeating and why I’m making such poor choices.
About 5 or so years ago I lost over 60 pounds and kept it off until the past year, when I started to put it back on. I’m scarred to death to gain all that weight, but I do feel like I’m out of control. The catalyst to the weight loss was quitting smoking. I don’t remember ever doing anything that was so difficult and I figured if I can get through that - I can certainly lose the weight I had never been able to lose in the past. So, I gave up sugar and flour completely and went to “Curves” religiously. It was determination that got me to lose that weight - I was still fully in control.
Anyway, OA is a twelve step group, just like AA. I think it’s a good program, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to “let go”. I don’t know if I will ever be that “determined” as I was when I lost the original 60 pounds. That’s why I question being able to do this myself.
That’s all.
Posted on February 18th, 2008 by lizzie
Filed under: Weight Loss Ramblings, Daily Grind
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I hadn’t heard of OA before. That’s great news! The various anonymouses are actually some of the few programs out there that are effective.
In my opinion, for you to maintain your determination and will power, there needs to be a change of lifestyle all together. Watch what and when you eat. do some exerise here n there, even just a walk really helps. Good Luck !!
Don’t heard about OA too.Overeating doesn’t bring you much happiness I think:)
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As I get older I seem to enjoy food more and exercise less so keeping the weight down is a constant battle. I think that is the key to remain vigilant and if my weight starts to go up I do something about it before its too late
Are you on any diet right now? When do you overeat?
I’m not currently on a diet. My initial goal was to change my lifestyle - vs. going on yet another diet.
I overeat when I’m alone. Most often that is in the evenings. But, we also go out to eat far too often.
This works to avoid over eating: Drink a lot of water. have a glass of water first whenever you fill hungry. this leaves less space for your stomach to accommodate more food (at least for a while), and at the same time, water is healthy.
Also, lemons help a lot for slimming.
@LoseWeightFast - That doesn’t work for me. I drink a lot of water, but I still feel the need to eat a lot. My biggest problem is the weekends. I hate my job so much that when the weekend comes, I feel the need to kick back and eat a ton of food. I would probably be at my ideal weight by now if I worked 7 days a week.
Hi dieting goal, just drinking water alone won’t help you if you are just sitting doing nothing. You have to keep busy and occupy your mind as much as possible as well. But i know what might help you. try some appetite suppressant pills. You can find some reviews of the best ones on the website you are taken to when you click on my name above.
What you really need is to find a job or some other hobby where you have more work than you can handle. If you get immersed in it, so much so that you have no time to think about food or just lazing around, that’ll solve most of your problems. I realize it’s easier to say it than to do it, but that’s what you gotta do.
Hmm..it is always hard to maintain our weight. Some people said it’s harder to maintain our current weight (after we get slimmer) rather than losing weight. Maybe you need to think twice why you successfully lost 60 pounds earlier then repeat the same method.
This may be of interest to readers of this blog since it goes in to detail each week on how to use cutting-edge nutrition, exercise, and healthy lifestyle techniques to lose weight and live a healthier life. It’s free so I figured I would share it… you can sign up for the Trim, Tone & Tighten Thursdays newsletter at www.stephencabral.com
I understand it is hard to lose weight and that’s one thing I have tried to do my whole life.
You need to find that thing in life that motivates you to keep the weight off. I’m sure it’s different for everyone. Once you have motivation, won’t you be back in control?
Losing weigh is very hard! I haven’t experience but as what I’ve heard from my friends they really find hard time to lose weight. but I think as long as you have the patience and discipline with yourself, you will surely let go of those fats!!!
Lizzie, I have the same problem. I tend to overeat when I’m alone at night. What I do to prevent this from happening is keeping the foods I like to eat out of my house. If I want a Dove bar, I eat one Dove bar and throw the other five in the garbage. That way I don’t eat them later.
losing weight is pretty hard by dieting we have to follow some expert methods like those celebs do and rest would be really fast , i tried dieting but did not worked so
In my opinion, for you to maintain your determination and will power, there needs to be a change of lifestyle all together.
I think support is important no matter what you are trying to accomplish. Having people who understand you and your struggles certainly can’t hurt.
Good luck with OA.
I know that how difficult work it is.
checking in and finally commenting.
I echo everyone else’s support words BUT for me the virtual support works best.
less….in my face? Im weird that way.
MizFit
Eating has a emotional component. I know that I tend to overeat when I am stressed out. Counseling will probably help as well as a change in life style. I could eat a bag of chips and a six of soda every night if I had it in the house. Luckily I started incorporating some jogging on weekends into my life. My Dr. said I was border line diabetes due to the weight and poor diet. Lizzie, even a simple 20 minute walk every day would do wonders to reduce stress which in turn would probably help you have a better diet. It seems they go hand in hand.
food is so good though. Just have to eat healthy thats where its at but it can be hard at times. I wish you the best of luck.
I understand what you’re going through..I’ve been there before..I just realized that I should lose weight to stay healthy not just to be fit.
Oh man, I wish I have your resolve. Dieting has been something that I’ve been putting off for a loooong time. lol.
I wish you best luck but if you eat health foods it can be easy…But also hard but the results will be there!
I didn’t heard about OA before. When do you overeat?
I decided last year I had to lose weight. My main motivation was my doctor who told me if I kept going the way I was going, I had a good probability of becoming diabetic. Last year I lost 30 pounds by limiting myself to either one meal per day or two smaller portioned meals per day with a little snacking between if I got really hungry. I put myself on a strict exercise routine and stayed with it. It worked for me. Setting a goal for yourself with a strong determination to achieve it can work wonders.
Been there! Hang in there!
Well, good luck with it all. It does sound like a struggle but I’m sure you’ll get the upper hand a get rid of that weight!
I am so glad I found your blog! I am not overweight, but my 10-yr-old nephew is quickly getting that way. I want to help him have a positive self-image and develop healthy eating habits that will help him keep from becoming any bigger than he already is.
I do know he eats for some other reason other than hunger, and I want to help him let go of whatever it is that is causing him to eat all the time. This is a touchy subject, but hopefully we can figure out what it is.
I have found that having support like a friend, husband or relative to act like your watchdog/coach/supporter can help.
Don’t fall into the trap of OVER-controlling what you are taking in, that’s when you end up spiralling from overeating into anorexia (more people do that than you would think). It’s a very easy line to cross *speaks from experience(
Being made to go on a diet by my wife, I find the best thing I do when the hunger pangs hit is have a cup of coffee. Only thing is though is I take it with milk and sugar
I overeat when I’m alone. Most often that is in the evenings. But, we also go out to eat far too often.
Well not much asking yourself , doing something is much better.
I understand it is hard to lose weight. I fugure there needs to be a change of lifestyler.
Good luck!
I have heard of them before.great post by the way.But to implement it you will always need determination and will power.
For you to maintain your determination and will needs to be a change of lifestyle all together. Watch what and when you eat. ok my friend
Dieting is very hard, particularly in the 21st century. People get busier and they need something “instant”. In the end, they get fat and it’s very hard to lose weight. Not everyone has enough discipline to keep their weight on the best level.
One of the biggest “helps” to me is my wife. I’m 45 lbs overweight and have lost 26 so far since December. I cut out flour, potatoes, sugar (basically everything white). With exercies I think I’ll be able to get down to my goal weight by then. already I’m feeling healthier and looking much slimmer.
I never thought I’d feel this way again. Keep at it. You can do it too!
Honestly, i’ve found hypnosis to be really great and effective at controlling appetite and over eating.
There are psychological reasons why people over eat. To do liposuction or surgery just treats the symptom but not the illness,
hypnosis helps dig in to the brain and plants positive suggestions when it comes to eating.
i’m totally into hypnosis for all things…it’s like spring cleaning for your brain. Your head gets filled with so much junk, depressing, negative thoughts.
Here are some great articles:
http://moderndiet.net/?s=hypnosis
http://www.squidoo.com/hypnosis_downloads
Hmm..it is always hard to maintain our weight. Some people said it’s harder to maintain our current weight (after we get slimmer) rather than losing weight.
I think you need to change your life style in order to maintain your determination. We should maintain our weight. And for this we can take others help too. Instead of dieting we can do few exercises which will help us a lot.
I think one needs to keep himself motivating by some way or the other.Reducing weight is tough job, maintaining weight after that is far more tougher than that.
I just found your site using MSN while searching for image treadmills review. The information posted at Go? - Lose Weight - Diet Program Review: FatLadySingz.com helped me greatly. Have a great Monday!
Losing weight takes discipline and time. I know, because it took me a year and a half to lose 25 pounds. My weight stayed at 115-117 pounds until my husband I went to a conference in Warsaw, Poland. Conference and restaurant meals took their toll and I gained three pounds (one clothing size) in a week.
Hi there been surfing the net for fat loss 4 idiots diet and found your blog reg Go? - Lose Weight - Diet Program Review: FatLadySingz.com. You relly know your stuff! I\’d like to see more posts here. Will definitely bookmark this one and come back.
I found your blog via Google while searching for stomach fat loss tips and your post regarding Go? - Lose Weight - Diet Program Review: FatLadySingz.com looks very interesting to me. I have a few websites of my own and I must say that your site is really top notch. Keep up the great work on a really high class resource.
Thanks for this great article - I found some useful info here!
When i was with my ex-girlfriend, we use to argue all the time about her losing weight. She thought that i wanted her to slim down because of her looks. But her weight didn’t make her unattractive to me, it was the fact that being overweight will cause health problems sooner or later. She never believed me though and we ended up going our separate ways.
I agree that it is so easy to give in to certain foods.
In my idea, excersire is my way there needs to be a change of lifestyle all together. Good Luck !!
Good Luck to you. And think positive.
I remember as a child I would get full to the point where I was uncomfortable, this is for sure how I developed my bad eating habits. It was not til I was an adult I learned about eating small portions all day long. This is natural for me to do now. And if you notice children will naturally eat like this, snacking all day long. Again good luck and find a gym buddy helps alot as well.
great blog site…no wonder there are so many comments!!
Some people seem to have overeating in their genes and fall easier to overeating than others. It is 100% mental for them to keep away from food, it is truly hard work and hard for some to understand how hard. Good luck!