This article changed my whole outlook, I hope it is insightful for you. Long but worth reading!

I am working with a coaching client who had put on about 30 extra pounds

since reaching her I am working weight-loss- surgery goal. One of the actions she chose

to take to begin to work on her problem was recording what she was eating.

After two weeks of setting that goal and not meeting it, I suggested she

explore what else might work for her.

"But I want to record what I eat!" she said. "I'm just too embarrassed to

write it down and share it with you."

I assured her she was going to be sharing this information with someone who

well understood her problem, someone who had been battling the food demon

her whole life, as well.

"Okay, so if I take my embarrassment out of the equation," she reasoned,

"I'm still left with not wanting to admit what I'm eating. I don't want to

give up the foods I love. I want to eat them anytime I want!"

In the next breath she blurted out, "Why is it so hard to stop eating? I

want to be thin. I don't want to go back to not being able to get out of a

chair!"

Eating anything you want, whenever you want, is not freedom.

If you really think about it, eating with free abandon does not feel like

freedom for people who struggle with compulsive eating. In fact, being a

prisoner to food thoughts and mindless eating 24/7 can be miserable. Trapped

by cravings and food thoughts, a person will conduct their daily business

and make their daily decisions based on the eating they want to do.

"I can't go to the play tonight," you might say. "I am not feeling well. I

think I'm coming down with something."

But, what you are thinking may be, "I want to eat the rest of the bread I

bought today. With butter! But, I'll have to pace myself. It will take me

all evening to eat it." Does this scenario paint a picture of a person who

is experiencing freedom? Or does the bread have then trapped?

After weight loss surgery, many people get into the habit of grazing, or

eating small amounts frequently. That's what my client was doing. She

mistakenly believed grazing was a way to be free from the shackles of

dieting and food plans. And she hated diets and food plans!

Unstructured eating, however, can quickly lead to eating unhealthy foods in

unhealthy portions. (Yes, even if you tell yourself you'll never go back to

the unhealthy foods you used to eat.) A rebelliousness exists inside most

overeaters, and they don't want to give up their freedom to choose what to

eat and when. Step back, though and give yourself the "Dr. Phil" treatment.

Ask yourself, "And how well is my rebellious attitude working for me?

It's time to live in the solution.

Many people who struggle with their weight never lose obsessive thoughts

about food, but that's partly because they are not living in the solution.

The people who are the most successful at breaking free from the burden of

unhealthy eating, have transitioned from being rebellious (reactive) to

responsible (proactive). They spend some time planning. They establish a

routine with boundaries around their eating, so that they don't get carried

away.

Ironically, when you add some structure to your eating by making a food plan

for the day, an amazing sense of freedom can set in - freedom FROM

compulsive eating.

So, if you're struggling with obsessive food thoughts and overeating, make a

food plan today. Write it down and refer to it often. Give yourself the gift

of one day of freedom from overeating.

Oh, and the "rebellious" client I've been working with has lost 6 pounds

already.

She told me, "I'm amazed at how much less I obsess about food now that I

make my plan every morning. I just write down what I'm going to eat for the

day, and then I go live my life."

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It is good reading and I can totally relate.

However, I have tried the food plan thing and it only makes me obsess even more. Different strokes for different folks.

I agree.

As an adult I want the freedom to be able to make my own choices - good or bad.I don't want to have someone constantly telling me what to eat, when, how much etc. In fact that was one of the reasons I got banded - so that I could stop dieting.

I do believe though that it is important to learn to listen to your body and hear what it really wants.When you do this you might be surprised how often it wants really healthy stuff.

Sometimes mine wants:-

A nice hot bowl of oats.

Nice thick homemade veggie Soup

Roast chicken

Othertimes it wants

A piece of cake

chocolate.

So I listen to it.

If I ignore it and eat what I am supposed to then I run the risk that I will eat what I am supposed to and then think stuff it and eat whatever it was that I wanted in the first place anyway.By not having any forbidden foods they also lose their hold over you as you know that you can eat them if you really want to.

I am sure one of the reasons I got fat was because I had to finish my healthy food first before I could eat dessert.Now if I want cake instead of lunch I go for it!

Wow. I have to totally disagree with this one...at least for me. I've tried structured eating my whole life and it helped me lose great quantities of weight, until I always rebelled. Then I would gain back every last ounce and then some.

When I got my lap-band, I swore that 'structured eating" was over. I wanted to be normal and as you can see, it has worked for me. I don't count calories, carbs or Protein. I try to eat healthy, but if there's a great birthday cake at work, I have some. Freedom is the key for me and freedom does not involve spending my day contemplating every morsel that will go in my mouth.

On the plus side, I have seen people who like to live this way. I'm just not one of them. It makes me crazy.

Cindy

Let me clarify. I was not agreeing with the thread starter, I was agreeing with BT that food plans are not for me because they make me obsess more!

Elcee,

I was responding to the thread starter as well. I guess I should use the quote feature, so that's clear. I think you, me and Bob are all on the same page with this one.

Cindy