HELP! I CAN'T STOP EATING

I need to share with everyoine the journal entry I just made in my profile. I am hoping that some of you may have some suggestions for me! Thanks Well, it's almost midnight. My husband and I just got finished watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It was such a well done movie with so much humour. The only problem was..... that after the girls go to bed and we sit back down on the couch to watch TV or a movie, is when I EAT....... doesn't matter if I am full still from dinner, I feel the need to munch on the couch..... I should be on an 800 - 900 calorie per day diet... That's been shot to **** Let me run through the day so everyone can get a better picture. My husband and I had a really late night last night and didn't end up getting to bed until almost 3:30 am, so we slept until almost 2 pm. Then I drank a silhouette smoothie, 0% fat, and only 70 calories for a 200 ml bottle.. Then for dinner I had a chicken breast with about 2 tbsp ketchup, about 1/4 cup of steamed veggies, a baked potato with about 2 tbsp of light sour cream, and I chopped up a tomato and added some chopped white onion, and about a tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp splenda, some garlic salt and some pepper, and had about 1/2cup of that over my backed potato.. You are all probably thinking. That's a good dinner. And, it would have been if I had left it at that.... Then after the girls went to bed I got head hunger BAD... I ate a pickle, the last chicken breast from dinner, drank about 3/4 cup of V8 juice, popped some air popped popcorn and had some becel on that, it tasted nasty so I threw it out, I had about 1 cup of rice crispies with about 2 tsp splenda, and 1/2 cup of milk over it, and about 1 cup of fresh pineapple.... WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME????? This is why I am so fat. Mind you, I would have ordinarily had chips, dip, and nasty things instead of the healthier choices I made tonight, but still..... That's no consolation. I know I probably shouldn't be beating myself up over tonight but I feel SOOO guilty. I feel like a failure. I have to lose 30 pounds before the surgeon will perform the surgery on me. I am now thinking I will never lose that weight... I need to lose it in 3 months... well I have longer, but minimum of 3 months... The sooner I can have the 30 pounds off the quicker I can have the surgery....... Why can't I stop eating??? Why can't I have more will power? I need some strategies for not eating................I need something to keep my mouth busy while I watch TV or movies with my husband. I wi**** were easier..... Carrie

Carrie, I read your post and i feel like I am reading my own journal! My nighttime snacking has ALWAYS been my worst enemy, and I have tried everything! Since you are asking for help, I am going to tell you what finally worked for me, but that does not neccessarily mean everyone will agree, or that it will work for you but it is worth a try. After trying Weigh****chers, Atkins, Curves.....etc, I finally went to my PCP in tears he told me to start slowly by simply eliminating high carb foods from dinner on- she believes this is what triggers evening snacking. That baked potato with dinner may have caused you to keep eating. Believe me, this is not as easy as it sounds, especially when you are making dinner for your family and they WANT their baked potato, you just have to make the choice that you aren't going to have one. From there, I just slowly began eliminating high/bad carbs from the rest of my diet. The first week was awful, but once I got through that it wasnt so bad at all. I have been doing this for 3 1/2 months now, i am down 35 pounds and I dont eat all night like I used to. Again, I am just telling you this worked for me, and I wanted to offer some help. Please feel free to email me if you ever need to talk or have any questions. Good luck to you, and you are in the right place for finding help and support. Karyn

hi carrie: i'm glad you came to this board. if anyone can identify with your issues, we certainly can. the carbs and sugar are the devil in disguise. they actually trigger a craving for more. at least, for me, when i stopped having carbs i stopped craving carbs. but the first day or two was pure hell. if you can stay with protein and veggies it will help you lose the 30 and get you ready for post op eating. i have found, too, that if i find something to do with my hands, i snack less. so i get on the puter, crochet, pay bills, write letters, etc... you get the idea. whatever you enjoy that will keep your hands occupied will help. don't be too hard on yourself, carrie. you're trying to do something that's incredibly difficult. i've never agreed with the irony of requiring an overweight person to lose weight to have a surgery to lose weight. so i was glad my dr did not do so. but that's another story. take care, carrie. good luck. come back often - we're here to share and support. have a great week. dorthe

((((((((((((((((((((((Carrie)))))))))))))))))))))))))) I'm sooo happy to see you post to our board. First of all Welcome!!!! I understand what you are going through. That's how I got up to 400 lbs. I'm sorry to say it doesn't get easier. Well, maybe it has. Even after surgery. It's called head hunger and I still deal with it, post op. Not as much as anymore, but I still deal with it. I still get the "urges" to eat/graze/gorge/and stuff my face. I would suggest that you try having healthy things on hand and ready for you to snack on. Carrots, celery, low fat dips, pretzels and maybe some light popcorn. It is hard as hell. I have failed every diet, but this is one diet of 30 pounds that you must be sucessful. Please be strong and do it for you. This surgery is a HUGE gift and knowing what I know now, please take my advice and do EVERYTHING in your power to try like hell to stick to your diet as best as you can. Don't feel like a failure. You had a bump in the road last night and today is a new day. Be good to yourself!!!!! Again, that's for posting too!! Keep us updated on your progress. Best Wishes~~ Carmella

Carrie, habits are so hard to break... The first thing you need to do is recognize that you desire change... you sound like you are there.... here are some suggestions: Write down all the things in one day you can eat.... not what you have eaten... then think of your day as checking off your foods... be sure to save some for the evening, especailly if your schedule is not to go to bed before 3:30 am and you do not get up until 2pm. If you look at your day's eating... you should have had atleast 3 meals.... where is your breakfast... I saw your lunch and dinner..... so anyway.. try that... OR Chew sugarless gum in the evening after you have eaten everthing for the day. OR Drink lots of liquid.. it seems to give a full feeling and it might keep your mouth busy! ( try sucking ice cubes ) OR Come online and answer posts, look at before after pictures... maybe you do not need to watch that extra movie. OR Play the eat and excercise game.... something extra is eaten .... you must do some extra exercise ... OK.... so my ideas are a bit weird... you have to realize it take time to change a habit. They say that it takes 7 days to instill a new behavior in someone. So good luck.. I'll let you know if I have anyother ifeas! ha ha ha. Take good care ~Aunt Pam