Emotional eater - will swimming world 'work' for me?

[PeasAndQueues]

Where to start? I have been overweight for 20 years. I don't how much i weigh now but i'm 5'9 and size 18/20. I guess I am 20 stone but i could be more. I know i was 12 stone when i got married and size 12/14. I'm too embarrassed get myself weighed but i feel very uncomfortable with rolls of fat around my waist. My bust is huge and my legs/buttocks fat.

Im definitely an emotional eater. I eat when not hungry and overeat when i am hungry. I like the wrong things and often dont know when to stop. I'm desperate to loose weight though and today really feel ready to tackle this.

I know people who do SW and from what i have read it could be the one for me. My main fear though is comfort eating. I like chocolate, crisps, cheese, butter, peanut butter, chips. All would be fine in modertion i know but once i start i don't know how to stop.

Typical day:

Breakfast - 2 slices granary toast and butter and peanut butter, 1 banana, carton cranberry juice, black coffee. Eaten en route to work in car.

Lunch - canteen at work but could be salads (mayo based), or jacket with tuna mayo/cheese or even curry. Full fat yoghurt. Chocolate bar

Dinner - sausages, mash with butter and milk, veggies, baked beans. More chocolate

Snacks - fruit, cheese/crackers with butter/ more chocolate/sweets/biscuits

I'm ashamed.

I have read SW website and like the idea that people say you don't need to go hungry, but what free food can i fill up on that isn't full of fat/calories/syns? And that i can keep on me (i get anxious if i haven't got something in my bag or in the car - i'm prone to fainting and if my blood sugar level drops too much i get shaky and nauseous - think that is what started my emotional eating, the fear of fainting. Trouble is, it has gone too far and i eat and eat and eat then punish myself for eating too much by eating more).

What do you think? Could i make SW work for me? I can't get to a group but would do it online - not sure how to manage the weighing but tbh my actual weight is not the main thing for me, being healthier is and not looking fat.

Loads of syn free stuff to fill you up. Pasta, rice, lean meat fruit veg all free.

Snacks for a sugar hit things like hifi bars, alpen bars, muller light or danio yoghurts.

Then theres your healthy extra A and b for things like bread milk and cheese.

I'm 2 and a half stone down in a year. I luffs it.

Thank you. I think I just need to bite the bullet....

Congratulations by the way!

Join some of the groups on FB. There's loads x

You can definitely feel full on sw. I'm an emotional eater and had a stressful day yesterday but I had a delicious oven baked risotto for dinner with lots of veggies and I honesty couldn't stuff in another mouthful of food in the evening. My dinner was all 'free' food and within the plan. I expect to lose a good amount of weight this week.

I have a sweet tooth and have struggled a bit with that but it is easier to manage if you are keeping satisfied by regularly eating good food.

I haven't tried the online version although as a group member you get access to the website which has lots of useful stuff. I've also found YouTube and Instagram useful for recipes and interesting stories.

I would highly recommend going to a group if you can. I find it a real help in staying on track. It's especially important to go when I think I've had a bad week even though the temptation is to stay at home. I usually find its not as bad as I thought and being at group helps get me back on track. There's no being judged. My consultant is very motivating and the support and inspiration from other members is fantastic. There are people in my group who have lost huge amounts of weight.

Good luck with it whatever you decide.

Thank you both very much. I think I need encouragement. Is like to go to a group but practically I think it will be very difficult. There's not one at a regular time I can make unfortunately. I recognise that peer support is essential though. I've woken up determined today so will see what I've got in the cupboard which is free. Then to do a shopping list.

Thank you again

I'm a binge eater and food goes hand in hand with my mental health.
I joined slimming world last May and I've lost 4 stone. I'm shorter than you 5,3 but I was the same clothes size. I was deeply unhappy. Now I can stay on plan 99% of the time. I have binges and I do come off plan but I know how to get straight back on it. That's the battle for me, not letting the bad days rule my life.

I would definitely recommend it

It also worked for me-I lost 4 stones and was also an emotional eater-at first I used free food like pasta to fill up-now my eating habits have changed and I am at target and have been for 8 weeks!!!

I've found that it's helped my relationship with food I used to both reward and console myself with food but I'm more mindful about it now. an example of that is that my daughter attends a drama class for two hours on a Sunday previously and even while on sliming world I would have a glass of wine maybe two while I waited but this weekend I found a really trendy little coffee shop had butternut squash soup and a couple of diet cokes fired up the ipad they had power points and joined net mums. I've also learned the art of no thanks when the biscuits go round at work and people are so used to me saying no now they don't even ask. that's not to say I don't slip but I know that if I get back on plan it will be ok. I joined in sept I'm 5ft. 3 at 16 9 and last weigh in I was 13 st 13.5 best thing I've done and I prefer it to Ww as I find you don't need to think about it as much it becomes second nature x x