Emotional eater - I cannot go on like that, please help me...

[amelie2781]

Hello!
To go straight to the point : I am an emotional eater and since october 2008 I have ballooned from a small size 14 to a size 22. I have to find a way to stop it! I feel like throwing up when I see my reflection in the mirror, I won't let my husband near me because I feel disgusting, and I don't want my kids to ask me to drop them 100 yards from the school when they realise that not all mothers are fatties.
I have tried nutritionists, but they were useless since I am perfectly capable of planning a healthy, reasonable weight loss programme. I have read so much about dieting that I can look at a plate of food and say how many calories there are in it.
I have seen a psychologist and it was useless too, because I could see exactly what the point of her questions was, what she wanted me to say, etc. I am ashamed to say I almost made her cry.
I now live in a remote place and I don't drive so I will have to help myself. Any suggestions?

Sorry you are going through such a crappy time.
I am sure your dc would never think badly of you please don't think like that .
My weight is ballooning too and I know how easy it is to put the weight on.
Not much to suggest really I have just started doing small things I am not putting myself on a diet it is pointless IMO.
I have cut down on chocolate and crisps ( I was eating a large galaxy a day for most of last year .
My bad part of the day is the evening I turn into a snack monster so if I do get hungry I have a small bowl of cereal rather than a galaxy.
I am finding it hard but it is getting easiar .
Other stuff I am doing is drinking loads of water and doing 20 mins a day on the wii sports either boxing or tennis it may not be doing much but at least I am moving rather than just stodging on the sofa.
When all this ice and snow has gone I am planning on walking as much as possible I did it a couple of years ago and lost quite a bit I did enjoy it especially when I had my mp3 player on I think it clears your head and makes you feel good about yourself (and it is cheaper than the gym).
Sorry it is probably not the advice you were looking for but I didn't want your post to go unanswered.
There is a lot of threads in weight loss too where people are trying to lose some weight together.
Take care of yourself.

I'm sorry you are going through such a tough time Amelie. You really sound down. I can understand where you are coming from. I was the biggest I had ever been and a terrible snacker. It gets into a habit doesn't it and it's so hard to stop. I too was an emotional eater. I started dieting about 3 months ago doing Go Lower and I am so shocked that I seriously don't feel at all hungry on it. I am not tempted to snack in the evenings anymore and I can't believe it is really working.

It's very difficult to change your emotions. Therefore a practical place to start tackling this is at the supermarket and not inside your head. Cut off your supply. If it doesn't go in the trolley, it won't end up in the cupboard/fridge/freezer and you won't end up eating it and feeling bad about it.

Another practical move is to improve the nutritional content of your diet. Many people write themselves off as hopeless emotional eaters when, in truth, they are often eating so much because their diet is nutritionally poor & unsatisfying. Eat 10 chocolate biscuits and you don't feel like you've eaten anything at all. You could eat another 10 quite easily. Eat the same calories in vegetables and you KNOW you've eaten.

Finally, we don't do nice things for people we don't like. If the person you don't like is yourself then that's going to get in the way. Find opportunities to boost your self-esteem. Size 22 does not make you a monster that has to hide 100 yards from school for fear of scaring the littl'uns. Treat yourself to some beauty therapies, nice clothes, make-up... Otherwise, even if you lose weight, you won't feel any better about yourself than you do now.

Good luck