Elpasopop: I've been reading your threads regarding OA. I have been considering this lately, as I have a compulsion to overeat. Its not that I eat carby food, but I eat SO MUCH it is unbelievable, and sometimes I disgust myself. I eat three regular low carb meals, but I still think about food all the time. If I open a packet of brazil nuts for example, I will HAVE TO EAT THE LOT, even if its a 250 grm packet! I just feel I have no control. I am not overweight; probably because I compensate for overreating by exercising to excess. Do you think OA would help me to control what I eat and how I feel?
Sorry for going on, and thanks so much in advance.

Hi Miss-

Let me start by saying that I can only describe what has helped me. Whether or not it will work for you is something you will have to decide for yourself. I suggest, as a first step, to find a meeting in your area and attend several times. Once you get there you will quickly be acquainted with the program, and you will be welcomed with open arms by people who will share with you how they have worked the program. They will "get you set up" with all the information you need. You will probably not be able to decide right away if you want to work the program (then again, you might!), so make up your mind to attend 3-5 meetings before you decide.

I have a compulsive overeating disorder that causes these symptoms:

1. Overeating at most every meal
2. Binge eating at night, or sometimes during the work day
3. An inability to control my food purchases, even when damaging to family finances
4. The inability to stop thinking about food and planning to eat
5. The complete lack of ability to control my eating in any respect, even when it interferes with my work, social life, family

OA has addressed all of these issues. I am not saying it is easy...it requires coming to terms with one's powerlessness. This is difficult because we are taught from birth to be self-reliant, strong, in charge, and in control. But this admission of being powerless, and working the 12 steps, allows me the most strength I have ever had, more than I ever dreamed of having. And it works for all areas of my life, NOT JUST FOOD.

I strongly suggest you go to a meeting and see for yourself, with an open mind. I always wondered if OA was right for me before I went the first time, and it was pointed out that "if it wasn't right for you, you wouldn't be thinking about joining."

I also went to OA. I was standing in the parking lot waiting for my friend who didn't show up. A lady got out of her car and said Even if your friend doesnt come I will save you a seat next to me. I went in to this room full of people all looking at me with smiles. I went over and sat in the seat that was saved. I left the meeting thinking that I am finally in a room full of people that truely care and understood me. ( room full of angels)

I went back again and again to figure out why I was here. Finally monts later this Chinese man stood up and said I used to eat all day long. He said his new habit was three meals per day with one snack. Right away I connected to this story because I ate all day even in the middle of the night. So I started.


I had my breakfast ( could here the fridg yelling really loud in my ear come and eat something) I fought it off. I ate my lunch( again the loud yelling). Supper was the same and so was bedtime ( I couldnt sleep because of the yelling to come and eat). I fought this urge now the fridg is very quite I dont here it calling me. I stick to 3 meals I snack. Have for the past 5 years. I am still struggling to control my weight But it is more manageable with my new routine.

I still go back and feel really welcomed. I need to go back to find the other missing piece.

Just my thoughts
Loretta

I

I went and got nowhere. My meeting people were cold and very unfriendly...i was very dissapointed. We didnt even talk about food...they gave me nothing constructive to ponder, and I left after a month feeling more frustrated...but maybe I was just in a bad space in my head? that was a few years ago....the answer has to come from inside, and you hear it when you are ready....I guess...???

I have never binged when I have been hungry. I eat a normal meal, I'm satisfied - an hour later is when I find myself binging. I know its something other than hunger that does it to me. I'm working on filling my life with other things again to stop it.

Turesay, that was the frustrating part for me was nobody was telling me what to do. I just kept going and finally someone told my story. I have been able to give up the sugar as heard someone say. Then I heard someone say now I have to give up the salt. I have tried the salt I am addicted. I wouldnt eat chips and nuts unless they had salt on them. I know I have to find the strength to give up the salt. That may be the answer for me. Right now I am having the salt. Maybe when I had got to goal I will give up the salt.
Loretta

Loretta

I think the thing that was most difficult for me was to realize that ultimately I am responsible for my own recovery. In OA, nobody is going to give me a plan of eating, because it is not aout weight loss or calories.

What they gave me was their experience, strength, and hope, and although it took me a great while, finally I heard and understood that -- with a sponsor -- I needed to chart my recovery using the program.

My sponsor would tell me, "if you are looking for a diet plan, there are a million of them on the internet that work. If you are looking for a way to stop eating compulsively forever, you are in the right place at OA."

I guess I always thought that to stop eating compulsively, I need some food structure--not DIET--as in a Weight loss scheme, but as a way of eating, so that I would NOT eat compulsively. Perhaps that was the problem...I was making it about the food? However...I get confused--because if I eat LC I for sure have less cravings TO binge...so is it about the food? is it about both the food AND the emotion??

I eat when Im happy. And I am happy most of the time. At one point no two points I was stressed and I drop weight like crazy.
Loretta

I only went to an OA meeting one time (at the invitation of a friend). Didn't get anything out of it, so I never went back. (I wasn't told at the time that you really needed to go several times to "get it")

At any rate, I've found that LC makes a huge difference.

The first thing that I eliminated was sugars - dropped a quick 50 lbs, and because I never went back to sugars, I never gained it back.

That was nearly 4 years ago.

Finally, about 6-9 months ago I got serious about LC and cut out the starchy foods, something that has taken a tremendous amount of the rest of the cravings with it - mainly because cutting out the starchy foods like potato chips and tortilla chips cut down on the salts in my diet significantly.

Now that I think about it, even though I rarely use salt in my cooking of meats and veggies, I would still add salt to starchy foods, such as potatoes and rice! Doh!

I still get occasional cravings, especially if I've eaten a restaurant meal, and assumed that despite my attempt to eat the "menu items least likely to have added sugars and starches", that there were some hidden somewhere in there. For instance, one time I ate some "steamed broccoli" that was so sweet I thought it must have been cooked in sugar, and yet it looked like lightly steamed broccoli. I still don't know what they did to it.

However... This morning, Jimmy Moore has a post about MSG and how it affects appetite:

http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.c...oss-killer.html

I have to wonder if perhaps that's why I end up with cravings and out of control eating when I go out of town and have to eat restaurant food, or worse yet, have to resort to eating an atkins bar or two because I can't find a decent restaurant meal. I'd heard many years ago that MSG was considered to be an "excito-toxin". In other words, it excites the taste buds, making you want (crave) more and more of it, and apparently for some of us, even after the point of being comfortably full.

I may not be eating high carb stuff (none of it appeals to me any more), but I can sure pack away the low carb treats - and the inability to stop eating just seems to get worse and worse if I keep eating those atkins bars or whey powder shakes.

I should have recognised them as signs that I was having some sort of addictive reaction to them - The more I ate of them, the less enjoyable they were, and yet I was driven to keep eating them. This is exactly the way I had become about the sugary and starchy foods, before coming to LC.

Somebody very early on in this thread mentioned the possiblity of allergic reactions - and I know that not all allergic reactions take the form of skin rashes or breathing problems. Even if it's just being ultra-sensitive to the intended effects of MSG (which is to make things taste better), this could be the problem.

I dont know, maybe I am being obtuse, or just missing the point. I DO understand that when I am LCing I dont feel the need to binge as often.

I can unequivically say that when I am LCing it takes less Energy to fight the cravings.

HOWEVER it does not mean that I never want chips or doritos or bread or pasta...i STILL WANT that stuff...DESPITE the fact that I know I feel so much better without it...despite the fact that I know that I will feel like crap the next day...despite the fact that I will put weight on...etc etc etc. Eating LC does not eliminate the DESIRE for those things.

If eating LC did eliminate the desire for those things, or indeed binging...why is there this site?? why are there countless discussions about wanting the food, why arent we all talking about how EASY this is, how effortless losing weight is?? but we arent. In fact, this SITE is a "Low Carb Forum SUPPORT GROUP...it the cravings were gone, or indeed the DESIRE was gone, we would not NEED a support group!!!
YES I agree that LC makes not binging, easier. Yes, I get it that some people are allergic, and eliminating those foods, makes not binging, easier. Or that we have food sensitivities, or trigger foods...I GET ALL THAT.

But can we really, and honestly say that when we eat LC, its easy, and the cravings completely go away,and that during the day we never ever ever FEEL like eating something that we know is not good for us?

Yes we may make the CHOICE to not eat it..YES LCing makes making that choice easier..but we STILL have to make the choice.

And despite eating LC, sometimes making that choice is hard !! and can we say that we will never want to binge if we eat LC and that feeling of not wanting to, will stay away For the rest of our lives????

and If we CANT say that....then we have to look at the underlying reason why we struggle with food. We have to look at the OTHER ( non allergic/non food sensitivity issue) reason why we eat....and that is where the emotional stuff comes in.
In My Opinion anyway!! But what do I know....

The only thing I remember from reading the OA literature was that in all there were really very few reasons people overeat - or in our case, binge. These are the only ones I can remember:

• boredom
• loneliness
• hurting

Anyone else know the rest? Or was that all of them?

dont need literature to tell me what the emotions are...pretty much everything!! happiness, celebration, control, fear, anger, sadness, pain, neglect, comfort, frustration, joy, anger,

Oh yes, happiness was one of them.

They combined several of the emotions into "hurting" I think - fear, anger, sadness, pain,frustration, anger, etc.

I was pretty clueless back then as to why in the world I was doing this to myself, so it was helpful to know that there were reasons - but I was completely powerless to do anything about them. Perhaps if I'd stuck around for a few more meetings, I'd have understood - and wouldn't have had to spend the next couple decades trying to figure it out myself.

hi...i am new to this low carb forum. i have been trying to follow a diet plan i found through the internet...on biblelifeministries.org. i have been struggling with my emotional eating...have had problems with my eating since i was a teenager. but my healthis really suffering right now and i need to get a hold of myeatinng and stop binging on sweets and highcarb foods. i amdesperate for help and i thought maybe this forum can keep me on track or help me with my eating. i have read some of your posts and it seems like this helps you guys...i hope i can find support here and keep coming back. thanks.