help with self control please?

monicahacker38

okay so i know a lot of people say don't deprive yourself of everything... so usually once a day i let myself have a LITTLE bit of junk food- like two mini dark chocolate bars. but i have learned that if i have any junk food at all throughout the day, it just makes me crave more sugar or more chocolate. After i have those two squares of chocolate, i will continue eating chocolate the rest of the day. I am never satisfied. then i eat junk until i feel sick, and eventually stop. But if i dont eat junk at all, the same thing happens. I crave it and the same thing happens as before. any help or suggestions?

misspenny762

Find replacements - things that are still sweet but don't constitute "junk".

Personally, I'm the same way with chocolate unless I go cold turkey. After a couple days without i my cravings are way diminished.

strandedeyes

the thing that worked best for me was to just get rid of all junk food in my house. I know this is harsh, but this way there was no temptation in general to start snacking. Next, I got those ziplock bags that are "snack" sizes and filled them with veggies and snacks I could have so this way, if I got hungry, i would just pick one up and go. I gave myself no choice. I am exactly like you in the sense of one little bit of junk food makes me crave more...so I just got rid of it all. After three weeks though, I feel confident enough to allow back something simple like the sugar free jello pudding. With that also, I make sure to have smaller bowls (I use the small tea cups) and only use those when wanting some.

I hope this helps!

shannonshock13

I was the same way until i started eating majorly "clean". I had a major sweet tooth (i still have a sweet tooth but it is more controlled and i eat healthy sweet options that also have some nutritional value)

I do occasionally allow myself to have ONE very small (like 1 inchs worth) of very dark chocolate, but i don't keep any in the house cos then i will be tempted to eat it everyday. I probably allow myself this treat once a week.

Once you cut out the majority of processed foods and refined sugars from your diet you will start to crave less and less junk!

Lobos062

I look at junk food as a type of addiction. I too would always rather go for the ice cream in the fridge instead of the rice cake. I mean really, who would want a rice cake over ice cream! I try to turn the health food into a little treat. Try dressing it up. Peanut butter is really filling and goes with a lot! Try eating a sliced up apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter. OR, if that doesnt work, for every piece of chocolate you eat, exercise for an extra 5 mins. Try dark chocolate, its a lot better for you and your heart.

BackwoodsMom

I find it helps to have one day a week where I don't exercise and I don't record what I eat. I'm training myself to be careful but also to not get so strict that I can't enjoy life. I find that with the other 6 days of working out and logging food, I'm much more conscious of what I eat on my "day off".

callipygianchronicle

Well, while no one can help you with self-control, you can set yourself up for better success. It’s actually a great realization to know that the chocolate is a trigger for you. But I suspect that it’s not the chocolate alone that send you spiraling. Take a good look through your food diary. How much nutritious, wholesome foods are you eating? How often are you feeding yourself? How much sugar and sodium are you eating in processed foods?

I’m betting if you look at these numbers, you will find an imbalance, especially in slow-burning, filling fiber. That imbalance is more-than-likely what is causing your huge spikes in blood sugar when you eat chocolate, that send you hunting for more like a junkie.

Just remember, this is a journey and we can not figure this stuff out in one day. I believe that every day and every meal is a chance to recommit to healthy choices, and we cannot ask more (or less) of ourselves than that.

daddyzgurl

I have the same issue, particularly with chocolate. Over the past 3 months I have almost cut it from my diet completely. I was still craving it for about 2 weeks after I "quit" cold turkey but then I no longer craved it much at all. Every now and again if I am PMS'ing I will drink a cup of Sugar Free hot (or cold) chocolate (powder mixed with water) or eat a sugar free fudge pop.
Of course there really is no substitute, but just remember, nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels. Good luck!

lilRicki

try subbing one of those bars with strawberries. I love my junk food too, but I have done slight changes...like instead of an entire bag of chips, I'll count out 12 rice crisps, but the rest of the bag back in the cupboard. Down a huge amount of water first so you don't think you're hungry. God I sound like a preacher, but I sympathize with you lol. buy the dark chocolate and break it into squares. A lot of it is self control though. Stop and think why you want something sweet. See if there's any healthy alternative that can curb the sweet craving...if the fruit doesn't work, than have 1 piece of dark chocolate. and continue on like that, little bits...take small bites and savor the yummy goodness. if you're about to gorge, do something active, like laundry, or take a shower...do something that keeps you busy so you're not sitting there thinking about the pudding in the cupboard. Does that make sense? Can you tell I'm a junk food junkie? lol good luck my friend, you'll be fine.

oldscratch

aversion therapy....kinda.

i am by no means "normal" lol, but this works for me. i used to LOVE cheese, love ranch dressing, love ice cream. 7 yrs ago i visited a dairy that my buddy owns in cali for the weekend. we waaaayyy overdid the tequila and beer on fri....and woke up early sat for the "dairy tour". i was hungover.............we visited the whole place, and finally ended up in the milking room. large rows of cows....and flies....in the 90 degree heat. the collecting room is where i lost it. the milk collects in large copper pots....churning, and splashing....unprocessed....with chunks of grass..etc..and flies buzzing around. . i ran outside, and puked...............10 times.

so now, when theres pizza around, or ranch dressing is an option,,,or i'm in the ice cream aisle. i think of that experience, and no longer want those creamy, cheesey, gooey things. no more dairy.

use whatever works, be creative. funny though...i still love tequila :0/

imagineaballoon

Sugar will make you crave sugar. It sucks really, really hard, but it is what it is. I am a MAJOR sugar addict, and not only does sugar affect me physically by making me feel unfulfilled and in need of MORE sweet stuff as well as hungry even when I'm not, it also affects me mentally in the form of mood swings. This isn't unusual, and is probably more the norm than people realize.

What worked for me was taking refined sugar almost entirely out of my diet. I had to recognize the almost entirely negative impact it was having on me, and realize giving it up for the most part was better than holding on to it and feeling disgusted with myself and sad about my lack of willpower when it's around.

Good luck to you in however you decide to tackle this. I sympathize with you SO MUCH.

carolinegeorgia

as others have said, don't have it in the house, I had to stop buying ice cream cos I can't have a small bowl, would end up eating the whole tub, now it just doesn't bother me, had a tub in the freezer since christmas and not touched it ;-)