Will you ever get used to healthy eating?
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This is where you are now, but expect your thoughts to evolve and you learn and grow.
Initially I relied on willpower and just stuck within my budget. I never eliminated foods, but just ate within my calorie allowance for that day/week and lost 60+ lbs in the first year.
I hit my goal weight in the first year and slacked off of logging, regaining ~30 lbs. At this point I started to review my actions as a set of behaviors instead of solely relying on budgeting. I learned a lot about myself during this process and know which foods are satisfying and which are not, those I need to exercise caution around.
I see the whole "healthy/unhealthy" mindset as detrimental in the long term as this fails to address the root cause of obesity - caloric surplus. You have to decide whether this mindset is sustainable in the long term.
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UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »
This is my 10th time trying to lose weight and each time I tried to lose weight I’ll lose about 10 kg max and then go back to old habits of eating pizza , mcd and really bad foods . My kinda junk foods are crazy . The calories are insane and now I’m drastically limiting myself from all kind of junk foods . Like normal people I don’t think I can eat a slice or pizza and stop. It’s going to make me eat more and I’ll eventually give up (speaking from experience). I’m in severe depression due to my obesity, this time I’m really trying to sustain and lose a lot of kgs to build some self esteem and I know for a fact that this will be my last attempt.
Have you ever been checked for celiac disease?
In part, because I know a number of people who ate a lot of food, like a lot, and would just gain all this weight, but they craved that food like insane.
And they turned out to be celiacs - their bodies were not absorbing certain nutrients, but WERE absorbing calories, so it's almost like their body would encourage a lot of overeating just so it could get enough of certain nutrients, you know? But many doctors assume that obesity and celiac disease can't happen together (which is flat out wrong - over 1/3 of celiacs, as I recall, are overweight when diagnosed), so they don't offer it as a suggestion. Also, about 1/3 of celiacs also don't have any gut pain or anything, just things like, maybe, fatigue, or depression, or joint or body pain, or other things that you wouldn't necessarily think of.
Might not be this at all, but it might be worth while.
But on the food front - herbs. Add in a crap ton of herbs so you can get some flavor, because otherwise, no, you will not get used to it and it will suck and you will always be sucked back into food that tastes better.
I have a really restricted diet due to allergies. If I don't eat good tasting food, I'll find myself starting to cheat on my diet, and I actually get reactions from the food, but that's how much the body hates boring food: better a reaction than eat one more crappy piece of crummy food, you know?
Do you have pinterest? If you do, if you get on and type in the word recipe and then one or two main ingredients, you'll get a lot of recipe ideas that might work for you, at least a lot that seem appetizing and so make you more enthusiastic about food.5 -
You keep coming back to like two foods. full pizza vs chicken and broccoli.
there is middle ground. foods that won't trigger you into a full binge but that you enjoy. At first (and still mostly) I buy things in individual portions so like for pizza,i'd go buy 1 slice and then take it to go or eat that one slice. not order a pizza to be eaten. Or order a pizza where the split is max 2-3 slices left for me (so with other people around). that way i can't go into a binge.
I also find making my own pizza helps. i can be more careful in the making of the dough and if i want to over indulge it would literally mean baking a full second piece which is less likely.
for desserts i like single portions (go buy one cupcake, one-two cookies). it takes me months before i can bake a recipe and have it in the freezer and ignore it without binging. actually that is still a slippery slope but i have gained a lot on that front (most days).
but again, there are foods beyond chicken, vegetables and pizza
lots of yummy other options. one i found was cauliflower rice and cow cheese. i mean to me this is comfort food, it just clicked for me. i look forward to it and am disapointed days i am not having it. now this may sound gross to you and that's fair, but you can experiment and find foods that feel like a splurge that you can eat nearly daily. I feel the same about pickles and my little pudding cup
If you tried this same "diet" 10x and it failed, try something new this time.6 -
UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »Hi, I’ve been having intense junk food cravings lately and it’s scaring me because this is my last attempt to lose weight and it’s only been 15 days and I’m already thinking of eating back the unhealthy foods. I want healthy eating to be the only thing I talk about or I want it as my habit . I wonder how long will it take for me to sustain the healthy eating . I hope something triggers me into not giving up until I shed atleast 30kg (my ideal weight loss will be 60kg)
Why is it your last attempt?
Why do you think food can only be 'healthy' or 'junk'?
This is my 10th time trying to lose weight and each time I tried to lose weight I’ll lose about 10 kg max and then go back to old habits of eating pizza , mcd and really bad foods . My kinda junk foods are crazy . The calories are insane and now I’m drastically limiting myself from all kind of junk foods . Like normal people I don’t think I can eat a slice or pizza and stop. It’s going to make me eat more and I’ll eventually give up (speaking from experience). I’m in severe depression due to my obesity, this time I’m really trying to sustain and lose a lot of kgs to build some self esteem and I know for a fact that this will be my last attempt.
Is it possible the problem is that you keep swinging from one extreme to the other? There is a world of foods in between "Vegetables and steamed food" and an entire pizza. Maybe try looking for "Quick, easy recipes" or add in some sauces and other cooking methods.
Yeah everytime , my coach once told me to eat broccoli and steamed chicken breast everyday and for every meal . I ate that *kitten* for 6 months and lost 10kg and I eventually gave up cause imagine eating same damn jail food for 6 months I was like 15 back then so I was pretty dumb on health and fitness so I went and believed my stupid “coach” . I hate unseasoned foods now. I’m trying to eat less and I asked my mom to add less oils and you know basic stuffs
How old are you OP? Do you still live at home, does your mom do most of the cooking? Do you ever cook with her? Would that be something you would enjoy - maybe finding some fun new recipes to try that are "healthy" but also delicious? So many ideas on Pinterest, Skinnytaste.com, etc.
You've gotten some great advice, but wanted to echo the comments that foods aren't definitively "healthy" or definitively "junk". It's the overall composition of your diet that matters. Like others here, I'm a believer in all things in moderation, and lost all my weight while still eating pizza, fast food, chocolate, etc. I didn't eat those things every day or in high quantities, but fitting them in while eating an overall balanced, calorie appropriate diet, wasn't that difficult.
That said, you've mentioned having difficulty controlling your intake of pizza - if you really don't think you can stop at a slice or two, then you either need to only purchase a slice or two to take home, or you need to make it yourself so you can control the calories. Thinner crust, light on the cheese, heavy on the veggies and leaner meats... I have a couple of homemade pizza recipes that are about 750 calories for a half a pizza. If you said right now your calorie allowance is ~2000, then you should be able to fit in 750 cals of pizza without too much difficulty. Even if it is Domino's, that's probably 3 pieces.
Read the stickied most helpful forum posts at the top of the Getting Started, Food and Nutrition, and Losing Weight sections. Get a food scale if you haven't already. And let go of some of those feelings of guilt and anxiety about food. You seem young, this is most definitely not your last attempt to lose weight, unless, of course, you do it right, and realize how achieving a healthy weight does not have to be a miserable experience. If you continue to eat the foods you love, while losing weight and developing healthy habits, then that can last you a lifetime and you'll be right, it might be your last time losing weight!!!!6 -
I'll tell you a story.
When I went to McDonald's I used to eat two sandwiches (intitially quarter pounders or big macs), large fries, regular large coke, and a couple of pies or an ice cream cone. I switched to "healthy" chicken and fish sandwiches... but it didn't do anything for my weight (stop laughing right now everyone!) because....
Since I've lived within three block of a McDonald's for the past 30 years... this happened several times a week, sometimes twice a day!
Oh, and I used to drive there, through the drive through.
I only started logging on MFP @ ~240lbs, ~40+ lbs down from my (unknown actual) max.
I found MFP because, even though I was losing weight by only eating "healthy" foods like subway footlong subs (stop laughing up in the peanut gallery darn it) I was realizing that I would not be able to keep that sort of focus on "healthy" aka restrictive eating for long, and, having lost and regained weight in the past, I knew what would happen when I stopped.
And then reading the forums I came to the realization that for weight control what counts is the total calories in versus total calories out.
Of course your nutrition shouldn't be ignored. But first things first and one thing at a time.
And for me clearly, while obese, caloric balance came first.
For me that was a very powerful realization because I realized that I now had the option to move beyond dieting misery and into something more sustainable.
So where is this story going?
My numbers are somewhat approximate today because I'm on the phone and I can't double check but I have posted them before.
During my first 365 days on MFP I logged more than 150 McD vanilla cones and a couple of dozen hamburgers and McDoubles and lost 75lbs.
People will give you lots advice (single slices, home made substitutes on pita or other flatbreads or what have you).
But it basically all boils down to: you can have anything you want. Just not in unlimited quantities and not all at the same time.
So you have to consciously prioritize and realize that you don't have the option of not worrying/considering/thinking about what you eat for at least the next 5 years. You are not "done" as soon as you lose your excess weight.
And because a minimum of 5 years is a long time, making long term sustainable choices should be a priority.
Trust me on this: As you process a whole bunch of "staples" through your developing "is it worth it" lens and as you shuffle other food and activity around to make room for them you will very soon discover which items are really worth it to you and which items that used to be staples you barely miss and are not willing to bother to try to fit in.
And your tastes, wants, and desires will, quite likely, change over time and things will become easier as you develop your new eating and activity habits over time.
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The more you eat a food, the more you want it. So, if you start eating healthy..over time..which differs from person to person.. you start craving more healthy foods. Me.. gosh I love my salads..I eat two to three a day!
I loved ithe thread "what people don't tell you about losing weight, " how some said after losing all their weight.. junk food just doesn't taste as good as it used to. And that is TRUE. I have to really search from something worth indulging in that feels worth the cheat.6 -
^^^^ This post above me. THIS. THIS. THIS!4
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Gaining weight by overeating takes time. Losing weight also takes time. Please try to stop thinking in terms of diet, but rather in terms of new life. Don't stop eating what I want to eat. Just eat less of it.4
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UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »My view on “healthy foods “ are anything that’s involve less calories aka vegetables and unseasoned steamed this and that kinda food . What I consider unhealthy is that pizza , mcd , Kfc and lots of carbs. Before I jumped into this diet I could eat 2 box of regular dominos pizza in one seating . I’m really afraid of going back to even trying pizza cause I know it’s going to be hard for me to control .
OK ... first of all, why "unseasoned"??? Why not add seasonings? Go into a spice shop, ask questions and try things!!
There's absolutely no need to eat bland food.
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UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »My view on “healthy foods “ are anything that’s involve less calories aka vegetables and unseasoned steamed this and that kinda food . What I consider unhealthy is that pizza , mcd , Kfc and lots of carbs. Before I jumped into this diet I could eat 2 box of regular dominos pizza in one seating . I’m really afraid of going back to even trying pizza cause I know it’s going to be hard for me to control .
I'd work on changing your mindset. Even though I eat a very 'healthy' diet, I don't consider pizza, fast food etc 'bad'. Labeling food leads to frustration, guilt and failure. There's nothing wrong with eating the foods you like, you just need to learn how to fit them into your calorie targets.
Also, as you progress you may become interested in slowly adding nutrient dense foods but don't force it. I've been at this whole thing for around 7 years now and how I started out eating is completely different than how I eat today. But it's been a slow, natural progression. If I had tried making a bunch of drastic changes at the beginning I would have failed.
Interesting sidenote-during my active weight loss phase I ate fast food several times a week, ate no fruit, very few veggies, all sorts of packaged 'diet' foods etc. Lost 50lbs and improved all my health markers.
Woah , see when people tell me they actually lost weight still eating junk foods (sometimes) it blows my mind . How is that possible . Pizza is so high in calories
I lost weight eating one large Dominos pizza (large by Australian standards) each month.
I did that because I exercised ... a lot.1 -
UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »My view on “healthy foods “ are anything that’s involve less calories aka vegetables and unseasoned steamed this and that kinda food . What I consider unhealthy is that pizza , mcd , Kfc and lots of carbs. Before I jumped into this diet I could eat 2 box of regular dominos pizza in one seating . I’m really afraid of going back to even trying pizza cause I know it’s going to be hard for me to control .
I'd work on changing your mindset. Even though I eat a very 'healthy' diet, I don't consider pizza, fast food etc 'bad'. Labeling food leads to frustration, guilt and failure. There's nothing wrong with eating the foods you like, you just need to learn how to fit them into your calorie targets.
Also, as you progress you may become interested in slowly adding nutrient dense foods but don't force it. I've been at this whole thing for around 7 years now and how I started out eating is completely different than how I eat today. But it's been a slow, natural progression. If I had tried making a bunch of drastic changes at the beginning I would have failed.
Interesting sidenote-during my active weight loss phase I ate fast food several times a week, ate no fruit, very few veggies, all sorts of packaged 'diet' foods etc. Lost 50lbs and improved all my health markers.
Woah , see when people tell me they actually lost weight still eating junk foods (sometimes) it blows my mind . How is that possible . Pizza is so high in calories
I lost weight eating one large Dominos pizza (large by Australian standards) each month.
I did that because I exercised ... a lot.
I had a Personal/Small one weekly during my first weight loss phase. I eat pizza fairly regularly whilst I've been maintaining. It's like any sort of budgeting, if you plan for something you can afford it, I am fairly active so my daily calorie burn is around 3000 calories, if I am completely sedentary it's around 2100, if I have a light brunch on a weekend, I can easily fit in a pizza in the evening.2 -
I usually mentally save around 200-300 calories for an 'unhealthy' food if I want it. I don't always. Recently it was Snyder's honey mustard pretzels as my afternoon snack, which isn't even that unhealthy, just easy to eat a lot of if you take the whole bag away with you. I weighed out 30-40g and ate them slowly. But on days I weight train, I tend to crave 'healthier' food. I try to make the bulk of my food balanced with lots of healthy fats, veg, fruit, protein, etc, but if I cut things out, I start bingeing and then skipping meals and it's not good.2
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Slow and steady wins this race, I believe.
Because weight gain often happens slowly over time, weight loss can be expected to be similar.
Establishing habits doesn’t happen overnight or even in three weeks; habits take months of diligent doing before they are incorporated into us.
One day at a time, take it that way and watch the days and weeks and months add up. The satisfaction will come!!!
Good luck0 -
I am sure I am repeating what others have said but there is a lot of food options available between fast food and steamed/unseasoned. Every diet I have ever tried that involved me going to some unnecessary extreme ended in failure and usually within 2 months.
One of my favorite things to say is that you don't have to love what you do to lose weight but you can't hate it.
One thing to keep in mind is that for this to be successful it is not a phase, it is not a temporary measure that you need to power through as fast as you can so you can put it behind you, it is forever. What can you do and eat for the rest of your life and be happy(ish)?
In the last 11 months I estimate that if I had been diligent I would have lost at least 10 percent more than I have. My personal history however clearly shows that if I had been diligent and tried to be perfect I would have lost zero and maybe even gained some more. One of the most important things I have done is relax.
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The ISSUE is your eating behavior, NOT what you're eating. Think about it, go to countries outside of the US where they don't have weight issues. Are they eating "clean" or just "healthy" foods? Nah. They just don't EAT A LOT and eat whatever they want.UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »My view on “healthy foods “ are anything that’s involve less calories aka vegetables and unseasoned steamed this and that kinda food . What I consider unhealthy is that pizza , mcd , Kfc and lots of carbs. Before I jumped into this diet I could eat 2 box of regular dominos pizza in one seating . I’m really afraid of going back to even trying pizza cause I know it’s going to be hard for me to control .
I NEVER have my clients diet. I set a calorie limit for them and then let them figure out what they want to eat to reach it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I echo pretty much everything that has already been said, but my personal highlights are:
1. You will learn to like "healthy" (in terms of reasonable calories) food if you learn to make it how you like it. My absolute favourite meal is my own homemade chili with tonnes of vegetables in. It's less than 200 calories for a giant portion and it has more than 5 portions of veg in, but it's delicious and I look forward to it all the time, I'd eat it every day if I could! Keep trying new ways of cooking things and new foods, you'll find some really delicious things out there that are very reasonable in terms of calories!
2. It's okay to fall off the wagon occasionally. I cannot and will not moderate certain foods, pizza included. So, if I'm going to have pizza, I'll have a whole pizza to myself. Yes, I might go over my calories by 1000, but it's one day in maybe a month, it's not that big a deal. When I'm really on form I do what other people have mentioned and "bank" spare calories over several days so it's not even a hit.
You can do this, remember even small changes can make a difference so don't give up even if you think you've failed - you haven't!1 -
UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »UmaMageswarymfp wrote: »My view on “healthy foods “ are anything that’s involve less calories aka vegetables and unseasoned steamed this and that kinda food . What I consider unhealthy is that pizza , mcd , Kfc and lots of carbs. Before I jumped into this diet I could eat 2 box of regular dominos pizza in one seating . I’m really afraid of going back to even trying pizza cause I know it’s going to be hard for me to control .
I'd work on changing your mindset. Even though I eat a very 'healthy' diet, I don't consider pizza, fast food etc 'bad'. Labeling food leads to frustration, guilt and failure. There's nothing wrong with eating the foods you like, you just need to learn how to fit them into your calorie targets.
Also, as you progress you may become interested in slowly adding nutrient dense foods but don't force it. I've been at this whole thing for around 7 years now and how I started out eating is completely different than how I eat today. But it's been a slow, natural progression. If I had tried making a bunch of drastic changes at the beginning I would have failed.
Interesting sidenote-during my active weight loss phase I ate fast food several times a week, ate no fruit, very few veggies, all sorts of packaged 'diet' foods etc. Lost 50lbs and improved all my health markers.
Woah , see when people tell me they actually lost weight still eating junk foods (sometimes) it blows my mind . How is that possible . Pizza is so high in calories
There's a couple of ways:
1) Save up your calories during the day. Or even during the week.
2) Do a big workout during the day. (If you do a marathon, that night you really should be eating high-calorie foods afterwards!)
3) Select the low-calorie pizza. (Costco snack bar pizza is 800 calories/serving. (!) Thin crust Paul Newman pizza can be a little shy of 300 calories/serving.)
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There's a lot of biological and psychological mechanisms that make you want to go back to unhealthy eating habits. It takes MINIMUM 6 weeks to develop new habits, and really more than that for them to really fully integrate.0
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Here's some things that worked for me...
> Learn to distinguish between craving and hunger. A craving is for something specific and is connected to habits. Hunger is a willingness to eat anything within reach, even stuff you don't really like, and is connected to inadequate nutrition.
> For hunger, you're not eating enough calories or rarely not getting enough of a specific nutrient like iron. Cure by eating more or better
> Cravings require habit behavior modification. Habits have a trigger and a response. Figure out what triggered the response. Some triggers you can avoid, for example watching food TV made me snack, so I quit watching food TV. Some like driving past the Golden Arches are hard to avoid, so you need to alter your response to the trigger. Perhaps you could avoid the lane that turns into the drive-thru or begin saying your ABCs backward (ZYX...) as you pass. The only good thing about cravings is if you can ignore them for a few minutes they go away.
Give it a try, be creative with alternatives, and self-talk in your adult voice. You will learn so much more self-control and that success will improve many aspects of life.5 -
My heart aches for you. I remember feeling exactly the same way. I'm wondering if you realize that your pattern of eating to lose weight will change little when you go to maintenance though? Find a plan you can live with for life. When I finally reached goal (I lost 100+ pounds) I found my diet changed very little. Most only add back around 250 calories a day. In my case I just quit losing so was already at maintenance calories. Try to build a plan you can live with permanently. Alot of people go on crazy diets to lose weight thinking that once they lose they can go back to their "normal" eating. Let's be honest if our previous diet were "normal" we wouldn't have all this weight to lose. You need to build new habits and find a path you can LIVE with. Eating steamed broccoli and chicken for the rest of your life isn't gonna cut it unless you love those foods. It took me 2 years to reach goal but I learned so much along the way! It was well worth it. Like someone else said in this thread I prefer the way I'm eating now. I don't miss the junk I used to eat. Every now and then I allow myself something special and sometimes it's wonderful and sometimes I wonder what I ever saw in it. Now when I eat I enjoy it so much more because I'm hungry and there's no guilt associated with it. Believe me you can do it. Take your time and learn along the way. There will be things you can substitute and things you won't be willing to go without. Keep in your calorie budget and the weight will come off. I'm rooting for you my friend! You can do it.9
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