How to break over eating habits?

rwinder514
rwinder514 Posts: 3 Member
edited November 20 in Getting Started
Doing this food journal has really put into perspective how much I over eat. I love food! And let me tell you my husband is Mexican and loves to cook. I need so advice on getting a grip on overeating habits? I eat because I really enjoy food!

Replies

  • enyagoboom
    enyagoboom Posts: 377 Member
    Are you logging your food? Weighing it? I found that doing those things - mainly just tracking it in MFP has helped me get a handle on my portion sizes and I am eating far less than I did 3 weeks ago with room to improve still.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Everybody loves food. Don't use that as an excuse to overeat.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    edited July 2017
    Be sure to weigh and measure what you eat, drink a glass of water about 30 minutes before a meal since that can help fill you up. You can have what you want in the proper amounts. And like "kommo" above me said, we all love food so we can all use that excuse to overeat! You got this. Just get yourself in to a different routine and you will get used to it over time. Think of where you want to be a year from now, that helps me!
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Check out this thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10563959/volume-eaters-thread/p1
  • cshankes
    cshankes Posts: 31 Member
    Tracking has helped me get a handle on the amount of food I eat. Even if I go over my calories limit for the day. It keeps me accountable to myself and I am more aware of how much I am eating.
  • DharmainHeels
    DharmainHeels Posts: 94 Member
    I have realized that when something tastes good, a few bites tastes just as good as a few plates of it. Savor the food you eat, but eat smaller portions. Food doesn't taste better when you eat an excess of it.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    I find that if I know in advance I'm going to be around the kind of food I'll over-indulge in, if I pre-log a reasonable portion, I'm okay. I think it comes down to:
    • I'm a stress/emotion eater. And worrying that I 'cheated' on my diet has been a major stressor for me during earlier weight-loss attempts. So in the past, it's been "I see something tempting. I give in. Guilt and negative self-talk commences. The stress and guilt has me going back for more. I feel guiltier. I go back for more. Etc etc" Pre-logging means that a treat doesn't have to be a cheat. I know for a fact that I'm within my calories and I'm not derailing anything. So when I have a piece of birthday cake, that's all I have. I skip the guilt and negativity and with them, the urge to keep eating.
    • "Stolen waters are sweet," "Forbidden fruit," whatever. When I feel I can't have something, I want it. When I know I can... I can resist.
    • And sometimes, when I pre-log, I look at the calories and think to myself, "You know? It's just not worth it." Or "I can't justify a whole donut. But I think half is pretty doable."

    Other than that, I keep lower-calorie foods around for snacking. I've got more of a salt tooth than a sweet one, so I tend to have veggie dogs, Skinny Pop popcorn and string cheese. If I want something a little sweeter (and one serving gives me 30% of my iron RDA), I have Corn Squares cereal, dry. Cold? Homemade strawberry sorbet or granita. I bake, but I try to stick to recipes where a single serving is 200 calories or less. Just made an upside-down peach pie this week (more of a shallow-dish peach crisp, actually) at 90 calories for 1/8 of the plate. Chocolate truffles are about 80 calories each; my recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate and I find it easy to stop at one. Meringues are about 30 calories apiece. This falls under "If I know I'm going to want to snack, I can at least make sure the snacks won't blow my weight-loss efforts."
  • conniehgtv
    conniehgtv Posts: 309 Member
    no joke it is hard. That is why we are here. Make a commitment to yourself. Incorperate the ideas above.Then do your best.not ok, not maybe tommorow , YOUR VERY BEST every day. When u slip or fail utterly log it and go on.Confess to u r friends here and keep going.Good Luck!
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
    MostlyWater wrote: »
    First of all, food is fuel; it's not entertainment. Or love. It's pretty hard to live this way, but portion control is your friend. It has to be.

    I disagree food is entertainment. I spend time thinking and creating new recipes. I entertain myself by baking most weekends. My boyfriend and I entertain ourselves by cooking and sharing a meal together. We love to cook we love to eat, but we can do that healthfully. I think the chefs out in the world would disagree with you to.
    Only thinking of food as fuel would be a boring life.
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
    @rwinder514 logging your food and knowing how much you overeat is a good step. Now you know how much you are overeating and you can make the choice to dial it back. Use a smaller plate, chew your food fully, take time to enjoy it, sit back and wait before you go for that second helping. If you give up all the food you like you are going to give up. Keep in your calorie goal and soon you will be making healthy decisions. Luck to you.
  • seramachickens
    seramachickens Posts: 20 Member
    Food absolutely IS Entertainment...at least it has become that. If not, there wouldn't be so many cooking shows on TV or nobody would watch them!. And try telling an Italian mama that food is not love, I dare ya!!! And I'll tell y'all straight up--I <3 Chocolate. And food is BIG business - I'm a retired food service director!

    I agree, starting the food diary was a real eye opener for me too. It only took me about three days to realize I could eat an entire salad (and be full for hours) for about the same calories as a serving of peanut butter licked from a spoon. And my real eye opener has been cheese... I really don't have to top everything with an inch of it and I don't miss it at all.

    So what has helped me get started?
    Desire-- You've got that, you're here.
    Awareness-- Oh, how MFP helps you see what you are eating
    Knowledge - And teaches you too!
    Pre-logging- I agree with esterdragonbat on this!
    Being Prepared-- again esterdragonbat gave some really good examples
    Portion Control -- Seems I used to eat THREE servings of pasta at ONE meal! Measuring everything out is a real pain, but it also opens your eyes to what you have been actually putting on your plate.
    Better Choices - You'll learn how to make them.

    In the back of my mind I always tell myself that it's my choice to do this. I don't have to log my food etc. I can stay fat, afterall I've been over weight at least 45 years. But this IS what I want.... and I want it more than chocolate!

  • kittybenn
    kittybenn Posts: 444 Member
    DharmainHeels wrote: »
    I have realized that when something tastes good, a few bites tastes just as good as a few plates of it. Savor the food you eat, but eat smaller portions. Food doesn't taste better when you eat an excess of it.

    I SO agree with this. Food can be entertainment, and food can be fun, but the first few bites are always the best. You don't need to eat yourself into oblivion to enjoy it. You can eat anything you want. The key is tracking and keeping those quantities in check. Realizing that was really freeing for me.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    I really enjoy food, too! The social aspect of sharing time with family and friends over a meal, the flavors and aromas of the food, everything. It was an eye opener for me, too, to see how much I was feeding myself with I started logging with MFP. I have found that smaller portions are just as satisfying to me now. One enchilada is tasty and filling, I don't need that second one.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Food is tasty. Food can for sure be fun. The trick is to extend pleasure in the small things.

    Pre-measuring can help you get used to what a portion should be.

    The next step is to extend the experience by eating very slowly and savouring every bite.

    And finally, recall the experience in the days that follow.

    https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_experience_vs_memory/transcript

    Strawberries don't get tastier by eating a bucket of them.
  • Rickster1967
    Rickster1967 Posts: 485 Member
    I'm a classic comfort eater, trying hard with a practitioner of NLP and group therapy to break the cycle of eating when not hungry, trouble is I'm now hungry on 2375 cals per day
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