OP, I am rooting for you! I also have a sweet tooth and have struggled with impulse control. I used to eat way more processed, packaged sweets (mini Snickers, little debbie snacks when I was a teen and that's what my mom bought, etc). The thing that helped me do better with these temptations was to remember that as an adult I can buy / eat these things whenever I want. They are not a limited resource! Every gas station or convenience store has these foods, there's no scarcity...and furthermore, they aren't special. They will be there tomorrow, next week, next year etc. So, there's no rush to eat more more more of it today. I decided I would splurge a bit more on something that was truly special, e.g. a homemade dessert brought in by a coworker or served at a restaurant or nice bakery. I had the same issue with alcohol for awhile, which was a forbidden fruit when I was young (parents are religious). I don't need to binge on X, Y, Z beer or wine because I can always get more some other time.

Anyway, not sure if that line of thinking will help but it did for me!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP the secret isn’t motivation. It’s simply discipline. Most of us don’t feel motivated to work out or prepare a healthy meal vs a fast easy unhealthy one. We just use discipline and do it anyway.

This has taken me a really long time to figure out, mostly because it's the answer I didn't want. Ha! But I think this is really true.

Actually, yes. That's the key here. Not motivation but rather routine. Some people, however, establishing a routine might be a problem (speaking from personal experience, obviously )

Anonymous wrote:OP the secret isn’t motivation. It’s simply discipline. Most of us don’t feel motivated to work out or prepare a healthy meal vs a fast easy unhealthy one. We just use discipline and do it anyway.

This has taken me a really long time to figure out, mostly because it's the answer I didn't want. Ha! But I think this is really true.

I have been pushing my two kids around in the sit and stand stroller to go play at the park. That's 30+ mins of cardio walking for me round trip pushing 40 lbs of kids. Do your three fit in a stroller or could one ride a scooter? Or two in a stroller and one in a carrier? I tend to be less hungry for snacks after I get some exercise.

OP the secret isn’t motivation. It’s simply discipline. Most of us don’t feel motivated to work out or prepare a healthy meal vs a fast easy unhealthy one. We just use discipline and do it anyway.

Anonymous wrote:For me sugar is a stronger drug than smoking (i can easily have one cigarette every once in a while), alcohol (super easy to drink once in a while, keep booze in the house no problem), or week (one gummie when on a mom's weekend, etc). But sugar....it's like it infests my brain.

I second the 1972 Atkins, followed by introducing foods slowly. I now also do a easy going IF, I stop eating at 8pm and start at 10 the next day. Always protein in the morning.

You just have to accept that sugar is your drug. It sounds dramatic but for me it's true. I 'm not low-carb at all now. I eat quinoa, pasta, and rice... I eat cake at birthday parties and I keep chocolate in the house. But if I don't buy skittles or gummy worms.

Also, I'd say if you can, focus on LOVING your 240 lb body---but address your sugar addiction and find an exercise form you like. If you eat healthy and exercise, and stay at 240, you'll still feel and look better. In other words don't focus on the number, focus on how your body feels.

Wow, this is very helpful! Thank you.

OP is still breastfeeding people and has three young kids.
I am not sure when she can walk all that much. Certinaly to the park while having the baby in baby Bjorn. But, who knows what her other kids nap schedule is?
Be kind to yourself, op. Ok, so you have some pounds you could lose. You seem to want to do something about it.
I highly doubt that you have no motivation for it, rather that you are exhausted physically and emotionally raising three young kids during and most of the services that helped with that in the past are closed!
So, no camp for a year for older kids, no playdates, you could have taken them to a grocery store and be judge the whole time!

For me sugar is a stronger drug than smoking (i can easily have one cigarette every once in a while), alcohol (super easy to drink once in a while, keep booze in the house no problem), or week (one gummie when on a mom's weekend, etc). But sugar....it's like it infests my brain.

I second the 1972 Atkins, followed by introducing foods slowly. I now also do a easy going IF, I stop eating at 8pm and start at 10 the next day. Always protein in the morning.

You just have to accept that sugar is your drug. It sounds dramatic but for me it's true. I 'm not low-carb at all now. I eat quinoa, pasta, and rice... I eat cake at birthday parties and I keep chocolate in the house. But if I don't buy skittles or gummy worms.

Also, I'd say if you can, focus on LOVING your 240 lb body---but address your sugar addiction and find an exercise form you like. If you eat healthy and exercise, and stay at 240, you'll still feel and look better. In other words don't focus on the number, focus on how your body feels.

I have a problem with sugar as well. I've made smaller, more sustainable changes because it's just hard to really give it up altogether:

Icelandic yogurt (some sugar) replaces ice cream
Dark chocolate replaces milk chocolate
Berries and dates replace gummies

I make my own baked goods, where I can control the sugar somewhat

Some people go cold turkey and do well with that, you could consider it but it's hard from a social point of view

OP:
I suppose I mean I THINK the shame should be the driving force...but it isn't? Like, I am ashamed but yet I still haven't done anything about it. I need motivation elsewhere, but I think PP is right...the motivation comes after the first pound is lost. I lost weight last year when I joined a new gym, but then got pregnant and gained it back.

The sugar addiction is a HUGE part of it.

Oh ok if it really is just sugar addiction, then try the 1972 version of Atkins induction. That is what broke my sugar addiction for good. It also wasn’t as hard as it seems, because it turns out it feels really nice not to be constantly battling cravings.

The time I was able to successfully (and so far, permanently) change the way I ate was when I finally decided to stop loathing my body / using shame and self-criticism as a motivation.

It was immensely freeing to decide, “This is my body, it has been good to me, I’m not wasting another second on feeling ashamed of or hostile toward its appearance.”

The power of that — the absolute relief and freedom! — became, unexpectedly, an incredible motivation to eat more healthily and work out.

Maybe try it? At the least, even if you make no other changes and so lose no weight, it will be a happier way to live.

Anonymous wrote:Op, continued. I’d rather the advice NOT be to find a therapist. The shame isn’t the driving force behind the overeating...it’s a pure and simple sugar addiction.

I can break the addiction and do ok. Maybe I just need to do that again!

How old are your kids, OP?

I know you keep saying the shame isn’t the driving force but that was the first thing that jumped out at me from your first post. You seem really embarrassed and ashamed about your weight. In my experience this seeps into every aspect of life. Think about dealing with that.

And to give concrete advice, here’s my recommendation for today and this week.

Buy new joggers or yoga pants that you feel good in. Clear out one drawer that’s just for workout clothes and roll them into a complete outfit so all you have to do is grab and go. Make 7 rolls—shirt, bottom, sports bra, underwear. Put 7 in your new workout drawer. This week your goal is to use one of those rolls. Just one. Next week your goal can be 2

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exercise.

You need to be power walking an hour a day -- seriously. As in, power walking four miles around your greater neighborhood, trails, whatever works. It can't be only food management. You need exercise every single day. Start small. That's why walking is so effective. Buy yourself a great pair of running shoes and hit the pavement. Invest in an exercise tracker like a FitBit. You have to put 13,000+ steps on it every single day. No excuses.

That's what it will take. It's not just eating differently.

OP here. I have three young children. With summer coming up, I unfortunately won't have time to walk! I teach in the early AM. I could probably do an evening walk. I will probably try to commit to a Beachbody video in the morning while my baby sleeps and the older kids play.

OP, I have 3 kids too. I don't have an hour to walk a day. I do have time for 15 minute daily workout via MommaStrong. IT's a super great program, and I love it. It is doable. It isn't about weight loss for me (although this woudl be a great benefit). It is about moving my body for me - to feel stronger, to feel more emotionally in control, and to carve out 15 min for myself. Maybe if you change your 'success' factors, the weight will come off eventually but before it does, you'll feel more in control.

Anonymous wrote:Inspect all the labels, as someone said.
The other day I was buying a vegan sour crème (as much as that makes no sense) and one brand was cheaper so I was about the swap the one I got for the cheaper one.
I have to look at ingredients due to allergies. But, the cheaper brand had 80 calories per 2 tablespoons. The more expensive one has 40 per 2 tablespoons!

oh, don't get me started on fat-free and other ersatz products. They replace fat with starches most of the time or hide sugar some other way.
So yeah - reading label is important