Trouble sticking to my diet

cvdub16

So I have been attempting to be healthier since my second daughter was born in March. I made a new plan about two weeks ago for my diet. I stuck to it through the day except when I get home I indulge, and now I am doing it at work whenever there are sweets around. Like downstairs they have girl scout cookies and today we had cake for the January birthdays. I can't seem to resist. I lost almost 40lbs while pregnant surprisingly but I am creeping back up again. I at least got my drinking down to just Friday and Saturday nights. I don't how to get the will power back to resist all the bad stuff. I did it while pregnant but that was cause I had gestational diabetes and didn't have a choice. I honestly just wanna do a strict calorie limit and portion control. I'm just at a loss at the moment. I feel by my daughter's birthday I'll be back up to 210 and miserable. And instead of 40lbs to loose I'll have 70lbs again.

huango

I claim that part of the trouble is not you. I put the blame on the addictive nature of sugar.
I've removed processed sugar from my diet and my cravings have practically disappeared.
Can you try to focus on 1 day without any processed carbs?
Then a 2nd day?
Once the sugar is out of your system, and you're feeding your body nutrition-dense food, you'll have your cravings under control.

Good luck.

cvdub16

I dunno, it was so hard for me when I was pregnant and had to do it. I still craved carbs and sugar even then. I found it so hard to limit myself so much. Cause I love my bread and pastas and potatoes and beer haha.

elisa123gal

maybe you just want the food, drink , and to feel free right now more than being smaller. Maybe you're burned out from the forced pregnancy diet and the stress of having another baby to tend to as well as working. Just give yourself time and space...something will click and you'll want your fit body more than the workplace donut.

serindipte

Trying to avoid sweets does not work for me. If I tell myself I can't have them, that is ALL I want! Instead, I'm on what I affectionately call "The Cookie Diet":

(Copied from old post)
We've likely all heard of the low fat, low carb, veggies only, cabbage only, grapefruit, and every other 'thing' diets. This is even better!!! After all, who doesn't love cookies??

1. Create account on MFP, enter your stats, goals, activity levels and allow MFP to set a calorie goal. (As much as we'd all love to lose 2lbs+ a week, that is only recommended for those with 75lbs+. For 25lbs -50lbs, set it at 1lb and for under 25lbs, go with .5lbs)
2. Buy a food scale.
3. Eat real food. Yes, real food you can buy at any grocery store! Weigh it, log it, and keep within the calorie goals. If you have calories left at the end of the day? Eat a cookie!!!

That's it! No magic pills, no restrictive eating.. Just cookies.

Seriously, though.. countless threads show up with this diet and that diet, this restriction and that one. So many question what to do if they really want dessert or to go out to eat.

Look at your calories as a weekly average rather than daily. If you want to indulge one day? Eat a bit less on the days leading up to it and then enjoy. Log it, watch your average and keep it around your goal calories.

MostlyWater

Is it possible to just have a bite of the cake or half a cookie? Or is it possible to allow for some treats while losing weight, just losing slower?

deannalfisher

are you a moderator or an abstainer? some ppl can moderate treats (i.e. 1 cookie) others have to just avoid

personally, i'm a moderator - i can have 1 or 2 cookies and leave it at that...you may need to figure out what you are - but don't tell yourself, you can't have - that is just a mental failure waiting to happen

cvdub16

deannalfisher wrote: »

are you a moderator or an abstainer? some ppl can moderate treats (i.e. 1 cookie) others have to just avoid

personally, i'm a moderator - i can have 1 or 2 cookies and leave it at that...you may need to figure out what you are - but don't tell yourself, you can't have - that is just a mental failure waiting to happen

Thanks for this. I definitely think I'm a moderator. I just need to work on my self control more.

cvdub16

serindipte wrote: »

Trying to avoid sweets does not work for me. If I tell myself I can't have them, that is ALL I want! Instead, I'm on what I affectionately call "The Cookie Diet":

(Copied from old post)
We've likely all heard of the low fat, low carb, veggies only, cabbage only, grapefruit, and every other 'thing' diets. This is even better!!! After all, who doesn't love cookies??

1. Create account on MFP, enter your stats, goals, activity levels and allow MFP to set a calorie goal. (As much as we'd all love to lose 2lbs+ a week, that is only recommended for those with 75lbs+. For 25lbs -50lbs, set it at 1lb and for under 25lbs, go with .5lbs)
2. Buy a food scale.
3. Eat real food. Yes, real food you can buy at any grocery store! Weigh it, log it, and keep within the calorie goals. If you have calories left at the end of the day? Eat a cookie!!!

That's it! No magic pills, no restrictive eating.. Just cookies.

Seriously, though.. countless threads show up with this diet and that diet, this restriction and that one. So many question what to do if they really want dessert or to go out to eat.

Look at your calories as a weekly average rather than daily. If you want to indulge one day? Eat a bit less on the days leading up to it and then enjoy. Log it, watch your average and keep it around your goal calories.

Thank you for this. I love this and it is totally doable. 😁

NovusDies

I would also suggest that you stop and log before you eat anything that causes you to struggle. Read the calories you are about to consume out loud. Shining the light on something and hearing yourself say it aloud put accountability and awareness in your path.

That doesn't mean you can't eat it or that you shouldn't eat it if you can make it fit in your day/week. What it does is increase your mindfulness. It also gives you the chance to decide on appropriate portion size in advance. If you log it after you are done and it has caused you to go over your goal you can't (or shouldn't) do anything but be temporarily upset over it.

The other thing that helps me is investing in future treats. I bank calories that I could use to eat a small treat today so I can have a bigger treat on the weekend. This allows me to change my answer from "NO!" to "In a few days."

The suggestions given to you are just that... suggestions. Figuring out how to manage yourself is a trial and error process. If you see a suggestion that seems to resonate then you should try it. If it works, great, if not, try something else. One thing I have learned though something that works in most situations may not work in all. Over the summer I had to speed up my weight loss for a medical procedure and because I was eating less calories than I find to be sustainable very few of my normal tricks were working. The lesson here is that sometimes eating a little more and losing weight a little slower improves discipline when you need it.

cwolfman13

cvdub16 wrote: »

I dunno, it was so hard for me when I was pregnant and had to do it. I still craved carbs and sugar even then. I found it so hard to limit myself so much. Cause I love my bread and pastas and potatoes and beer haha.

Maybe part of your issue is thinking that bread, pasta, and potatoes are "junk" foods. Ever look at the nutritional profile of a potato? It's a nutritional powerhouse. I don't eat that much pasta or bread, but there's nothing wrong with them inherently...you just don't get a lot of nutritional bang for your calorie buck. I eat a boat load of potatoes though.

Part of successful dieting is eating in a way that is ultimately sustainable. Often when people restrict things because they have it in their head that they're bad foods, they just end up binge eating them at some point.

I eat a pretty nutritious diet overall, but I enjoy a bit of indulgence as well. I have a couple squares of dark chocolate most nights (actually pretty nutritious) or cookies if my wife has made them from scratch. I love pizza and could eat it all the time, but I set aside Friday evenings for pizza and movie night with the family and typically keep to a couple of slices.

You really have to think long term because what you do to lose weight isn't going to be much different than what you do to maintain weight...the only difference is really a handful of calories. Your plan has to be long term sustainable.

cvdub16

Thank you all for your input!