Am I setting myself up for failure?

armymil

Family, friends, coworkers, etc take you to a place you enjoy. You know you love the grilled stuff, with nachos, cheese, extra taco, etc, but do you give in, or opt for the 3 taco meal? Last time I went out to dinner with a friend he got the bacon wrapped steak, I had chicken breasts with mushrooms, no cheese, no sauce, and drank water. :-D

A function at work has work paying for your meals. They cater in some food. Do you give in or eat your home made sandwich?
This week they did that because of some quality control crap. They brought in breakfast sandwiches and lunch sandwiches. I sat at my desk eating my veggie omelette and went out and got chicken breasts with brocolli and carrots for lunch.

If you find you have the urge, give yourself 2 free meals a week. Not cheat meals (dont call it that, it makes it feel wrong) but free meals, AND NOT 2 FREE DAYS. You will kick yourself every week.
I thought about that, I'm concerned I won't be able to kick back at all. So I'm going to try to go at least a month before I let my "cravings" have a reward.

I gave up soda. I recently found diet Sierra Mist which is quite good. Diet 7 Up is good too. Those are low cal, some people will say the sugar is bad. That's another arguement. I don't drink anything but water. I've had 1 glass of diet coke, and I didn't want it after I had it. So I stopped getting it refilled.

I appreciate the insight, and yeah, I've been asking myself those questions as to what I plan to do if I get into those situations. I'm hoping I just stay strong. Regardless of all the humor in the first post I really REALLY almost lost it when I picked up 4 of the larger size retail Zebra Cakes to take to a friend of mine who just had a baby. It was almost ugly in the check out line. lol

Rock on! I will send you a friend add. You can see that even those that are strong want some cravings now and then. Though the only life saver for me is that my doctor put me on 1500 calories a day, so I truely have a buffer but I ignore the extra.

mikeyml

I also appreciate the fact that alot of you are telling me to stay strong. I try really hard not to give in, but any amount of support and motivation are amazingly appreciated. Thank you all.

Just keep at it dude. The hardest part about losing weight is that it requires discipline over a long period of time. I think you're heading in the right direction. You're educating yourself about your food choices and you're trying to lead an active, healthy lifestyle.

The biggest thing I've learned about myself and weight loss in general is that it's ok to make gradual changes. You will get better at this the longer you stick with it. When I started, there were foods that I wasn't willing to let go; I had to have them or I would have given up. Now, I still have them on occasion, but I'm perfectly happy not having them too.

What I'm trying to say is "slow and steady wins the race." I'm not all about cutting out starches and sugars from my diet completely. That doesn't mean it's ok to sit at home with a tub of Ben & Jerry's while watching The Biggest Loser. It means using what you've learned about food and yourself to determine what's right for you.

Troll

i had to ignore cravings for a long time. (caffiene withdrawls suck) its been a year, i am sipping the first coffee in that time, and i can say my itty bitty 6oz mug is plenty. If you give in now, youll never beat them

FitBridget

For a long-term strategy, denying foods you like won't work. But in the short term, if it's what you need, it's not bad. I used to be very addicted to sugar, if I had any little bit of it I couldn't control myself. I had to quit sugar cold turkey, eat fruit and drink water when I had a craving, and after about a month, the cravings started to go away. Now I can control myself, I can have sugar in my coffee, a quarter piece of cake when I want it, anything, and I can portion control if I'm paying attention. Since it's only been two weeks, I'd say keep trying until the cravings go away. You want to be in control of food, not have food be in control of you. Good luck!

doughnutwretch

You're definitely one of my favorites on here because of the hilarious things you say.

And NO, you are not setting yourself up for failure. You have made the choice to make lifestyle changes and have stuck with them for two weeks. You sought the help of a trainer, which is a great step in the right direction. The first 4-6 weeks are truly the most difficult because these new habits are just that, new, and you want to be seeing results quicker than you are. Stick with eating a balanced nutrition like you have been and continue seeing your trainer and the crossfit people. You will get to a point where eating well becomes easy and when you do induldge, you'll have the controll to stop yourself from rolling around naked in the potato chip aisle.

A lot of people have said that you should indulge once a week or so, and frankly, I think it's a great idea. One meal a week (not a whole day) enjoy one of your favorite dishes. Or, one time a week, enjoy a favorite dessert. This way, you don't feel like you're missing out on the good stuff and it will be less likely that you just say eff it and go on a crazy binge.

Black_Swan

If they DO find you naked in the store (or something like that) - just remember, that it is not the END. Its just a slip. Dont give up on yourself just because you slipped. It would be like never getting up after you slip on the pavement. You should get up and move on, its like walking. Good luck!

elimendoza31

THAT JUST MADE MY MORNING THANK YOU...BUT STAY STRONG!!!!!!!!! IM TRYING TO!!!!!!!! I WORK IN A PLACE FULL OF THIN GIRLS AND THEY ARE ALWAYS BRINGING PASTERIES AND I STAY AWAY..AND THE FUNNY THING IS THEY SAY ONE WONT HURT..YA RIGHT!!!!!!!!

jaxdiablo

THAT JUST MADE MY MORNING THANK YOU...BUT STAY STRONG!!!!!!!!! IM TRYING TO!!!!!!!! I WORK IN A PLACE FULL OF THIN GIRLS AND THEY ARE ALWAYS BRINGING PASTERIES AND I STAY AWAY..AND THE FUNNY THING IS THEY SAY ONE WONT HURT..YA RIGHT!!!!!!!!

If they say one won't hurt throw it in the freezer for a few days then hit them with it and see what they say...

jaxdiablo

You will get to a point where eating well becomes easy and when you do induldge, you'll have the controll to stop yourself from rolling around naked in the potato chip aisle.

Not only am I big dude... I'm a hairy dude... I don't want to be combing doritos out of my back hair.

I guess right now I look kinda like an overweight robin williams, I'm going more for the hugh jackman look, he's bringing hairy back!

everydaypam

Thank you for making me laugh on this dragging Friday afternoon!

I know that for me, I had to completely avoid sweets for about 3 weeks before I felt "safe" eating them again. By that I mean I knew with certainty that I could have just one portion of a sweet or just one beer and not give myself the "well if I had one I can have two" line. I think that point is different for everyone but you will know it when you get there. In the mean time stay strong and the bad cravings will pass. Sending you my encouragement and support!

d2rala

You've gotten a LOT of great advice, and you are facing this with great humor. THANK YOU FOR THE SMILES!!!
I've found that for me gradual changes work best. I gave up soda pop 2+ years ago. I have an occasional rum and diet. It was tough at first, but it got easier with each sucess.
Now the big change has been my diet. Hubby, (who is a big hairy guy that I adore) isn't happy that I'm not indulging with him any more, but he is happy with the changes that are happening to my body.
Biggest thing to remember is that you are making these changes for yourself. YOU want to climb to the top of the Eiffel tower instead of taking the elevator, YOU want to buy clothes in the regular section of the clothing store, YOU want to fit comfortably in airline seats. (I love it that I have to use a belt to hold up my pants at the moment - I'm not ready to go clothes shopping yet)
Good luck to you - don't beat yourself up if you do give into (a small) tempation, just get back on track the next day.