I'm addicted to food. I need some serious help.

[OttilieStonelady]

There, I said it. I've had issues with food my whole life. Always eaten a huge amount of sugar. I have OCD which can be crippling and I use food to cope with it which makes cutting down on high sugar and high calorie food even harder. When I am suffering with severe OCD episodes I binge eat. My BMI is now 29 and I am desperate to be a healthy weight again. I feel disgusting and I can feel how slow my body is. I just don't know how to stop eating shite and start exercising more. I am a lone parent to a two year old and have a full time desk job. I need help. Can. Anyone help?

I second the need for exercise - not strictly for weight loss but for getting into a better mindset so you can approach your challenges in a strong, positive way. I've been using exercise as a mental health treatment since I stopped using anti depressants (which I'd been on forever). Not saying this as medical advice or anything - just my own experience has been that exercise is essential to my wellbeing.

Starting at the gym would not have worked for me as I felt like I needed mental space to think and reflect. I started parking my car in a random place and then walking around and back to my car with my baby in his push chair. I got into a routine of this and started walking longer and faster and then realized I was enjoying it and needed to do it every day. I then got a gym membership to help build up some strength and to swim.

I also think sugar addictions are serious and can rule your life. There is sugar in my diet, but I've found the balance for myself. I can now have one cookie at a time and not need another (mostly - sometimes my entire day is all about abstaining from eating all the cookies!) I did cut out all added sugar for about a month though. I had to about triple my protein to help at this stage. And I always eat a lot of fat.

I also increased my water intake to about 2L which is comfortable for me - any more than that and I feel like I need the loo all day and night! Any less and I get hangry and headachey.

And finally I want to say that small achievements are worth celebrating! I started to notice I could get up off the floor with total ease after playing with my baby. Then I got into a pair of jeans really comfortably. I wanted to lose about 30lb because I felt disgusted with myself. After the first 10 I felt good - after 20, amazing and at a healthy BMI. I'm still losing but focusing now on body shape more than weight. You'd be amazed what a difference a little weight loss and increased fitness can make!

Walking is really rewarding. I currently do a gym workout most days and a moderate walk as well. I vary my route and often make it purposeful eg going to the pharmacy. Spending time exercising outside is really good for my mental health in a different way to the gym classes that I also love. It's very grounding. Free, no showering after and in term time it gets me to work and back.

I have binge eating disorder and currently 'in recovery' 2 weeks now and even though it's hard I'm sticking to it. I'm using my fitness pal app to diarise what I'm eating and stay within my calorie limit, I've signed up to walking challenges with the conqueror challenges and have been looking into exercise bikes. Over the last few years without even noticing I've ballooned and my bmi is now 51 which was a wake up call. I've reached out to counselling too. I've cleared out my 'crap corner' which was full of chocolate and crisps and now when I feel the need to eat I do puzzles or stitching or read a book which keeps my hands busy, it's working for me so there's maybe a couple of ideas in there for you too.

@alphaechokiwi

Speaking as a binge eater I think it's key to treat sugar & simple carbs like an addictive drug. I've struggled with food / bingeing / weight all of my life and it's the only thing that has worked for me (and I've tried almost everything except surgery...).Eliminate them, prepare yourself for the withdrawal symptoms, and in a short period of time you will find it makes a big difference to how you feel. When that 'sugar fog' lifts, urge to binge will go away and you will be able to think and plan much more clearly. If eliminating sugar / simple carbs forever feels too daunting, just try it for a few days and work from there. I read three very different books recently that you might find helpful. Downsizing by Tom Watson and Why we eat (too much) by Andrew Jenkinson and Ditching Diets by Gillian Riley. I know what it feels like to be in the grip of all consuming urges to eat everything in sight. Wishing you lots of luck with it

Love your book recommendations, thank you. Especially why we eat (too much).

I'm a compulsive over eater. I could seriously binge on table mats if that is all there was about. I'd tell myself that I absolutely wouldn't then I would be cramming food in. The only thing that helped me was joining Overeaters Anonymous www.oagb.org.uk/. It is brilliant. It is modeled on AA and sees overeating as a physical, spiritual and emotional problem so I have actually got to deal with all the underlying emotions causing me to overeat and not just the symptoms. There's loads of meetings on Zoom now (some coming back face to face) and you can zoom into meetings all over the world if you prefer. It seems weird at first but it actually works. Good luck OP whatever you try

I was the same. I struggled with carb addiction for years.

Last week I started a high protein program called Protein Priority Diet and honestly I can’t stomach sweet food after 5 days. It’s really low carb too so no carby crap.

Second(or third, fourth!) walking outdoors in fresh air and nature if possible. Outdoor exercise is incredibly good for your mental and physical well-being . Keeping active and mobile is a huge benefit for obese people. If anything I would say 30 mins outdoor walking a day for well-being first before you try to tackle diet.

Personally I think Joe wicks and gym are a bad idea if your carrying extra weight unless you have some precessional advice on keeping your joints, spine etc safe.

For your food intake I would try to avoid thinking about diets and restriction. Think of principles. I listened to an excellent podcast with the van tuelleken twins on "ultra processed foods". It talked a bit about the dangers of this type of food. So if you think about wholefoods and basically eating what you want then that doesn't feel as restrictive as no sweet stuff, low carb etc. You tend to eat less as it takes longer to prepare or cook or eat (lots more chewing!) So overall you will lose weight gradually and safely and give your body what it needs.

Good luck!