Help! I'm really worried i'm going to regain the weight i've lost.

[ladyandthechocolate]

I've just lost 2 stone of baby weight but i've never had a very easy relationship with food and my weight has always been a bit up and down. Now I'm trying to maintain my weight i'm getting really bad cravings and on a few occasions i've binged and felt hideously guilty.
I never want to get big again but I just want to have a normal relationship with food.
Any advice?

Oh, you have my total sympathy and understanding. This is sooo hard.

I am in a similar place but have just struggled back on the wagon after a bingey couple of weeks. The good news is that the weight gain is coming off again very quickly but I still don't know what to do when I get back down to my target weight.

All I can suggest is do something quickly before the regained weight takes hold. You probably feel very bloated but it may be mostly water. If you can feel good about yourself you will be in a better place to tackle this long term.

I am going to be watching for some clever person who can come up with the permanent solution for both of us.

This is more than dieting, like you say, this is about an unhealthy relationship with food. Not easy to deal with but here are two books that are a starting point:

Good Girls Do Swallow

and

On Eating by Susie Orbach

These are books that look at why we eat when we're not hungry, and why we feel bad about eating when we are hungry. Both are v easy to read and can be read in a day or two.

Thanks, just ordered the second book via kindle. I really want to get this sorted out and not pass it on to my DC. I haven't regained any of the weight so far but I feel like i'm on a tightrope at the moment.
I just don't want to be that person anymore but i've been doing this for 15 years so the habits are ingrained.
Oddly I still feel quite fat even though i'm at the lower end of a normal bmi and people have been saying how slim i've been looking. Maybe my brain will take a while to readjust?

I'm the same; I really don't want to pass these things on to my kids. I want them to enjoy food, to know it is about nourishing your body and to be able to make good choices.

Like I said before, this isn't easy, and it could take years to understand your own relationship with food. 15 years is a long time. People who don't have problems with food will not be able to empathise and will attribute it to weakness/laziness.

Be warned, On Eating is scary for someone used to feast or famine. It suggests, er, eating normally and NOT dieting. Wierd! And very much against the grain.

I would love to know what you think when you read it.

I've lost 2 and half stone and kept it off for 18months. It is the first time I have kept it off and it is only because I stopped seeing it as a diet and started seeing it as a new way of eating. It isn't too hard, I don't eat between meals, I keep off processed food as much as possible and if I have something that I don't normally, I compensate by knocking something else off. I have one chocolate or square of chocolate a day. Exercise helps and I try and go for a short run every day. Good luck.

Just to say that I liked the book piscesmoon . Reminded me of Paul McKenna which i've just reread.
Feeling generally much better and i'm not thinking about food so much. I ate a bit much last Friday and felt awful but I was able to get back on track on Saturday without it turning into a 3 day bender!
I went shopping for some new clothes too which boosted my mood and tried a new exercise class. Hopefully it will all help!

It is very similar to Paul McKenna, but without the daft hypno voice I just wanted to snigger when I listened to the CD!

I would be very surprised if he hasn't read Orbach's work.