I wanna EAT!

KimberlyWIOG

I feel the same way sometimes. The best advice that I can give you is what my trainer told me:

Food is there to nourish your body. Not taste amazing.

This honestly changed my eating habits. I used to eat because it tasted good. Not for hunger, or even cravings. If I knew it tasted good. I would eat it. *** Please don't take offense to this next part*** Also, when you get super serious about your weight loss journey, you won't want to sabotage yourself by eating unhealthy or overeating. The victory of seeing the lbs disappear will be too great to counteract with gaining it back. Wish you the best of luck on your journey!

SmallerBecky

you can totally be addicted to different foods. Such as carbs, but you cut them out long enough and the cravings go away! If you feell like snacking on something unhealthy, try going and jumping rope for a few minutes. You will steer yourself away from the craving....good luck

Carbs from processed foods and sugars most certainly ARE addicting. You eat one, it spikes your insulin levels, you crash, and you crave more. I was (and still kind of am) ADDICTED to carbs. I just realized this week that it truly can be and is an addiction. I've been cutting them out this whole week while reading Mark Sisson's The Primal Blueprint, and it's been getting easier and easier to resist them...and I have been able to stay under my calorie goal--even my lowered goal!!! This is AMAZING to me! When I was eating so many carbs, it was impossible to stay under without feeling very crabby, hungry, and deprived. When you cut them out and stop having cravings, you start to feel better on primal foods and you end up eating less and feeling GREAT! This is totally working for me!!! Changing my whole life...

allegram

Challenge yourself to going 2 weeks+ eating clean and trust me, when you go to indulge in that (deserved) treat, you won't enjoy it as much.

HeidiMightyRawr

May I ask what your daily calories are and if you eat back exercise cals.

At the moment I'm eating 2000 a day + exercise cals and losing 0.5-1lb a week. I know lots of other women too eating this amount and losing fine. Slow and steady wins the race! You also get more food and get to enjoy the things you love...in moderation.

So many people here are on 1200 a day, some are exercising loads and not eating any back, netting dangerously low. I'm not saying you have to have a small deficit like me, but it helps if you love food, and you can still lose weight successfully! :drinker:

I think this is the 3rd time in 2 weeks I've had subway (6") and if I want ice cream I'll have it. As long as my other goals are met (protein minimum, not too much sodium... etc) and I stay around my calorie goal, it works!

Denjo060

I also love to eat and I love to cook, but each day a make a pact with myslef
TODAY I WILL NOT EAT UNLESS IM HUNGRY
I try to follow it sometimes it works but sometimes it doesnt
On the days it does not work I work out harder and I push myself and then as Im pushing myself on the elipitical going one mile to burn off one 100 calories as Im pumping away Im saying to myslef there goes the slice of Pizza there goes the bag of pretzels or there goes the glass of wine LOL and then I say to myself ws it really worth it???
For the most part the answer is no but I do have to admit sometimes it is worth it.

suziblues2000

I should've known that just about everybody on MFP would love to eat! duh! I don't know what I was thinking....why would I be so different?
So many great tips! Thank you so so much.

So, protein will fill me up? Because I don't really eat a lot of meat. I eat chicken all the time. Eggs, yes. But red meat I don't eat a lot of. Peanut butter is one of the few things I don't love and I don't want to waste my calories on something I don't love. I have started to drink protein shake everyday though.

I could eat fruit salad all day but isn't there a lot of sugar? I am ALWAYS over on my sugar.

I'm wondering if I should eat something different for breakfast because every single morning I have cereal and I'm thinking I should really cut down on carbs and sugar. (it's hard to do!)

My daily calorie is at 1600 and I run/walk everyday on the treadmill. I usually burn 215 calories. I don't normally eat the exercise calories and I usually don't even post them because then it looks like I have more calories to eat. : \

Again, thank you all so very much! So much excellent info! I appreciate it. Thats why I love MFP. I will take every bit of this into consideration.
I think my will power needs tuning up.

PS: Has anyone ever been hypnotized to lose weight?

KarateGoddess

I totally understand. I love food also but if I want to reach my goal and maintain it I must exercise discipline. You too but you have to practice to be good at anything. There is no magic thing called Willpower - it is all about dicipline and just like losing weight, it's not easy. As a matter of fact, it's a lot of work and sometimes it hurts.

It's not easy but it's worth it. Good luck!

25sherry

I think its mostly the habits we get used to and the food prep we get used to. It can be a lot of fun to cook healthy and to cut out as much fat as possible and still end up with a delicious meal. Try reaching new healthy recipes and remember it never happens overnight, it takes about three weeks to make a new habit stick. Good luck!

sailorsaturn

bacon salt can be bought at epicmealtime.com watch one of there shows and you dont want food.!

flsl

Its ok to love food :-)

sig1238

There is no easy fix. All you can do is face it head on: Avoid temptation as much as possible; Keep the bad stuff out of your house; Track your intake; and Exercise.

It's also easy to become addicted to sugar, so doing a cold-turkey fast from sweets is helpful. It's rough at first (believe me, I know), but after a while your cravings ease dramatically. Once sugar no longer controls your life, you can be satisfied with one brownie on occasion, and not a whole pan every day.

Honestly, if you let food rule your world, you aren't 100% determined to achieve a healthier lifestyle. So think of challenging a food addiction as a battle against a formidable enemy. You must defeat (the addiction), or it'll bring you down.

Caged_Heat

You really start to get used to it! If you want to add me, I can try and help motivate you through if you feel like giving this method a shot. :]

If I can make a suggestion, ADD "softballsharie" as a friend and she WILL help you daily. She was my first friend and recommended MFP to me.

I looked at your friends list and you have a LOT of them who have not logged in for weeks or even months. These people are not ready to help themselves, never mind help you. Maybe some day they will be ready, but now is not that time. Just REMOVE them (they won't know) and start looking for people like Sharie who have been through what you are going through now. She (and others) will give you practical ways to break through this.

A lot of us LOVE food. You are not alone!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

y353

Well, My advice it's a personal junk day.
There's this idea of a day in the week that you can eat what you want, but I don't use in that way.

IF I'm craving BK (I love it) I will select a day to eat it, like a reward. I will eat less other things to put in my calory goal and go on with my life.

I'm really craving japanese food right now, so, I decided to reward myself when I reach my goal. Maybe I will do some days before that, just to tame the craving. And return to my normal state.

The ideia it's to have a day in the week or maybe in two weeks for that food you really want. You will plan a day for food like crazy ahhahaha. And then in the next you will plan for another

We like and taste food a lot better when you treasure it...

Phrak

Low calorie alternatives, and slowly integrating them are what got me through it! I'll give you a nice long post, comparing things, and how long it took me.

Coffee:
Start: Med. latte w/ whole milk & extra sug.
1 week later: w/ whole milk & reg. sug.
2 weeks later: w/ skim milk & reg. sug.
3 weeks later: w/ skim milk & 2 sug.
4 weeks later: w/ skim milk & 1 sug.

Start of my diet:
Chocolate, chips, anything salty/chessey, cookies, carbs, (these were all of my favorite foods)

Every week of my diet, I replaced one of my cravings with a lower calorie (not necessarily healthier) food
Chocolate got replaced with fiber one 90 calorie brownies
Pizza got replaced with Lean Cuisine French Bread Pizza
Fried eggs got replaced with boiled
Bacon got replaced with canadian bacon
Chips got replaced with Cheddar Special K Cracker chips
Satly/cheesey got replaced with Ritz Crackerfuls
Cookies got replaced with various versions of snackwells, or nutri grain bars
Carbs got replaced with whole wheat carbs, for example white bread got replaced with whole wheat bread.\
The list goes on and on and on haha!

After I had replaced all of my cravings with lower calorie alternatives, I started replacing one lower calorie alternative per day with a fruit or vegetable serving. Once I got down to only having 2 craving snacks a day, I was satisfied with the way that I was eating, and now I'm steadily losing. In fact, I don't think I would have been on a diet for more than a week if I had not slowly replaced everything. You really start to get used to it! If you want to add me, I can try and help motivate you through if you feel like giving this method a shot. :]

Some of the best advice given. Small changes over time that lead to one large overall change. People often try to change too much at once and end up revolting, having to start back at square one.

conniehathcoat

I am right there with you!!!! All I can say is for me, the longer I resist and eat "Clean", the easier it gets. We must look at food as energy and nutrition for our bodies.....not something "artificial/harmful" to our healthy lifestyle. I am currently fighting the battle for 3 more weeks...been doing a 12 week challenge work out and finding myself surfing the web for low cal/low fat/low carb recipes to snack on that won't undo what cardio/strength work outs I accomplish each day. Sometimes it helps to eat a little something every 2-3 hours just to continue that satisfaction of eating...If you are an all or nothing person, planning each and every meal, and planning the time you eat is more helpful. Change your mind into thinking how you want it to respond......Eat to live...NOT Live to eat! Much luck...

sxynanaplay

Suzi,

food is powerful thing, it can be addiciting esp..if the food you are eatting contain alot of carbs and/or sugar, when you eat carbs and sugars it causing cravings:

1) I started to research what was in the food i ate....i use to LOVE mcdonalds until i found out about the "pink slime" they put in their burgers (which they dont use anymore..but STILL!) I quit eatting fast food burger joints, ill eat subway and occasionally i will get something from a mom & pops place but not a chain. Now i cook more foods at home or i will grab a healthy choice soup

2)i learned is to find something else to do instead of eat, i use to eat out of bordem..or if i was thinking about something.

3) i learned was to eat SLOWER....if you stuff your face fast it takes a moment for your brain to realize its full, and also just eat until you are satisfied not "can't breathe, cant move" full "Eat to live not live to eat!"

4) WILL POWER....you have to say no sometimes, its okay to reward yourself but take it slow. I am a sucker for ice cream, i dont buy a tub of ice cream for the house but i will buy a small jar of the skinny cow...its about 150 calories per serving and it just takes the edge off or i will eat a jello dulce de leche pudding...its sugarfree but it does the trick for me.

5) I learned to eat frequently (SMALL PORTIONS) throughout the day, i will have a handful of nuts, or a handful of baked crackers (pepperidge farm baked cheese cracker YUM!), a honey crisp apple, string cheese...also green tea is great for boosting metabolism and it helps make you feel full

6) also add some weights or machine assisted weights to your cardio, it will help boost fat burning and body definition.

Add me if you need more help or info!

judy20in2011

Definitely not dumb!! So many of us struggle w/this. I agree w/the majority though. I think you need to cold turkey some of the sweeter stuff, you do have cravings but if you can distract yourself from them they get better! Allow yourself the correct portion of a treat when you do have one, read the labels and I am sure you'll be surprised at the true portion size. By all means don't deprive yourself but find balance. Maybe set a goal chart up for yourself and allow the treat once a week??

richgreenland

The one thing I do that most curbs my appetite throughout the day is eat a filling, routine breakfast. My normal breakfast consists of 2 whole wheat breakfast sandwiches. What I put in each sandwich is 1 slice of low fat cheese, 1 scrambled egg (microwaved to avoid adding oil - the small bowl I microwave it in also makes it the perfect size to put in a sandwich), and 2 tablespoons of Tostito's Medium Chunky Salsa. It has quite a bit of protein, quite a bit of fiber, and the salsa gives it enough kick to wake me up, too. I'm almost to the point where I could get by on 1 sandwich, but having the extra sandwich keeps me full longer so I don't feel as tempted to snack before lunch (and I usually have a late lunch).

secretlobster

It's one thing to love food, but it's another to rely on food to feel good. Trust me, I've been there...
Many people overeat because they think they love food, but they really rely on the emotional fulfillment that is very common from ingesting food. It's a very satisfying feeling. But you can love food and eat less of it, you don't have to give up on the idea of loving food. The hard part is finding a balance in your life so you're not always focused on the next meal, and you're not controlled by the desire to eat. It's a process, but proving to yourself that you CAN moderate your eating, and that you're not a slave to your feelings about food, is a big step in overcoming overeating.