Kansans and Friends In Weight Loss

Yesterday was the last day for my Emotional Eating 101 free articles emailing. In the last article we are given what are called 6 failure strategies and are asked to look at them to see where we fall. For space and times sake I am going to just give you the strategy and the first sentence to give you a glimpse into the description of the strategy.

Failure Strategy #1: Deprive and Binge
Almost every single diet book and diet plan leads to the deprive-and-binge approach, and so this is the most common strategy.

Failure Strategy #2: Binge and Run
This is the approach where
you allow yourself to overeat, or try to exist side by side with your
addiction, but try to compensate for it with exercise.

Failure Strategy #3: Binge and Purge
The binge and purge
cycle of bulimia is a very dangerous strategy, and luckily it is
normally viewed as an unhealthy approach to weight management.

Failure Strategy #4: Going Public
I call the fourth failure
strategy “Going Public.” I’ve seen many variations of this strategy,
including losing weight for a specific event such as an upcoming
wedding or family reunion, or making a public declaration that you’ve
started a diet, or buying clothes that fit only if you lose weight, or
paying to join a support group that encourages success but rejects you
if you fail.

Failure Strategy #5: The Blame Game
Do you curse parental
genes for giving you a slow metabolism? If so, you’ve fallen prey to
the fifth failure method–blaming the extra pounds on your metabolism.

Failure Strategy #6: Medicate the Hunger, Trick the Metabolism
In
our culture, many seek a magic pill to dissolve cellulite, reverse
weight gain, and make getting thin a breeze. This search constitutes
the sixth and final failure strategy.

Then we are asked to think back to a time when you tried to lose weight with one of the
failure strategies. Describe the attempt in detail. Was emotional
eating the main reason it was unsuccessful? If not, why didn’t that
strategy work?

For me the first strategy certainly holds true. I am one to find a diet that restricts me and then when it puts me into feeling like I am deprived I want to immediately go off of it because I don’t want to be hungry all the time. Now with the fifth strategy that is something I can honestly say that is a problem for me I don’t blame it on genes that my metabolism has slowed over the last couple of years. When I started taking birth control and Zoloft together it did cause some weight gain and also caused my metabolism to stall out. This is where the vicious cycle of depression rears it’s ugly head because I am on both medications for a reason. I need the birth control more for regulating that time of the month and allowing for an easier time of it during that time. I need the Zoloft to function every day.

I tried Nutri System and that diet was too restrictive. Even though I had great immediate results I felt starved and the cost was too much. I have sat in on a Weight Watchers meeting but when I went it felt too robotic. I don’t do well with that approach. I have tried Isagenix which again has some great short term results but I couldn’t handle being physically hungry for the first week on the program and it was an MLM type product that they would try and sell you only if you became a distributor. I didn’t want to become a distributor at the get go I just wanted to lose weight and see if the product was right for me. I have tried ephedra based products. Now I am here to tell you that is one thing that did work for me. In a matter of two months I easily lost 10 pounds because it kick started my metabolism so I could lose the weight.

I know I know what your thinking,”that’s failure strategy number 6,” and your right. I needed it and to be honest if it sounds like a cop out here or a sell out if I could find it on the market again I probably would go out and buy it because it was the only thing that worked. With that being said though I still have deep seeded emotional issues to deal with and I know this too.

What I need to do is refocus my energies back into running my support group full steam ahead because that is what has helped me with my emotional eating. I need to bring us out of the box and make us more main stream, but everyone that I talk to says I have to have a degree to do this and that so I have a lesser chance of being held liable in case someone runs into a problem. To that I can only say even though I am not a Dr. I am still someone who has the same struggles that people who are losing weight have. I don’t need a degree to support someone and to be a source for assisting them in finding resources in their community to help them with their weight loss needs. I don’t need a degree to sit quietly by while someone sobs their frustrations in life out to me and I don’t need a degree to take that persons hand and tell them I DO KNOW what they are going through. I don’t need a degree to take that person in my arms and give them the comfort of a hug to make them feel they are not alone. I got my degree in the school of hard knocks a very long time ago. I have street smarts and am working on the book smarts. Those two combined can be a very lethal combination.

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Try to pinpoint the times when you were tempted to break your diet or overeat. What were the main causes? Were you anxious or angry?How about depressed or stressed? If you do eat during these times, how specifically did it make you feel? Content or safe? Numb or detached?How many distinct patterns can you identify?
The most recent incident that I wanted to overeat but fought it was when I found out that my sons father had been approved to be released back to the woman he was with when he committed the crime that landed him in prison. I found out that the parole plan had been approved back in Nov. of 2007. I was furious that they did all of this without considering what kind of impact it would have on his son. I was even more anxious when I found out that I would have to be facing him this coming month so soon after his release to have to go before the court to settle child support. Again no one told me a damn thing about any of this until I had to call for information and no one told me that the judge had revoked the warrant for his arrest in Douglas county so he could do work release. It feels like the parent in prison has more rights than the parent out in the world trying to work to make it for her son. I was glad that on both of these occasions I was broke and also had a pretty slim selection of food here at the house to medicate myself. If there would have been ice cream here the whole half gallon would have been gone in one sitting I would have really felt crappy afterwards but that is the reality of the situation.

Beside emotional eating patterns, what evidence for food addiction can you find in your life? Your weight might be one piece of evidence, but there is probably more if you think about it. Try to think of at least a few things besides your weight that show food addiction plays a major part in your life.
I like chocolate and ice cream.Those are my two food weaknesses. My other addiction is Diet Pepsi.I really am hopelessly addicted to that I have to have a case in the fridge at all times. I know all the caffeine isn’t good for me especially when I am trying to wind down at the end of the day, but due to all the medications I am on that make me sleepy I have to have one thing that keeps me awake and alert albeit artificially.
You undoubtedly have positive motivations to lose weight. What are these positive motivations? Try describing what you would feel like if you reached your target weight. After you’re done, ask yourself why these motivations aren’t strong enough to carry you to success?

My big motivation is that I want to always be healthy. I do not ever want the life many relatives on my mothers side of the family have had. So many have had heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancers the whole lot. I just don’t want that for myself ever. I don’t want to be 60 yrs old and taking insulin injections instead of going out and taking in a movie because the insulin is taking more of my money to live and I can’t afford to do other things I want to be doing. I want to live long enough to see my son grow up to be a good man and find a good woman if he wants. If he chooses to have kids I want to live long enough to see those grandchildren and I want to have the energy to keep up with them. I want to be healthy so I can make clear headed decisions for my son right now at this moment in time. I would say I want to look nice in clothes but I don’t look bad in the clothes I have right now, I could look better but feeling better and having more self confidence still outweighs that.If I were to lose the weight that I need to lose I would feel even better than I do right now. It isn’t necessarily that these motivations aren’t strong enough it is that too often even with the help of Zoloft depression takes hold of my brain and I can’t shake the fog that settles there even if I try very hard to shake the cobwebs. This will be a process for me for the rest of my life.

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The vast majority of us reach for comfort foods when we’re feeling low. And while you’ve heard me preach time and again that that’s not a good idea, new research shows that there is something you should snack on when you need a pick-me-up — omega-3 fatty acids! Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh recently discovered that omega-3s not only protect your heart and cut your risk of serious diseases, they can also give you a mood boost! Talk about a win-win situation!

So where can you find these feel-good nutrients? Fattier fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon are all high in omega-3s. Not a seafood fan? You can also find omega-3s in tofu and soybeans, as well as in canola, walnut, and flaxseed oils. Finally, fish oil supplements also contain omega-3s, but be careful not to take more than 3 grams a day — overdoing it on omega-3s can have harmful side effects, such as increased bleeding and a higher risk of stroke.

The next time you’re having a bad day, opt for omega-3s instead of ice cream and do your body — and your mood — good!

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