I threw out all my old fat clothes today ....

[Showmeheaven]

And it feels great

There is no need to keep them anymore (just in case). I will NEVER need them again. A huge pile of shapeless, baggy, never-in-fashion rags. Most of them were in black.

I haven't won my weight battle just yet - I still have 2 stone to lose, but I've lost 5 stone since I wore those clothes and its such a relief to get rid of them because that chapter in my life is gone forever.

I was a notorious yo-yo dieter. I was either on a constant binge or a constant diet. I was like that for 20 years. It was torture. But I can finally say with confidence that I will never put on weight again.

To anyone reading this who is going through that same torture, please believe it is possible to conquer your food demons. Being told to go on a 'diet' and exercise 4 times per week is useless advice to a food addict. You have to tackle the mind before taking on the weight battle - only then will you succeed.

And finally, like any addict, I know I am not 'cured'. The urge to overeat will be a lifelong battle for me, but its a much easier battle being 13.7 stone than 18.7 stone!!

Well done you!

Well done, inspiring post .

How did you do it?

I have a lot of weight to lose and really struggling, how did you tackle the 'mind' thing?

Oh, and huge congrats on the weight loss .

Excellent, well done.

Thank you girls.

Eddie, do you binge ? If you are not in control of your eating, do you know why ???

Well done! And well done especially for throwing out all the fat clothes. Definitely baggage worth being rid off! Hope you're going to fill the space in your wardrobe with some lovely new things to reward yourself!

Wow! Well done!

Completely agree about tackling the "mind" thing.

Congratulations!

Thank you, yes I have started, adding little pieces at a time. Its such a change instead of having the buy the first thing that fits!

Wow. Well done - what an achievement!

SMH - well done you. I have great respect for binning the big girl clothes. I didn't and am gradually working my way back into them. I am so cross with myself but am just clinging on before I "go big" again.

Tell us your story please. How did you stop that feeling of "needing" something to eat when you just had a massive breakfast etc?

You are right about it being in the mind but it's the hand that reaches into the biscuit box!

We need your inspiration!!!

Well done again.

Really, really well done!

You sound very focused and confident, so I am sure that the final couple of stone will come off too.

I hope you are as proud of yourself as everyone else is of you

I opened a Word document. I recorded my weight and the date at the top of the page. Every time I started a new diet, I recorded my weight/date and what I ate.

I didn't write in it every day and I didn't record every morsel of food I ate (too time consuming) but I made general notes of what I planned to eat and my overall views of how things were going. A diet journal if you like.

Most of my diets wouldn't last a week! But that was o.k. I would record my weight and the date once again and make a note of what I lost (usually only 1 or 2 lbs). I didn't beat myself up about it.

I then went back to my usual eating i.e. eating what I liked.

After a few months I'd get fed up again and start another new diet. I would ALWAYS start my new diets by going on a massive food binge the week before. I would eat what I wanted, chocolate, haribo sweets, family size bags of malteerers, big eleobrate sandwiches with 3 pkts of walker crips, any takeway I wanted washed down with lots of wine. I would be stuffed to bursting point but in my mind I HAD to eat everything I craved otherwise I wouldn't be able to stick to the diet.

Again, I'd open my food journal, record my weight/date and start again on my new diet. Once again I'd fail miserably and only last a week. I recorded my weight loss in the journal.

After numerous failed diets (and not losing any weight) I was at breaking point. I knew the binge eating was killing me. I had known for a long time that I turned to food when life got stressful, it was my coping mechanism. I knew diets were useless to me, they got me no-where, so i made a vow to myself:

I can eat what I like but I will NOT binge.

SMH. Wow... that sounds like me certainly and probs a lot of others on here.

Do you still keep a journal or do you just go with the flow now ie. remove the pressure of keeping records?

How do you stop the binge? I really fancied a drink last night so opening a nice chilled bottle but before the first swig had barely gone down I had opened a family size packet of crisps that perfectly complimented my wine! I ate the lot and would perhaps have gone for sweet treats next but was dog tired and sloped off to bed.

I too used the theory of eat what you want. It worked well... for a while. Then, it's as if my "full" switch is broken and I just can't stop.

Obviously the thrill of wearing nice clothes and going down a couple of dress sizes is a great pull.... but it would just seem not enough!

Tell us some more of your ways to beat the binge.

xx

If I wanted crips, I'd have them but I wouldn't binge. Same with chocolate. I'd buy a bar and eat it, yum. But I wouldn't allow myself to buy massive quantities and eat them in secret.

I did this for a long time. It wasn't easy. I broke out many times (old habits die hard). If I did binge I'd opened my food journal again and record what I ate. It made shameful reading. I also tried to put down in words what led up to the binge. Was I stressed ? Did something make me unhappy ? Why did I do it ? I lot of the time I didn't have an answer.

This went on for long time and reading back my journal made interesting reading.

I began to become much more aware of my eating - good or bad. And once I was more aware, it made me want to stay on the right path more of the time.

Looney, as I said earlier, the urge to binge buggles under the surface with me all the time. It raises it ugly head many times during the week but now 95% of the time I will suppress it.

Today, for instance, I woke up hungry. My first thought was toast and butter and lots of it. The battle went on in my head for 30 mins or so, while I sorted out laundry for washing. I then went downstairs and made a skinny latte and an omelette. Hunger satisfied, craving gone.

That should have read bubbles (not buggles!!)

Protein is a great for satisfying hunger. My top tip is to buy the lowest fat content milk you can buy and make skinny lattes throughout the day, anytime you are hungry. You will be amazed how much they reduce hunger.

Make your meals protein based with lots of veg. Eggs for breakfast. I can eat a omelette now on its own (without bread) with a latte. For lunch I might have tuna, tomato & red onion. I will have a nice creamy latte after.

As I've avoided all carbs for the day, I might have some rice with a curry for my evening meal. I'd make a big curry full of chicken and lots of veg and have a small portion of rice to go with it. When I was big I'd have my plate 70% full of rice with a little curry in the middle! I was definately a carb addict.

Thanks SMH. I know the protein route works. I sometimes (in my none stuffing days) would have a couple of slices of ham or chicken if I was working and didn't have time for a sit down lunch. It worked a treat.

Night times are my nightmare. My resolve just seems to go. I have in the past looked at "skinny" snaps of myself, tried to keep a diary but sometimes just "want" to binge. I wonder if I am just tired and need that comfort feeling. I sometimes think I am cold or just bored but am tired and feel like I "need" to eat. It is so unsociable to go to bed straight after the kids but often feel that I need to remove myself from the kitchen!

Tell me your night time saviours!

I love the latte idea. I already use skimmed milk so will def give that route a try.

Thanks for your words of wisdom and sharing your great success. You must be so proud to have controlled your demons.

I now realise the damage carbs can do. Eating carbs increases the appetite and makes it impossible for me to control my eating.

Of course I'd prefer 2 slices of toast for my B/F than an omelette but I know if I have that toast I will be craving a huge sandwich for lunch. And if I have the sandwich I will want the crips. Its a downward spiral from then on and it could untimately lead to a binge for me.

My BIL is French and I was always amazed at how the French eat. His sisters would come over and I would be fascinated at what they ate. They had plenty of food, but it was the type of food they ate that struck a cord with me. They would have a huge steak with salad for dinner. Bread would be put in the middle of the table, but I noticed they didn't touch it (whereas I would greedily tuck in), they had 2 glasses of wine (no more) and have a lovely dessert plus cheese after! (I haven't allowed myself cheese for years!!). They didn't deny themselves anything (except for the bread) but they never overate and were in control of their eating. And they look fabulous with amazing figures to die for.

I was always under the false believe that slim people were slim because they had a high motobilism (and I didn't!) but I now know they are slim because of the choices they make - nothing else! I am making those choices now for myself :)

I can make do with a lean B/F and lunch if I know I have a nice, tasty dinner to look forward to. I love spicy, full of flavour, so I will prepare a lovely beef stirfry or lowfat Thai satay and have that with a small portion of rice. That is usually enough to satisy me. If I am looking for something later on I will have my 'skinny latte' in bed while reading.

If I want something extra with my latte I will have 1 or 2 plain biscuits (Rich Tea) something to have with my coffee but not nice enough to kick off cravings iykwim.

If you do cave in and have a binge, write it down the next day into your journal! It is such a shameful thing to have to do. Writing it all down will honestly make you think twice before doing it again

My skinny Latte recipe:

Measure your low fat milk into a mug.
Pour milk into microwavable jug.
Heat milk in microwave for 2 mins.
Put 2 teaspoons instant coffee into mug.
Pour in hot milk - Do not stir
Put mug back into the microwave for a further minute.
Your 'latte' will be as good as any coffee house version

Have this anytime you feel hungry between meals. The protein in the milk will kick in and you won't be craving the rubbish.

I started my weight loss journey approx. 3 years ago. I did Lighter Life for 6 weeks and lost 2 stone (I couldn't last any longer).

Even though Light Life is torture, it is a great kick-start for anyone with a large amount of weight to lose.

After losing the 2 stone I was determined to keep it off, so I spent the next year trying to maintain it. During this time I fell off the wagon many times. I'd eat normally for a few weeks, then I'd eat terribly, but if I felt the weight going on I'd switch to a protein based plan until I got my weight back down again. I also had binges now & again but I always recorded them in my journal and found the need for them became less and less. I lost a further 1/2 stone during this year. I was now 2.5 stone down.

In November last year I felt ready to tackle Lighter Life once again. I stayed on it for 2 weeks and lost 1 stone. I immediately went onto a protein based plan and lost a further 1/2 stone.

Earlier this year I discovered the Dukan Diet (thanks to MN). Its an Atkins style plan but without all the fat. I have lost a further stone following this since March, its a fantastic plan and there is great advice/tips in the thread about it.

I can hardly believe it myself but I've lost 5 stone in total. I didn't set out with a goal, I told myself I'd take my time and lose one stone at a time. I didn't put any pressure on myself (I always failed at Weight Watchers for that reason - the pressure to lose each week). The only vow I made to myself was to stop binging and to update my journal every now and again with my progress.

I'm going on holidays to Italy next week and I feel sooooo much better. I nearly look normal :) I will enjoy my holiday, I will eat pizza, pasta and ice-cream. I've no doubt I'll put on a few pounds but I'll lose them when I get back cause I know what to do now.

I'm going out now but when I get back I will post details of a book I bought which has become my bible. It is a must read for any compulsive eater.

Thx SMH. I look forward to details of the book. Have a good day.

well done. its such a kick isn't it - especially when people you haven't seen for a time do a double take!

i ebayed my old stuff and with the money bought myself a new dress.

i'm a binge eater and a carb addict, its hard put oh so worth it

again well done, keep it up.