A student dietitian at your service!

[veteran]

Hi there,

It was refeshing to hear of a person with a similar struggle and victory. For 3 years, I struggled with bulimia and cutting. Thanks to Jesus Christ, family, and counseling, I have over come these disorders. I'm still trying to find a healthy, moderate diet.
As to the issue of face picking, I never realized until today the vast masses dealing with the issue! Who knew? I thought I was just wierd.
Anyways, I'm convinced that alot goes into it that we don't see. Like an eating disorder face picking is a battle for control. We can't just leave well enough along, we think we have to fix it ourself.
Beyond control, diet, self image and stress also have their own roles.
I would love to hear any suggestions on how to eat properly and face this thing hands down.

Thank you and God Bless

[reflection]

hey
i have been reading these posts about nutrition tonight and am interested. i think that having a balanced diet and exercising helps controll skin picking- atleast for me it helps. I used to be obsessed with healthy eating and excercise-and lost lots of weights for some years. This past year i have overeating all the time and gained 10 kilos- Just the last 8 weeks did i get balances again and lost most of the weights by going on a Grete Roede kurs. It really really helped me- but the last 2 weeks i havnt followed it and i set my self goals that i will but then if i do one single thing out of the daily requirements i break and over eat- Today i ate sooo much and i lie about it to my mom, who helps me cook adn everything- i eat secretly- its jsut something i have to do it feels like and i want to stop- its summer and the past 2 weeks i have gained over 4 kilos-
I always crave food and i say i will go running but i can never get myself to do it- so i break my eating goals, my excersise goals and my no picking goals- Do you have any tips on how to resist these cravings and how to stop yourself from overeating- cos i cannot keep eating like this- (haha it will even start getting expensive ;D )
love to have advice
reflection

[Margaret]

Veteran,
I also think all the things are connected, like the eating disorder and self harm. Skin picking is a form of self harm. It's a reason why we're doing it, and we can't fix it until we work on what's causing it. Otherwise it will just come back in different forms!

Reflection and veteran,
The only advice I can really give on a diet, is eat regularly! Aim for breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack and then dinner. Eating often makes your metabolism work harder and more efficiently..which is a good thing By skipping meals, you're slowing down your metabolism, so this is NOT a good idea. Always try to eat at least something, otherwise you're doing more damage than good. Find out when you "weaker" times are..like I crave something sweet after dinner, so if I don't have it, I can tend to overeat later on, so I always have dessert after dinner, At the moment I have a thing for splits, icecream covered in juicy-water thing. Only 100cal and 2g of fat! There's so many different desserts out there, but aim for something healthier and that's individually wrapped, otherwise you can eat too much.

Eat LOTS of vegetables and fruit, choose wholemeal over white bread. Always eat a balanced meal, that is carbohydrates like pasta with meat and veggies. Drink at least 2l of water each day. For every coffee you drink, drink one extra glass of water, because coffee dehydrates you.
Well, don'r really know what else to write!

Reflection,
Cravings are coming from within, you can't fix it with a diet, like i said in team ZT, you have to work on what's causing these cravings. It's NOT you being weak! I used to think so as well, when I couldn't stop eating, I thought I was weak and disgusting. But it's so much more than that! So don't beat yourself up for it, you are NOT weak! But it won't go away until you decide to work on it! And you have to!! Let me know if you go to your GP.

Take care guys

[anonymousartist]

I'm trying to lose weight and stop picking at the same time. The past couple days I've felt a lot more in control of both eating well (and regularly) and less picking, but today I'm stressed because I have to write a paper and I've found myself doing a lot of work-arounds with picking since I covered my compact mirrors, like picking by feel or messing with my arms. I'm having a lot of trouble eating right today, too. Ugh! I'll keep trying, though. It's just a hint that I might pick and eat too much of the wrong foods for the same reasons.

I find I'm having fewer cravings for foods the better I plan my eating and allow for some of my weaknesses to get through without letting them sabotage my efforts.

For example, first breakfast needs to be available and sufficient every day. While I'm not hungry and still satisfied with breakfast seems to be the best time of day for me to plan lunch and dinner based on what's healthy and available. It's good to plan quick and healthy snacks. Like Margaret said, it's good to eat every few hours (it also keeps me satisfied and less likely to binge on junk food).

It's almost too threatening to me to not have the junk foods I crave on hand in some form (kind of like throwing away all the mirrors for picking) and makes me more likely to deviate completely from a healthy diet, so I found some good ways to have the foods I crave without over-doing them. My weaknesses are chips (crisps) and chocolate. I bought them, but I put them away immediately after bringing them home from the store (the chips in a cupboard and the chocolate in the butter shelf of the fridge, both where I can't see them when I'm not looking for them). The chocolate I'm trying to stay away from completely unless I have a big craving (like today) so I also bought some low-fat cocoa-cereal to have with milk and some low-fat chocolate milk. These alone can stave off the cravings and at least offer some nutrition. For the chips, I will plan to have a handful of them on the side with a nutritious meal (like a veggie sub or soy-burger) instead of eating them out of the bag. This way I eat very few chips and I can easily fight off the temptation to go for more because I'm not hungry. It's also key to remind myself that the junk food will still be there later if I don't eat it now (which the fresh fruit and veggies I bought won't if I don't eat or freeze them before they go bad).

I have to stop stressing and write my stupid paper now so I can start some dinner

[reflection]

Hey,
a balanced diet is important- I followed your advice Margaret and will have meals and snacks- I usually do but eat too much inbetween- today i wont though. I started the day perfectly with homemade bread, cheese, jam and 1.5 liters of water as i sat infront of the garden tanning- just sittin in a nice environme nt can really help calm me down and get controll- later on i will have lunsj and went i get a crave, which i know comes from stress and just tiredness and cos im still a teen and my body is changing, i will drink A LOT of water- i mean like a lot at once, cos then ill not be able to eat- and gas water is good cos it fills me up. Tonight ill make my favorit pie and enjoy a meal with my mom-
hopes everything works out.
To annonymousartist- its frustrating having two big goals isnt it? i struggle with my weight and picking too- its like they dominate my life at the moment- i think both affect each other- once you are stressed such as when u r to write a paper, try going for a walk or just even sleep and then take a shower- make sure to have cleaned the room u r working in so that everything is clear when you wake up- you get a new start and will feel relaxed and motivated- i hope ur paper went well- i know wat u mean wiht all this stress; i take the IB program and there r so many papers to write- this past year i have eaten every night trying to find excuses for not being able to write the paper- but think of it this way that once u sit down and do it, it will be over the next day- good luck
reflection

[coolhandluke]

Norwegian Maggie and Friends:

This is kind of funny, kind of weird: I went to the Discovery Health Channel website (that's my favorite TV station), and I got a personal nutritional analysis. The results were embarassing---my incredibly picky eating habits and minimal eating in general resulted in my being labeled, essentially, as malnourished. They said my weight and body mass index were well within the healthy range, but that my diet was pretty much atrocious.

But I'm trying to get back into the habit (wait, I never was in the habit) of eating lots of fruit and nutritious mini-meals instead of eating just enough to take the hunger edge off with sugary, carb-y foods.

And I'll try to start taking my multi-vitamins, too. (I have a really good multi-vitamin complex by Centrum, and the best part is that it's orange-flavored chewables for adults! I hate taking pills, and I take so many because of my ADHD/anxiety as it is, so this was great news for me)

Later!
coolhandluke

[M]

I think that the Weight Watchers system is very good for training you to look at food by the fiber, fat, and calories. They have a point system that helps you to get started. I lost 50 pounds over approximately 6-9 months, never joining Weight Watchers, but using their point system. I ate my own foods, was able to eat out, etc. It was a very realistic system. I changed alot of habits for the better. It's been over two years, and I'm not counting points anymore, but have learned soooo much about what's out there for low-fat, high fiber foods. I learned what all the Zero-point foods were, which has helped for snacking, which I love to do! I have maintained my weight loss, give or take 5 pounds.

I also started Pilates! What a wonderful set of excercises! I have the Winsor Pilates tapes. Some co-workers and I decided to get together after work and pop the tape into the VCR in my classroom (I'm a teacher) three days a week. It has worked wonderfully! I certainly would recommend this type of excercise. Very good for abs, posture, overall body sculpting and strength!

[Cathy]

hi im cathy I do have oily skin and a face pickin' problem .
What foods if any can effect the condition of my skin?
If you know???
Thanx
C.

[veteran]

To fellow hurting self-abusers... I have new found hope!

I would LOVE to recommend a book by B. Manning titled TEXTPosers, fakers, and wannabesTEXT. This book addresses issues deeper than skin right to your very soul... seriously within the first 30 pages all my mascara had gone from my lashes to its pages!
As a fellow-face picker, x-cutter, x-bulimic, I understand the importance of dealing with the root of the disease and not merely the symptoms.
Please give it a try The liberation is priceless...


Godspeed