Obesity Support Group

I to am an emotional eater I don't know what to say other then we are starting at the same place with the same problem. I don't know it that helps to know you are not alone and that we understand. :-)

I have to tell you I lost 15lbs by reading this book. It addresses the very thing you are talking about! I am an emotional eater.. Until I read this book called Shrink Yourself.. by Roger Gould.. It specifically deals with why we snap and feel powerless about eating.. It breaks it down for you step by step to help you realize that it doesn't make sense to overeat... I don't believe in diets, and this book doesn't talk about that. What it does it helps to to look at why you overeat.. not the fact that you do... It's very practical and the best investment I have ever made. I on occasion still emotion eat.. but very rarely and under extreme stress cause it's a process.. It's hard to break a habit that you may have had your whole life. This is no miracle book.. there is no secret that for the first time is being revealed.. but I will tell you this.. it will help you break that cycle. I promise.. It also takes diet and exercise to go along with the weight loss process... but this will help you to not snap I promise..

I feel much like you. I lost my mom unexpectedly, almost 2 years ago. I've gained about 30lbs. I stuff my feelings down with food daily, mainly at night. I eat so fast, I hardly chew. I can't even tell you how upsetting it is to be over 200lbs. I never in my life imagained I'd be this weight. I was less with both my pregancies. But loosing my mom has really been painful. I feel so alone too and depressed looking at myself. I don't have money to do some of these diets and weight watchers never worked for me. I'm scared I'll never loose it. You are not alone. Your story brought tears to my eyes, as I know some of the pain you feel.

Firstly, thanks for your strength of sharing your story. I'm sorry to hear of all the traumatic things you have experienced. I haven't lost my parents, so I can't possibly imagine what you're going through. My prayers are with you though.

Now, I CAN relate to what you're going through with emotional and overeating. I have struggled with it my whole life. I eat really fast too. Sometimes I'll think about what I'm going to have for lunch or supper hours before it's even time to eat. I wish I knew exactly what to tell you to make it all better and go away, but I'm still struggling myself. When I start thinking about food I just keep myself busy and try as best I can not to think about it. Sugar free gum has really help me suppress my cravings too.

I have a days, even weeks, when I do badly. I don't exercise, I don't eat right. You can't let those slip ups defeat you, just keep going!

I wish you all the best!
I'm here for you if you need me!

I eat to fast too, so much so I have nearly choked on food several times weekly. More so in the two years following mom's death. I'm scared of this terribly habit. It could be life threatening. Emotional eating is serious. I go to therapy weekly to deal with mom's death. Grief has affected my eating, sleeping and general funcitoning in ways I never knew. I keep on trucking but some days are so very hard.

Wow. This daily strength site has help and support for every issue possible. I love this place. I am 5'3 and for the first time reached an all time high of 223 pounds.

I have always had a weight issue. from day one in my miserable life but I was amazed to find this thread of communication. I think I may fall right in here. I have no idea why food is a comfort for me. It just is but so much so recently that my weighed is really out of control.

I gained 50 pound in the last 2 years when i took a desk job and was no longer active 8 hours a day. I also suffer from numerous back problems, depression, anxiety, and fibromyalgia. So even walking around the block is not an option for me right now. I am 41 and using a cane most of the time to get around.

I dont know how to "fix" this problem as I used to work out up to 3 times a day and would walk my dogs over a mile a morning before work. even thent hough i was still at the heavy side of 170 or so.

I got down to 115 once in my life by literally starving. i would not eat but once a week and then felt so guilty over it that I would get physically sick. Then I did it again and lost 70 pounds once with the help of phentermine. Unfortunately the body builds a resistance to it and it doesn't work any more. I have never successfully lost weight on my own with out taking drastic measures.

I think I am an emotional eater an will bring it up in my new group therapy session next week.

Just wanted you all to know that your not alone and that there are others out her struggling with this same thing.

I thought about lap band surgery but when reading the changes that you have to make tin your eating habits afterwards I dont think I can do it. I am so broke as I have been on the fight for disability now since april with no luck. Unfotrtunately, i have been on the poverty side of life my whole life so you ate what was cheap and would last for a long time. roamon noodles, beans, etc... corn tortillas and flour tortillas. You could amke a whole maeal outta a can of beans and some tortillas. We have never had the money to eat veggies and fruits and good thing but always had to buy as much cheap food as possible that would last as long as possible so I truely believe poverty can really affect obesity in a certain group of people.

Not to mention the emotional roller coaster that poverty brings with it. I could buy a bag of salad that would last maybey a day or two with 2 kids int he house. It would not ever fill us up and would go bad quickly if not eaten in a hurry. Then the special fat free low calorie dressing that costs more than the good old ranch with all the calories and bad stuff in it. Or i could buy 10 frozen burritos that would last a week instead. Or frozen pot pies or frozen french fies and hamburger was alwys cheap and would last a while. so for me even though I worked and everything... could never make enugh to support my family on my income alone and the child support system here is a joke. So we are depressed and we eat non healthy foods and we gain more and more weight and now it is a problem.

I am hoping that behavioral health will help me try to figure out how to break the cycles that I have gotten into throughout my life....

i would love to be thin and beautiful and feel good and walk and excersise and not have the health issues that i do. Hopefully, I am going in the right direction to get my life on track and start living.

Good luck to all of you who deal with emotional eating. It is hard and takes alot of work. i am going to try and hope you will too....

I too understand. Prayer helps more than anything else. I'm still learning how to surrender to God's will. I'm here for you if you need to chat.

I too am an emotional eater. Most of the time I don't know that something is bothering me until I realize that I'm grabbing at food all day. Yesterday I made myself sick eating chips and salsa! And yes, I do eat fast, like stuffing it in. I'm going to check the "shrink yourself" book that lovesinfully recommended. I need to do something. I'm 5'0 and weigh 214lbs. The most I've ever weighed is 234lbs. I've got Fibromyalgia and my body hurts enough without the added weight to combat. Thank you for posting this.

I bought the book Shrink Yourself by Roger Gould as recommended by Lovesinfully and started to read it yesterday. It seems to know what I'm going through. I think this is going to be a good book to read.