Food Addiction Blog

If I decided not to go to the gym on days that I was feeling discomfort or pain, I fear that I would never go. I always seem to be dealing with one problem or another.  It might be something wrong with my feet; either a callous on the bottom of my foot or a soreness in the instep that becomes a pain on the heal of one foot or the other.  My right wrist bothers me more often then not. I need a third surgery on my left shoulder that I am putting off because there is not much they can do short of a replacement and I'm not ready for that yet.  I seem to have chronic problems with muscle spasms in my lower back. I had both of my knees replaced seven years ago and from time to time I have inflammation and soreness due to overuse. Recently, I had a bad bruise on the inside of my right thumb which made it painful to grip the bar or dumbbell in the traditional way. As the saying goes, if its not one thing, it's two.

Through it all , I continue to get up in the morning and go to the gym. You improvise, you adapt and you do what you have to do to get through the workout.  I change my grip to take pressure off my thumb.  I limit my range of motion and never let the barbell travel behind my head.  I keep my thumbs up on lateral moves and I listen to my body and take it easy on my back when I need time to work through an issue.  I regularly see the foot doctor to scrape callouses and cut my toenails to prevent problems.

My fear is getting hurt to the point where I am unable to go to the gym.  I work through all the issues mentioned here because I find that I feel better working through the pain and using the parts that are causing me problems, rather then resting them.  They seem to lubricate and, consequently, work better when I use them.  Age may have something to do with it.  Long term use may actually mean that wear and tear is catching up with my 61 year old body.  But, I am undeterred because the great feeling I get from being fit is worth the pain.  I know that I will continue my five or six days a week in the gym for the rest of my life.

Tell me how you deal with your pain and discomfort.

Two more weeks have gone by and I am still trying to get back on track. The mornings start out good, but by noontime I start to feel the cravings begin and  have not been able to control the urges to eat those foods which are not included in my planned eating program.  I am at the point where I am getting angry with myself for being so stupid as to think that this time would be different; that this time I could stray from the plan just a little bit and get right back into it when I was ready.  Didn't ever happen that way before, and there's no reason to believe it will happen that way now.

I think that because I at least understand what is happening to me now, I can catch myself before too much damage is done. I am holding right now at 194 pounds, which is up two pounds.  I am deeply concerned about this problem and this little slip-up is very distracting. I devote way too much of my time each day to resisting temptations and cravings and I am having only moderate success.  I have been eating sandwiches and pizza in addition to my cottage cheese and tuna for lunch and one morning I had a bran muffin.  After dinner, I have been eating nuts and pretzels in addition to the normal bowl of bran based cereals.

I am desperately trying to get my focus back.  I know that if I can just get six or seven perfect days in a row, the cravings will go away and I will be back to focusing on eating right.  I am most comfortable when I am on the plan.  I am able to spend more time improving my business, enjoying my family, friends and hobbies and improving my relationship rather than worrying about loosing control. 

Do you have the same problem?  Please share how you deal with it.  I need help and any new insight I may gain from others is always appreciated.

You can do it. Take it one day at a time. Small portions, eat slowly, get up often and move around. You can have more later if you want to. No need to deny yourself the pleasure of family and food during the holidays. Where possible try to have foods prepared for you using the least harmful methods such as skim milk instead of cream, spray butter instead of cream sauces and remove the skin on the turkey. You really don't need the desert, but if you must have it try for the least harmful and keep the portions small. The key here is moderation not deprivation. Remember if you do good today you have a good chance that you will do good again tomorrow. I sometimes have anxiety attacks when confronted with all the food around the holidays. I try to keep myself busy with conversation, going for a walk or going outside to play with the kids. With me there is a fear factor, which I've learned to respect. I take it seriously and I know that this time of year has sent me off course in the past and I am determined to not let it happen this year. I hope that if you suffer from the same overeating disorders as I do that you are as determined as I am.

 I drive myself and everyone around me crazy. I am so rigid and find any disruption to my routine very hard to deal with.Recently we had some visitors at our house and my regular dinner time was caused to go off schedule. I reacted and behaved poorly because my routine was disrupted. People look at you and talk about you like you are ridiculous, and of course you are. People no matter how close to you they are or how much they think they know you have no idea how this disruption affects you.Even when explained it is difficult for someone who is not obsessive compulsive or  an addict to fully grasp the concept of our need to be rigid. I actually need to be this way, because left to just wing it, outside of my routine, history shows that I will take the path that more often than not leads me to places I would rather not go anywhere near.. I have a routine for everything. I have a morning routine. I have a routine at night to prepare for the morning. I have a sleep routine which is just the preparation of getting into bed relaxing and falling asleep, but if varied, I am not able to sleep as well as if I follow the routine.I have an eating routine and an exercise routine, which may vary from day to day but each variation is just a different routine within a routine. I even have a routine for how I wash my car.This strange behavior works for me and it may work for you if you need to replace the behavior which is not working for you now. Lets talk about it.

I am also of the same behaviour and will surely be following your blog site.

I have lost, to date, a total of 74 lbs and I can tell you it has been a total dedication to concentration. 

I have to always pull myself back and look at the road ahead.  I feel a lot better with this weight gone and have

a lot more to go, but with the help of my WW support group and my friends and family - I am succeeding.

It has been a longer road than I originally thought, but understanding the reality of it, and a lot of on going soul

searching, I didn't get here in one week and it won't take one week to reach goal.  The goal is change of habits for a healthier life style.

With all this said - it doesn't mean that I don't fall off the wagon at times, but I have been able to get back on track.

Thank you for sharing your experience and the willingness to help others in the same boat.