Why Can You Eat Fattening Food? What's Your Secret

MFPRat

I also have trouble stopping at "just a bite" or "only one" of something that is a trigger food for me. I have to do a lot of self talk to convince myself to just stay away.
Part of this self talk is telling myself that the pizza, cinnamon rolls, ice cream, whatever, is not going away. It will always be there and I can have it at any time. But for now, that food is "on the back burner" until I can handle it. Sometimes it actually works!!

laserturkey

It helps not to categorize foods as "good" or "bad" but just to think of food as food. Then you can make choices without guilt and emotional stuff getting into the mix. If you are in the habit of measuring your food and logging the calories from it, then that habit carries over to chocolate and butter and pizza as well as carrots and avocados and tofu. It's all just FOOD. Eating too much FOOD puts us over calories and makes us gain weight. Demonizing certain foods makes them more tempting and encourages us to want them more. If we see all foods as neutral and make our decisions based more on the actual food rather than the emotional aspect of it, it's easier to enjoy something tasty that fits within our macros with no guilt whatsoever.

cherryd69

Iv just had Kfc for lunch, although its taken me over my calories and left me with about 140 for the day (still not had evening meal yet) iv shrugged my shoulders and planned exercise for once iv got changed.

If i was in a super lazy mood then id just have to deal with it... after all its only one day. Tomorrow is a new day for me to not have kfc for lunch. It will teach me not to let hubby chose what were having for lunch... i knew i should have chosen.

bcattoes

So how do you do this and are still successful with your weight loss plan. I'm not as strong as you I suppose. I do have food cravings, and food addictions, and by saying that with one caveat, I do not believe I'm a victim of my food choices, however, I am realistic about myself and I know that I need to choose to not eat certain things because it does lead to bad things. All my hard work for 2 days just goes down the drain and that is maybe the worst thing, so I dont want to undo all my hard work.

This last sentence answers your question, OP. Psychology is the answer. People often focus on only the physiology of weight loss. But for many, psychology plays a much bigger role.

It comes down to changing your relationship with food.

holothuroidea

Everyone has different regulatory styles. Some people are better at moderation, and some people are better at abstaining.

So when it comes to your top pleasure foods, for you it is easier to avoid them all together to avoid overeating them. For me it is easier to have just a little bit every once in a while. If I try to avoid it all together, I'll end up going crazy eventually and eating more than I should.

Don't think your way is inferior just because other people still need to eat some of that stuff to regulate their food habits. Everyone is just different, that's all.

beckyinma

portion control, exercise, and deciding if taking that risk, and eating a binge trigger food is REALLY worth all those extra calories, or if you can control yourself enough to have one piece and leave it alone after. 'trigger foods' are bad. If you don't have enough control to keep the binges at bay, then no, you can't have those foods. Not everyone has the same trigger foods, not everyone has the same emotional triggers. Figure out what is causing you to want that extra slice in the first place, is there something underlying that is causing you to say 'the hell with it' and go for another helping? It's not always about the food, but sometimes it's about your life, or the circumstances around you.

geekette411

There's no magic to being able to eat fast food and still lose weight. You just have to make room for it in your calorie goal. You can do that by eating a smaller portion of it, by cutting back the calories in your other meals that day, and/or by exercising away some of the calories. It's simple, but it's not easy. I've been doing it for three months and I'm still learning. It works for me. It's not for everyone. Good luck to you!

This.
Very sensible and very true. There is no secret, it's all about choices.

elyelyse

there are some things I can't just have a little of... 1 slice of pizza? no way! so, I don't have pizza often, and when I REALLY REALLY want it, I plan to have it, I get a whole small cheese pie for myself, and a small bottle of coke, and I eat it. All in one day. and I don't eat many more calories of anything else that day, ill probably have a huge salad with some lean protein, and snacks of carrots or cucumbers. I may go a bit past my maintenance calories for the day, but none of us got fat in a day... and I got to gorge myself on delicious, cheesy pizza and coke. The benefit of doing it this way for me: If I know that I can occasionally do this, it is MUCH easier for me to resist on a day to day basis. I no longer crave multiple slices of pizza multiple times a week.

I do something like this every 2 weeks or so. Sometimes I do the pizza, sometimes it's a pint of ice cream, some times its a ridiculous portion of mashed potatoes oozing with butter. I (try to) never do this on a whim, either. I wait until I have had a few days of craving something very specific, and then plan to have it.

everyone has their own tricks and mind games they play with themselves... this one works for me.

lporter229

Why is it that most people can have a cocktail or two and be done, while others cannot stop?

I mean that seriously!

I think we all have unique bodies and minds... and we all have different biochemical responses to different foods. I think for some people, food lights up their reward centers in their brain JUST a bit more than others (for example: "food orgasm").... while others are not as affected.

I tend to think, across the whole- we all have our vices... all have our weak spots. The unfair thing is that obesity can be seen where other issues cannot. So that sucks!

But I really believe that some people can lose weight with the motto of "moderation"... while other people have to create black and white rules for quite a while before they can EVER (if ever) go back to trying moderation. Reminds me of any other recovery program honestly.

For me, sweets do nothing. I enjoy dark chocolate- but not for the sweetness of it. I shrug at a bowl of ice cream. It means nothing- this is a mystery to my husband.
SALT however.... gimme gimme gimme! I could eat a whole bag of chips without thinking.

So again, we're made differently.

Great response!

ShellK71

I tried restricting what I ate before and failed. I have cut out almost all soda. And really don't miss it. So now if my family has pizza I do too. One small slice and then a huge salad. At a BBQ. Yep I will have a small helping of potato salad and a hot dog then fill up on fruit. Why not? One step in weight loss is learning portion control. Besides I am now taking zoloft and it kills my appitite and has controlled my stress and anxiety so I don't snack all day. Huge stress eater here. Not pushing this on any body and not saying take meds it helps. Besides I also now realize that if I'm going to have a bad eating day such as work meeting lunches or birthday parties I take into consideration that this meal is going to be so bad. And plan the rest of the day so I can have what is being served. Why can't i have cake and ice cream? Just smaller portions.

csheltra26

I was in the same boat as you. I never allowed myself any of the "tasty" food I loved, and when I did boy did I go overboard. I have learned a couple of things:

First, don't create such a large calorie deficit where you can't ever enjoy anything. Yes, I saw a registered dietician and yes she put me on 1200 calories a day. Ridiculous for someone who worked out 12+ hours a week including several kickboxing classes and running 4X a week. This lead me to have a list of "good foods" and "bad foods".

Second - don't have that list of "good foods" and "bad foods". Everything in moderation. this is a lifestyle, not a diet. it's not realistic to never have a piece of pizza again.

I am now at a place where I don't have to eat all the fries on my plate or the whole bacon cheeseburger. or the whole HUGE bag of M&Ms. Now I can have a snack size and feel satisfied because there is no food that is off limits.

Good luck!

rainbow198

Here are the tips I have learned for my body:

I'm a bigger girl so my daily calories are higher so I can eat more.

I exercise a lot, I lift heavy weights and I am very active. Since I burned a lot of calories I can eat more.

I plan and work treats into my daily calories or eat a little less during the week so I can have my weekend treats/meals.

Portion control. It took me a long time to learn to eat a little something sweet and be satisfied with it, but once I did it was smooth sailing.

Don't keep any treats or unhealthy snacks in the house. When I want some candy I go to bulk section in my grocery store and buy like 15 gummy worms. It does cost a lot more than buying them in a bag, that that is plenty for me to enjoy and I don't have to worry about binging on them.

Doing all of this enables me to eat off plan and not gain weight.

cwolfman13

Hi - this is my question based on another topic here. How come YOU can eat pizza, donuts, fried chicken, a big candy bar, a big pie, etc.. etc. and I need to NOT eat that? I mean this is for the people that admit they eat this but yet in the big picture, it doesn't seem to hurt their weight loss. So what is it that you have that I dont?

for me to eat healthy, I fit it into the MFP guidelines, and yes I could "cheat" and eat something like a piece of pie, and still be within my nutition info. However, when I choose to eat that stuff, i cannot stop at a taste.................

Your answer is in bold. I can have a serving of ice cream or a piece of cake or whatever without having to go back and eat the whole tub or whole cake. My rule is, get my nutrition...my vitamins and minerals and protein and essential fats. If I get all of that in my food then everything else is just awesomeness and I enjoy within my calorie goal.

jinna86

I used to have certain foods that I couldn't just leave alone, i *had to* have them, and i couldn't just stop at one bite, I had to eat it all.... those were foods that I'd always considered to be "bad" foods that I should refrain from and even felt somewhat guilty about eating them.

I have since changed my attitude towards food. firstly, I see food as primarily for nutrition, so rather than focusing on what i *shouldn't* eat, which is what nearly everyone who tries to eat healthy or lose weight does... instead I focus on what I *should* eat, i.e. plenty of protein, healthy fat, healthy carbs, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water. (yes, within a calorie goal when losing fat, but for the past few months I've been maintaining or eating for strength gains and not tracking). I've also stopped considering any food to be forbidden. If I've eaten enough nutritious food then I'll eat whatever I want that fits in my calorie goal if I'm cutting (or if I'm not tracking then i have a sensible sized portion of it) - I remind myself that I can have these foods whenever I want and there's nothing wrong with enjoying them, or any food. Since I've been doing that, and changing how I think about food, I've no longer had a problem with cravings or with being unable to stop eating any particular kind of food. I literally used to think of any forbidden food, that if I don't eat as much as I can of it now, that I won't get to eat this food again, so make the most of it. I didn't really realise this was how i was thinking, until after I stopped thinking like that. Now I think of nothing as being forbidden, I can eat any food whenever I want, so that urgency simply isn't there any more, I eat some, I leave the rest for another time.

Also, if you are not eating enough, the desire to eat high calorie food, or food containing the nutrients you're not getting enough of in your diet, is actually a normal physiological response. it's not a psychological problem, it's something that evolved to enable our evolutionary ancestors, who had no idea what a balanced diet is or how many calories they should eat, to not die of starvation or nutritional deficiencies. So anyone who's suffering from any kind of binge eating should first rule out the possibility that their diet is deficient in any nutrient, and also ensure that they're getting sufficient calories. Aiming for slower, steadier weight loss is better, because it's less likely to trigger bingeing or constant snacking... i.e. it's a lot more sustainable and the goal is long term maintenance of a healthy weight, not how much you can lose in x amount of time. So it is vitally important to ensure that you're eating properly before you decide that any binge eating or inability to eat treat foods in moderation is a psychological issue. For many it's a normal physiological survival response to not eating enough.

This is a great post! I agree with the idea that if you label something as "forbidden," then when you eat it, you feel like you have to eat as much as possible because you tell yourself it's the last time you're ever going to have it.

I find the one of the keys to maintaining a mentality of moderation is to remind yourself that those tasty foods are always going to be there if you want them, so there's no need to gorge on them now when you can always have more tomorrow.

NonnyMary

Hi ya'll wow great answers! i really mean that. You guys rock!

The thing that bugs me now, is the hidden sodium in food, im aiming for low sodium, i am trying between 1,000 and 1,800 mg (g?) per day. That way i have wiggle room, and 90 mg sugars because i want to eat 3 fruits a day.

Fine and dandy sugar candy lol... anyhoo, today they had food catered in, so i chose a turkey wrap, however, i think it may have had a lot of sodium, which im finding a lot of restaurant food has too much sodium even though I can't taste it.

so in order to keep in my numbers, i have to watch what i eat. I know its just a day, but its annnoying that i am trying to choose good foods within my numbers and this stupid sandwich seems to be too expensive as far as sodium content. Heck, in comparison, a piece of thin crust cheese pizza has better nutrients than that sandwich wrap.

So that is what i am dealing with now - If i am not making my food and eating out because Im in that situation, then it is hard to find food that has low sodium numbers. I think i may have to eliminate the bread in every case and just each the insides. Thats what was catered, but hurray I didn't crave the brownies they had for dessert! so that is a win!

Oh i am not going to fret much over it, just a momentary annoyance, i know if i gain weight from it, it will go down in a few days and then i am ok again. i dont want you to think im going to go into a funk, its just a challenge that im learning about these food items. i think i am choosing right, but nope, stupid high sodium restaurant food is on my plate. I'm going to see if my job can order a special plate for those of us who need a different kind of lunch when its served in meetings at work.

LOL, I re-read my above comment, i dont mean to sound like those people that crash into a lightpole when they say for an excuse "i was walking down the street and this light pole just walked into me".

jonnythan

Did a doctor tell you to keep sodium that low? If not, you should beware. Sodium levels that low have been directly linked to heart failure and death.

neandermagnon

The British national health service advice is to not exceed 6g sodium a day (i.e. 6000mg) - so unless a doctor has told you not to go over then numbers you mentioned in your post, then I think you can eat quite a bit more sodium without any negative health effects. I think this will make it easier for you to make good choices in terms of foods that fit your macros for fat loss. If your doctor did tell you to keep sodium that low then maybe ask your doctor to refer you to a dietician who can help you to eat both for very low sodium and fat loss and get a lot of ideas and also advice on how to make the right choices from them.

It sounds like work is a pain in the rear re catered foods for meetings - would they allow you to eat your own lunch that you made at home instead? Or alternatively you could eat your own lunch right before the meeting so you're not hungry and not tempted to snack on what they've provided for the meeting.

ash190489

I'm a self confessed ex foodie addict and reached my goals by not eliminating foods but having little tiny bits in moderation. To begin with my partner had to hide particular foods and give them to me. Eventually you get used to smaller portion sizes and find that both your physical results and small serving satisifying.
Once I reached my goal I began eating my favorite things again in moderation and at the smaller serving size.
Now I don't crave things anymore unless its TOM haha. Eventually you'll learn to control things but for now its hard and younneed to bevstrong.

crandos

I eat it to my calorie total for the day

Camera_BagintheUK

nonnymousse1 you've spent your lifetime educating your body to eat this way, so it's going to take time and effort to educate your body to eat differently. I would say I was like you - a treat was never enough, I had to finish the packet/plate/whole thing etc. And I had to fill my mouth, and then fill it again, and I was putting food inside myself without even noticing it sometimes. I called it my Hungry Head - it was like I was filling an emotional hole. Usually I think it was when I was bored or anxious or lonely.

I think - no I know I've stopped that now.

I don't know why it's working for me. I do know, that because I'm restricting calories, and because I've been learning what's high in calories and what's lower, I'm learning and making choices. But I do know it's all in my head.

I have noticed little things that help - like I used to go to the biscuit tin and pull out a fistful of - say - bourbon creams, stick the first one straight in my mouth, and I'd have polished them all off by the time I got to the front room, where I wanted to sit eating them in front of the TV. So I'd just have to go back and pull out another fistful. Now, I know that one bourbon cream biscuit is 68 calories, so I can't afford more than one. So when I catch myself with the biscuit on my lips as I put the lid back on the tin, I stop myself, and take the biscuit back to my seat, put it down, and wait. then I eat it slowly. It works for me - I feel like I've enjoyed my biscuit instead of swallowing it without noticing.

I'll bet you'll notice things like that, in the way you eat all your favourite naughty food. And you'll find ways, like me and my biscuit, of getting control of your sugary and fatty food instead of feeling like it's in control of you. It's not in control of you. You've always been in control of it, you just haven't realised that. So I'm sure you'll be able to find little strategies like me and my biscuit to allow you to enjoy your treats without overdoing it. But it will be something you have to work at over time.