Well... I have to make an admission. I have been purging alot lately. Once a day. I'm dieting b/c i've gained so much weight this semester. By the end of the day I am so tired and dont wanna cook, starving, so i go somewhere and bring something home and throw it up. I dont know how im going to lose this weight without doing it, but at the same time im supposed to be stopping purging. I feel likeI cant do both at the same time, yet loseing the with is very important for me.
well...so thats whats up with me.

[mj14]

Esther, I know this is going to be hard to accept, but you need to put losing the weight behind your health in importance. Thin and sick is *not* better than heavier and healthier.

It sounds like the purging is being triggered by being overtired and overhungry at the end of the day. So you get food that you perceive as being unhealthy, and maybe eat too much of it. I don't think you can realistically do anything about the tiredness...it's pretty unavoidable when you're in school. But maybe you can deal with the evening hunger in a different way that wouldn't leave you feeling like you need to purge. First of all, it might help to have a midafternoon snack, so you wouldn't be starving when you are heading home. Some fruit, a granola bar, a couple of pretzels...whatever is convenient to just stick in your pocket or bag so you have it on hand. Second, when you bring something home, try to pick an option that you will feel better about eating. Fast food places all offer salads now, and I don't know about where you are, but the grocery stores here sell take out food that can be very healthy if you choose right.

Those are some changes that don't involve extra work on your part, but might just be enough to break you out of that need to purge.

Good luck.
*hugs*
Jo

[Genevieve]

You don't say what you're eating the rest of the day, but if you're trying to avoid eating through the earlier part of the day, skipping meals, anything like that, I'll tell you right now that that's contributing a lot to what you're doing. By the time you get home, you're so damned hungry you really can't control the hunger anymore. That's why you're eating to the point that I"m sure you'd feel sick even if you didn't have a history of purging.

Try this for a few days, see if it helps you avoid that binge in the evening: a good breakfast, mix of protein, carbohydrates (preferably complex carbs), and some fat; a reasonable but slightly large feeling lunch -- maybe a big sandwich, or soup and salad, or sandwich and soup combo, again a healthy mix; then a mid afternoon snack, an apple with peanut butter would probably be ideal. See if that helps control that evening binge you're getting into. I'll be it does.

What's more, if you read the "real" stuff on weight loss, you'll find that the latest studies all say pretty much the same thing: people who eat more times in the day tend to weigh less than people who eat fewer times. Huh??? Yep. If you eat a smaller amount when you're hungry, you won't get so hungry that you overeat.

Of course, i know that if it were that easy, I'd weigh forty pounds more than I do! And I wouldn't feel so disgusting right now about the ten pounds I've put on so far. The psychological stuff is damned complex and difficult, but the practical side is a tiny bit easier...

If you can possibly do it, and I do know it's hard, try eating a good breakfast for a few days, and see if it helps. I also keep a few emergency snacks around me most of the time. Packages of peanuts in the car, a PowerBar in my purse, things like that. When I was more acitve and still starving myself, I used to keep tiny cans of tuna in my car, and I'd eat those as I sat in traffic. Just little bits of food that felt safe to me, when I most needed it.

I hope that helps a little.

Thanks girls! I need to stop thinking about calories, but i have just gained so much weight.. Im also feeling like I just want to control this one thing.. just.. lose 5 more pounds. Sounds so simple.. but its not.
I'm going to go buy some snacks for work/school this weekend.

Thanks
esthersvirtue

[NoLeafClover]

Hi,im in the same boat .I stopped counting calories a year ago and gained 30 lbs. and then some.Now im trying to diet and i throw up every night because i cant stick to my diet.Its like i need the food.It feels horrible.If you wanna talk Email me STARSnMOONT20@aol.com

[NoLeafClover]

oops.STARSandMOONT20@aol.com