Help :((((

SnazzyTraveller

I hate to be the one asking desperately for someone to throw me a lifeline but I really really need it. I feel like food has control over me. I'm not satisfied with the portions I'm eating in my meals (I eat officially 4-5 times a day) and have been dipping frequently into the nutella, chocolate fountain leftovers (dairy milk chocolate) and birthday cake. It just drives me insane to know that I can do it, as I've proven to myself this far in, but can't stick to it. Its frustrates me because I want to change my lifestyle but it turns out I'm not strong enough to resist temptation, which is really, really disheartening.

Anyone ever experience a stage similar to this? or anyone have any powerful youtube vids that have encouraged them to take control over their lives/ eating habits?

gemiwing

Sorry you're struggling- how frustrating!

How many calories are you eating a day? I tend to crave sweets when I let my carbs start to get too high- so maybe something else to look at. Are you craving sugar right after a meal? If so- try knocking the carbs down a bit and see if that helps. Another consideration is possible pregnancy.

In my very very humble opinion- I'm just another random person on the internet after all- perhaps it's time to revaluate your plan. Take a look at your numbers and see what's working and what's not. Have you been eating back exercise cals? If not- then perhaps now you've lost enough weight where it'd be a good idea to try it. Are you getting enough sleep?

Lots of questions and tons of possibilities for a very simple answer- don't give up!! It could be something as simple as eating two avocados a week!

Molissa08

I'm having the same problem right now. I've been eating close to 600-800 more calories than what's alloted to me. I've been eating tons of snack food, ice cream, chocolate, etc. i just can't seem to get motivated! Anyone have good advice?

Southpaw3612

I know when I eat low carbs, my body craves sugar. Im not one to want sweets to often, except when I am low on carbs. I have learned that when I crave sweets, I just have to let myself have some, in moderation of course. Starving myself of that occasional sweet tooth only makes things worse. Eventually I just give in and over do it. Take a look at your carb count when you are feeling this urge for sweets. I bet its low.

agranados87

I have a hard time resisting sweets as well. The only way I can do it is to not buy it, and not keep it in the house. I allow myself to indulge a little by having a pudding or some chocolately/sweet cereal. I know it's hard, but try not to buy those types of foods. I'm sorry I don't have more advice you can friend me if you want, we can motivate each other! Good luck to you

Southpaw3612

I agree. I dont keep sweets in the house. A good satisfying treat I have when I crave sugar is fat free sugar free pudding and fat free cool whip. I do two small layers of each in a coffee cup. Low on calories and satisfies the sweet tooth.

premiumchilenita

I tend to have a tea with raw sugar. The raw sugar isn't so high in calories, it's better for you than white sugar and I like to indulge in a green tea, vanilla infusion. The vanilla makes it taste creamy with out the cream, and obviously very, very low calories.

If I'm really looking for something filling, I'll eat a banana

But in general I agree with everyone else. The more you restrict yourself the more you will rebel......against yourself. So have a little bit

In general I don't keep it in the house. If I really, really want it. I tell myself I have to make the effort to get it. To get to the shops, I have to walk for 20mins to the shops with my 3 young boys, in strollers, bikes, scooters, nappy bag etc.......Then walk back, in the heat...SO If I still want it after thinking about all of that then, I let myself have it and I do all of those things to get me there. If I think about all of this and think.....NAH, then I didn't REALLY want it in the first place. Putting an obstacle really works for me.

heleflump

Eat something really sickly sweet (meringues are good as very dry as well) believe me you can't eat many of them and they will cure you of that sweet craving!! Don't keep the nice stuff in the house (or keep low fat/cal substitutes - and let yourself have a small amount occasionally so you don't feel denied. You have done so well - only 12lb to go?? you can do this - just look at what/how you are eating. Good Luck!

hope516

Don't tempt yourself!!! Get the crap out of the house. I can't have one bite of that kind of stuff or its all over. As long as I can resist the first bite, I can resist.

Helloitsdan

Sorry you're struggling- how frustrating!

How many calories are you eating a day? I tend to crave sweets when I let my carbs start to get too high- so maybe something else to look at. Are you craving sugar right after a meal? If so- try knocking the carbs down a bit and see if that helps. Another consideration is possible pregnancy.

In my very very humble opinion- I'm just another random person on the internet after all- perhaps it's time to revaluate your plan. Take a look at your numbers and see what's working and what's not. Have you been eating back exercise cals? If not- then perhaps now you've lost enough weight where it'd be a good idea to try it. Are you getting enough sleep?

Lots of questions and tons of possibilities for a very simple answer- don't give up!! It could be something as simple as eating two avocados a week!

This 100%

Jacquibennett

Completely know how you feel!

I have lost all my weight in the past, then put it back on, and this second time round is so much harder than it was before and I don't understand why.

I work very well with routine, when I manage to get into one I can be pretty good with my diet, almost religious about it. But it doesn't take much to throw me out of that routine and I just seem to turn into the tasmanian devil when I'm around chocolate/sweet things!!

I'm trying a lot harder with my exercise this time round, and I do find that if I have put the effort in after work to do at least half an hour treadmill or cross trainer I genuinely don't want to pig out. Somebody could rub chocolate in my face and I still wouldn't be inclined to eat it. Strange but true.

I would gladly help you get through these blips if you will help me stay motivated to do exercise......add me as a friend if you want

billgiersberg

I have been reading a book by Tom Venuto called "The Body Fat Solution." In it he discusses 'emotional eating' and how we can control it. In it he says that emotional hunger can never be satisfied with food and he discusses things like reconditioning your mind to overcome emotional eating. Check it out on Amazon. I'm only half way through it but it has been answering some of my questions about why I do what I do.

mncardiojunkie

Boy, do I understand this tread!

In truth, the only way that I've been able to NOT crave sweets is this. Two weeks of very very very low carb, with nothing processed. I learned by day seven they don't even phase me and I don't care for them anymore. Allowing myself any bit of it makes me crave sweets. Cutting them out completely makes me lose all desire.

Yesterday, I went to a pancake house with my child. It was his request for breakfast for Valentines Day. I had an very healthy omelet and I was given this enormous blueberry muffin and a big plate of potatoes with it. I was shocked that I had no stomach for either.

I was eating Nutella by the spoonfuls in November. I know how you feel.

MaximalLife

Cravings are our body's way of punishing us for upturning the apple cart.
It gets better over time, but you have to just find the strength to punch through.

Seriously, it gets easier, and suddenly, they diminish to almost nothing.

Just make sure you're not on some absurd crash diet and are following the MFP recommendations for 1 pound of weight loss per week. Good Luck!:flowerforyou:

happyjoyousfree1

How timely, I promised myself a big slice of pizza at the 20lb mark.. it's been 8 weeks and I weighed in Monday night expecting to reach my goal.
I fell 1 lb short and have been beating myself up about it. I realize I was being ridiculous, but instead of having the stupid piece I came home from work yesterday and grabbed a bag of chips and pigged out.

I thought about it last night and most of this morning on my commute to work.
I figured it was because I'm exhausted.

I've been pushing myself in so many areas lately. Between the extra exercise, running to the grocery a few days a week for the fresh produce and meats after long work hours, cooking different things for my family, making my lunches, not to mention the usual stuff we all do, are all adding up. Eating well and exercising is a full time job:)

I know I have to figure out what I can do to slow down, but I think the lesson learned here is not to get over tired!

StrongGwen

Lots of good posts about making sure you are eating enough, so I won't repeat. Here's the question I had to answer for myself: If I "can't" control it, who can? To pig out on sweets and junk, I had to sort of turn off my brain and get into kind of a fog. I learned to stop and ask myself questions instead of going at it like a zombie--the most important quesiton is "Is that ____ really going to help me reach my goal? Or will it make my mouth happy for a few seconds and then I'll regret it?" If you must have a binge, try eating only stuff that's good for you. Have an entire bag of baby carrots, for example. Or really go wild and eat two or even three apples! Assuming you are logging everything you eat, you will also see how many calories you need to work off, and you can decide if the treat is worth the "cardio price tag." I got a doz gourmet chocolate-dipped strawberries for Val Day, and I decided each one is for sure worth 10 minutes of cardio; they are only available this one time a year here.

Some thoughts that may help:
It's not a treat if you do it all the time--a treat is a once in a while thing.
I am my only obstacle, the rest is just excuses
A year from now, what will I wish I had done differently today?
If I'm gonna obsess over food and feel miserable, I might as well obsess in a positive way and feel successful.

And a little trick I picked up from a book called "Taming the Feast Beast"--think of the craving and urge to stuff yourself as "IT" instead of "me." Your Beast exists only to get as big as it can, and it lives on high-calorie sweets and junk food. It will use any trick it can to get you to lift those things to your mouth, and it never, NEVER gets enough. Next time you start thinking "I want to eat a candy bar," change it to "IT wants me to eat a candy bar." Your goal is to starve it into submission, and eventually you can beat it down. It helps to get a picture in you mind of your Beast--mine is a nasty thing from those Mucinex commercials, the little Mucus guy, totally disgusting! It lives in my belly, as if I was wearing one of those bags strapped around my middle. This can be a very effective bit of mental trickery when deciding if I really want to feed that Beast and make it grow bigger.

Good luck! add me if a friend if you want to, I'll be glad to help if I can.

sunnyskyjb

Great question and thread....thanks!

robynj88

I find that willpower is the key ingredient to avoiding this issue. I have to have a low GI diet as well as keeping my calories in line but it means I have to give up some of the foods I never thought I could live without - pizza, white bread, sweets, sugar - all those things are banned for me now. But I either don't let myself think about them, or when faced with them I repeatedly tell myself "you don't want that and even if you did, it's no good for you".

Then I drink another pint of water and it goes away.

Keeping yourself occupied is also a good thing to do, gives you less chance to start thinking about the foods you want but shouldn't have. Take up a hobby or something that you can turn to when you start to feel peckish.

epurucker82

I feel your pain....I gave up sweets for the month of December and into January and then I fall off and hard. I know once I get it out of my system it doesn't even bother me anymore. I noticed since I went back to school that I have been having trouble staying on track. I'm a major stress eater!!! Not a good thing...we all need to stick this out together. :devil: >Sweet Devil

metaphysicalhealth

Sometimes people simply cannot diet by counting calories. It is often more physiological then physical as I am sure if you are getting the correct amount of calories then you are really not hungry. I see client’s everyday from all over the world who struggle with this but you do have options.

First of all even if you do not continue to count calories it is still a good idea to stay to on MFP for support and tools.

Here are few things you can do...

Increase your exercise both in intensity and time, this way you can consume a few more calories. There are formulas to figure out how many calories a day you need and taking into consideration how many claries you burn with exercise. It is not an exact science but it is pretty close.

The more muscle you have the faster rate you burn calories, even at rest so be sure to strength train.

Also there are food dishes you can buy that divide up your portions of each food group so you do not overeat but you still need to make sure you are putting the correct types of foods in the plate.

There are several other ways but these are the top two.

I always recommend that you be sure what your goals are with you health plan. Do a SMART goal plan to that your values work for you.

I would write more but I am on my way out the door to work. Call on me anytime and seek support from all your sources!

robynj88

And a little trick I picked up from a book called "Taming the Feast Beast"--think of the craving and urge to stuff yourself as "IT" instead of "me." Your Beast exists only to get as big as it can, and it lives on high-calorie sweets and junk food. It will use any trick it can to get you to lift those things to your mouth, and it never, NEVER gets enough. Next time you start thinking "I want to eat a candy bar," change it to "IT wants me to eat a candy bar." Your goal is to starve it into submission, and eventually you can beat it down. It helps to get a picture in you mind of your Beast--mine is a nasty thing from those Mucinex commercials, the little Mucus guy, totally disgusting! It lives in my belly, as if I was wearing one of those bags strapped around my middle. This can be a very effective bit of mental trickery when deciding if I really want to feed that Beast and make it grow bigger.

Good luck! add me if a friend if you want to, I'll be glad to help if I can.

This is awesome!! I'm definitely going to start doing that!!

mncardiojunkie

Cravings are our body's way of punishing us for upturning the apple cart.
It gets better over time, but you have to just find the strength to punch through.

Seriously, it gets easier, and suddenly, they diminish to almost nothing.

Just make sure you're not on some absurd crash diet and are following the MFP recommendations for 1 pound of weight loss per week. Good Luck!:flowerforyou:

What he said!

moseler

I agree with most of what everyone is saying here... but, take it from a self proclaimed carbaholic... I get it. Over the last year, I have noticed if I eat things like cookies and cupcakes, it's like opening the devil's door. I get trained in on that "high" and have a hard time saying no.

However, I have also found a few things to help with those cravings... first I build in a treat each day so I don't feel like I "CAN'T" have it... my new favorite is the Fiber One Brownies... they are only 90 calories, 3 fat grams and about 18 carbs. They are a perfect little afternoon snack that I can throw in my bag and go.

Another thing I have done recently if I am REALLY craving that chocolate flavor is eating a whole wheat waffle with a tablespoon of Nutella... I sometimes include this with my breakfast with some type of fruit like strawberries or banana.

I think part of the problem here is that you are telling yourself you are doing something bad by eating these things... but in reality what you should be doing is substituting something out of your regular meals to account for those extra carbs. It's not that you CAN'T have it... but it's what you are having and how much... Don't beat yourself up about it... just take it slow and it will all come together. Log everything in, be honest with yourself and things will get so much easier!

SnazzyTraveller

WOW.... thank you guys so much. I don't know why but honestly didn't expect this much feedback. I will definetly look back to this post often when I feel a craving coming on.

One thing I should mention is that because I live with my parents I can't really control whats in the house... my sister makes a cake, my mom brings brownies home from work, we keep the extra chocolate from the fountain in the basement for the next party etc. This does make it a challenge because I need to ignore it arond the house, not just when I pass it in the superstore. But I will think of it as The Beast inside and I want it to disappear THANK YOU

neversettle

Don't tempt yourself!!! Get the crap out of the house. I can't have one bite of that kind of stuff or its all over. As long as I can resist the first bite, I can resist.

this!
and avoid those aisles in the grocery store!

Idabud

I really believe that if you stop eating the sugar your body with stop craving it. I can attest to it because it's worked for me. I absolutely LOVE ice cream and it's part of the reason I gained 12 pounds over the winter. I have started really watching what I eat and have basically stopped eating sweets, except for a piece of chocolate here and there. It's amazing but I'm not craving it anymore. Just try to be strong and remember the end result. It's so worth it!!

lmalaschak

For some people this totally works and for others it is a complete disaster so it could go either way for you, but what works for me is having a cheat day. I LOVE JUNK FOOD. And I really like to eat a LOT of junk food at a time. I know it's bad for me, but still. So...in the past what I have done is have one cheat day a week. Right now I'm not doing them...we had one on Super Bowl Sunday but that's been it so far, and I felt ill the next day. Maybe one every two weeks is better for some people. But that way you can maybe look forward to your next cheat day so much that you can handle the days in between. Like I said, this is definitely not for everyone but it works ok for me.

smantha32

I can't seem to give up sweets either. But I've found I can have a skinny cow ice cream sandwich a couple times a week and a couple Dove chocolates here and there and not go over my calories.
When I know I can have some ice cream or candy I'm less likely to just freak out and eat everything in sight!

Gemmageldmacher

I am a chocoholic, and have the worst time particularly in the afternoons. Lately I have been eating berries (strawberries and blueberries for me, raspberries and blackberries I imagine might also work) during that time and have found my chocolate/sweet cravings have all but gone away! I'll eat them with a little bit of cottage cheese to add protein (which I know some people hate but it works for me). The other thing I will say is that it seems to me to get easier the more you resist since your body doesn't need it and gets used to not having it. Good luck and hope your thread gives you some good ideas!

Jarvis95

I think we all go through highs and lows during this process. Sometimes I amaze myself with my ability to stay on track, and other times I'm embarrassed by how poorly i do!

I read a book called, "But I deserve this chocolate!" and I found it really helpful. It's written by a psychologist, and there's lots of techniques in it to help with cravings.

I personally am a very strong believer in moderation-everyone is different, but I think ultimately "banning" yourself from foods often leads to binging on them. I find it hard where there's lots of junk food or options around, but easier when i pre-plan the amount that i'm going to eat.

H_Factor

your story is not uncommon. The problem is that folks don't know what it is or how to deal with it. I've been on this journey for a little over a year. There are times that I'm rock solid in the zone. Then, there are other times when some of those mental meanies get to me...whether they be complacency, nighttime munchies, fear, doubt, etc....those meanies exist to sabotage the good work we have done. I've learned that as rock solid as your will power can be...for most folks, it can come and go. The key is to find a way to get it back as quickly as possible, avoiding as much sabotage along the way as possible. How do you do that? by recalling those deep dark reasons you started the journey...by recalling those things you hated about being overweight....by reflecting on those things you hate about your current lifestyle and the reasons you want to be healthy. If you want to improve your health bad enough, you will come up with potent enough reasons to help you get back on track. I came up with the activity in this blog based on what I have done...something that has worked for me. Whenever my will power is waning, I go back to the lists I created...spend additional time reflecting....and, essentially, re-find the "want it bad enough" that I had when I started the journey. It doesn't work over night. You are going to have to dig deep and spend some quality time reflecting. However, at some point, things will click. I was rock solid in the zone from the beginning of October until Dec. 23. I knew I was taking a "break" over the holiday, but I spent all of January dealing with various mental meanies. I finally kicked them out of my mind and am back in the zone this month. Its easier to walk away from nighttime munchies when you know why you still want it bad enough. Good luck to you

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/H_Factor/view/recipe-for-a-will-power-pill-for-help-with-the-mental-part-of-the-journey-155978