3 Years of binge eating!

[Fayeza]

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to introduce myself again..

I am a 33 year old female, a family physician from UAE. I have a 4 year old daughter who is autistic. I was an overweight child and teenager! At the age of 19 yrs, I managed to lose 50 lbs, by following a very low calorie diet and exercise. I maintained that loss for more than 8 years. When I got pregnant in 2003, I gained 60 pounds..I think after all those years of depriving myself of food, I found pregnancy as an excuse to eat what I want without limits...

After I had my baby, I went back to a low carb diet and daily exercise, but I failed to lose weight. When my daughter was 7 months old, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and that explained why I didn't lose weight.

I was started on levothyroxine .At the same time I did Atkins and in 4 weeks I lost 20 lbs. I was very happy with the results and was intending to go to the OWL phase of it, but It was around the same time, that my daughter was diagnosed with Autism. I turned to food for comfort, and I kept gaining weight. I was depressed and sad. I was never a binge eater but in the past 3 years, I consumed literally millions of calories in the form of carbs: chocolates, crisps, and all sorts of junk food. Whenever I felt like crying, I just went on a binge spree, bought baskets full of chocolates and crisps, and locked myself in the room and ate mindlessly.. The sad thing was, the more I gain weight, the more miserable I felt and the more food I ate! the behavior has gotten out of control recently.
We don't have behavioral therapists in my city who can help me in this.. I tried taking anti depressants for a while, but it didn't help me much...

I decided to take control this time..I want to enjoy my thirties..I want to be in good health so that I can take care of my dear daughter... I remembered this wonderful site, and the great support it provided me with the first time...

You guys are wonderful supporters and infact more like therapists..all the positive comments I get from you makes me feel instantly better.
This time, I am serious about losing weight.. and as a physician, I strongly believe in this way of life...and I am pretty much sure, that it will put a stop to all those cravings and binge eating cycles I have developed due to overeating carbs in the past 3 years...
I want to lead a normal life.. I want to stop thinking constantly about food or about losing all that weight.. I am sure that once I get rid of all this weight, I will have a huge space in my mind to look after my kid, and enjoy life..
being fat is making me miserable, but I am not going to let that control me forever..
I AM ON ATKINS NOW, AND I WILL BE IN CONTROL SOON...
Thanks to all of you , who showed me and continue to show me endless support.
Good luck to all of us..

[ValidRouge]

Hi, Faye. Welcome to ADBB. This bb has been pivotal in my weight loss efforts. You are exactly right, that we are like therapists. There are those of us who will tell plain and simple how it is. There are others who provide a calming influence, those of us who will coach you, motivate and inspire you. There are those who will offer you a shoulder to cry on, someone to help you pick up the pieces and continue on. There are those of us who will fail, over and over. We ALL have something to teach each other.

And, then, there is Dr. Atkins. A man who strongly believed in this WOE. Who had the guts to stand up and say what he thought about the low-fat dogma that has created a nation of fat, sick and miserable people.

I hope that you actively participate in our community here. I think you would have much to offer us, and I think we have much to offer you. Welcome.

[ValidRouge]

Oh, and by the way, I am a carb addict and a binge eater too.

[Fayeza]

Thanks Joy...

[scaleskl]

Hi and welcome.
Thanks for sharing your story with us.This board has been so instrumental in helping me to loose weight and gain some control over my life. I am still in the process of gaining full control of my emotional eating issues.

Good luck and I look forward to reading about your progress.

[clogger]

Welcome, Fayeza! You said "I want to stop thinking constantly about food" - you will! Isn't that such a relief? I would love to know what the science behind this. How can we go from daydreaming about what we're going to eat later to basically only eating when we're hungry? It amazes me.

Like ValidRouge says, I hope you come to this board often. The people and the information on this site have been a huge help to me. There aren't many people in my daily life who follow this WOE/WOL so it's nice to have an online community of people who do.

Best of luck to you.