Iam scared that I am going to kill myself with my eating habits

[quill]

Hi
It has become desperate of late and I am piling on the pounds my stomach looks like I am 6months pregnant.
I am 5ft 2 and I weigh 12st.
This has been going on for some time now but I am constantly stuffing myself with chocolate. biscuits, and I love takeaways.
The problem is that I never feel full I can eat a meal and then I always feel like eating it all over again nothing is ever enough for me.
I can eat a big giant sized bar of choclotae in one go and eat more.
Even on the occasions that I may start to feel a little full from the chocolate I still reach for more.
I am constantly buying the stuff.
I have got up this morning and eaten a whole pack of penguin biscuits.
I feel disgusted with myself but I cannot seem to stop and I am constantly tired and my energy levels are rock bottom.
I have some issues going on in my life that I am finding difficult to deal with and have had to seek counselling for those but I have always had a problem with overeating but I am now beginning to wonder if this is a seperate issue.
I have been getting some odd feelings in my limbs and have had moments of feeling dizzy and lightheaded and I worry that I may be heading for a stroke or a heart attack through my eating habits and I find myself getting very anxious although these feelings seem to be worse at night.
Please what should I do.

Eating chocolate, sweet stuff and carb laden food is an addiction - I suffer from it and tend to lurch from one diet to another. For me, I hated myself when binging but felt compelled to do so and that made me feel worse - anxious about my appearance, not wanting to go out etc etc. I could still easily sit and eat a whole pack of penguins at one sitting but have found ways to stop myself most of the time.

You will get energy spikes from all the sugar, then horrendous lows that make you reach for more food and it is possible that you are simply not getting the right vitamins and nutrients your body needs.

You don't sound massively overweight - I'm 5 ft 3 and weigh 12st 10, (and dieting) and I can fit comfortably into size 16's and some 14's.

First step is to rule out any underlying medical condition - get thee to a GP and make sure that your hunger / dizziness / anxiety is not potentially a hormonal (thyroid) issue that can be diagnosed with a blood test and easily managed with tablets.

Weaning yourself off choc and stuff is never ever easy - I did it a few months ago by going cold turkey on the Cambridge Diet - meal replacements so you can just train your brain not to allow any food for yourself and not worry about meal plans etc. By day 3, you are detoxing and losing any hunger pangs. After a couple of weeks, your tastes change, your stomach has shrunk and you will be back in control. With that diet, you see a diet counsellor in their home, so you can have a chat about food triggers etc.

Your GP may recommend other methods, but that is what I would do - cut everything out and then gradually re-introduce good food - easier to do in the Summer when it is warm.

Try some exercise aswell - a good brisk walk in the fresh air should hopefully lift your mood and be far more effective than a choc bar aswell as being diversionary - can you get out to the park or something next time you get the urge to snack ? I have become addicted to the gym instead and spend most evenings there, leaving less time to be tempted to eat.

Good luck

Hi
I have a underactive thyroid and I started going through the menopause at the age of 36 which has impacted on me in more ways than one.
I am not sure what is going on with me but last year I started having horrible feelings of weakness in my arms and legs and dizzy spells.
This has pretty much continued and at the moment I am always tired and lacking in stamina and everthing is too much of a effort.
The only thing I can be bothered to do is eat.
My house is a mess, its dirty, and although I know I should do soemthing about it I can,t bring myself around to it.
Instead I just sit here day after day depressed that I haven,t.

You've GOT to break the cycle somehow - please do see a GP - perhaps you need to increase your thyroid meds ??

There may well be something that can be "fixed" and have a pretty immediate effect.

Agree that you have to break the cycle but you are probably going to need help to do it.

The dizzy spells and weakness could be down to fluctuating blood sugar levels, a different eating pattern could remove them.

As a first step if you switch to dark chocolate sugar will be absorbed into your bloodstream more slowly and it may help to reduce the sugar fluctuations. Then you can try chromium (holland & Barrett have it) which helps some people with cravings.

Exercise is great for helping mood and controlling blood sugar.

Did you see the diet programme - its on iplayer and has some helpful tips.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ksh7c/10_Things_You_Need_to_Know_About_Losing_Weigh t/

When it comes to the cleaning do one corner. If you make a start on anything you will feel better about yourself.

There are CDs you can buy that claim to help with emotional over-eating but if you are already having counselling bring it up there?

I agree with Jools - I think you're eating way too much carbohydrate.

Have a read of Dr Atkins 'The New Diet Revolution', or Charles Clarke's 'High Protein Diet', or 'The Idiot Proof Diet' by India Knight and Neris Thomas.

They will give you the background thinking/science behind carbohydrate and why it is something that should be minimised.

More protein/fat than carbs will give you much more energy as well as helping you lose the weight.

But I also think you should talk to your GP first, because your symptoms don't sound great.

Good luck!

OK Step 1 - get an appointment with your GP to discuss your symptoms. It may be they can adjust your thyroid meds, or look into something else. But they can't do that for you if you don't go and tell them what's wrong, can they?

Step 2 - maybe at the same time, or maybe if physical stuff is ruled out - talk to your counsellor about the overeating issues, and discuss whether that's something you should handle with them along with the other stuff, or they think you should speak to someone else with more specific experience of food issues.

You know you need to make the first step here. Things can get better, but you need to take that first step and make an appointment. Do it today, then you're on yor way to feeling better.

I know just what you mean. I am prone to this too. Something that helps a lot for me is to make sure that I have 3 healthy, protein rich meals a day and my 5 a day of fruit and vegetables, no matter what else I eat. So I might start the day with muesli or egg on toast and a glass of fruit juice, then a hummous and salad sandwich and a banana for lunch, then veg and tofu curry and rice for supper with some melon for pudding. And then I don't worry about the snacks of chocolates etc that I have.

What happens for me is that instead of the focus being on how much sweet stuff I am/am not consuming, the focus is on the healthy meals. The meals fill me up so that I don't want or need to eat anywhere near as much sugary stuff as I think I do. I still have at least one sweet thing a day but it is a lot more under control. Maybe something like that could work for you too?

I really think that you need to see the doctor. One of the symptoms of pre-diabetes is an appetite that can not be sated, also tiredness and tingling in the limbs.

... and if it is diabetes/a pre-diabetic condition, then cutting down on carbs will really help you.

I can also empathise with some of your situation, and I am the same height and weight as you. I frequently eat when I'm not hungry and I think it's because I'm uncomfortable in whatever way (bored/tired/anxious) and I eat just to have something nice happening. Then of course, it's not nice later on when I'm full of self loathing...and the cycle continues.

I would recommend this book which I saw being recommended on another thread. It's about understanding why you overeat and about teaching yourself to eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full.

If you don't have the time or inclination to read this much then Susie Orbach summarises it beautifully in this very accessible book that can be read in half an hour or so.

I really feel that this is not something that can be cured with a magical diet, particularly as it sounds as if you may be slightly depressed/anxious. You need to attend to your mental and physical health, so please see your GP to get some support to start you on your way.

Good luck and look after yourself.

shineon I will give it a try...but i warn you I am the weakest willed person. You would have to hunt me down but your current diet rings a bell with me and I feel like I could feel a lot better than I do.

C'mon quill,

Shine - I will join you

I eat absolute rubbish on a regular basis - and far too much of it. I do eat breakfast lunch dinner though

I definitely eat too many carbs

I am currently 12 stone 5 and 5ft3 - so pretty much the same as you Quill - I also have the whole not pregnant belly thing

I need serious motivation and arse kicking to eat properly and exercise regularly

Cool Shine - start a thread then we can have a support club of our own that would be really helpful

Join us Quill

am looking for the thread shineon....i love yr name........

Hey Quill come and join us here

Everyone is really friendly
I could have written most of your origonal post myself last week so you are in good company - I think a lot of my eating is related to my ishoos - Do come and have a go at being healthy with us