Dieting = Craving BAD foods

amandaygriffin

Does anyone else have the problem that when you are trying your best to eat healthier, make better choices, and move more that it's like your body/mind is fighting you?

I feel like I have NO control over what my body craves and wants. I get tired of telling myself that I can't have pizza, hamburgers, french fries, etc and I give in. My husband says it's because I don't have the willpower or the "want to", but I feel defeated EVERYTIME I make a lifestyle change and I don't stick with it.

I've tried the "food swaps" and while some of them are reasonable and delicious, most of them leave me wanting the real thing. Example: I made Spinach and Feta pizza on whole wheat crust instead of Three Meat pizza. While the taste was delicious, I still wanted meat.. and lots of it!

fasy1

It's a brain trick. Whenever you say no to your brain, it wants it even more. You don't have to give up those foods, just eat them in moderation. Have 1 slice of pizza instead of half of the pizza, have a burger once in a while. The key is to not completely cut out the foods you are used to from the get go, it's a long process and takes time, just start by decreasing how much of those foods you eat and good luck, you can do it! !!!

nancy10272004

First things first - your husband needs to butt out about willpower. He's not helping.

Second - If you want a burger, have a burger. If you're an omnivore, red meat isn't off limits. If you want fries, go to McD's and get a small size. If you want three meat pizza,have a slice. Just plan the rest of your day around those foods.

Don't deny yourself the simple pleasures in life (within reason). Eventually, you might find yourself eating an entire pizza because you can't stop thinking about it..

Tiernan1212

Have you tried eating the foods you love/crave/want, but just in smaller portion sizes? Most of the time this works for me. There are a couple of things that I avoid all together, but there aren't many.

What helped me when I first started eating in moderation was buying items in a single serve size, instead of buying in bulk and portioning myself. Example, I eat ice cream on a semi-regular basis, but I buy the single serving of my Haagen Dazs chocolate peanut butter ice cream instead of the pint because it controls the portion size for me.

Also, pre-logging my food for the day helped me figure out how I could fit in the foods I truly wanted, rather than only choosing "healthier" foods. The way I look at it, is that all foods are fine, as long as you pay attention to portion sizes. If I want ice cream, I'm going to budget those calories in my day somewhere! If I want pizza, and I know I'm going to want 3 slices, I make the choice to cut back my cals during other meals and/or snacks.

trogalicious

If you cut it all out, you're just gonna keep craving it.
Eat some of what you want, but make it fit.

and stop looking at it like a diet. change how you live, not "be on a diet."

djslickrix

Similar thing is happening with me right now. I have been strict with my diet by only having a cheat meal once a week.

Normally I only have a cheat meal on sundays, but right now I'm craving KFC, should I just have it? or wait till sunday?

nomeejerome

So stop telling yourself you can't have something.
Set reasonable goals.
Stop labeling some food as "bad."
Make small changes at a time.
Do not expect everything to change overnight.
Be patient.

msf74

Does anyone else have the problem that when you are trying your best to eat healthier, make better choices, and move more that it's like your body/mind is fighting you?

I feel like I have NO control over what my body craves and wants. I get tired of telling myself that I can't have pizza, hamburgers, french fries, etc and I give in. My husband says it's because I don't have the willpower or the "want to", but I feel defeated EVERYTIME I make a lifestyle change and I don't stick with it.

I've tried the "food swaps" and while some of them are reasonable and delicious, most of them leave me wanting the real thing. Example: I made Spinach and Feta pizza on whole wheat crust instead of Three Meat pizza. While the taste was delicious, I still wanted meat.. and lots of it!

You are an absolutely classic example of why traditional dieting is utterly the wrong solution to excess weight for the majority of people.

When you set up a long term scenario of willpower .v. deprivation + restriction most human beings will buckle. They will then binge. They will then feel guilty. They will then tighten the restriction and deprivation even more. They will then binge even harder...Welcome to yo yo dieting over a life time.

The solution in my opinion is to improve your relationship with food and eating. No food is off limits, ever, although you can happily choose not to eat them. Enjoy what you eat, in appropriate portion sizes and within your calorie limits which balance out over time.

M0t1v4t10n4l

Let yourself have something bad every now and again, set a cheat day or just have a small portion of what you're craving and plan the rest of the days food around that. If you intend to lose weight and keep it off you have to remember you're going be eating well for the rest of your life, not just a few months so you may as well make it sustainable and enjoyable, the more miserable you make yourself over cravings the more you'll not want to carry on.

I get the most awful sugar cravings, if I think about having sweets I'll spend the whole day wanting some and it'll just get me down, so rather than going and buying a massive pack of biscuits or one of the family sized bags of fruit pastels I'll just get a chocolate bar or a roll of sweets and I'm happy. It feels better knowing it's just a treat as well

SezxyStef

So stop telling yourself you can't have something.
Set reasonable goals.
Stop labeling some food as "bad."
Make small changes at a time.
Do not expect everything to change overnight.
Be patient.

this...anyone who looks at my diary who is "dieting" would be shocked and disgusted by what I eat I am sure.

My ticker proves you don't have to give up those things you love to lose weight.

I eat burgers, DQ, BK, KFC..and all the other initals you can come up with along with chocolate, FF etc.

I eat the food I want ensuring I hit my macros, stay in goal but don't feel deprived.

GauchoMark

My experience - if you are having a CRAVING, not much will satisfy that craving other than what you want. In other words, substitutions don't usually work for a hard core craving. You'll end up eating the substitution AND the craving and have double the calories. If you are craving pepperoni pizza, eat pepperoni pizza and be done with it. The key, is not to eat a WHOLE pepperoni pizza and also plan for it a little. So, know you are going to eat some pizza, already know how many calories that pizza is going to "cost" and make your your daily budget can handle it by 1) exercising a little extra or 2) cut our something else that day or 3) both.

as time passes, the cravings will go away because the food rarely tastes as good as your brain hypes it up to be. At the end of the day, most of the restaurant food we are served is mediocre at best and after you eat "clean"-er for a while, it really doesn't even taste that good.

I will caution, however, that there is a big difference between a CRAVING and a WANT. If you are craving things every day or even weekly, those are WANTS and your husband might be on to something (although a little rude!). If you are craving something every few weeks and its all you can think about - go eat a little and close that out. Just make sure that you deny yourself a little before you decide it is a craving. Just because your pass a five guys on the way home and you are ready for dinner and you suddenly "crave" a hamburger is not a craving - that is "I'm hungry and I see a five guys and they sell hamburgers that I like".

Essentially, it is as simple as making sure the food you eat fits into your daily allowance. Do that and eat whatever you want (unless you are trying to achieve some very specific fitness goals)

Calliope610

There are no BAD foods, only BAD portion sizes. Moderation is key.

kristinhills90

I don't deny myself anything. As long as I eat it in moderation and stay under goals I am okay with having some pizza or a cupcake here and there. In the past, when I was doing it all wrong, i would limit myself to only healthy foods and yes, I would crave junk like crazy. Now that I know a better way I have been far more successful. You should see peoples faces when I tell them that I have lost 26 lbs and that I still get to enjoy my favorite foods. Hehe! Just don't tell yourself that you CAN"T have those things, allow them here and there and watch what happens.

Branstin

There are no BAD foods, only BAD portion sizes. Moderation is key.

+1

rieann84

Just want to echo what everyone else is saying about having what you want, but in moderation. I know its not always that easy to just "eat in moderation" and how slippery of a slope it can be so here's some examples:

If I have chocolate or some other dessert in the house that I am really craving I will force myself to eat a healthy meal, or load up on veggies first and if I still want it, I have it. But they key is to never eat the craving food on an empty stomach because then you will overeat on it.


Like, the pizza... it can be bought by the slice at your average pizzeria. Have a huge salad when you go to the pizzeria (or load up on veggies,etc at home first) Eat that dang salad...then allow yourself the slice of pizza. Again .. don't go for the pizza on an empty stomach at meal time, because I know all too well how one slice can turn into 6 real quick.

For me, my big craving is sweets of any kind. I've found some solutions where I can "fake it".. I buy simply lite chocolate that more or less warns you not to over-consume or it will have a laxative effect (LMAO) so thats enough to keep me from binging. And I also really like various protein bars. It's not a real chocolate dessert, but its close enough for me. Maybe you too can find your fakey food. I think lean cuisine and similar try to do stuff like pizza. Give it a shot, ya never know. It might be good to have around to just satisfy that craving without destroying your calories for the day.

That's my advice. Good luck!

dopeysmelly

Have you tried eating the foods you love/crave/want, but just in smaller portion sizes? Most of the time this works for me. There are a couple of things that I avoid all together, but there aren't many.

What helped me when I first started eating in moderation was buying items in a single serve size, instead of buying in bulk and portioning myself. Example, I eat ice cream on a semi-regular basis, but I buy the single serving of my Haagen Dazs chocolate peanut butter ice cream instead of the pint because it controls the portion size for me.

Also, pre-logging my food for the day helped me figure out how I could fit in the foods I truly wanted, rather than only choosing "healthier" foods. The way I look at it, is that all foods are fine, as long as you pay attention to portion sizes. If I want ice cream, I'm going to budget those calories in my day somewhere! If I want pizza, and I know I'm going to want 3 slices, I make the choice to cut back my cals during other meals and/or snacks.

^^This.

I eat what I want in moderation, but sometimes that 300 calorie microscopic slice of pizza doesn't seem worth it TBH.

Krikit34

I totally understand. For me, the problem is when I get the pizza, I don't stop at one slice...I'll eat half the pizza. I just don't have that kind of will power yet and I know it. I will say that I now cook at home and look for new recipes all the time. It keeps it fresh and I seldom have cravings now. Rather than cut out the 3 meat pizza - make it at home. You can control the amount that is made, as well as choose a lower fat crust and lower fat meats and keep it reasonable that way. And it will taste just as great. Make hamburgers at home - load with goodies, and bake some fries. Will give you the same taste, but much lower in calories. Substituting is great - but if you need what you're craving - just make it similar.

AmyRhubarb

I feel like I have NO control over what my body craves and wants. I get tired of telling myself that I can't have pizza, hamburgers, french fries, etc and I give in. My husband says it's because I don't have the willpower or the "want to", but I feel defeated EVERYTIME I make a lifestyle change and I don't stick with it.

Unless you're planning to never eat pizza, hamburgers, french fires etc ever again, then what you're doing now isn't a lifestyle change, but a temporary "diet". Sounds like you are like me - tell me I can't have something and it's suddenly all I want.

As others have said - make these foods fit into your calorie goals, eat them occasionally and enjoy them - THAT'S true lifestyle change. Fast food happens, so do vacations, weddings, birthdays, holidays, potlucks and buffets. This is life - learn to eat with your goals with sensible portions and you're good to go, and that's where lifestyle change truly happens.

I've managed to lose the fat/inches/weight while still eating pizza, burgers, fries, drinking alcohol, enjoying ice cream, sweet coffee drinks, cookies, etc - and have kept it off, maintaining my healthy habits for over two years straight now. Before that, when I was too restrictive with calories and trying to avoid certain foods, I kept crashing and burning, starting over, losing and regaining due to the yo-yo dieting. It's not sustainable that way.

It is partially willpower, yes, but also learning to eat the proper amount of cals, and allowing yourself to eat foods you love. You can do it!

TavistockToad

So stop telling yourself you can't have something.
Set reasonable goals.
Stop labeling some food as "bad."
Make small changes at a time.
Do not expect everything to change overnight.
Be patient.

all of this

PaytraB

So stop telling yourself you can't have something.
Set reasonable goals.
Stop labeling some food as "bad."
Make small changes at a time.
Do not expect everything to change overnight.
Be patient.

This.
No food is bad food. The trick to losing and living a better life isn't in denying yourself certain foods, it's in figuring out how these certain foods can fit into your lifestyle. All foods are good but, as a society, we've learned to overdo them. The journey to a healthier lifestyle is about learning to balance them in a healthy manner.

Want a burger? Plan to have a burger. Figure out how many calories (as close as possible) it would be. Adjust your breakfast and lunch accordingly to be able to accommodate that burger into your daily plan. It can be done with planning and before long it'll be a routine you can work with.