"Junk" Food - Abstinence or Moderation?

GreatDepression

What has been your approach and why? I chose to abstain when I started my weight loss journey due to what I thought was disordered eating triggered by certain junk foods (i.e. chips and candy). I was very "good" at restricting myself and abstaining completely from that stuff for a long time until about two weeks ago in which I've been binging almost non-stop.

I realized after much self-reflection that the restriction led to obsession. I "couldn't" eat those junk foods so I started to binge on healthful foods. It was scary to accept that "out of sight, out of mind" didn't work for me. "Out of sight" only made it more ingrained in my thoughts, actually.

I'm now thinking of working in "forbidden" foods to see how it could improve my broken relationship with eating. I actually bought some ice cream and it scares me that I also have the strong desire to eat the entire tub in one sitting (the desire that has always been with me). Counting calories and white knuckling self-control has gotten me pretty far in my journey towards health but I've been neglecting the emotional strings that are keeping me tied.

fleaofdeath

I was thinking about this earlier on my way home from class and a workout while sipping a smoothie. I've definitely gone with moderation. My philosophy is that this should be a lifestyle change. I think it's better to work the food in moderately now so that you don't binge. (Also as a broke college student, moderation has quickly become a lifestyle =P ) And hey, if eating a tub of ice cream in one sitting help you refocus yourself, try not to ignore it too much. The more you ignore your cravings, the stronger they get =P (not that I recommend eating the whole thing at once...that might just make you sick )

Icandoityayme

I feel that abstaining, for me anyway, doesn't work. Moderation is the better way to go. That way, you are not depriving yourself of the things you love. When you cut those things out, it makes you resent what you are doing because "you can't have that". It's a higher likelihood of quitting what you are trying to accomplish. Learning when to stop on those foods, not letting yourself go over your calorie intake, it the important part.

GuineaPiglet

moderation for SURE! Though I try my best to avoid trigger foods devoid of any nutritional value like chips. I'll still have them once a month or so.....but I buy a single serve bag. Otherwise it would end badly. In a perfect world I'd be eating nothing but grilled chicken breast atop a leafy green bed of salad, but neither the world nor myself are perfect. I find that I'm a lot pickier about the junk I eat now though.

runfatmanrun

When is abstinence ever a good thing...or effective...or desired lol.

broox80

When I try to cut it all out, I start to feel deprived and tend to want to binge. With that said, for me, this is a slippery slope. One day of "freedom" will turn into 2, into 3, into a week, into screw this I will start again later. So my off days have to be that only, a day (a meal with dessert works good for me too). I do this about once a month. I just dont log that item or items I have for that day. I make up for it with my deficit for the rest of the week anyway, so it works out.

Chain_Ring

Dude, you gotta do what works for you................

BrienJD

Moderation. Sometimes it takes a lot of discipline because it's easy to inadvertently (or blatantly) overindulge, but I find that abstinence is worse. Long term denial can breed inner resentment and lead to serious binge when you finally allow yourself a tiny slice/piece of whatever forbidden fruit is on your list.

I find it best to limit, not deny. I can cut out (meaning temporarily limit) some things ie ice cream/candy/cookies if I at least have a bit of something...chips, popcorn etc. Then later swap them out with whatever I didn't have before. Keeps the variety going. I will never deny myself.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Moderation.

jemhh

Moderation. I have a chocolate peanut butter sundae every Sunday at DQ. I usually have ice cream one other day of the week but at someplace other than home. Plus, when I am slightly low on calories, I top off my day with chocolate covered almonds (usually 10 or fewer.)

I don't keep ice cream in the house on a regular basis because I tend to just EAT IT ALL but by letting myself have it at appointed times, I don't feel like I am restricting myself too much. I love chocolate and chocolate/pb and chocolate/almonds too much to make myself miserable by giving them up. And I refuse to play the "have fruit as dessert" game because when it comes to dessert, if it's not chocolate, why eat it?

1911JR

My advise is always the same. BABY steps.

People fail because they try and do too much at once. Complete or huge life changes are hard and really never work. So just go at it slow and learn to enjoy yourself.

A buddy of mine who ate lunch at McDonalds daily and super sized it. Usually got and extra burger also. SO when he stopped getting that extra burger, and not going super size. And drinking DIET vs regular. I see that as a huge win. And good for him. He traded those calories for some fruit and oat meal in the morning for breakfast.

Of course I hope the day comes when he stops going there all together, but its better, and its an improvement, and he has lost 25 pounds.

So take baby steps my friend, than maybe you will be able to learn what works for you, and also enjoy yourself.

Geloza

I had a HUGE sweet tooth and had to cut it out all together. I eat lots of fruit and greek yogurt instead and that works for me!

twyliatepeka

moderation for me. I will pig out if I get in a bad mood otherwise. I have tried to just cut it out but I just end up failing when I do.

Walter__

My approach is moderation.

Being too restrictive on a diet leads to quitting it, going on a binge, then reverting back to old habits. You usually up heavier than when you started too.

catherinet89

Moderation... absolutely.
If youre anything like me you are a comfort eater or a bored eater or a i know theres cookies eater lol. Youll know that unless you cheat now and again youll crack and binge. Now for me atleast if i had a couple candies or a slice of pizza once or twice a month id be fine. Just have to do that extra bit of cardio the next day!

happysquidmuffin

Moderation works for me. If I feel like I'm about to go out of control and just have to eat a certain something, I allow myself to indulge - on the stipulation that I stop right there. If I'm still feeling hungry after eating what I wanted, I will let myself keep eating but I try to make it the less "destructive" choices - like a tbs of peanut butter, a controlled portion of cheese, and maybe some fruit. Not ten oreos and 4 servings of ice cream. I try to tell myself, OK is this going to make you feel nauseous and guilty after eating it? Do I need calories because I'm hungry, or am I trying to avoid doing something else?

PapaChanoli

I couldn't do it without moderation. I'm finding that periodically letting myself eat what I want makes it easier to toe the line the rest of the time. For me, the alternative is labeled "Here be dragons." In other words, I'll be horrible to deal with and I will ultimately give in to the seemingly more pleasurable alternative.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

Moderation. I'd drown myself if being fit meant I'd never see another plate of cheese fries or an apple fritter again. :sad:

shadowofender

For me-moderation. I'd snap if I couldn't get in a sweet here and again. And honestly, if I stick to true moderation, I'm less likely to have intense cravings and I've found it much easier to now just have ONE of a sweet rather than say, the whole bag.

getitamb

Im all about moderation. I don't cut stuff out, I fit it in.

lacroyx

moderation for me.

GiveMeCoffee

As many have tried to explain to you multiple times, when you overly restrict it typically makes sustainability much more difficult. Plan your day include 1 serving or whatever it is you can fit of your ice cream serve that put the rest of the way.

Really start working on your relationship with food, food is not good, bad, evil or whatever other label you want to give it... it's food. The main reason I have been successful this time is because I finally learned that 99% of what I thought I knew about dieting was wrong, by making a few small changes, learning portion control, learning moderation, and getting off my butt and moving I can lose weight, get healthier and not be miserable.

Good luck

elleeebelle3

I have cut out all junk food from my diet. I don't eat chocolate, but sometimes I allow myself a serving of chocolate if I really do crave something. I'll eat it slowly and enjoy it. I am always looking for healthy recipes that are still sweet, that way I can satisfy my cravings. I do have moments where it's really hard, but when you see results, it's totally worth it!

Meerataila

I do better with abstinence, and now that I'm learning to substitute nuts, seeds, and fruits for salty and sweet snack foods, I'm even less interested in stuffing my face with cookies. I hope it continues! Yesterday I was a bottomless pit, though. But I didn't go do anything foolish like buy and eat a gallon of cheap ice cream.

gypsy_spirit

As many have tried to explain to you multiple times, when you overly restrict it typically makes sustainability much more difficult. Plan your day include 1 serving or whatever it is you can fit of your ice cream serve that put the rest of the way.

Really start working on your relationship with food, food is not good, bad, evil or whatever other label you want to give it... it's food. The main reason I have been successful this time is because I finally learned that 99% of what I thought I knew about dieting was wrong, by making a few small changes, learning portion control, learning moderation, and getting off my butt and moving I can lose weight, get healthier and not be miserable.

Good luck

This is the strategy I have used and finally been successful.

mandyosetti

I cut out "junk food" for a little while knowing that I would incorporate it back into my diet in the future. I did it for about 2 months and now I have incorporated it back into my diet. The two rules I have for myself is that it does have to fit within my calorie budget and it doesn't come into the house. This helps to ensure that I only have one serving at a time and don't eat a whole big bag of chips or a tub of ice cream.

MyChocolateDiet

What has been your approach and why? I chose to abstain when I started my weight loss journey due to what I thought was disordered eating triggered by certain junk foods (i.e. chips and candy). I was very "good" at restricting myself and abstaining completely from that stuff for a long time until about two weeks ago in which I've been binging almost non-stop.

I realized after much self-reflection that the restriction led to obsession. I "couldn't" eat those junk foods so I started to binge on healthful foods. It was scary to accept that "out of sight, out of mind" didn't work for me. "Out of sight" only made it more ingrained in my thoughts, actually.

I'm now thinking of working in "forbidden" foods to see how it could improve my broken relationship with eating. I actually bought some ice cream and it scares me that I also have the strong desire to eat the entire tub in one sitting (the desire that has always been with me). Counting calories and white knuckling self-control has gotten me pretty far in my journey towards health but I've been neglecting the emotional strings that are keeping me tied.

Your post is timely.

This morning I toyed with the idea of proclaiming today "Moderation Monday" and challenging my FL to find one food they have little control over to eat a portion that fits their cal goals.

Guess I will do that next Monday.

Geloza

Moderation. I'd drown myself if being fit meant I'd never see another plate of cheese fries or an apple fritter again. :sad:

Apple fritter...... Mmmmmm.....

What have you done to me?!?! :laugh:

jemhh

I cut out "junk food" for a little while knowing that I would incorporate it back into my diet in the future. I did it for about 2 months and now I have incorporated it back into my diet. The two rules I have for myself is that it does have to fit within my calorie budget and it doesn't come into the house. This helps to ensure that I only have one serving at a time and don't eat a whole big bag of chips or a tub of ice cream.

I think that this is a really good method too. When I first started changing the way I ate earlier this year, I didn't cut out junk food entirely but I did pick one day of the week when I allowed myself to have two "treats" from the following categories: sweets, alcohol, and grains (bread/pasta.) Once I got to the point where I didn't feel like I would eat an entire sleeve of saltines if I tried to eat just one, I started adding things back in a bit more. Nowadays I can keep my chocolated covered almonds in the house without fearing that I will eat the entire bag in one sitting. So I think that abstinence can be good if you see it as a way to strengthen your muscles of self-restraint as opposed to looking at certain foods as bad.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

As many have tried to explain to you multiple times, when you overly restrict it typically makes sustainability much more difficult. Plan your day include 1 serving or whatever it is you can fit of your ice cream serve that put the rest of the way.

Really start working on your relationship with food, food is not good, bad, evil or whatever other label you want to give it... it's food. The main reason I have been successful this time is because I finally learned that 99% of what I thought I knew about dieting was wrong, by making a few small changes, learning portion control, learning moderation, and getting off my butt and moving I can lose weight, get healthier and not be miserable.

Good luck

This is the strategy I have used and finally been successful.

Mine, too. And this post was a huge help for me. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity I focused on the numbers, and I didn't want to do anything to mess them up. Now that I'm in control, I don't worry about it so much if I'm over a day or two.

AnotherDani

For me, a combination of abstinence and moderation, for set periods of time works well.

I know, without a doubt that I can do ANYTHING for a week. I work with my dietician to and set weekly goals for myself and food. I don't necessarily have the same goals every week, though I often decide a particular goal is positive for me, and it makes a repeat appearance. The goals are sometimes environmental in nature (removing or adding particular foods from my home), adding structure to my daily life, or food restrictive.

Here are a couple examples:

I choose one food from my pantry that was a high calorie, low volume, and something I tended to snack on. I went home, and threw it away (I choose tortilla chips). Along with that goal, she asked me to select, and prepare healthy snacks to be kept in my fridge at eye level. That way when I wanted something to snack on, I would have something readily available, at eye level, that was healthy. I chose blueberries. I prewashed and measured blueberries into one cup Tupperware containers. What do you know - I actually haven't missed the tortilla chips (which were previously a staple snack), and I'm eating quite a few blueberries. I also ended up adding half cup serving of cottage cheese and half cup servings of Greek yogurt. It's relatively easy not to overeat, because it's pre-portioned. While I could certainly have more if I wanted, it's a conscious decision I make to go BACK to the refrigerator.

Harder example: I love wine and beer. Enjoying a cold one (or more) on the patio after work, or having a glass (or more) of wine with dinner was my norm. I cut back, make sure I wasn't exceeding my caloric intake - but I wasn't loosing weight the way I wanted to. My dietician challenged me to go one week without having any alcohol. She didn't want me to try to moderate, because she wanted me to set an easy to know, easy to track, yes or no goal. That was a *hard week. Suddenly because I said I wouldn't have any, I wanted it all the more. I persevered though, and went one week with no alcohol. I lost 3lbs that week.

Instead of completely denying myself the next week, I limited myself to one alcoholic beverage. I found by limiting myself, I planned for when I would enjoy my drink, and I savored it far more than I would have otherwise. I'm not mindless drinking, the way I used to mindlessly eat.

Bottom line, when I need to "reset" myself - I abstain for a week. I might choose to continue that goal for additional weeks, but each commitment is one week at a time. When I'm ready, I move to moderation.