Dieting Anxiety- compulsions to cheat, sugar & carb addiction
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Welcome! It sounds like you are struggling with the mental aspects somewhat, so figuring out what helps you deal with them is the key. Ignore the fights among others who think they've figured it out already and just pick out the things that appeal to you to try.
A few thoughts I had:yarnaholicamy wrote: »I've never "demonstrated" to myself that I can do it, though I've seen others in my family who have had amazing transformations. And then gained it all back and then some.
You can totally do it. It's a process, though, so figuring out a way to do it that you can live with is crucial. But getting started feels good and there are positives about the process even apart from the results and it can be good to focus on them too (or mostly).
When I first decided to lose weight I wasn't at all convinced it would work for me (I had never done it before), so I decide that I would dedicate myself to being as fit as possible, even if I was a fat fit person, and eating healthy. Then, if I also lost weight, great, but I would control the things I could control. Of course, I also lost weight but being able to focus on small positive steps and not just deprivation made it easier--whether it was "I will walk this much today" or "I will go to the gym 3 times this week" or "I am signing up for a race!" or "I will eat veggies at every meal and make all of my breakfasts."Scared to "announce" to anyone that I'm doing this because of the expectations that I'm setting, and the side-eye glance they'll give if I reach for a cookie.
I didn't announce it to anyone. Some will figure it out, you might find it easier if you can enlist people to be a support group or do it with you, but for me it was personal and private and I didn't want those expectations or perceived critique, so I kept it quiet.The idea of dieting is super uncomfortable. This is ridiculous- and I know it - but the sheer idea of "dieting" makes me already think about cheating & eating crap. Like I am rebelling against something that's clearly good for me- because the idea of complying to a diet sounds like a nightmare.
This is that mental game. My advice here is not to think of it as a diet--deprivation. Think of it as a healthier way of eating and learning how to lose weight. Understanding the calorie thing and where your calories are coming from is enormously empowering, IMO. As some others have said, it can be helpful just to log for a few days and then look at your diet and calories and figure out how you might be able to change things to lower calories and make the overall diet (as in way of eating) better.
Some people find it easier to start with certain health goals. I know I eat pretty well when I cook, so one of mine was to cook most of my meals and stop with the Indian take out (one of my weaknesses). And you don't have to give up all your treats--you want to find a way you can be happy doing longterm. I enjoy the way I have been eating over the last year MORE than the way I ate the year before, and I'm no more likely to be hungry and able to have the treats I love. I can't mindlessly eat whatever is before me or do high calorie meals like pizza 5 nights in a week (and for breakfast too), but I can do them on occasion.Also, think I'm a sugar and carb addict. For real. It haunts me. When I try to lower/cut my sugar intake, my body craves it like nothing else. I fixate on it. I cave in and feed the beast. How can I get past this seemingly hard-wired compulsion?
This is your mental reaction to change or perceived deprivation again, I think. It's because you are saying you can't have it. It goes away. I cut out snacking and at first during the times I would snack I wanted food like crazy. So I ate carrots and did something else. It went away and I stopped being hungry at all in those periods. As for sweets, I cut them out at first because I had an emotional crutch thing going on, but after that I just figured out how to include them in my day (ice cream after dinner, perhaps) and if I want them at other times I remind myself I get something later. It's not too hard to wait a few hours or 'til tomorrow, IMO. It's only when you start thinking "this is my last chance" that you tend to feel like you must eat as much as humanly possible (IME--people will have different tools).*my baby step* Today I commit to writing down what I eat. Including that damn jelly-filled doughnut that someone brought into work that I couldn't resist.
Perfect start! Just getting more mindful helps enormously and realizing that it's a process and all you need to do is make one change at a time also helps.
Good luck! And feel free to post specific temptations or struggles, as I know you are going to be overwhelmed by all the advice at first.
Nice post lemurcat.0 -
Yes let's NOT start that argument again. Whoops. You already did.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Don't think about it as diet think about it as a choice. A choice between healthy and unhealthy not good and bad. The donut wasn't bad but was it healthy? Would an apple sprinkled with cinnamon have been healthier? It would have been equally sweet.
If you want to lose weight all you have to do is use more calories than you consume on a daily basis. That's it.
If you want to look and feel healthier make healthier eating choices. Replace processed foods with whole foods. Gradually reduce your daily sugar intake. Read labels and keep your sugars, sodium and saturated fats low.
Feel free to friend me for support and my diary is always open
apple and a donut both have sugar, so not really sure what difference is.
A donut has fats/carbs/sugars all of which are essential macronutrients. If the donut is eaten in the context of an overall diet that hits all other macors/micros then it is not "unhealthy"....
One has fiber and more nutrients.
oh please lets not start the one form of sugar better than another argument.
and I clearly put it in the context of a diet that hits macro/micro/calorie goals..
or did you not read that part?
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leonidas_and_spartacus wrote: »I was a sugar addict, went cold turkey for 4 weeks. I craved for 4 weeks like some one addicted to crack. After 4 weeks, cravings went away and I don't even like anything sweet now. Do I eat an occasional birth day cake or treat? Sure. But only on my terms, I don't have to eat anything in moderation because I am weak and have to have something. I eat candies all day on days when I want to spike my insulin or do carb cycling. But not because I have to eat them. There is nothing wrong in restricting something to get over something.
You ate zero carbs for 4 weeks? Impressive.
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Where did he say that?leonidas_and_spartacus wrote: »I was a sugar addict, went cold turkey for 4 weeks. I craved for 4 weeks like some one addicted to crack. After 4 weeks, cravings went away and I don't even like anything sweet now. Do I eat an occasional birth day cake or treat? Sure. But only on my terms, I don't have to eat anything in moderation because I am weak and have to have something. I eat candies all day on days when I want to spike my insulin or do carb cycling. But not because I have to eat them. There is nothing wrong in restricting something to get over something.
You ate zero carbs for 4 weeks? Impressive.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yes let's NOT start that argument again. Whoops. You already did.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Don't think about it as diet think about it as a choice. A choice between healthy and unhealthy not good and bad. The donut wasn't bad but was it healthy? Would an apple sprinkled with cinnamon have been healthier? It would have been equally sweet.
If you want to lose weight all you have to do is use more calories than you consume on a daily basis. That's it.
If you want to look and feel healthier make healthier eating choices. Replace processed foods with whole foods. Gradually reduce your daily sugar intake. Read labels and keep your sugars, sodium and saturated fats low.
Feel free to friend me for support and my diary is always open
apple and a donut both have sugar, so not really sure what difference is.
A donut has fats/carbs/sugars all of which are essential macronutrients. If the donut is eaten in the context of an overall diet that hits all other macors/micros then it is not "unhealthy"....
One has fiber and more nutrients.
oh please lets not start the one form of sugar better than another argument.
and I clearly put it in the context of a diet that hits macro/micro/calorie goals..
or did you not read that part?
Exactly what I thought when I read that. We should start a pool re: how long before the pic of tinkertoys is pulled out asking if it came from an apple or table sugar.-1 -
So don't diet. Diets don't work anyway. Commit to just logging your food, exactly as you eat it, for two weeks. Don't deny yourself anything you wouldn't normally deny yourself. Take a good long look at what you are actually eating. See where the problem areas are (and aren't). You can't resolve to fix something without knowing what it is. After the two weeks make a few small, sensible changes, and leave the rest as it is. You will almost certainly stop feeling the urge for some foods once you know how bad they are, quite naturally, without forcing yourself to do anything.0
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Welcome 6 day user and love it.
You will need to reprogram your brain. I was an addict as well. (do you believe it an addict to sugars and carbs) Couldn't live without them. Now Ive kicked all my habits. NDJ1979 speaks the truth, but you need to kick start your food control. You will also have to relearn how to eat. It has nothing to do with exercise either. Its all about food knowledge. Ive just lost 55 lbs in 40 days learning how to eat. And yes I used some supplements and yes I lost muscle tone and yes my strength was low. I don't think I could have done it with out the supplements. But now all I do is eat and eat a lot, 3,100 calories a day. Half the time I cant eat all the food, so I lose a pound or two. And now I crave CAULIFLOWER RICE all the time. By the way over 2 months now and no pizza, pasta or rice.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Where did he say that?leonidas_and_spartacus wrote: »I was a sugar addict, went cold turkey for 4 weeks. I craved for 4 weeks like some one addicted to crack. After 4 weeks, cravings went away and I don't even like anything sweet now. Do I eat an occasional birth day cake or treat? Sure. But only on my terms, I don't have to eat anything in moderation because I am weak and have to have something. I eat candies all day on days when I want to spike my insulin or do carb cycling. But not because I have to eat them. There is nothing wrong in restricting something to get over something.
You ate zero carbs for 4 weeks? Impressive.
"I was a sugar addict, went cold turkey for 4 weeks"
Carbs are sugars, no?0 -
I have felt similarly about dieting in the past. What changed? Things I've learned from past attempts, getting actually really scared about some health consequences, and committing to logging and realizing that it gives me the power to know what I am eating and make decisions for myself about it. It gives me accountability, and it's no longer worth it to spend a lot of energy or time worrying about whether or not diets are good or bad, all I know is for myself I am eating in a way that makes me feel good now, and pays more and more dividends over time.
I also struggled with sugar before, here's my thread about that if you are curious. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10056950/the-truth-about-sugar-addiction-from-a-former-sugar-addict and here is my post about my first month tracking: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1440493/one-month-at-mfp That can be true for you too, give yourself a month and see where you can get!
My final note is troll the success boards, especially for people who have been successful for the long term. Here's one thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10073460/successful-maintainers-say-1y-or-more#latest One of my favorite people here is ShannonMpls, here is a great blog post by her: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShannonMpls/view/3-years-of-mfp-130-pounds-lost-what-i-ve-learned-669627 Check it out! This seems like it has a great list of inspiration stories: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10005819/nominate-success-story-posts-for-announcement-status
Best of luck! Start today. Just track and go from there.0 -
This ^^^^^^. This man speaks sense. Ignore the resthere is my advice.
start today, not a day from now, not a month from now.
Do the following:
1. enter all your stats into MFP and set for one pound per week loss
2. get a food scale
3. use the food scale to weigh all solid foods.
4. make sure that you log everything that you eat into MFP.
5. try not to use the generic entries but use the ones that are USDA.
6. go into custom setting and set your macro percent = Protein/Fats/Carbs to 35p/35c/30 fats
7. this is not necessary but I would suggest finding an active activity that you like, like running, walking, bicycling, lifting, etc and do something so that you move more..
8. This is the most important one. Please stop assigning moralistic values to food. Food is not "good," "bad," or "crap", it is just something that your body uses to get energy for bodily functions. Yes, this means that you can have foods like pizza, ice cream, cookies, bagels etc incorporated into your day. Just make sure that you hit your calorie/macor/micro targets for they day. when you boil it all down weight loss comes down to calories in vs calories out...Overall diet and dosage is what matter, not individual food choice.
9. repeat all this until you get to desired results..
good luck to you ...
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Yes let's NOT start that argument again. Whoops. You already did.Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Don't think about it as diet think about it as a choice. A choice between healthy and unhealthy not good and bad. The donut wasn't bad but was it healthy? Would an apple sprinkled with cinnamon have been healthier? It would have been equally sweet.
If you want to lose weight all you have to do is use more calories than you consume on a daily basis. That's it.
If you want to look and feel healthier make healthier eating choices. Replace processed foods with whole foods. Gradually reduce your daily sugar intake. Read labels and keep your sugars, sodium and saturated fats low.
Feel free to friend me for support and my diary is always open
apple and a donut both have sugar, so not really sure what difference is.
A donut has fats/carbs/sugars all of which are essential macronutrients. If the donut is eaten in the context of an overall diet that hits all other macors/micros then it is not "unhealthy"....
One has fiber and more nutrients.
oh please lets not start the one form of sugar better than another argument.
and I clearly put it in the context of a diet that hits macro/micro/calorie goals..
or did you not read that part?
ummm you quoted my post and injected your two cents..so that would assume you took issue with something I said..
Again, you obviously did not read and understand my full post, as I said one would have to take the overall diet into context and make sure that one hit macro/micro/calorie goals...0 -
leonidas_and_spartacus wrote: »I was a sugar addict, went cold turkey for 4 weeks. I craved for 4 weeks like some one addicted to crack. After 4 weeks, cravings went away and I don't even like anything sweet now. Do I eat an occasional birth day cake or treat? Sure. But only on my terms, I don't have to eat anything in moderation because I am weak and have to have something. I eat candies all day on days when I want to spike my insulin or do carb cycling. But not because I have to eat them. There is nothing wrong in restricting something to get over something.
generally curious...do you also have the same "crack" like addiction to vegetables or breads...??0 -
I agree with all those people who say don't diet. Just decide to take excellent care of your health and fitness. Focus on giving your body what it needs - lots of lean protein, veg, fruit and complex carbs.
I don't entirely agree with people who say there are no bad foods. I like the theory but in practise some foods trigger constant cravings (and are designed by the food industry to do just that.) Work out what your trigger foods are (typical ones are wheat based baked products and sugary foods) and replace them with foods you love that aren't 'diet' foods but don't leave you desperate to eat the whole pack in one go.
Start with foods you love that are also healthy and work round them. Maybe read some of the non diet slimming books, such as Allen Carr's Easy Way and Paul McKenna's I Can Make You Thin. they both say you can have whatever you want, whenever you want it so long as you are genuinely hungry and eat it slowly with an awareness of when you feel full.0 -
leonidas_and_spartacus wrote: »I was a sugar addict, went cold turkey for 4 weeks. I craved for 4 weeks like some one addicted to crack. After 4 weeks, cravings went away and I don't even like anything sweet now. Do I eat an occasional birth day cake or treat? Sure. But only on my terms, I don't have to eat anything in moderation because I am weak and have to have something. I eat candies all day on days when I want to spike my insulin or do carb cycling. But not because I have to eat them. There is nothing wrong in restricting something to get over something.
generally curious...do you also have the same "crack" like addiction to vegetables or breads...??
genuinely curious ... what do you pass when someone says 'Please pass the sugar'?0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »leonidas_and_spartacus wrote: »I was a sugar addict, went cold turkey for 4 weeks. I craved for 4 weeks like some one addicted to crack. After 4 weeks, cravings went away and I don't even like anything sweet now. Do I eat an occasional birth day cake or treat? Sure. But only on my terms, I don't have to eat anything in moderation because I am weak and have to have something. I eat candies all day on days when I want to spike my insulin or do carb cycling. But not because I have to eat them. There is nothing wrong in restricting something to get over something.
generally curious...do you also have the same "crack" like addiction to vegetables or breads...??
genuinely curious ... what do you pass when someone says 'Please pass the sugar'?
genuinely curious ... when alcoholics say they are addicted, do they mean just a very specific type of alcohol ie just beer or whiskey, they can drink other types just fine in moderation?0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »leonidas_and_spartacus wrote: »I was a sugar addict, went cold turkey for 4 weeks. I craved for 4 weeks like some one addicted to crack. After 4 weeks, cravings went away and I don't even like anything sweet now. Do I eat an occasional birth day cake or treat? Sure. But only on my terms, I don't have to eat anything in moderation because I am weak and have to have something. I eat candies all day on days when I want to spike my insulin or do carb cycling. But not because I have to eat them. There is nothing wrong in restricting something to get over something.
generally curious...do you also have the same "crack" like addiction to vegetables or breads...??
genuinely curious ... what do you pass when someone says 'Please pass the sugar'?
you do realize that breads and vegetables break down as sugar in the body, right?
but I typically would pass the table sugar and not a celery stalk ..
when someone says that they have a "crack like" addiction to sugar, I assume that would be to all forms of sugar. It would be like saying I am addicted to crack, but I still snort cocaine...0 -
This ^^^^^^. This man speaks sense. Ignore the resthere is my advice.
start today, not a day from now, not a month from now.
Do the following:
1. enter all your stats into MFP and set for one pound per week loss
2. get a food scale
3. use the food scale to weigh all solid foods.
4. make sure that you log everything that you eat into MFP.
5. try not to use the generic entries but use the ones that are USDA.
6. go into custom setting and set your macro percent = Protein/Fats/Carbs to 35p/35c/30 fats
7. this is not necessary but I would suggest finding an active activity that you like, like running, walking, bicycling, lifting, etc and do something so that you move more..
8. This is the most important one. Please stop assigning moralistic values to food. Food is not "good," "bad," or "crap", it is just something that your body uses to get energy for bodily functions. Yes, this means that you can have foods like pizza, ice cream, cookies, bagels etc incorporated into your day. Just make sure that you hit your calorie/macor/micro targets for they day. when you boil it all down weight loss comes down to calories in vs calories out...Overall diet and dosage is what matter, not individual food choice.
9. repeat all this until you get to desired results..
good luck to you ...
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Can someone help? How do you change your macros as "ndj1979" suggests. I've gone into Settings but can't see how to make any changes to macros. Thanks!0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »leonidas_and_spartacus wrote: »I was a sugar addict, went cold turkey for 4 weeks. I craved for 4 weeks like some one addicted to crack. After 4 weeks, cravings went away and I don't even like anything sweet now. Do I eat an occasional birth day cake or treat? Sure. But only on my terms, I don't have to eat anything in moderation because I am weak and have to have something. I eat candies all day on days when I want to spike my insulin or do carb cycling. But not because I have to eat them. There is nothing wrong in restricting something to get over something.
generally curious...do you also have the same "crack" like addiction to vegetables or breads...??
genuinely curious ... what do you pass when someone says 'Please pass the sugar'?
you do realize that breads and vegetables break down as sugar in the body, right?
but I typically would pass the table sugar and not a celery stalk ..
when someone says that they have a "crack like" addiction to sugar, I assume that would be to all forms of sugar. It would be like saying I am addicted to crack, but I still snort cocaine...
Or you could more logically assume they mean the more common definition of sugar, which is a processed crystalized substance people pass when asked for sugar.
When in doubt as to definition, it's usually a good idea to think "Which definition makes more sense in the context of this sentence or paragraph."0 -
teeseeytopcat wrote: »Can someone help? How do you change your macros as "ndj1979" suggests. I've gone into Settings but can't see how to make any changes to macros. Thanks!
click "my home" "goals" "custom" and then you can change the percents0
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