Christianity Oasis Member Forum & Chat Room

Hello! I'm Nate and I'm new. I'm addicted to food and looking for someone who can come along side and encourage me in weight loss. I'm very overweight.

Hi, Nate.

Food addiction is awful. I lost about 70 Lbs. and had to fight for each pound lost. If you don’t mind, here are some tips for you.

1) Keep a food diary. The first week, figure out how many carbohydrates you are consuming. Write every single morsel of food and drink daily. The second week, reduce the amount of carbs by at least 10. This way, your body will adjust to the lower blood sugar levels and won’t crash. That leads to binge eating. Each week, continue to reduce the amount of carbohydrates by about 10.

Check with your doctor about how many carbs you should consume daily. I strive for 140, but usually end up around 155. Breads are my downfall.

In the diary, keep track of your weight and blood sugar level daily (if you are diabetic).

2) Understand carbohydrates thoroughly. They are in more foods than you might realize, such as peas, corn, and bread. Count starches in your carbs. Read product labels for the carb count before purchasing.

3) If you drink soda or any flavored drink, start drinking mostly water. Drink low-fat milk also. Water is wonderful for cleansing your system. If you have been drinking soda and flavored drinks heavily, you will most likely see a weight loss in a few weeks. Carbohydrates are in drinks too. (Switching to water was the single most important thing for me. Before the food diary, I lost over 20 Lbs. without even changing the food diet!)

4) If there are low-fat options, choose those instead. Avoid putting salt on foods, if possible. Fatty foods, carbs, calories, and sodium are all tied into your health. If you are overweight, you are at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

5) Try to walk. Walk around the block or down the driveway and back. If you are unable to barely walk, try to walk across the living room several times a day. Whatever you can do to become more active and make your muscles stronger and used to movement, try to do it. Don’t be afraid to use your muscles!

On a recent vacation, we went zip-lining. There was about 10 levels and we had to climb stairs in a tropical forest. The stairs were uneven, unpaved at times, steep, and had large stones. It was terribly difficult, especially in the heat and humidity. My leg muscles aren’t in the best of shape, so it was hard. Plus, you have to use your arm muscles while zip-lining, which are also out of shape. However, I discovered that although the exercise was difficult, the experience was exhilarating and we didn’t really have much pain afterwards. Just a bit dehydrated. Not afraid of exercising the old muscles anymore.

Good luck to you! I will check back to see if you have replied. Take care of yourself. God bless and keep you!

Flute

There is a reason why you are overweight. Addictions have a cause behind them. There are many possible causes - substituting food for affection - your mother perhaps giving food when she was too busy to stop and spend time. Unwanted sexual attention at an early age is another reason. There are many.

if the cause isn't determined, then one addiction becomes another.

Weighing every day is very helpful.

Don't take the bag. Buy the small size and if there is a large size, put one helping on your plate. Look at what other people take and take that much and walk across the room and sit down.

Do not ever eat and do anything else at the same time. If you are watching TV and want a snack - pause the TV, have your snack and then unpause the TV. Mindless eating can put on pounds in a day without any real enjoyment. If you sit and eat the food, one or two helpings will give more satisfaction than a whole bag.

I don't disagree with any of Flute's suggestions. These are supplemental.

The weighing every day - is EVERY day. In fact, the weighing while dieting isn't nearly as important as weighing while NOT dieting - because it takes a week to lose 5 lbs (at least after the first week or two it tends to.) But you can gain that back in a day. So weighing the first day of not dieting is extremely important. It lets you really see what you are doing to your body by the bad days.

Every calorie counts. If there is one candy bar left - throw it out. It matters too.

So, why did you start gaining weight? Always? I imagine you were only 8 lbs or so once upon a time, so not always.

God bless.

Hello Nater74

God Bless you this day. Welcome to Christianity Oasis.

I hope you have been checking out the site and all the studies, etc.

Addictions are a bear, huh? I can relate. I've had a few in my lifetime.
As far as food addiction goes, we both know it has less to do with being hungry, but more to do with being bored or a form of comfort for ...whatever. I personally was never overweight until well into my 30s where I began the yo-yo type dieting, losing, and then regaining thing. But, after a decade or so of that, I just learned to live with being heavy.

The negative side effects of being overweight and the challenges, can be overwhelming...yet, not to the degree that we find food a turnoff. Quite the contrary. And, let's face it...humans need to eat to survive.

What I started doing was trying to make healthier food choices. I basically love all food, so if I do fill myself up with healthy foods, there is less room for the other. Although, I've not found room in my stomach necessary for chocolate -- it must just coat all the other contents.

Do you like to cook by any chance? If so, I could offer you some cool recipes for healthier meals. I am not one who enjoys BLAND food, so I seek out recipes that are very flavorful.

As far as your challenges mentioned in your profile (leg problems) -- I can also relate to that. Nearly impossible to exercise when there are physical conditions that limit activity. But, with God as our Father, praise The Lord, there is HOPE. Yeah, Thank You Jesus!!!

I hope you'll post again -- even if your post(s) are about other topics, I look forward to hearing from you.

God bless and keep you, Nater74
Sister Mack