how do you fight the urges to mess up?

th1nkth1nmama

I hate how I can do good all day long and then see something that my kids are eating and want to eat it too. Or like today, I'm home alone and I started my day out great! A banana, an atkins shake and 2 bottles of water already. Then I got hungry and instead of making something healthy, I got out the Apple Jacks and ate a huge bowl! I know my whole day isn't ruined from that but I can't seem to fight the cravinngs sometimes. UGH! I've been stuck between 218 and 216 for 3 weeks now. Help!!

gentlebreeze2

I mess up too, but it helps if I prepare food ahead of time so when I get those urges... healthy snacks are just as easy to grab.

dunztar

If you mess up... punish yourself by working out

newnicole

if a craving comes on.. i leave the kitchen, get out of there!
its like the danger zone..
But when i'm faced with a really bad craving.. i pop a piece of sugar free gum in a chew away and go make myself useful doing something else
Its the WORST when you have to sit and watch other people eating the food that you want sooo bad but in order to see results you cant mess around.. whats the point? you're wasting valuable time that you could be improving your body, life, and overall feel so why would you mess that up?
I always think ... why would you eat this nicole? youre going to hate yourself the SECOND after you eat it.
just remember that how your feeling now.. can be prevented as long as you stayyy STRONG! you can do it!

acknan

I hate having to add it to my diary and that seems to stop me. I allow myself little indulgences, like small single serving bags of chips. 100 something calories of something awful once a day seems to curb my nasty intentions! Good luck!

jessmo803

I mess up about once a week. When I do, I go right back to being healthy. If I have a crappy lunch, then I'll redeem myself with a healthy dinner. And if I only mess up a little bit, I'll lexercise to try and work off the extra calories my little mess up added on. Hope this helps!

kmeekhof

I don't buy it. I was at the grocery store yesterday and Chips, doughnuts, easter candy (that is already out), and icecream looked SOOOO good, but I refused to buy it that way I dont give in to temptation when I just want something quick.

Why dont you start buying and having the healthier snacks and cereals around for your children too? If that is all there is... they will eat it.

sugarone12

Everyone messes up. Before I started this if I ate something bad I'd be like well, dosnt matter what I do the rest of the day and Id gorge myself. Now, i plug in what Im tempted to eat before I eat it and looking at the calories and stuff gives me a reality check. For instance I really wanted a triple choc muffin from Dunkins 600 calories and 31 grams of fat! That stopped me right there... totally not worth it!

glittersoul

Just make up for it by working out more and staying more active throughout the day.

meggonkgonk

I plan out treats for myself- I keep one sweet and one savory in the house. I like frozen godiva chocolate bars (i usually eat 1/2 at a time= 100 cals) or skinny cow truffles ice cream either chocolate/chocolate or choc/mint. And for savory I like to keep Quaker cheesy rice cakes (I know that sounds lame, but the little ones are like eating smart food pop corn!) or thin pretzles and mustard. Cheese + B&G hot pepper rings is tasty also.

The point is (before I start day dreaming about snack time) is that having these things built into your day can be a huge encouragment and help you resist uncontrolled snacking. The security of knowing you have something to reach fore can be a huge weight off your shoulders.

Good luck!

Liatush

I log in the bad stuff before I eat it... it helps me to see the damage before I actually do the damage. I often delete it and eat something else, but sometimes, if I really want it and I can afford it, calorie wise, I just have a little bit and that seems to curb my urge.

bbygrl5

It's wonderful that you realize that your indulge doesn't mean it ruins your entire day. Many people struggle with that concept. I'm not perfect and mess up too, but I'm a big dose of tough love when it comes to unplanned indulgences.

You make yourself resist it because it's within your capability. Sure you want whatever "it" is, but you don't give in. Simple idea, physically simple, mentally hard. I've cried sometimes for not giving in to something I want so badly, but I consider it all part of my battle with emotional eating. There's no reason I should cry from not eating something.

I always feel so good when I've conquered a craving battle and not given in. Sometimes it takes half an hour, sometimes it's an all day battle... but I'm constantly getting stronger. Good job for not letting a slipup ruin the rest of your day.

meggonkgonk

If you mess up... punish yourself by working out

No offense, but this is a kind of whacked out thing to say. Working out, if you are doing it right, should never be a punishment. This kind of mentality will burn you out real quick.

downtome

Maybe your not eating enough for breakfast? A banana and an Atkins shake doesn't sound very filling?! I keep lots of my favorite yougurts and yoplait delight yogurt,(caramel and cream), in the frig. It helps when I'm hungry and need a quick snack! Make sure you have plenty of healthy low calories snacks available when the urge to eat stikes! Also, don't get discouraged, I too have been stuck at one weight for awhile now, I had my son hide the scale for next 3 weeks so I don't weigh and get discouraged. Just keep at it everyday, keep trying and don't give up when you eat a bit too much or something you feel you shouldn't have, pick yourself up and keep moving forward. Every day trying is another day forward towards your goal and being healthier. Good luck!

NoAdditives

It's easy. Don't buy junk. If you shouldn't be eating it, your family shouldn't either.

My 2 year old daughter sees us get water from our water pitcher all day and she's started asking for water. She also loves vegetables and fruit and will choose a banana or strawberries over cookies every time. It may be harder to get older kids to change, but it's important to get them eating healthy foods. You want to set them up with good habits so they won't have to learn how to be healthy on their own, right? Don't you want to help them avoid the mistakes you made?

em_lou007

Hey!!

I agree with what everyone above me has already said - I do a little of it all
Apart from using exercise as punishment - I like to see it as something good otherwise I won't do it lol

Good luck

Serafimangel

its so hard not to just go "screw it" and eat an entire tub of ice cream (which i have done on occassion), when you really really want a certain thing, sit down and write out why you want it. Are you hungry? Is it because it's sugary? Is it because it's there? Once you really think why you want the certain thing, then write down if its worth it or not. then think how many minutes it would take to burn it off, and look at an old picture of yourself.
And finally ask yourself if you want to be like this forever.

I get the whole cravings thing, i am currently on exchange in paris and have to walk past 7 boulangeries/patisseries to go to university. not to mention every supermarket has a cake counter. but then i think of being in a changing room and crying cos another pair of jeans wont fit me. works for me.

NoAdditives

If you mess up... punish yourself by working out

Exercise should never be a punishment. It's something you should be doing to keep yourself healthy.

Melissaol

Im starting to buy healthy food and snacks. The only thing keeping me on track is keeping track of everything... Love working out ..

TropicalKitty

Like others have said, one thing to do is to prevent the action from happening by limiting what less healthy things you have available at your home. That will benefit you and your children. No one should be eating refined carbs and sugars - regardless of any advertising claims saying junk like "Made with whole grains" that seem to have been slapped on boxes, it's still not good for you.

Also, there's a mindset that I think needs to be altered, which is common on MFP. You seem to be rather upset at yourself for a bowl of cereal. Even though the cereal isn't the best food out there for you, so what? You didn't eat the whole box...or anything worse. It's a minor violation, if you can even call it that really. In this change to eating healthy you have to be gentle with yourself as well. It's ok to stray once in a while. Look at what triggered it. Were you feeling deprived? Have you been denying yourself other things? Is your normal diet well balanced and giving you the nutrients that you need? Shakes aren't all that satiating, perhaps you need to eat more real food if you can - like another poster mentioned.

Don't punish yourself for this, it can lead to worse things. I also think that the longer you eat healthfully and intuitively, the more you will realize that the processed foods aren't satisfying in the way that natural foods are. That in itself is a great motivator to keep eating healthy.

Anyway, I hope you've found something in this thread to help you in the future. Just remember to love yourself in this as well.

robin52077

If you mess up... punish yourself by working out

No offense, but this is a kind of whacked out thing to say. Working out, if you are doing it right, should never be a punishment. This kind of mentality will burn you out real quick.

I agree with what everyone above me has already said - I do a little of it all
Apart from using exercise as punishment - I like to see it as something good otherwise I won't do it lol

Exercise should never be a punishment. It's something you should be doing to keep yourself healthy.

agreed. agreed. and agreed.

I second everything that was said, except that idiot's response about exercise.

rlysrh

Try to avoid having the food in your house to start with. Although what I do is if I start to feel like I'm depriving myself of having treats every so often I'll give in and have a couple of reeses cups or some other chocolate, but the thing is I make sure to only buy 1 small packet instead of a big one, and then I add it to my daily calories and I don't feel like I need to eat more because I know I'm still gonna end up with 400 calories deficit that day and even though it isn't as good as a 600 calorie deficit I know that I'll still lose weight if I don't eat any more. That way I still feel satisfied and like I get to treat myself, I'm still losing weight and I don't end up completely giving up and over indulging a few days later. I hope that made sense.

peacemom

Sometimes I give in, sometimes I don't. I never, ever regret passing things by and I try to remember that.

gaeljo

Are you craving sweets? When I crave sweets, I eat a piece of fruit. I find the body craves things when it is hunting for nutrients. I find people on fitness pal don't eat enough fruit, and hence crave sugar. Fitness pal counts fruit as sugar grams, for juice and other stuff, I can understand that, but not fruit. Who ever heard of getting fat from eating too many bananas?! LOL. Sometimes I crave sweets when I haven't had enough protein either (I'm a vegetarian). My point is, I wonder if you are missing something in your diet. I'd think with the amount of weight you've lost so far, it isn't so much a self control issue, other than your body is prompting you to go find something it needs. Personally, I take a fist full of various vitamins and supplements every day and it really has helped me a lot. Good luck and God bless you on your journey. Gael

kmeekhof

Are you craving sweets? When I crave sweets, I eat a piece of fruit. I find the body craves things when it is hunting for nutrients. I find people on fitness pal don't eat enough fruit, and hence crave sugar. Fitness pal counts fruit as sugar grams, for juice and other stuff, I can understand that, but not fruit. Who ever heard of getting fat from eating too many bananas?! LOL. Sometimes I crave sweets when I haven't had enough protein either (I'm a vegetarian). My point is, I wonder if you are missing something in your diet. I'd think with the amount of weight you've lost so far, it isn't so much a self control issue, other than your body is prompting you to go find something it needs. Personally, I take a fist full of various vitamins and supplements every day and it really has helped me a lot. Good luck and God bless you on your journey. Gael

There are naturally occuring sugars in fruit that is why they count against your sugar grams. Bananas for instance are very high on the glycemic index and spike your blood sugar which prevents you fom losing weight.... so yes you could "get fat" from eating too many bananas. An actual serving size of a banana is 1/2 a banana and should only be consumed 1-2 times a week.
Also taking a "fist full" of various vitamins and supplements is NOT good for you. You can get toxic levels and they can interact with each other, or medications if youre on them. Your best bet is to take 1 multi-vitamin if you feel like you're not getting adequate nutrition through your diet.