Horrible eater. Please help:)
hailie08
Posts: 87 Member
I am the worst eater with no will power. I eat junk food quite a bit. Drive throughs at least 3 days a week. I try to eat healthy but can't find anything to satisfy the junk food cravings. And I can't give up pop (or switch to diet, yuck). Any suggestions you've tried that have worked? I know I can't expect to lose the weight with exercise alone....
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Replies
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Congrats on admitting that- thats the first step. I too am a horrible eater and its not something that will go away over time. Just last nite, I binged on oreos....smh...lol. But what is helping me is logging in all that junk food, even if I go over my calories. I like seeing green and reading "....under her calorie goal". So when I see the red, its a little disappointing. Another thing that helps is drinking water- get a big container, fill it up, and just go for it. Most days I get a gallon of water and my body lets me know if Im under that gallon. Start small and work your way up and stay encouraged. You didnt develop bad habits over nite, you wont rid yourself of them overnite either. Good Luck, feel free to add me
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If you refuse to give up pop like Coke and refuse to switch to diet, then how do you expect to lose weight?
Do you realise the junk in a glass of coke?
Food wise, if you always have drive through meals, why not hunt out some ready meals from a supermarket?
I started on my diet by buying lots of ready meals low in sat fats, salt and calories.0 -
I went back a week in your diary and you don't log food. How will you lose weight if you don't know how many calories you're eating per day? Also fast food and oreos is not inherently bad. It's over-eating your calories for the day is what gets you in trouble.
Start logging everything you eat so you are aware and can see where you can make adjustments. Good luck!0 -
Not being negative, but I'm not sure what you're expecting if you can't give anything up. Trust me, I know how hard it is to give up things you're addicted too. I was a coke drinker for years who switched to pepsi and there were numerous days I'd drink 4 cans of soda no problem in an 8 hour day of work. I quit drinking soda two years ago and I'm glad I did. I'm not saying it made a drastic difference, but I could tell a difference and for me that was worth it.
As for fast food, this too isn't good for you. I don't always eat home cooked meals... Of course I splurge every now and then. But I'll only allow myself a splurge once every week to two weeks. I love Pizza and it's a weakness, but you just have to really tell yourself that you can't allow this kind of eating. It's hard, I know. But you'd feel better skipping the drive thrus and at least taking it down to once a week.
Exercise is great, but you're right. Exercise alone isn't going to achieve much. It takes a lot of change to your diet as well. It took me a long time to learn that losing weight and getting healthy isn't a "diet". It's not just exercise. It's a complete lifestyle change. You have to be completely committed to it.
There are healthy alternatives to most of the issues you're having. "Junk" food for instance... a lot of people have weaknesses with chips. I found Fat Free Pringles... 70 calories for 15 crisps (I usually cut it down to 7). And they taste amazing! It's actually like you're eating a fat greasy chip. For chocolate, there are things called Vitatops that you pop in the microwave (find in the freezer) and they're a bran muffin top. DELICIOUS and full of fiber. So they're good for you! You just have to really research when grocery shopping. It gets a lot easier over time to find things you can eat.
Good luck in your journey!0 -
And I can't give up pop (or switch to diet, yuck).
Rephrase that, I don't WANT to give up pop, you can if you want to do it. Drinking your calories is one of the biggest wastes. You can have so much good food for the number of calories in a can of pop.0 -
I love pop too. Coke is my weakness. However i have now started just rejecting anything that isn't water. I keep a massive 1 litre bottle of water by my bed and I drink it all the time. If you want a bit more flavour go for a green tea! And you can always add a bit of lemon to your water for an extra kick.
Start small - reduce the drive throughs, keep junk food out of your house!
Drinking water and green tea really helps with weight loss I've heard because there are so many calories in soft drinks
Coke Zero tastes like coke but is basically diet coke with less caffeine by the way!0 -
Willpower is, of course, the key to success. Cravings and hunger sap them.
About the only thing that will help with the hunger is to increase your protein intake. It helps with satiety. Of course you need to track your caloric intake so that you can be certain you are regularly achieving a deficit. This web site is a great tool for that.
This means that you will probably start cutting carbs to make up for the increased calories coming from protein.
What I found for me is that the best way to deal with the cravings for the foods you used to eat is to simply stop eating them. You need to switch to a new way of eating such that the foods are simply not that appealing to eat. If you make food boring rather than a source of pleasure you will be less tempted to over-eat.
It's rough for about the first 6 weeks. I personally found that I thought about food all the time. I would go to bed early sometimes to avoid thinking about food and being hungry.
But if you can break the behavioral patterns for 6 weeks, it gets easier after that. It's not that you won't still want to eat the junk food, but the cravings become more...distant. You won't look at the junk food with an insistent need to eat it that requires tremendous strength to resist - you'll look at it and recognize it for something you used to enjoy but no longer do.
Another piece of advice is not to try and do it all at once. I started taking control of my diet about 4 months ago. Once I got a handle on that I started at a gym about 5 weeks ago. I don't think I have the willpower to handle the suffering of dieting and exercise simultaneously from the start.
For weight loss, caloric intake is more important than exercise. Exercise is very good for you and will enhance weight loss, but you can't out-train a bad diet. Especially if you are out of shape right now you are going to find it very hard to exercise off two slices of pizza. It's far less effort to just not eat the pizza.
The hard part of losing weight for me is that there is no immediate positive feedback for the harsh suffering you endure. Progress is slow and gradual so it's hard to see real results even when they happen. But once you drop 15 pounds it starts becoming "real". The first time you have to buy smaller clothes you really start to realize that the work is paying off and you don't want to screw it up.0 -
If you notice you've mentioned all your choices. ... the key word is choice..:drinker: and it's your choice:ohwell: Based on my experience cutting the portions of whatever you're eating is the first step... then eliminating items as you continue... coupled with excercise activity... and sharing with buddies on MFP .. for the needed encouragement and support. :bigsmile: :bigsmile: Bottom line... you make the call by being accountable...:glasses: and that makes it very rewarding when you reach your Goal:blushing: The sooner you start the sooner you'll get there...!!!
:bigsmile: 0 -
I am the worst eater with no will power. I eat junk food quite a bit. Drive throughs at least 3 days a week. I try to eat healthy but can't find anything to satisfy the junk food cravings. And I can't give up pop (or switch to diet, yuck). Any suggestions you've tried that have worked? I know I can't expect to lose the weight with exercise alone....
*puts down his book*
This is going to sound mean..
Buck Up, Take Responsibility and Stop Doing It. It's Obvious you aren't stupid. You know what the problem is.. So STOP DOING IT. Choose... Be Unhealthy/Fat or Change you life... Your choice.. You get to choose.
Key is creating good habits, you have to force yourself to have the willpower to start then you can slowly start to create a good habit out of the bad habit..
Sorry to sound mean, I'm just not sugar coating it, sometimes that is what people need.0 -
I've not said I'm not willing to give anything up.I am planning on changing the way I eat and view food completely. I have no foods logged for the last week as I am just now restarting this. I know the first week or so of my food diary will look horrible but I'm not going to pull the trick of lying and saying I didn't eat/drink something so others don't judge. My first step I feel needs to be logging everything. I drink a can of coke/pepsi/cherry coke in the morning when I take medicines bc it's all I've found that helps me to not get sick after eating them. I am by no means drinking pop all day. I rarely even drink that half a can. I am aware of how bad fast food and such is. I have openly admitted these are my issues and asked for help/suggestion/what worked for others. Thank you to those of you that had suggestions and not criticism:)0
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I agree about logging your food. And your calorie goal is 1000? You should consider bumping that to at least 1200. Increase water intake. Cut soda to 1 can a day.... prolong one can.0
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You can't lose weight and have everything you want to eat ... if you could, we'd all be size twos :-). Maybe start with small changes and let them build? Like, go to the drive thru, but get a chicken sandwich, no mayo, no fries. Or get a Coke if you really must have it, but have your main meal be a salad with nonfat dressing since you're drinking so many calories. Get a plain hamburger instead of a Big Mac. Bring fruit to work so you don't hit the vending machine for chips. And so on.
I read somewhere that if you do ANYTHING for two weeks, it turns into a habit. So if you can get through two weeks with less junk, you'll probably stop wanting it quite so much.
Edit: Read your comment. Try experimenting with ways to wash down the meds. If what you need is sugar, maybe have some juice instead so at least you're getting a couple vitamins. If what you need is carbonation, maybe seltzer water? Alternately, half a can of soda is not THAT bad.0 -
If you want to be successful set a realistic goal for yourself. Calculate your BMR and eat above it. Setting your budget at 1000 is unhealthy and unrealistic. You've also ask about exercise that burns a ton. That won't work. You can't out exercise your bad eating habits.
It's time to step back and take a good long look at what your goal is and how you can achieve it. There are no tricks or gimmicks to weight loss. You take one day at a time, make better choices and the weight comes off one pound at a time just like it went on. You're setting yourself up for failure again by expecting too much.0 -
I've not said I'm not willing to give anything up.I am planning on changing the way I eat and view food completely. I have no foods logged for the last week as I am just now restarting this. I know the first week or so of my food diary will look horrible but I'm not going to pull the trick of lying and saying I didn't eat/drink something so others don't judge. My first step I feel needs to be logging everything. I drink a can of coke/pepsi/cherry coke in the morning when I take medicines bc it's all I've found that helps me to not get sick after eating them. I am by no means drinking pop all day. I rarely even drink that half a can. I am aware of how bad fast food and such is. I have openly admitted these are my issues and asked for help/suggestion/what worked for others. Thank you to those of you that had suggestions and not criticism:)
I eat out just choosing better options ie Pita pit, or subway or Quizno's. If I do go to Burger king etc I get grilled chicken and a side salad. The other thing that works well is to plan ahead for days when you know you wont have time. If it's junk food you are craving try alternatives like baked chips or baked FF's or instead of a big mac get a happy meal....
But most imporantly up your calories....and log your food....and if possible weigh your food to ensure you are accurate.
As for the pop whatever...get those 100 cal cans and use it as an end of day "treat" for being in range of your calories.0 -
We can't help you, we can only give you suggestions. You need to help YOURSELF.
I was lucky to never get hooked on pop, but if I'm craving fizz, I have a perrier.
As for "junk food" - try pop chips instead of chips, dark chocolate (a couple squares) for a sweet craving, find new recipies (Ripped Recipes) for other "junk" that is a "cleaner" version. Look these things up, there are A LOT of options.0 -
Exercise has lots of benefits, and it's an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but to lose weight, you really do need to be in a calorie deficit. Unfortunately, it's incredibly easy to out-eat the calories burned during exercise if you're not paying attention to what you're putting in your mouth.
It's not impossible to lose weight while eating junk/fast food, but such food is usually very calorie dense and lacking in nutritional value. Eating so many calorie-dense foods can definitely make it hard to stick to a calorie deficit. You may have to wean yourself off eating the junk food as frequently as you do now. Try to incorporate more whole foods into your diet along with the foods you currently enjoy - eat a salad before your meal or load up on healthy side dishes. And keep trying to find healthier alternatives to the foods you like.
You don't have to completely give up eating junk food and eat totally clean. I still eat "bad" foods now and then. You just have to find a balance.0 -
You may have to go extreme to cut some of these habits back. Like, you may only carry money with you on Grocery and Bill Paying Day, which is one day a week. The rest of the week, you have no money, no credit card, and CANNOT get yourself drive thru food. Your budget will probably thank you in the end, as well as your body.
I don't let myself have a diet soda unless I drink my 8-12 cups of water. I do have diet soda, but I don't drink it all the time. Maybe on your grocery day you can buy one twelve pack or two 2 liters and that's IT for the week, forcing you to cut back.
I don't know if these will work for you, just some suggestions.0 -
Good luck with starting over and realizing what you need to do. Take the suggestions that offer help, research and find out what works for you. Too many people on here start criticizing as soon as they read something and don't offer "help", that is why I seldom post on here. Good luck with your goals and hopefully you will keep your progress posted.0
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Good luck with starting over and realizing what you need to do. Take the suggestions that offer help, research and find out what works for you. Too many people on here start criticizing as soon as they read something and don't offer "help", that is why I seldom post on here. Good luck with your goals and hopefully you will keep your progress posted.:happy:0
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What I did was read the labels and the ingredients on the soft drinks. It is the aspartemie which makes you crave as it is much sweeter than sugar - and also it makes you fatter. Start by limiting your drinks to ordinary coke not diet. Then try the smoothies. Then you can get the fish option when you drive through.
There are some lovely secrets in vegetables - they are cheap and fill you up. Also roast parsnips are delicious and are low in calories. You can eat loads of calories in just one burger you just have to start reading up on stuff and counting what you are eating0 -
You can't lose weight and have everything you want to eat ... if you could, we'd all be size twos :-).
Truth. You have to decide what you want more - to lose weight and be healthy or to drink soda and eat crappy food?0 -
Also, as others have noted, you can eat fast food, you just have to be very vigilant about what you eat there. If you have poor willpower and self-control, this can be very, very difficult to do. Which is why many people choose instead to just avoid the fast food altogether.
If you can walk into McDonald's and only order a McDouble and a diet soda or water, you can get out of there for only 390 calories. That's not terrible for a meal.
But if you have the attitude, like I did, that if you are going to "blow it" you might as well really blow it, in for a penny in for a pound, then you may find yourself "upgrading" to a Big Mac and fries and an apple pie. Now you're pushing 1000 calories in a hurry.
Even this isn't a disaster - as long as you can deal with only 600-800 more calories for the rest of your meals for the day.0 -
What I did was read the labels and the ingredients on the soft drinks. It is the aspartemie which makes you crave as it is much sweeter than sugar - and also it makes you fatter. Start by limiting your drinks to ordinary coke not diet. Then try the smoothies. Then you can get the fish option when you drive through.
There are some lovely secrets in vegetables - they are cheap and fill you up. Also roast parsnips are delicious and are low in calories. You can eat loads of calories in just one burger you just have to start reading up on stuff and counting what you are eating
OP said she doesn't drink diet pop and aspartame has not been proven to increase cravings. Also the fish option at a fast food place is just as full of calories as a burger because it's battered, fried fish with gobs of mayo and cheese. If you think you're eating healthy by choosing the fish you're way off base. A smoothie may have healthy ingredients but depending what your throw in there can pack a real calorie punch especially if it comes from a fast food place where they add a ton of sugar.0 -
It's not about giving up the things you love; it's about finding balance with those things! I was a heavy Mt. Dew drinker. (in recovery now, lol) and it took me a million times to stop drinking it everyday - all day long - but I did it. I was a popcorn and chocolate eater every night (no joke) king size candy bar with a whole bag of popcorn - I stopped. For me, it's not saying that I will NEVER eat those things again, it's having them once in while and not over doing it. Finding balance is a key. If I feel like having a pop, then I do. If I want a cookie I will have one "as long as I can make it fit into my calories for the day" Yeah, I go over some days; it's part of figuring out what works for you. It's life and I am living with the idea that "there are no bad foods"
I have to learn control and moderation. I have to be accountable for what I choose to put in my mouth.
*this doesn't happen over night. Stick with it - log everything, (yes even bad days) every day!
Good luck to you - Friend me if you like.
I am no expert but I am learning - Melissa0 -
How did your calorie goal come out to 1000?
I thought it didnt go below 1200 for anyone, perhaps I am mistaken.0 -
Technically you can still eat drive through food, just stick to lower calorie options (you can look up the nutritional info online). But if you would like to break that habit, you need to do some work. Take some time on the weekend to plan every meal for the next week or two. Pull out the recipe book, look up recipes and meal ideas online and chart out every meal including breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. If everything is planned out, it makes food shopping and logging your food a lot easier and you'll be much less likely to be tempted by getting drive thru food if you know something yummy and healthy is waiting for you at home. You can also consider making big batches of soups or casseroles on the weekend so you can freeze leftovers and not even have to worry about cooking every night.
And definitely track your food consistently whether it's good or not. If you're afraid of being judged by your choices, make your food diary private or only open with a passkey that way no one can see it unless you want them to.
FYI, you got some strong reactions because you said you "can't" give up your soda without initially giving a reason why you felt this way (needing it to take your meds without getting sick) and that kind of wording tends to ruffle feathers around here because it comes off as a pretty sad excuse for not being willing to change bad habits. Don't take it personally...0 -
So you have taken step 1 by admitting you have a problem and need to change.
You have taken step 2 by asking for help/advice.
Step 3 is going to be ugly and you may not like it, but I suggest take a week and eat/drink as you normally do BUT log every single thing. See where your calories are.
Step 4 evaluate those calorie choices and find acceptable lower calorie choices. Once you start finding good replacements for each of those high calorie (and OBTW, non-nutritious) choices it will be come easier and easier.
Don't refuse, do NOT use the word CAN'T... you CAN do this. Just take it a baby step at a time. If you need encouragement feel free to add me, just make sure you add a note when you do. Best of luck to you :drinker:0 -
I've not said I'm not willing to give anything up.I am planning on changing the way I eat and view food completely. I have no foods logged for the last week as I am just now restarting this. I know the first week or so of my food diary will look horrible but I'm not going to pull the trick of lying and saying I didn't eat/drink something so others don't judge. My first step I feel needs to be logging everything. I drink a can of coke/pepsi/cherry coke in the morning when I take medicines bc it's all I've found that helps me to not get sick after eating them. I am by no means drinking pop all day. I rarely even drink that half a can. I am aware of how bad fast food and such is. I have openly admitted these are my issues and asked for help/suggestion/what worked for others. Thank you to those of you that had suggestions and not criticism:)
Hopefully you didn't find my response as being criticism. I didn't mean it to come off as that. I know the last thing anyone needs on this site is criticism because after all we're all ultimately here for the same reasons.
Something else I found that helps me, is viewing other folks diaries. It helps find new and different things I may not have known about.
We all have struggles on a day to day basis. Just yesterday I had to really pull together some willpower to resist a bag of Peanut Butter M&M's. Our weaknesses do get easier over time, but I don't think they ever go away.
Good Luck!0 -
lucky for me i love diet pop, i also eat salads like 1-2 a day.
My Diet is basically a low carb diet.
So...... If your interested hmu.
Your allowed : Fish, Lamb, Pork, Chicken, Steak ..... non of which are NOT to be breaded. Grilled or baked will do just fine.
a great a source of protein, No Carb Meats.
If you can find a dressing with little to no carbohydrates, get that. I use Mayo which has non. If you choose to drowse your salad in a bunch of fattening dressing that just kills the healthy part.
along with that information, after a week of eating salads you will notice you get full easier and quicker.
After the second week the urges to pig out gets easier to resist.
You can also do fruit awesome substitute for junk food i think.
You can make fruit salads and smoothies. have fun with it be creative !!!
Veggies some of you no and some dont. some veggies are good others are not.
The Healthy veggies are grown above ground.
The less healthy choice is grown under ground.
Try to stick to your healthier choice always.
If your goal is to lose weight this is a awesome program.
Here are some supplements that work people
• 7 Keto
• Calcium Pyruvate
• Chitosan
• CLA
• Coleus Forskohlii
• Dr Oz Belly Busters
• Garcinia Cambogia Extract (HCA)
• Glucomannan
• Green Coffee Bean Extract
• L-Carnitine
• PGX
• Raspberry Ketones
• Satiereal Saffron Extract
• Sea Buckthorn Berries
• White Kidney Bean Extract
• Xanthigen, Fucoxanthin, Brown Seaweed
Check them out, do not over look the small things that could help you out alot.
Also make sure to stick to all your vitamins
Some foods dont carry everything you need.
Vitamin A – critical for healthy vision and skin
Vitamin B – a metabolism booster
Vitamin C – keeps your immune system strong, especially important during cold and flu season.
Vitamin D – promotes healthy bones (and your immune system)
Vitamin E – for healthy development of muscles and brain function
To keep your brain, heart and eyes healthy, take Omega 3’s every day. For women, the daily dose of Omega 3s is 1000 mg; for men, the dosage is 600 mg.
I hope it works for everyone who sees this 0 -
Everyone else has already done a great job at preaching to you about what you should and need to do to truly lose weight. I have a couple tips that helped me. The things that broke my bad eating habits were 1) logging ALL calories consumed in a day and 2) (the biggest thing that broke me) EXERCISE.
To me nothing was worse than getting a good work out in and ruining it by eating a ton of crap after. Why do something that makes you feel so great, then destroy it with junk? I started working out immediately after work before my dinner so that when dinner time came I was more apt to pick healthy choices. Also, it forces me to eat my dinner around 8 – 830 every night which in turn keeps me from snacking since I go to bed 2 hours later.
I’ve been doing it for so long now the only thing that gets me is the ravenous PMS monster. :sad:0
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