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I have been suffering from compulsive overeating quite intensely for about 6 months. It only gets worse every month. If I don't stop eat that much I might find myself in the hospital soon.
So, the question is:
1. Can you recommend any reliable movies, shows, articles or books available online relating to this disease?
2. Do you know anyone in real life who managed to cope with this disease successfully? If yes, how?
3. Could you name any drugs against this disease?
You just might need to be in the hospital. Have you spoken to your doctor about this? Something is going on in your life, since this is a new thing for you. Consult your medical dr and mental health professional.
Last edited by Kim in FL; 11-26-2011 at 04:34 AM..
Reason: it's early and my fingers are being lazy :)
Kim, the thing is if I wanted to consult with the mental health professional, I would do it. But all I want to do now is to consult with other CDers who dealt with the same problem.
You might want to google Overeaters Anonymous in your area (put in your zip) - they're nationwide, anonymous and can be very very helpful in dealing w/ overeating - no drugs there but it's a very supportive group of people who have dealt w/ the addiction - they also have literature and i believe can recommend books but just talking to others who have been there can help immensely. I believe there's also online support groups
Kim, the thing is if I wanted to consult with the mental health professional, I would do it. But all I want to do now is to consult with other CDers who dealt with the same problem.
There is a reason why all of a sudden you can't control your eating...you have to get to the root of that reason and then you can find way to deal with it and stop it.
OA is a great place to start....you won't find the support and the answers you're looking for here on CD.
Good luck and I hope you find the answer to your problem.
I completely understand where you are coming from, because I went through the same thing. And, if you've only been doing it for about six months, there is hope! You definitely do need to figure out the root of the problem. With me, it was the stress of being in an emotionally/physically abusive relationship, and feeling trapped. Even after the relationship had ended, I was stuck with these atrocious eating habits, and a BMI that climbed into the obese category. I found myself wishing I could be thin again, and feeling happier. But those negative feelings about myself, and certain aspects of my life had me keep turning back to the tasty foods that temporarily comforted me. I would eat myself so full it hurt.
I really feel for you, and I don't know what's going on in your life, but I really hope that you can better your health. I PROMISE that if you take small steps each and every day, it WILL make a difference overall. DON'T suddenly drop your caloric intake to, like, 1,500 a day, for example, if you're eating significantly more than that. You will feel STARVING. You're body will be in shock.
What I suggest is this:
Make sure that you truly are ready to do this for yourself. Solve issues in your life or within yourself. You can't solve everything, so you need to accept certain things, and cope with them another way.
Track a couple days worth of eating. Write down the calories. See how many you eat in a typical day. A great resource would be SparkPeople.com CHECK IT OUT! You can track your intake, and look up calories for foods you eat that you may not have the nutritional facts for.
Once you know the average calories you take in on a typical day, you can then start slowly subtracting calories every two days or so. So maybe you normally eat 2,500 calories a day. And you want to wean off this habit. So maybe start by eating 2,300 calories for a couple days, then 2,100...then 1,900...and so on. Depending on your height, age, gender, etc. you're intake needs will vary.
I'm sure you've heard this...eat things lower in fat/sodium/cholesterol/simple carbs and eat more things high in protien/fiber/whole grains. Measuring out your food is a good habit to acquire because it will show you real portion sizes. And stay hydrated, because it'll keep you from craving bad foods. WATER WATER WATER.
My favorite things to have on hand
Skinny Cow Ice Cream, its amazing
Salad...you can put all kinds of things in a salad...I
personally enjoy things like sour cream, bacon, salsa, tortilla chips,
cheese, ranch dressing, chicken, etc! And most of the options out there
have low-fat/fat-free options which taste great, esp. combined with
other flavors. You can make HUGE salads that are SO tasty.
Baked potatoes are great, too. Again, many things you can add to them!
Just pop them in the oven at 400 for about 50 mins, and tada! Carbs like
that won't hurt you.
I could keep going, but this is a lot of information to take in! You can message me on my profile and I would love to see what you think, what your concerns are, and be someone to talk with and support you. Hope to hear from you.
I have been suffering from compulsive overeating quite intensely for about 6 months. It only gets worse every month. If I don't stop eat that much I might find myself in the hospital soon.
So, the question is:
1. Can you recommend any reliable movies, shows, articles or books available online relating to this disease?
2. Do you know anyone in real life who managed to cope with this disease successfully? If yes, how?
3. Could you name any drugs against this disease?
Are you familiar with Geneen Roth?
Check out her web-site and the books she has written. Books by Geneen Roth
No matter what approach you take it is absolutely essential that you get to the core reason(s) for your compulsive eating if you want to be liberated from this torturous compulsion.
I had a serious eating disorder many years ago (while in my 20's).
I was a running bulimic, ie; i binged and, instead of purging, i ran for miles a day.
It was not until i addressed the core issues that i was able to free myself of the need to eat compulsively.
All the best to you ... be patient and be kind to yourself.
There is a way to get free.
You definitely do need to figure out the root of the problem.
I guess there are two main points:
1. The habit to overeat when I get nervous because of any troubles in my job. (I changed the job recently. So, I hoped I'd get rid of the overeating problem with the new job yet it turns out the problem still remains).
2. Even though I understand the sugar is a poison I can not restrain from enjoying the awesome taste of candies, cookies, and bakery foods.
I guess there are two main points:
1. The habit to overeat when I get nervous because of any troubles in my job. (I changed the job recently. So, I hoped I'd get rid of the overeating problem with the new job yet it turns out the problem still remains).
2. Even though I understand the sugar is a poison I can not restrain from enjoying the awesome taste of candies, cookies, and bakery foods.
So you lack the self-control, fortitude, dignity, personal pride, self-esteem, and confidence to say "oh it looks and smells awesome. Thanks for offering, but no thanks."
You also use stress as an excuse to eat.
That means, your problem is with stress, self-control, fortitude, dignity, personal pride, self-esteem, and confidence. And for that, you need to speak with a mental health care worker, such as a therapist, or psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker who specializes in food obsessions.
Your sugar cravings are a sign that you have a "mental allergy" to sweets. If you're able to wrap your mind around that concept, and leap to the assumption that you are deathly allergic to sweets, you could possibly do this yourself. But you have to have a pretty healthy imagination, and you have to be capable of ignoring sound practical logic and data (since you're not really allergic to sweets). Given that you are ignoring the sound practical logic and data that suggests you need to see a mental health worker about your personal issues, and have convinced yourself you "can't resist" sweets, this idea might have merit. Just convince yourself that you're allergic, and that if you inhale one more bonbon, your tongue will swell up and your throat will close and you will die a horrible miserable ugly and humiliating death, in front of everyone.
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