Help & Advice needed

Hi there,
My name is Theresa and I am starting the cambridge diet tomorrow. I am really praying this will be the diet for me, but I have a tendancy to binge when I am stressed. I have had a very stressful few months ( family seperation & daughter being bullied at school ) so in 5 months I have managed to gain 2 1/2 stone! and feeling totally miserable

So what I really need is some tips on how to stop eating everything in sight when something goes wrong.

Unfortunately Theresa, there is not one piece of advice that anyone can give that will work for everyone. We are all different, and we all react in different ways to situations.

The beauty of this diet is that if you follow the rules to the letter and do not try to make your "own version" it does work, and it works very well indeed.

I think two crucial elements are self-belief, and really wanting to lose the weight. If you do not believe that you can do this, then the voices in your head will play havoc with you and lead you into temptation.You have to ignore them, and keep focussed on what it is you truly want. On the second point, if your head is not in the right place, then it may be that this is not the right time.

This diet does work, and the results are amazing, but you have to be dedicated, focussed, honest and true (to yourself and the diet), and to a certain degree you need to be selfish I think. You need to put yourself and your needs with respect to the diet first. Friends and family will understand, believe me. When I first did this diet (in fact I did LL and then swapped to CD) I lost 102 lbs in about 5 months, and I always put myself first. I upset a few people, I annoyed a few more, I irritated a whole load, but I got to where I wanted to be. I refused to eat things that people had "specially prepared", I refused to take cakes to the office on my birthday, I declined going to parties etc etc.

This sounds like I became a recluse, and maybe I did for the first few weeks. Once I was well into ketosis then I gradually eased myself back into "difficult situations", but always on MY terms.

If you know that you binge, then take the stuff you binge on out of the equation. Make sure it isn't there. Try keeping a diary about when, where, why you feel like eating, and then think of some other ways of getting round the problem. You need to get it straight in your mind that you only eat for "fuel", not as a treat, not as a comfort. The sole purpose of food is so that your body can keep going.

I'm sorry that I cannot give you an answer that will solve everyones problems, but there is no such thing. Each one of us has slightly different issues, and we all deal with them in slightly different ways. THis forum is a great source of support and advice, but at the end of the day it still comes down to your willpower, what you want, and how strong you are.

Spot on Steve! that is so true! i agree with every word you have said! thanks for that post! its brought my head into the right place as well!

Good Luck Anglemouse!

Hi sohnii_kuri

as a fellow binge eater when stressed and know how you feel, but after a bad day on thursday and then eating loads of crap. i finally saw the light,,,,,i know i do it and i know what triggers it, so know i just have to comes to terms with it and get on with this diet 100%.....
i watched a programme today about binge eating, and watch THE BIGGEST LOSER as well,
I think what i'm rambling on about is, getting to know yourself, finding the reasons why you are going to diet, and if you do have a slip, get straight back onto CD and don't beat yourself up but instead learn from the experience, it will only help in the road to maintainance..

good luck
sorry for waffling

Thanks so much for posts that really helps. Steve I am so ready to do this, so hopefully I can get the first few weeks under my belt and then as the weight goes this will be my incentive to keep going.

Thanks again

I have found that restricting your diet through the CD has helped me. I would binge eat before and I had terrible cravings for sugar but now - believe me it took a while - I am good! I had a small piece of cake for my birthday last month and it was not what i expected at all...before it was something I loved but it just tasted like pure sugar and was not very nice - it will change your tastes but that is a good thing - you will find you become a whole new person

Steve M is spot on with his post, you do need to put yourself first. After all, if you are allowing others' wishes to override yours, then surely they are putting themselves first without guilt or whatever so there is nothing bad about you doing the same with what is important to you.

As for eating when stressed this mantra really helped me to stick to sole source through an extremely difficult time:

"If food is not the cause of the problem then eating is not the solution."

Good luck xx

Hi Biltsy,
Hope you are having a better day today and going strong. i feel great today,
i feel so good that its worrying me...lol...you how when you feel so positive
that it doesnt feel real anymore.
Ive not watched the programme 'The biggest Loser' yet but i think i shall tune in
sometime and see what it is about! sounds interesting.
I think after you have a binge on this diet you end up feeling rotten and sometime this binge
helps put things into perspective.
take care
and remember
the power is within you!
suki

sohnii_kuri said:

Hi Biltsy,
Hope you are having a better day today and going strong. i feel great today,
i feel so good that its worrying me...lol...you how when you feel so positive
that it doesnt feel real anymore.
Ive not watched the programme 'The biggest Loser' yet but i think i shall tune in
sometime and see what it is about! sounds interesting.
I think after you have a binge on this diet you end up feeling rotten and sometime this binge
helps put things into perspective.
take care
and remember
the power is within you!
suki

Click to expand...

You hit it on the nail, glad your having a GREAT day, not too bad myself, just got a headache again.....oh pooh.......take great care and we'll chat again soo no doubt
xxxxx biltsy xxxxx

Amazing posts here There will always be challenges in life, whether they are stress related or celebratory, It's up to us to remember that being overweight makes us unhappy enough to want to change.

I watched a programme called x-weighted earlier (am watching a lot of diet programmes at the moment), and 2 women weighed themselves in tears - just after they'd baked 2 trays of biscuits stuffed with choc chips.. Honestly things like this make you realise just how silly we as humans can be.

The food for fuel thing is a lesson most of us need to learn - and i'm including my hubby and kids in that.

Well done for finding CD and for making the steps you need to to prepare.

Good luck with your weight loss - there are challenges that may help