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toadfood wrote:Sounds like you are off to a good start! OA has helped me a lot; I hope it helps you as well.
Have you tried any salad dressing that include a little tahini or nut butter as an ingredient? It's a whole food, and might help wean you off the oil.
Norm wrote:Hi Love!
I too have issues with compulsive overeating. This plan will give you breathing room to work on that issue while still losing weight. Wander on over to Jeff Novick's forum and study up on Calorie Density. Once you understand the concept it's a lot easier to eat few enough calories that you lose weight, while still satisfying the large quantities of food you're used to.
I eat a lot less than I used to, but still eat a lot of food. The learning curve has been slow, but the progress has been remarkable! I still have a long way to go but I'll get there!
I think that compulsive overeating is largely an adaptation of our bodies to the poor nutrition of the Western Diet. We consume far too many calories, but not enough nutrition, so there is a switch in our brain that tells us "we need more nutrition" and we answer it by eating more crap, which does not turn off the need for more nutrition, only makes us fatter and sicker.
If we reverse that, and start eating tons of nutrition but few calories, which is what this program is all about, we will naturally, over time and without much effort on our part, retrain our brains and bodies to adapt to the proper nutrition it was designed for.
I have nothing against 12 step programs. A.A. helped me through some very difficult times in life. But if we do as suggested above, we put ourselves on the path to recovery without even thinking about it. I'm not knocking OA, or discouraging you from using them, but in my opinion, the best way to overcome the compulsion to overeat is to start feeding your body what it truly needs.
OA can really help people struggling with that uphill battle to regain control over food in their lives. By changing to this way of eating we level the playing field and it's no longer an uphill battle, but more like an interesting and enjoyable journey. Truly, a "Happy Road Of Destiny", but not one we have to trudge along. OA can compliment that. But in my opinion, if everyone who struggles with compulsive overeating would just eat the way we eat, there wouldn't be a need for OA.
I'm glad you're here!! Happy Eating!
-Norm
geo wrote:Congrats on making the decision to try this out. BTW, nothing self-indulgent about wanting to regain your health!
That salad dressing sounded good to me. How about trying to sub a tablespoon of water with a touch of ground flax in it. The flax acts as a thickener and should be a pretty tasteless sub for the oil. Much better mouth feel without the greasiness.
Good luck on your journey...a lot of us are in the same boat.
carollynne wrote:Good Morning to you, Love!
Welcome to you here!
You will find plenty of company on this forum, and lots of encouragement too. I found that my taste buds changed dramatically and so it became easier and easier to be on this WOE (way of eating). For salad dressings try the recipes thread on this forum there are so many to try. I never liked miso, so cannot say much about that one.
Have a great day and remember to be kind to yourself along the way.
the rewards are great here! Good health, more energy and a feeling of helping others too.
Love wrote: Weight loss will be slower than crash dieting but I feel like I've made some viable lifestyle changes. I feel so much better already, I'm really grateful.
Norm wrote:Love wrote: Weight loss will be slower than crash dieting but I feel like I've made some viable lifestyle changes. I feel so much better already, I'm really grateful.
Slower, maybe!! But crash diets always lead to train wrecks!!
I have never been on a crash diet that didn't:
- leave me feeling on edge all the time.
- make me feel deprived.
- cause me to become more obsessive about food.
- lead to binge eating and guilt.
- end in failure.
A lot of people don't call this a "diet". Neither do I. It's far more than that. Many people here call it a way of eating. That is a lot closer to the truth. I've taken it one step further... I call it a way of living because it's changed everything about my life
With this way of living I never go to bed disappointed that I failed today and hoping that tomorrow might somehow be different. I never wake up in the morning dreading another day of deprivation and wondering how much longer my willpower can hold out. This way of living is so rewarding that even if I reached my goal weight today I would not change what I eat!
Rest assured that whatever your rate of weight loss on this way of living that it is sustainable and can lead to a future of better health and happiness. I'm glad you're feeling better already!! You will have ups and downs, bumps and dips... we all do... but expect that feeling to continue and to grow! Mostly, enjoy the ride!!
Thanks Norm. It felt so danged good to go to bed last night not feeling disgusted with myself, and I woke up feeling a subtle feeling of respect for myself, good God, how wonderful!! It gave me a little momentum to keep going. I'm not a particularly religious woman, but I've been praying to God to please do for me what I cannot do for myself and to stop destroying myself with food, and I'm being delivered.
Yeah, God and carbs are doing me good. To think all of these years I've considered potatoes unhealthy, and now I've reincorporated them into my diet very successfully. I'm not even missing all of the fat I used to pile up on them.
I'm sleeping better too. I actually have the energy to go out and get some exercise, and my dog is very grateful.
I can't wait to reach my first goal and go get a pedicure!
-Norm
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