Don't think of an ELEPHANT...

inge88

What did you think about?! Right.. an elephant!

This is the concept that has been happening tome since I have started trying losing a bit of weight and being really conscious about what I eat.
I'll give some examples to explain what I mean:

At work we have all sorts of biscuits in the fridge. Before I started 'dieting' I usually only ate a biscuit 2 days a week. I have never been a biscuit lover. But now in the morning at work I think "Today I won't eat a biscuit". And then, all I can think about is wanting that biscuit! And then eventually I will have it. And then the next day I will be doing fine and around 3pm I think "Oh wow, I didn't even think about this biscuit, maybe today I can do without that biscuit" And then the thought of this biscuit will not go away and half an hour later I will have it! I now even go that far that I will fit in 1 biscuit a day to my calories because I KNOW I will have one. That's fine, but before I started this journey I never really ate them!

Also, we always used to have peanut butter and Dutch chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag) in our house. I occasianally ate this on bread. But now that I'm trying to be healthy and being obsessed with logging everything, I find myself eating a teaspoon of peanut butter and handful of chocolate sprinkles by itself. Not a big problem when I log it and it fits in, BUT once I start I can't stop and soon eat 500 calories worth of chocolate sprinkles. I actually threw out the packet of the Dutch sprinkles, even though they had been in my cupboard for weeks before I started on this website and I was just fine.

It seems like I'm getting obsessed with what I can't have. For me this journey of having to lose weight hasn't been that much of a lifestyle change as for some of you. I was maintaining at 66 kilos and want to get down to 60. So it's not a drastic change. But all of a sudden I have become obsessive of counting my calories and I have to throw out food or not buy food (I stopped buying nutella) because all of a sudden I can't stop myself from diving into this.

Has anyone else had this problem? Or have any ideas or tips?

I'm considering not logging for 2 weeks to get back to a healthy way of dealing with food.

inge88

Desperate enough to bump my own thread in the hope someone has a piece of advice

HonkyTonks

Hmmm, my only advice is try not to force yourself to not eat things you want still. Try and think of this as a lifestyle change rather than a diet. Have the biscuit, but factor it in to your calorie goal and eat mostly healthy foods so you are meeting your macro/micro nutrient targets for the day.

musicaljessica

I know exactly what you mean.

I'm not normally hungry but as soon as I start dieting I have crazy cravings for chocolate and feel hungry constantly. When I don't "diet" I eat 3 healthy (ish) meals a day and the odd snack. As soon as I diet I want chocolate and sweets and crisps.

I have started to find that going "Oooo I fancy chocolate", then "I want chocolate", "In five minutes I'm going to get some chocolate", "Right I'm going to get chocolate"...."NO!! You're not having it!! Do you wanna be thin or have chocolate?"...That works for me.

So fancying it, going to get it and then just saying NO!

inge88

I have started to find that going "Oooo I fancy chocolate", then "I want chocolate", "In five minutes I'm going to get some chocolate", "Right I'm going to get chocolate"...."NO!! You're not having it!! Do you wanna be thin or have chocolate?"...That works for me.

So fancying it, going to get it and then just saying NO!

I think I will just try reading this every time I crave that biscuit... It's so hard because my work is so boring and all I will think about is that biscuit. BUT you're right: I want to be healthy so I should not be eating it. But maybe I will start this after Christmas haha!

LuckyLeprechaun

Have the chocolates. Have the biscuits. Then have a good walk around the block a few times.

Nobody sticks to plans that won't allow them to have the treats we all enjoy. Just understand that there is a connection and if you eat a lot of (calories) energy, you then have to expend a lot of energy or else it will be stored. So avoid overindulging, and when you do enjoy a treat, EARN it!

A bit of tweaking to the midset may be the key to sticking to this plan.......

TriciaZ944

Because this is the season that people bring in a bunch of tasty treats I wrote a note on one of the treats for myself and the women in my office that said think about how many laps you will need to do to work off that cookie. It helps for some... Others just hid the note from themselves. It is worth a shot though! Also I do have something small to help my sweet tooth like a piece of dark chocolate.

bllowry

^ This! I enjoy having Ghirardelli 72% dark chocolate squares and sugar free pudding. So I get my old bum on the elliptical so I can eat them. Everything in life is a balancing act; for me I have to have chocs so I work out.

sarah44254

In psychology class we learned that the brain has a HUGE ISSUE with the word NO and DON'T.

To avoid issues like the title, try to reword your thoughts to include sentences that aren't "Don't think about the cookies" or "I shouldn't eat that"

Try to think instead "I can eat that if I work out." or "I can eat that, but I would rather eat this" They don't always have to be true thoughts, but the more you tell your mind something, the more it believes it. So if you continue to say "I would rather eat this pile of broccoli than that cookie" the easier it becomes. Eventually .... someone will offer you a cookie, and you might say "I could eat that, but I have a packed lunch here that is great! Thanks anyhow!" Good luck.

tigersword

Stop thinking diet as weight loss. The word "diet" just means what you eat regularly. I don't "diet" to lose weight. I eat to be healthy. I just pay attention to my calorie limits in order to keep my weight in check. There is no food that I specifically think about eating or not eating, because it'a not one specific food that makes or breaks health.