How to break bad habits?

easjer

This will probably be wildly unhelpful - I just sucked it up and stopped. I did a Whole30, which was a headlong way to end a lot of my bad habits in fell swoop. A lot of it has stuck too.

For me, there were always reasons, always excuses, always promises to do better and I never did. I just didn't want it enough to do it. I wanted the candy and the mocha and to avoid exercise more than I wanted to be more fit. And there are other, way more complicated issues at play too - psychological issues with perfection and my dad, serious emotional connection to food (never judging, always welcoming), hiding behind my weight (that person didn't like me because I'm fat, not because of me - fat rejection was easier than the idea someone just didn't like me), whatever.

One day I decided to be done with it and challenged myself to complete a Whole30. Mostly to see if I could. And I did. It really helped me break through everything - the super complicated stuff I'll pay a therapist to unravel for years to come and the simple 'that tastes good' and 'I hate being sweaty' stuff - and just focus on one decision at a time. The power I'd pushed away was back in my hands. Simply say no. Simply do not put that item in my mouth.

That's not to say it was easy. I remember honest to god weeping because I wanted something that was off-plan so badly but also wanted to stay on plan (possibly quite literally wanting to have my cake and eat it), and feeling so effing conflicted about it. But it was simply a matter of making one good choice, followed by another good choice, followed by another good choice to give me a solid foundation to remember that it is all in my hands and that I can choose to eat well or choose to eat poorly and that a day is only wrecked if I choose to allow it to be.

easjer

As for what I do in the moment - I evaluate my calories and my workout plan. Can I have that? Maybe. I pre-log what I know I'm eating to try and avoid the trap of eating and finding out later that I'm over. I get something to drink. I try to figure out if I'm really hungry or if I'm bored or upset or something else. Frequently now, at work, I will get up and walk around the first floor of my building to get a few more steps and literally walk away from temptation. I also try to avoid stocking lots of foods that don't fit my plan so they aren't there tempting me.

redambition

As several people have said, there's no magic answer (sadly....) You have to really want to do it and focus on keeping that promise to yourself.

The most helpful method for me is to pre-log my day as much as possible. I will pre-log breakfast, lunch and all my snacks, and then I know how many calories & macros I have left for dinner. If any little "extras" come up, I then have to look at my diary and either swap out a snack I haven't eaten yet, or see if I can make it fit (add a walk, etc). If not, then I have to decline it and stick to my plan.

I also give myself an alternative... Say the team at work is having cake for afternoon tea (they do it a lot), and I can't fit it into my day. I will save one of my pre-prepared snacks and eat my snack with everyone else while they have cake. That way I'm not left out of the social aspect, but I'm not sitting there awkwardly not doing anything with my hands while they eat. It helps enormously! I got guilt trips from people the first few times I did it, but now they accept that I won't always eat the cake.

Another tip is to try and get to the bottom of why you are messing up. Are you bored? Lonely? Watching TV? Change up your routine and do something new. Stretch while watching TV instead of sitting, go for a walk, call a friend, take up a hobby. All of these things can help alleviate the call of the fridge )

lemon629

I tended to graze too much in the afternoons, too.

This is what helped me:
1. I started eating a slightly larger lunch. I had been getting around 300-350 calories; now I get 400-600. Now I rarely get hungry in the afternoon.
2. I keep a box of Fiber One in my office. In the late afternoon if I get hungry, I have 1/4 cup. This holds me until dinner.
3. I pre-log my meal plan and then confirm/update after each meal or snack. If I start getting near my limit, I change the plan and/or add more exercise. Pre-logging keeps me from getting too far off track.
4. I make sure I drink enough water. I usually flavor my water with a little fresh lemon juice or orange juice. The flavor helps me drink more and sometimes satisfies that mouth desire for food.

I think the most important changes for me were 1 and 3.
For the evenings, a lot of people find it helps to brush their teeth shortly after dinner.

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

Check with your doctor if you have metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance. If you don't then try to remove the cheat days from your vocabulary. I was always fit in my life except when things started going south 3 or 4 years ago. I was always hungry and my work travel didn't help either. I finally figured out I had metabolic syndrome and just eat foods which don't mess with my insulin levels. If its not medically related, you need to stick with it for a month or two for habits to change.