compulsive overeating

[jennplas]

Hi everyone,

I am assuming there are a lot of us on here who are compulsive overeaters, well thats what i gather from what I read anyway...

I myself am a compulsive overeater, and I was reading in one of Frederic Patenaudes book how whatever type of eater we are, we will carry that in our raw food journey. I do believe that because I have been having an extremely rough time in the past while! I find it really hard to explain what goes on in my mind. I was doing so well on the challenge a while back, and then since then it seems I have been causing myself a lot of grief in regards to eating. I think of food from the time i wake up to the time i go to bed. I have been eating cooked foods, and lots of it. i KNOW in my heart and soul that raw foods is the way to go for me, yet it is just really difficult. I find it very hard to replace my cooked food habit with raw foods. and i DO want to...

I am having an excessively rough time at work, and I am now on sick leave for a while due to a harassment complaint I made and it is just not going too well. I told myself that once on leave, i would concentrate on taking such good care of myself! however that has not been the case. I have been eating and eating and if i am not eating i am thinking about food, or thinking about how off track i am and how i will get back on track right away, but then i just go and eat something again. I buy awesome organic groceries and they sit in the fridge until they get bad. I feel like i have wasted so much money with food because of this.

I feel like i need to SNAP out of it or something. like i need a light bulb moment or something. i *know* what i should be doing. i just dont understand what will make me come to my senses and just do it.

the times i find the hardest and upsetting are when i feel like i need bread and i have yet to find a replacement for bread in my dehydrator. i get discouraged and then think i cant go through life without a bread substitute (i know... its pathetic).

i absolutely need to get back on track and focus and let go of my thoughts of food. i really need to just live my life and not think of food all the time. perhaps i just need to keep it very very simple.
i still need to prepare foods for my carnivore husband and whole foods daughter. i feel guilty inside some days because i hardly cook meat for my husband anymore. he craves it and i now let him prepare it on his own, but as a wife and mother, i feel guilty about that.

i know this sickness is killing me .. and i really need to figure it all out. i have been blessed with good health even with the abuse i do to my body. I am about 90 lbs overweight.

is there someone out there who has or is going through this as well? I just wanted to write what i was going through just so i wont be alone.

thanks for reading!
jennP

[lodestar]

Dear JennP:

Richard Anderson's book, CLEANSE AND PURIFY THYSELF gives me so much motivation. I bought mine at Amazon and it was at my home within the week. This book not only deals with healthy eating, but also with healing work that needs to be done with matters of the heart.

I feel your frustration and wish you the best. You can do this...I know you can.

[Pailani]

<<I feel like i need to SNAP out of it or something. like i need a light bulb moment or something. i *know* what i should be doing. i just dont understand what will make me come to my senses and just do it.>>

I don't know of a way to snap someone else out of it, I wish I did. I can't always even snap myself out of it! I did find my self more obsessed with food when I switched to a raw diet, it's starting to taper off, though. I think the newness and novelty can make you think about food more often.

I wonder if you have some food addiction that's not letting you go? Especially since you mention a craving for bread?

[angelandarose]

YES, I hear you, Food is my every thought. BUT I tell you since going raw it's not as bad as it use to be. Mainly because I do keep it so simple. If I am hungry I eat, I grab a banana or something really simple to snack on. There are some days that I do eat a LOT of food.

Don't be too hard on yourself for slipping up. When I get to craving bread I keep a small loaf of pumpernickle around. The slices are tiny and give me just enough to satisfy my bread craving. I don't crave it as much now that I'm 2 1/2 months into this.

I too still cook for my family and I tell you it is HARD. I gave into biscuits and gravey the other night and felt so SICK afterward. WHEN WILL I LEARN? LOL!

One day at a time, One meal at a time, ONE bite at a time. Hang in there, you can do this. You know I just keep thinking about all the poision I've been eating and I keep thinking about how I'm feeling better and looking better every day. That keeps me moving forward.

Love ya!
Angie

[RawTruth]

JennP, have you considered Overeaters Anonymous? 12 step programs have given many close friends and family completely new lives. OA offers a program of recovery from compulsive overeating. Local meetings can be found on http://www.oa.org/index.htm

There IS hope, JennP.

[jennplas]

thanks for your replies. its good to know others go through it.

I did attend OA for a while, and i do believe in that program , however, i did stop going for a while. when i was younger, my mom was a single mom, and she was in AA. she did so many meetings (at least 6-7 a week) and i was alone. i would have to go with her if i wanted to spend the evening with someone. somehow i think that i resented the program for it being more important than me. to go to OA out here, i would have to have my daughter go to the sitters (my hubby and i work different shifts therefore we are just like single parents). I cannot justify to myself being away from her more than i have to for work. not until she is older and has her friends and activities and wants to be away from mom for a bit!

well today is a new day and i will just get through today keeping it simple. i will not allow myself to buy anything out of the house. we have all the organic raw foods we need in the house so i will just eat as much as i want to, as long as it is raw.

one day it will get easier as you have said!
thanks again!!:)

jennP

[tracyinfo]

JennP, many people (including me) have stated that reading the threads from this forum have helped in their journey. I would recommend reading, commenting and continuing to ask your own questions as they come up via this forum.

Also, perhaps talking with your husband, explaining what you are trying to accomplish, may really help alot. Depending on the age of your daughter, you may want to explain the benefits of a raw diet, and make it an event, where she can help in the kitchen preparing food, and then you two eat a raw meal together. There is a forum for children, with some threads about what children will readily eat.

Blessings.

[Alissa]

For those of you struggling with this issue you may want to get in touch with Robin at http://www.awareeating.com
She is the best person i have found in years of researching and i know people who she has helped tremendously.