Thanks so much, Umpa and Tony... Your support and care means everything to me because I'm getting none at home. My doctor yesterday feels I need to go back on Prozac at least until some of this extra stress is over. I guess I'll try that though I was trying to get OFF my meds - not add MORE... Oh well...

Hey Jacki! Let's talk about outta control eating, shall we?! I used to be the w o r s t! Most of yall know my story, so I'll spare ya! But whatever the mother n law cooked, I ate! And believe you me! It was not Fat to Skinny related! (&she even got the book!) Well, one day...The light came on! She and I "bicker" alot anyway, & seriously all she's gonna do is throw a fit anyway! So I decided one day just to start picking my battles.  She's never gonna change the way she cooks, but I can change! WoW....lol, enlightening, huh? But for me, I wasn't a confrontational person, until... (&well just leave it at that!:-) but once I realized I had the power of change, it was on! I find myself eating better and making wiser choices. And also, I keep a journal of everything she cooks and everything I eat. Helps me alot. Sorry for the novel! Lol...

WOW!!!!  The light bulb just went on for me, too!  I have NO control over my current circumstances - the mother-in-law with dementia that I am care taking even though I'm sick myself... the husband who won't consider placing her anywhere else... the NON-FTS food that is ALWAYS around this house and being eating right in front of me... and even the fact that I have no clue how much longer this is all going to last (and the guilt I feel for hoping it will end soon)...

The ONLY thing I can take any control over is ME.  MY reactions.  MY attitude.  MY eating choices...  What good is it going to do if I regain all this weight I've lost just to get a short-term "reward"(??) of eating high-carb foods that I could care less about just a few months ago before all this other mess started?!!!  What good is it going to do to have to take more and more insulin again like I did BEFORE I learned about FTS?  I need to remember all the positive benefits this way of eating has given me and the whole reason I started making this change to begin with - to literally SAVE MY LIFE after being in the hospital last September with weird heart and brain issues most likely caused by swelling and inflammation - most likely caused by high insulin in my system - most definitely caused by high glucose - most definitely caused by high carb intake...  WOW.

THANK you!!

Hey, Jackie!
It IS really hard. I've been at my goal weight for over a year now and I still struggle. What does help me is to really THINK about it when I have cravings. I force myself to think of what I REALLY want and if the short term euphoria of eating whatever sweet it is that I'm craving is worth the longterm pain and frustration. I think about how ashamed and angry at myself I will be if I give in...and how hard it will be to get back on track. I think about how hard I've worked so far and whether I want to undo that for something that is so short lived in satisfying me. And, as Doug suggested, I drink as much water as I can stomach. Also, tea is great. Tea has kind of become my comfort "food" these days. I reward myself with it when I am stressed out....and while it's not the same high that I get from sugar, I'm training my brain to replace it as my treat to myself when I need one. Find something that is YOUR treat but that won't sabotage what you're trying to do for yourself. It sounds like you have a lot that you're doing for others and that you are not in control of. I think maybe taking control of your food issues will empower you? That's how I feel about it, at least. Instead of letting it run me...I try to run it and when the cravings try to take over, it's a war I'm determined to win. I hope that helps some!

Thanks so much for this - it is very helpful to me(!) - as are all the other suggestions you wonderful people have offered.  I had already started asking myself which do I want to be "deprived" of - this particular food OR the good health, etc., that comes from eating this way - so your comment is along the same lines

Thanks so much, everyone...  Doug - I wish I could do that, but my husband's mother who has dementia lives with us and she's 94 and he feels she should be able to eat whatever she wants - which at this point is mostly sweets, go figure!  I HAVE asked him to please keep her food hidden but it never fails that I either see it when he's bringing in the groceries or I hear her asking for something and then can picture it - or the worse is when I'm the one who has to feed her and sometimes HAND feed her this stuff

Today has been good so far.  Umpa - the problem is I have so many triggers and most I can do nothing about (like my knee pain or the fact I'm homebound at this point except for 2 times a week) - and I"m not sure how to handle the emotional triggers.  They seem to come from out of nowhere.

What do y'all do about that "urge" that just comes on all of sudden and you have no idea where from?  Like today I was eating a good lunch and felt very satisfied but then about an hour later just felt like "I WANT to EAT!!!" ugh.

Y'all are the best....

Hi, Jacki!

I was wondering why you were so quiet around here.

Don't forget that we can help support you in tough times.
That's just what a family does.

Tony

Thank you, Tony!!

Hi, Everyone...!

I'm so sorry I've been out of commission for a while on these forums...  It has been VERY rough lately...  My almost 94-year-old mother-in-law lives with us and has dementia and about 9 weeks ago she had some kind of incident (possibly stroke) where she has gotten MUCH worse.  She goes for days (24 hours even at night) talking to people who aren't there - sometimes VERY loudly - and this is really messing up my sleep and that's messing up my other health problems.  Also, I'm the one here with her every day while my husband is at work, so it's been quite hard on me.

I'm down 65 lbs. total now, but it has really SLOWED down and that's bugging me so badly because I still have so far to go (130 more lbs.) and I don't want it to be THIS sloooowwwwww.  I'm doing okay with my eating most of the time still but at times the stress of this whole situation gets to me and I give in.  Also, people are bringing SO many sweets over for my mother-in-law because that's about all she will eat these days - and watching her eat them and so many being around and me being here alone so much - dang, it's hard!!  And when I'm not giving into "real sweets" and other carbs, I'm craving something sweet or carb-y just to ease this stress and I go for too many of the sugar free candies, bars., etc., just to feel like I'm eating "something" sweet like everyone else in the house is doing...

On the positive side, when I think of how far  I've come since just September when I started this way of eating - and how badly I was doing then - it's amazing to me.  Can't remember if I shared about my A1C - ?  But it was 9.8 in September when I was in the hospital - and last month I tested at 5.6!!!!  That is actually considered "non-diabetic" levels!!  My doctor said she'd never seen anyone do that much that fast and especially being on insulin. I am TRULY hoping to get totally OFF the insulin and hopefully SOON!!!!  I know the more weight comes off, the quicker I'll be off the insulin - which is another reason I'm hoping it will hurry UP already!  Also, I realized I'm now only 35 lbs. away from being able to get a knee replacement - IF I still need one at that point...  but at least I'd have the choice...

Thanks so much for being there, everyone, and I'm going to try to make the time to stay on these forums more even with everything that's going on...  I'm having such feelings of guilt about feeling so selfish with being forced into this position of caretaker when I have so many of my own health problems that WERE getting better and are now getting worse again

Welcome home, Jacki!

Sorry to hear about the health challenges in your home.
They can be VERY draining for all concerned.

Please do what you can to stay the "FTS course" and get plenty of sleep.
We're here for you when you need us.

I will keep you and your family in my prayers.

Tony

THANK you so much, Tony!  I'm so sorry I haven't been on here to respond - just been nuts here (no pun intended...)