So not long ago I was in the 8s and well on my way to my goal weight.
In a short period of time, I'm nearly 10 stones, verging on being over-weight and putting myself at risk of diabetes.
I was really ill recently and ended up in hospital and all I want to do is eat.
I'm really struggling with personal circumstances and health at the moment and am telling myself it's okay to eat if it's helping me through this particularly difficult patch, but I'm feeling super down about my weight and constantly feel lethargic, uncomfortable and weighed down.
I don't want to carry on like this but I'm struggling to get up and get back on track and have no motivation to attend to my food consumption or nutrition.
If anyone understands I'd really appreciate some kind and encouraging words.
Written by
MintTeaMascara
Healthy BMI
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I'm not sure this will help but for 3 months before xmas I went through a bad personal period and put on 11kgs. I'm still going through those bad times but in the new year felt that I couldn't go on eating and drinking my way through it all... to all intents and purposes, abusing myself.
Using this forum again and throwing myself wholly into it has helped me start to turn things around. I guess it's made my personal situation more bearable because at least I have control over myself if nothing else.
Whatever it is you're going through, I hope there is some improvement but in the meantime, you've done the right thing by coming back to your friends and all the fantastic support.
I would also like to wish you all the best, and I'm sorry you're feeling down. Sending you some kind thoughts and encouragement to keep going - I appreciated your lovely posts - you posted some gorgeous food - I've still not managed to try the Jambalaya, but I still intend to try it sometime.
Take care, and have a relaxing weekend, if you can.
MTM I am sorry to read this and hope things improve soon for you.
You have done this journey before so maybe try and think back to how you started then. Can you just make some small changes each day/week. Make sure you plan, not easy when your feeling down, but I am sure it will lift your spirits if you feel you have some control over something.
So very sorry to hear you’re in such a bad place at the moment MTM.
Be kind to yourself, but perhaps also try making some small positive changes which together will build up and get you back on track. Could it be keeping a food diary, even if planning fully is out of reach at the moment, or just focusing on making sure one meal a day is a really good one. Just one day and one step at a time.
All the very best, please let us know how you are getting on.
So sorry that you feel in such s bad place. Eating is obviously the way you comfort yourself- I am the same. However, after a giving myself a good talking to, I am trying to find different ways of comforting myself if things go downhill. Go for a walk, pick up my knitting, seek out a new author, go swimming, take a friend out for a coffee for example. I think if you can manage to change that habit of comfort eating, you will feel so much more in control and that might spill over into other aspects of your life which will help your situation. Sending you very best wishes and positive vibes!
Thank you. I found the book for a 5er so thought I have nothing to lose and a few nice new recipes at worst.
I haven't that's the hard part really. I've bought some healthy ready meals from my local whole food deli which will definitely make things easier. Thank you
Yes definitely understand have been there although never started off in the size 8s unfortunately 😊
Be kind to yourself you have a lot to deal with take it day by day try and write a food diary and find a happy photo of yourself when you were an 8 and put it in the kitchen it will be a good incentive
Come and join us on the Happiness Celebration it's a lovely way to get better and talk about anything that is worrying you I have seen people come and join in that have been very low and now they are full of positivity again
Just take care -baby steps and you will get there x
I can relate to what you are saying, my weight issues are similar to you, although I am through the really low phase I was 10 stone10lbs and at 5 feet 2, this is, yuk. At the moment I am 10 stone 2lbs and slowly loosing.
You are obviously still on a challenging journey, so hear is my advice to you. Make healthy choices, your body is telling you to do this. Set small, but realistic goals. Keep a journal and write down your thoughts and feelings, it's like talking to a wise and listening friend and each day keep a log of something you are grateful for, something that made you smile and something you enjoyed. This could be a song on the radio, a chat with someone, a hobby........... Your goal at the moment may just be to keep a stable weight. Don't be hard on yourself, you can get through this by starting with small steps..... That is how every mountain is climbed, and you have already started on the path by finding this site, writing your post and responding to replies. Good luck on your journey and a giant hug. X
Hello MintTeaMascara & hope your Saturday is treating you well so far. I’m sending you a virtual 🤗
There’s not much I can offer beyond what other lovely people have already posted, other than to say, listen to what your body needs right now. If it’s saying more carbs than you would normally consume, so be it. Eg beans on toast, a healthy smoothie with a banana, almond butter & spinach, Bircher muesli with some raspberries on top - they’re not exactly unhealthy choices & will nourish you.
I had emergency surgery before Christmas and boy did it lay me low for about 7 weeks! It was ironic as I’d probably been at my most fit prior to being ill. All I wanted to eat was scrambled eggs on white toast (and I’m vegan as well!!!)
But the thought of eating lchf when I was at such low ebb physically seemed impossible... Yes, I did put back on some weight and yes it alarmed me and made me feel a failure. But once my strength returned, I was gradually able to choose my food more wisely.
At the risk of using a cliche, life is a journey, and this current phase in your life is an unplanned detour - but definitely not a cul de sac.
Nurture your little bod, as it’s been through a lot. Thank it for getting you through. Sorry if I sound preachy & tree-huggy!
Ps just another quick thought...could you nourish yourself in some different ways eg an Indian head massage; a pedicure etc? Aim to move your focus around and the food issue may seem less prominent...
Hi MintTeaMascara sending you big love!
I hope the outpouring of empathy and advice has pulled ur spirits up a little.
Sometimes we think we are the only ones who experience food struggles but as you can see that's not the case!!! I can definitely relate to your experience. I get horribly debilitating migraines and when I'm in the throes of one I find myself using food like a medicine or a self care tool. This would be perfect (I believe in food as medicine) except I'm using it to numb /distract/comfort rather than nourish and support my body. I'm trying to turn this mentality around..
I like the Idea proposed by monday1957 that an appropriate response to your body's cravings might be to temporarily up the protein or carb, but always mindfully - adding valuable nutritious carbs into the mix to give you energy and comfort as well as a whole host of vitamins and fibre. I'm going to really take this on board for my next migraine. I might crave a plate of fried potatoes or cheese on white toast but a butter bean and sweet potato curry would probably hit the carb spot and give my body a lot more bang for the buck.
I find when I'm in a bad food pattern with quality and quantity (and when I'm bad I'm... Horrid!) I need to break the pattern abruptly. So I understand using fasts that way..if its not suitable now would a very short fast work? Skipping food until an early dinner say 4pm? Or perhaps you'll find laying out a plan for the next 2 days that you will stick to TO THE LETTER might break the cycle a bit?
As I say I totally understand self medicating with food and or drink. But if you can really click that it's not helping or comforting you at all and that it's not the right way to take care of yourself then you'll not feel so much like changing it is a punishment or too harsh while you're recuperating. On the contrary you need to be mother and nursemaid to yourself, lovingly feeding yourself the best quality food you can to get yourself back on your feet.
Sending you so much love and happy vibes!
ps I also second Cat33 suggestion about the happiness celebration. Getting your head into a happy and calm and grateful place is always a total game changer x
Oh no, you sound so fed up. I'm so sorry you feel like that. Life throws all this rubbish at us and it's so difficult to stay focused on a diet when other things that seem more significant are going on. But nothing is more important than you. Be kind to yourself. It's so much easier to be tolerant of others yet hard on ourselves. You could try to get one meal under control a day, then work out from there. And of course if you don't buy in the naughtiest, but always have something healthy on hand to fall back on it might help too. Take care, and best wishes.
Lots of us reach for food in difficult times, I suffer from stress both at home and at work .I then reach for the comfort foods and then put weight on. Then I feel worse and the cycle continues.
I've gone fom 8:5 stones in my early twenties to over 13st in my late 50's
Start by dealing with 1small thing that will help,don't try and fix everything in 1 go.
I'm sure you will relate to other people's posts on here,there's no right or wrong way ,we find our own way of changing things for the better . Remember you are not alone ,this forum offers support all the time .
Mintteamasc yes totally x I have many health problems and on my bad day’s I eat x it’s so hard x however this site has really helped and encouraged me , even when I gain , like this week x I keep a food diary and write everything down which really helps me improve when I slip up x all the best x
sorry your having such a bad time and hope your health improving sending a big ((((((HUG)))))).
i think weve all been comfort eaters at some time i was 9st 4lb 6 years ago david died and i started comfort eating got a bit of a hold on it after 18months but ended up here last year at 13st 6. i had to be in right frame of mind for it. it sounds like your getting there and dont want it to get out of control hence coming back here.
take it in small steps and be kind to yourself. maybe find something else to occupy you and go to that rather than the food a massage etc may help you feel a little better.
Keep posting here, as there is always positivity to be found. You have lost it before and you will again. Try to maintain where you are at the moment and when you have control you will feel more able and willing to begin losing again.
It’s so easy to make a sandwich or eat ready prepared meals, and no one likes trudging around the shops in the winter, we just want to get home and eat something that is going to hit the spot.
But try to make nutritional choices, after all we know junk food makes us feel sluggish as well as add on the pounds.
Some things we have no control over. Take control of the foods you eat, and take care of you.
,You are not alone in 'this,' there are many of us in the 'same boat', nationally and globally. I understand and its frightening. Ive knowlingly been sabotaging daily successes in life with overeating on carbs and suffering through the side effects of that. ive recently taken the 'pledge', to concentrate on getting a few days in a row of self control, to remind myself or see what that is like, because this has been going on for sometime, im 4 stone overweight, and even worse after recovering from immobility, due being on 2 crutches for 3 months, then 1 crutch,now fully recovered, but I had more 'thinking' time about my habitual binging. I rejoined here 2 days ago.:)now plan to weigh in next Thurs. I hope you are having a peaceful weekend.
You’ve made a good decision to reach out. I felt just like you a month ago and for a long time. But I don’t feel like that now—-thanks to this great forum! By starting to exercise a little and eating more healthily, I got some control over my life. That’s your way back: gain control in one area of your life and the rest will gradually fall into place. Best of luck to you!
Eating never solved any of my problems and it won’t solve yours! It creates a myriad of problems!
Thanks for all the virtual hugs, kind words and all the reminders to be kind to myself and to listen to my body not deny it 😊 hearing other peoples stories and struggles has made me feel more normal. I'm sorry about what you're all going through /have been though, too.
Trying to imagine someone else being ill and what I'd bring them to eat has definitely helped me to care about myself more and make better choices.
I definitely need to accept that food cravings are normal, stop denied them and eat appropriately. I think feeling like I'm a failure in some way for having cravings is what's causing me to reach for the junk. Now time for me to accept my humanness, to listen to my body and to feed it but using my head to choose.
I don't expect things to change straight away but I'm learning so much insight into my eating since I joined here.
Sorry to hear you are so down at the moment. I can relate to you to some extent. I was ill from March 2018 and hospitalised. I have a rare illness which has resulted in having a severely compromised immune system. I now have five health issues which have been treated with various medications, including steroids. I was taking steroids for 18 months and my appetite increased. I didn't mind at first. It was good to be enjoying my food again. I did start to notice a weight increase due to medication and not being active. I just had to start in a small way. I made sure my weight didn't increase any further by cutting some of my calories. I told myself I really didn't need to eat so much. Even though I was practically housebound, I tried to walk about a little around my home. Any exercise was better than none. Just start in a small way. It is not a race. We are all with you. 🙂 👍
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