Food addict tips!

MyKidzRKute

Hey everyone! Im not extremely new here but believe I need some to be succesful as over the past 2 years my weight has driffted in between the same 30 lbs. I am 30 years old, 5"6 and currently 190 lbs. I have absolutely no problem with excersize and fitness. I enjoy gym classes with my fav being step and spin and I attend at least 4 classes a week. I started running last year and have done a few 5k's but now I am working on improving my form, increasing my speed and running a 10k. I also swim but only a little bit. I play tennis rightn ow only once a week but that will probably increase soon. My problem is FOOD. I am an absolute foodaholic! And once I get eating their is no stopping me! Everything is my weakness, salt, sugar, chocolate, you name it and I'll crave it. I need help here! Whenever I am following a program I do really well and find myself loosing weight and then one day I'll just crash and it's downhill from there and alllllll the weight comes back and I find myself miserable and starting over on something else. I need any advice that ANYONE can give me. Especiall if you have the same type of eating personality and have overcome issues. Anything at all would be great Thanks!

admegamo

It's a struggle for me too. Right now I avoid anything that I know I seriously will not put down but mosly I find ways to work them into my day. That way I don't go on a binge. I also eat on a schedule because when I fall off my schedule even by an hour, I dive right into a big bag of chips or something. Anything. Oh and sometimes I will exercise more so I can eat just a little over my calorie goal but I do my best not to eat all of my extra calories.

GormanGhaste

I think a common problem here is that people set their calorie goals too low. This ends up making them too hungry to follow the plan long term. And if you do a lot of exercise, you'll need to eat even more.

granitendirt

We sound similar! I am very active and have no problem working out.

Here's my thoughts on what has helped me, and may or may not help you:

1) ^What GormanGhaste said. I need 1800-2000 kcal per day, period. If I'm not tracking I'll comfortably eat around 3,000 and not really think about it (and since I'm so active the weight creeps on slowly... but creep it does). I used to think I needed to cut to 1,400 per day or whatever to lose, but NEVER AGAIN.

2) Emotional eating... Boredom, frustration, whatever. Sometimes I'd just want a break from work so I'd go get a snack. Identifying this and being aware has helped.

3) Watch social outings... I'm very social and the group eating can add a lot of calories. You know, BBQs, drinking, etc. I don't avoid going out, I'm just aware it's a problem and I make appropriate choices.

4) Make room in my diet for things I really enjoy eating, like ice cream. Sometimes I want to eat it every day for a week, other times I'll go a couple of months without even realizing I haven't had any. Adjust accordingly.

healthygreek

I was at 188 a few years back on a similar roller coaster.
I changed my ways by vowing never to diet again.
I ate what I wanted in smaller portions. I denied myself nothing that I really wanted.
That being said, I love fish, lots of veggies, salads, steak, chicken, eggs and also treats like chocolate and ice cream. I gradually lost weight in 10-20 pound increments. I would lose a bunch then plateau for awhile and then continue on til the present. I'm 122 now at 5'1" with 2 more pounds to go.
After I vowed never to "diet" again, I never again regained lost weight. If I ate a bit more for one, two or more days, I went back down to the calories I needed to eat to lose and eventually continued on my journey. If I was hungry, I ate. I eat well with chocolate almost every day. I drink wine, beer or an occasional vodka. I workout 5 days a week for an hour and walk a lot on weekends.
I always thought normal weight people didn't eat much but now that I'm one of those I know that's not true, because I love to eat and I eat well.
The trick is to make sure you are not doing a deprivation type of lifestyle and make sure you go back to a good eating lifestyle after you eat too much for a day or two.