Confessions

junexmommy

I have a confession to make, I like hotodgs, pizza, chips with french onion dips, and McDonald MCchikens and prob other deep fried greasy comfort foods. I'm a emotional eater and I do it when im bored!! Help!! Now how do I start eating healthy? Anyone have menus I can follow or low calorie foods i can buy?

Sissy4EverX3

You're not alone, honey!! I eat when I'm stressed, angry, bored, peed off or an emotional wreck!! It's those habits we work *so hard* at trying to break and sometimes fail.. but you know what? I've learned in 3 1/2 months that it's OKAY to fail. You simply just can't KEEP failing. You gotta dust your booty off and try, try again.

I use this website a lot to search for health(ier) foods.. unfortunately, my husband is a penny pincher (can squeeze the copper out of one, really) and our budget won't allow for some of the recipes I'd really like to try. So I have to substitute alot. I've also learned you can take some of your favorite recipes and make them low cal/fat by just simply changing some of the ingredients.. it all tastes the same!

Good luck!!

Forgot to add the website... oops! http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/healthy-cooking/low-calorie/Main.aspx

beccarockslife

Someone here a while back said if your grandma couldn't of eaten it then it's probably no good! It's a good rule to live by, less processed food more meat and veg and fruit.

Topsking2010

Join the club. Most of us are emotional eaters. I join a local weight loss support group and that was a big help. I also adopted an exercise program and lost 50 pounds. It's ok to treat yourself just don't do it everyday.

Sauchie

I do to... So much so I gained 120 pounds... I mainly eat low carb which means I mainly eat sir fry w/out rice or chesse steaks, chicken cheese steaks w/ the bun....So just try making things at home. My mom makes homemade pizza with pitas its low cal & good. good luck

mostein

I have my diary set so that nobody can see it because if they did they would be disgusted! Well, ok it isn't that bad but I LOVE chocolate and my latest weakness is cinnamon buns with cream cheese icing! I try to eat really well during the day so that when I get home I can have a nice little treat after dinner. I think that it is better to incorporate treats into your diet because if you don't you just end up craving them more and will be more likely to overindulge.

chevy88grl

I think it's safe to say that most of the people on this site ate all the "bad" stuff. Otherwise, most of us wouldn't be here.

I am emotional eater. When I was in an unhappy marriage - food was my comfort. If you're sad - food still loves you!

When I decided to lose the weight once and for all - I went cold turkey with a lot of things, but there were things I couldn't give up right away. I did learn that if I don't have access to it - I won't eat it. Which is why I have to work harder on not buying junk. I'm still an emotional eater, but if there isn't anything "bad" for me to eat when I'm feeling down -- I tend to find something else to do.

I've also found healthier alternatives to some of the things I really like - like Skinny Cow heavenly bars vs Reese's Peanut Butter cups. Or Bunny grahams vs Teddy grahams.

Best thing to do is to look around the web for healthier recipes and then head to your grocery store and take your time going down each aisle. READ labels.

sunshine__angel

Why not try lower calorie, healthier versions of the foods you love?

I don't eat hot dogs and hamburgers because I am a vegetarian, but I eat tofu dogs and soy veggie burgers. If those things don't interest you, just try and have only one instead of two, or cut out the bun or some of the condiments. You shouldn't have to suffer without the foods you love, you should just try to change them a bit so you can still benefit from eating them.

I am a slave for pizza. I will do anything to eat it and I would eat it every day if I could. I made a recent discovery: English muffin mini pizzas! You make them yourself, so you can control what and how much of everything is in it, and you can also limit it to 1 or 2, instead of what (for me) turns into about 4-5 slices!

Just take an English muffin, add marinara or other tomato sauce, sprinkle with mozerella or cheddar cheese and your favourite toppings and bake in the oven for about 350F for about 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and English muffin is crispy.

Have you ever tried Walden Farms dressings? They have dressing that are 0 fat, 0 calorie, 0 sugar, etc. For your chip dips, maybe you could switch to that type, or a lower fat type of dip, and use carrots and celery instead of chips? Or another type of lower calorie chip?

Aside from that, I know how you feel about eating when you are bored. I have recently stopped doing that, but that is how I got to where I am now, by eating anything anytime I felt like it. Everything is better in moderation. When you are bored, try chewing gum to occupy your mouth instead, or maybe try going for popcorn instead of chips? It really just depends on what you choose to eat, and how much of it you put into your body. If you feel like you are going to make a bad decision, you can always come here, that's what we are here for!

sister_bear

For me, deprivation doesn't work. I still eat pizza and fast foods. I just do it differently. Here are my tricks:

1. Plan ahead. Look up the nutritional menu for the restaurant before you set foot in the restaurant. Know what you're going to order and don't even look at the menu. Just go get what you planned to. Psyche yourself up for it, so it doesn't matter what else they try to sell you, you already know what you want.

2. Portion control. We had pizza last week. Before I bite into a slice of pizza... I do the same thing, research my calorie options, order my food, and then when the pizza comes--I take my slice or two out of the box, put it on a plate, and put the rest away before I even take a bite. I have about a 90% success rate now of not getting seconds and if I do get more, I'm on the treadmill again.

3. Say no. Stick to the plan. Say no to up-sizing, and even the value meal. Pass on fries and sides unless you've planned ahead and saved up your calories to blow it all on fries. I haven't had fries in a few weeks. The last time I ate them, I was pretty miserable. It's getting easier and easier to resist this temptation. I will eat fries again though, so it's not like it's the end of the world if I don't get them this time.

4. Eat before you go. If you're frequenting places that are danger zones, assess your hazards before you go. My fiance was having trouble at the movie theater yesterday. They were trying hard to sell him junk food. I was fine. I had just eaten.

5. Substitute your snacks. Find something else to replace your snacks with or instead of buying a large bag of chips, get the individually portioned bags. There are tons of snack threads, but it will only work if you find something you like that's better for you. My current snacks are granola bars, cheerios, and babybel cheeses. We still have chips in the house for the chip eater, but he has individually portioned bags otherwise he'll eat an entire bag of doritos.

I hope some of this helps.