Please help... I'm eating too much!

[Marathongirl 106]

I'm over 9 months out since my surgery, and I have fallen into this slump of eating too much. The funny thing is I went to the surgeons office last Thursday, they said I am way above average for weightloss. I weigh 181, and in the end of the 18 month period I was suppose to be 194, but I have surpassed that in only nine months, but I feel so disappointed in myself.

I'm feeling mildly depressed (I have Bipolar disorder), and when that happens I reach for my comfort of food. I haven't lost or gained any in 2 weeks. I just can't stay away from the Snacks. I'm eating to the point where I get sick and throw up. Anyone out there that can give me some advice on how to stay away from the Snacks and quit overeating. Its causing the depression to become even worse.

Please help

[jackie's journey 18]

Can you stop yourself from buying it? If you can't buy it then you can't eat it.

[maggie0210 117]

I can sympathize with you. I have bipolar also. I had my surgery in December of 2013. By 7 months out I had lost almost all that I wanted. Now I have gone down to 117lbs. I was doing fine. Then I found out my mother

has altzheimers. So the emotional eating habits came back. I started snacking when not hungry. Buying all kinds of bad foods, chips, chocolate,

sweets etc... You get the idea. But I talked all this out with my therapist. And

I don't want to ruin all my progress. So from now on I will read a book, watch a movie, do my scrapbooking, crochet. Whatever keeps me busy.

You have made incredible progress. All the hard work you have done, you can't let it be for nothing. We have more than most people to deal with.

And we can stop any backsliding. We have to remember that this is a new life for us, nobody deserves it more. So do what I did, throw all the junk out

and don't buy it anymore. Write in a journal instead. Go for a walk. Whatever brings you joy. Think of how far you have come, and going back is not an option. Lean on me if you want. My email is

emmafiona0926@gmail.com

Please learn to help yourself.

Lynn

[esskay77 785]

I can't speak for anyone who is bipolar but even us non-bipolar people have those issues. It is called food addiction unfortunately. Working with a therapist and going to support groups that deal with food addictions should be very helpful for you. The hardest thing is to wrap your head around the phrase "food addict" but when they talk about what that means, it's a lot of what you describe and then some. It also helps to keep a food journal and be completely honest with yourself about what you ate. Or, even better, at the beginning of the week, fill out your journal of what you WILL eat for the week and follow that. It's hard to do but when I do it, it's amazing!!

[Marathongirl 106]

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with me being bipolar. I was just saying that the depression makes my eating situation even worse, then when I'm not depressed. I don't buy "bad" foods, I overeat on all the good ones. Plus, I have a nine year old daughter who packs her lunch for school, so she likes to have the same things the other kids have, but I try to put a healthier spin on it. I've lost 140 pounds with this stuff in my house over the last year, it just seems right now, I'm having so much trouble. I do use myfitnesspal to log my food, and have noticed that I can eat over 2000 calories, most of what is snack foods.

Thanks Lynn for your email and shoulder to lean on. I will definitely have to email you.

[rte837 141]

I'm in a similar situation. I'm having issues with the rerouting and get very ill when I eat certain things. There might be a stress factor as one day I eat something; repeat the exact same thing the next day, but get sick from it. I vomit copious amounts of thick mucous. That started about last Jan. '13. It's gotten progressively worse and after UGI, CT and upper endo, I finally went back to the surgeon and he wants to go in and revise the jejunojejunostomy. The thing is, if I STOP eating soon enough, I can control the pain. If I don't, I vomit not only mucous now, but have to vomit the partially digested food to get relief from the pain. Sometimes I have to help it along by sticking my finger down my throat. But the "SICK" part is, then I still want to eat more!! I make myself worse by not stopping soon enough. I sure hope the surgery helps! I see Dr. Monday to reevaluate and schedule it. BTW; what is "myfitnesspal" and where do you get it?

[esskay77 785]

myfitnesspal is an app for your mobile phone. I know that with an iPhone, you can download it from the AppStore and it is free. You can probably also use it on your regular computer if you go here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Best of luck!

[wildGoose 207]

you can do myfitnesspal.com without a smartphone, I actually like it better on the web, than iOS.

it really helps me stay honest about what I'm eating.