I’m struggling to eat portions consistently

EveryDayisDay01

A few days, maybe two go by, cool I’m on point. Then I get in a mood and I’m scarfing back my food and wanting more and I’m relapsing on my over eating.
For example I ate all but two slices of a large pizza. Then I’m hard on myself and feel like I’m not gonna make it

kshama2001

When I have hyperpalatable foods like pizza, I make sure I also have vegetables with it. This slows down my eating and gives my stomach time to send the "I'm full" message to my brain. For pizza, I have a large salad. For other meals, I have veggies like broccoli or green beans.

Also, if you're doing this, consider upping your calories:

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

AnnPT77

Fitness220Gal wrote: »

A few days, maybe two go by, cool I’m on point. Then I get in a mood and I’m scarfing back my food and wanting more and I’m relapsing on my over eating.
For example I ate all but two slices of a large pizza. Then I’m hard on myself and feel like I’m not gonna make it

Keep going. Keep working at figuring it out. Figure out how to keep things reasonable for 3 days, instead of 2. Then 4.

Maybe it's by keeping temptation out of the way, maybe it's by moderating certain calorie dense foods (eat smaller portions or less frequently), maybe it's by adapting recipes to be lower calorie or more nutrient dense, maybe it's by figuring out how to stay more full more of the time so appetite isn't as spiky, maybe it's by having a smaller calorie deficit (losing weight slower). Even sleep, stress management, and boredom play into this.

Don't worry about being perfect. Focus on improvement in meeting your calorie goal. For starters, maybe just consider the calories and how full/satisfied you feel - work on that. Worry about nutritional details later.

It's the majority of our days that determine the majority of our results, which makes our "most of the time" habits a power tool for weight management. But also: It's the average over all of our days that determines the totality of that outcome. One meal or day is a drop in the ocean of your whole life. You can improve your average, just keep working at it.

There's no point in beating yourself up because you haven't quite yet dialed in the right plan and tactics for you. Guilt and self-blame don't burn any extra calories, and they feel icky. They're optional. Give them up. You're not a failure for eating all but 2 slices of the pizza. You just haven't found the exact right plan yet. Keep working on it.

Besides, If you used to eat the whole pizza, that's progress. To move forward with your plan, if you've eaten more pizza than you would've preferred (in retrospect), think about how you can change your plan for the next time to be more in line with your long-term goals.

There are lots of options: You can use the "big salad before" trick. You could skip breakfast and lunch (if that doesn't make things worse!) or eat lightly to have more calories for pizza at dinner.
You could save up a modest number of calories every day the week before pizza (don't make your deficit super big, though!). As long as it isn't too exhausting, you could do a longer workout on pizza days. You could box up most of the pizza at the start of the meal. (If you're at home, put it straight into the freezer.) If you cook, you could figure out how to make a lighter pizza. You could go for thin-crust rather than deep dish (if that's not too big a sacrifice).

There are other options, but that's enough typing: You get the idea. If you eat more than goal calories, and it wasn't worth it in retrospect, spend no more than about 10 minutes thinking of a new plan for next time you have similar triggering circumstances. Rehearse that new plan vividly in your head like a mini-move, imagining yourself putting the new plan into action. Then let it go, and go on with your regular, health-promoting routine. Next time circumstances arise, test-drive your new plan. Did it work? Great. If it didn't, repeat "find and rehearse a new plan". Eventually, you'll figure out your best personally-suitable approach.

The only way you're "not gonna make it" is if you stop working on it. Only giving up is a failure. Not having the right plan figured out yet is not a failure. You can make progress.

Best wishes!

P.S. I have to admit, sometimes I eat the whole pizza. Deep dish or Detroit style sometimes, even. I can't remember whether I ate a whole pizza in one sitting during my year of weight loss, TBH. But I've for sure done it quite a few times in the 8 years since I got to a healthy weight, and I'm still at a healthy weight, have been that whole time. This isn't my best-ever health-promoting habit, but doing it on the rare occasion isn't a total deal-breaker, either. Long term average calorie intake matters, not that rare pizza. Be kind to yourself, and don't give up.