why do i obsess?

djz26

Everytime i decide to start eating better i turn it into a huge diet and i always end up obsessing over what i can and cannot eat. i deprive myself and then ruin it all by bingeing. I have gotten myself into such A viscious circle and its killing me. How do i stop? How do i learn to just eat to live, rather then live to eat?

00trayn

That's the key... not to deprive yourself. So far I've lost 27 pounds. During it, I've eaten ice cream, thin mint girl scout cookies, food from my favorite mongolian bbq, etc. I haven't let my healthier lifestyle deprive me. If I want a treat, I know I have to work for it. I very rarely go over my calories when I enjoy my treats. It just means that I have to workout to get some extra calories for them. I've been able to keep up my healthy lifestyle for 5 months without falling off the wagon once. Going to the extreme might work for a few weeks, but it's not sustainable. Let yourself live a little, I promise the scale won't magically jump 5 pounds unless you let yourself slip back into old habits.

caitlinclock

My biggest problem was always looking at the big picture. It's nice to have an overall goal, but having smaller, more achievable goals to break it all down is really the key to success. Try looking at your journey one step at a time instead of one massive diet. Don't deprive yourself, but eat all your calories for the day. Eat the foods that you enjoy but eat them in smaller portions. Have one day or one meal each day that you can look forward to and reward yourself and have something you really like that might be a little more calories than usual but just eat less of it than you usually would. Most importantly, don't think of it as a diet - you are still eating but you are just eating less. It's just a change in your lifestyle and in the way you eat your food.

Good luck!

hkystar

You really cant deprive yourself of the foods you enjoy without setting yourself up for failure. I just control the portion sizes of the things I like that arent very healthy for me. I get the fix from eating just a smaller amount and I dont bust my daily limits.

DrBorkBork

Why are you depriving yourself? The word diet means the food you put in your body. All living creatures have diets. Kinda changes things when you look at it that way, huh? Just do it all in moderation. Substitute some of your faves for healthier alternatives. Small changes make BIG differences!

jrich1

Just think about this.. dont deprive yourself and dont overdo it, if you want an occasional treat you can, just remember, its a LONG TERM, if you gain 1lb this week because of that pizza, then just work on the next week and move on.
I too have eaten pizza, ice cream, and some other junk and still lost over 40lbs. Just plan out your menus and relax

Larstepla

If you deprive yourself you are setting yourself up to fail. Set smaller, achievable goals and celebrate those successes. Look at this as a big picture issue. This isn't about making hard and fast "rules"- this is about making better choices for yourself. If you really want a brownie, make the least destructive choice that will satisfy you. If that means you have a small, decadent brownie- GO AHEAD!! Add a little bit of extra activity to balance out the additional treat and voila!

Do not beat yourself up. If you slip- and we all do- get back on the horse. Refuse to let one bad day get you down. Don't allow yourself to be distracted by a small set-back. Instead, tell yourself that tomorrow is a new day and you will start again. If you focus on the failure, you lose sight of the goal. Keep your eye on tomorrow. Do your best for today- whatever that may be. Give yourself permission to be imperfect. We're only human after all.

imagymrat

I agree with some of the info provided, except I don't think you should eat junk everyday, or ever other day even, I think the goal should be to eat healthy 99% of the time, with the occasional treat. I also don't believe in exercising to achieve a junk food reward, that makes no sense to me, the point of exercise is achieve and maintain RESULTS!! . I don't believe in depriving yourself, but I do believe that you can find healthier options for the foods you typically crave, Next time your food cravings start coming out, think about this. Look at the food and think, "What do I want more… the 5 seconds of enjoyment that I will have while I chew this food, or the enjoyment of the fact that 24 hours of everyday, 7 days of every week, I will have the body that I want to have." That is what it comes down to really, and let me tell you... no food tastes as good as that feeling feels. Every food is ok as long as it's eaten in moderation. One candy bar won't hurt. One cookie won't hurt. One piece of junk food won't hurt. Will it help? No, it will not help. It is doing nothing good for you in any way possible. Therefore, it serves no purpose. You are giving into your cravings for 5 seconds of chewing enjoyment, and nothing more. If anything, it does more bad than good. Do you know what giving into your food cravings "in moderation" does to most people? It makes them feel guilty. It makes them crave that food even more. It keeps the cravings alive and strong. Stop giving in to your cravings and the cravings will go away. Simple as that....wow I just read what I posted and i'm being a bit of a b*tch but it's true, you really have know and want your goals, Only you can decide if the "junk" you put into your body is because you really cannot live without eating it...if so, then I hope you eat it and enjoy it, without the guilt, where there's guilt there's no true enjoyment...I just want to make people THINK about their choices, we're adults we can control our behaviours and believe it or not as cravings as well...it can be done my friends, you just have to want it.