unhealthy relationship with food

jenb8529

Well I completely undid my diet over the long holiday weekend. My problem is once I go over my calories I kind of let go with a "screw it" mentality and then eat everything. I know I'm only digging a deeper whole but can't seem to get back on track.

janjunie

I did that on the weekend too, and it wasn't even a long weekend here. I ate somethings I couldn't log and then after that was just not logging anything else I ate the rest of the day, and I just ate and ate. Started the next day with plenty of energy for my morning workout, because that's really all you can do. Start over, don't fret.

hiyomi

When I feel that way, I simply put things into a reality check for myself. What's going to happen if you keep eating over calories? You are going to gain weight again. What happens when you gain weight again? You will have to start over again and you will have lost all that progress because you didn't want to stop eating. I know everyone isn't the same, but this is what works for me usually...

Francl27

That's why logging helps me. When you log everything, you see the red numbers go up, and it's MUCH harder to ignore.

Asher_Ethan

When I get into a rut like that, I switch my diary to maintain my weight for a week. That way I'm not as hungry and I get myself focused back on logging correctly.

Wicked_Seraph

I used to be guilty of the same thing.

Keep logging. Honestly. Even if you're 300, 400, 900 calories over your goal, keep logging, to the best of your ability. There have been times where I have NO way of logging and the best I can do is quick-add 900 calories and hope for the best.

You're not a failure for going over your calorie goal once in a while. Enjoy the food - I mean, REALLY, TRULY enjoy it - and get back on track the next day. You're not going to gain it all back. You might gain a few pounds in water retention if you ate a bunch of salt, carbs, and not a lotta water (guilty as charged!), but there's no way in hell you'll gain back a bunch of fat because of a Memorial Day barbecue. Chill

markswife1992

i read an article that asked "do you reward yourself with food?" and i thought NO of course not!
the a few days later, i was cleaning the house, and i was hungry. instead of stopping and eating immediately, i noticed that i told myself, "when you finish with the cleaning, then you can go eat..." so i realized, I AM rewarding myself with food. now i am trying to "undo" the bad relationship i have with food. i need it to survive, and it shouldnt' be a reward for hard work. i hope you find answers, too.

UncaToddly

jenb8529 wrote: »

Well I completely undid my diet over the long holiday weekend. My problem is once I go over my calories I kind of let go with a "screw it" mentality and then eat everything. I know I'm only digging a deeper whole but can't seem to get back on track.

I did the same thing but I don't beat myself up about it. It doesn't have to completely de-rail your journey but it will slow it down. Examples:

On Thursday 2 weeks ago I was at 302 and was set to break 300 before the week was out.... but while I did OK when we actually had the breast cancer bake sale at work the day before..... I kinda went overboard on the free "leftovers" the next day. Then had a big meal at Sizzler that night because, I was feeling "in for a penny, in for a pound.". It slowed me down, sure. Instead of breaking 300 that week, I did it this past Friday and got down to 298.

The long holiday weekend didn't go so well either and I just pretty much wrote it off. I was back up to 303 again today after a weekend of way too many carbs. I will get back into it this week and get back on track.

The biggest thing for me, and believe me, I have been able to have willpower on a lot of things but food is WAY tougher, is that I no longer beat myself up about it. It is going to happen. I am working on losing weight and working on changing my relationship with food, but that doesn't mean I am trying to cut weight with the discipline of a top level MMA fighter. Am I happy when I slip or just go with it? No, but I also don't see it as some catastrophic failure on my part.

katiestenton

jenb8529 wrote: »

Well I completely undid my diet over the long holiday weekend. My problem is once I go over my calories I kind of let go with a "screw it" mentality and then eat everything. I know I'm only digging a deeper whole but can't seem to get back on track.

This is definitely me! Add me if you want to motivate each other. My diary is open.. Warts and all lol xx

85Cardinals

Our relationship used to be unhealthy, but me and food went to a counselor. We're trying our best to work out our differences, making some progress.

KateTii

I'm guilty of having days where I go "screw it, i'm eating EVERRRRYYYTHING".

It happens. We are humans and are hard wired to want to consume as much as possible - it's a survival thing.

The key is, you always have to "get back on the horse". As long as your "good" days outnumber the "bad" days, you'll always be ahead. Even if it's take three steps forward, two steps back, you're still one step ahead.

jenb8529

Thank you all! You all are very helpful

ashesfromfire

The thing I try to keep in mind when I blow my calories is the comparison of: saying 'screw it' when I exceed my calories and continue to over eat would be the same as dropping my cell phone on the ground, sayi g 'screw it, probably already broken' and stomping it to smithereens. I wouldn't do that, makes no sense, I would pick it back up and fix it if need be, but chances are it's fine so I make a me takes note to take better care of it. We all go over sometimes, the trick is pulling yourself back in

msanc095

You are not alone! I am the same way and that's way I have fail so many times in my weight lost journey. You just need motivation. I think that if you have a strong motive it will be easier to get on track. Don't get discourage and just keep going eventually it will get easier to adjust to this new lifestyle.

amyrp8c

If you dropped your phone would you jump on it and damage it even more? No. Think of the same thing with your diet, just because you have had a bad meal or bad day dont make it into a bad week doing more damage. Thats what i was told a while back and it always stuck with me

endlessfall16

Like you and many others here, I also enjoy great quantities of foods on weekends. But, unlike others I do not think that I undo anything and I do not *have* to come in at a particular calorie value the next days.

all_in_the_game

Deal with those cravings by doing whatever you like doing the best, a physical activity or any mind engaging activity that commands the complete attention of your body and mind will help you distance yourself from unnecessary cravings.

When I have unnecessary urges to munch, I play snooker. It an engaging sport for my physical as well as mental facilities. The game itself requires strong and stable mind apart from technical prowess. That keeps me from thinking anything else while it also entertains me.

The deal is, go for something that entertains you and involves mind n body engagement (preferably outdoor/indoor games), you won't be thinking about food anymore.

joolieb1

There is the issue of the brain, I spent a long time training it to use food to celebrate and also when I feel down,miso it will take time to teach it that there are new ways of doing it. I still feel as if I could have a feeding frenzy on chocolate any time but I am counting calories which sets my limit. No know if I eat rubbish, I will be hungry! Ditched counting for a month and naughty foods soon snuck in and weight rise. Do what works and if something doesn't work, stop doing it LOL! For me, tracking helps me, trusting myself still doesn't work

missh1967

I used to be that way ("I'm already over my calories, so screw it"), but I am learning to ask myself questions. Do I feel deprived for some reason? Am I overeating to compensate for feelings I don't want to acknowledge? Have my calories been TOO low and I need a refeed? Am I stressed? Overtired? Overworked? Etc. Getting into my head and my emotions seems to help.

And every so often, I do say, "Screw it, I want that," and I enjoy every bite of it.