Why does this happen to me, and does anyone have some advice

breezymom81

Ok, I love!!!!!!! McDonalds fries, I will never give them up but I am learnig to eat less. I wanted some this week and when I deny myself I binge, so I went and had cheeseburger and small fry,not the best lunch, not the worst and I refuse to feel guilty.

Plan out for your fast food, I say once a week an no more and keep it reason!

Do not beat your self up you are doing good!

QuietDissidence

I agree with Elizabeth, you have to take ultimate responsibility for your success or failure. You cannot blame anyone or anything else.
~The easiest fix (in my opinion anyway) Don't leave home hungry!!!
~Always have heathy foods on hand to nip those hunger pangs in the bud! Since I doubt you have carry a purse ; ) you can put spare food in your car. Or if your married and have a lovely wife that wouldn't mind carrying a protein bar for you ask to store one in her purse
~If possible try taking a route that doesn't go by the fast food chain that tempts you. Or just don't look in that direction, like someone else said if its out of sight its out of mind.
~Find out the nutrition data for the fast foods you're giving in to ~then contemplate how much harder your workout will have to be in order to burn off all that excess!
~To lose 1 pound of fat you have to have a deficit of 3,500 calories. Remind yourself of how much eating fast food will set you back. It's not uncommon for one fast food meal to meet or exceed an average caloric intake let alone one of someone who is transitioning to a healthy diet. That one meal will make meeting your goals more difficult, why make it harder on yourself?
~Consider a financial goal like a vacation, or a luxury item you've been wanting for a while. Any monies that you would have spent on fast food could go into an account.

issyfit

3) I throw the food out the window as punishment to my alter self.

P.S. I unwrap it first ( No littering)

^ :laugh: seriously, i'm glad you're not littering. the only problem is that paper degrades faster than fast food :laugh:

Oh yay--remember that hamburger story where it kept forever (can't remember if it was 6 mo or a few years)

Nucky719

No lie I used to go to McDonald's every single day on my work. The employees know me by name. When I decided to get serious about losing weight I had to have willpower! I would stop there even if I had already eaten. Now I go about twice a week and limit myself to something small (a plain hamburger, small fry or oatmeal). Eventually I hope to wean myself to once a week, then maybe once a month, then maybe only as an occasional treat. We will have setbacks but don't give up!

Bentley2718

If you've lost 16 pounds in a month and a half, that's averaging more than 2.5 pounds a week. That is a lot of weight, very quickly. My guess is that your "slip ups" may be happening because you're not eating enough.

StarkLark

Here are a few things that worked for me to combat this particular problem. These have already been mentioned in the thread but I figured I would share anyway:

1. Plan and prep your food for the day beforehand. This takes time and patience but has helped me eliminate fast food from my life completely.

2. If you do find yourself on the edge of giving into a fast food impulse, look up the nutritional info on MFP before you do it. Usually, I see the insanely high calories, sodium etc and I realize it will totally destroy my calorie goal for the day. Why bother when I have healthy food already with me?

3. If you can, travel without cash on hand or stick your wallet in the trunk. This is just adds another hurdle to making bad decisions.

4. You said that afterwards you "feel sick with yourself". Focus on this feeling. Explore it. Remember it. BURN it into your brain. Once you can remember this feeling of sickness and shame BEFORE you make the unhealthy choice, you will have a much easier time saying no to fast food.

Best of luck and stay focused.. you can succeed!

kerrymh

food addiction is like any other addiction..its there is a substance your body is craving but your mind is using to cope with things in life we don't want to cope with.
SO one you have to start figuring out what in your food is your body physically addicted to. For many it is fat or sugar or salt or a combination of all 3.

Then you stop eating your triggers...like an alcoholic your brain doesn't function right when you are always in a food fog. Find foods that are safe, the don't always have to be salads, just foods that you dont have a major craving for more of.

Then you work on how to deal...what is the main thing..addicts don't like to live life on lifes terms. I hated it..I wanted to stuff myself to feel better but then felt worse. Now I deal with issues, and this give me a sense of accomplishment.
I'm a food addict and with my group OA and belief in something greater than myself...some say god some just say spirituality...I get better one day. at a time.

OceansForever

Why do I do stupid things.. Why Why WHY??? I left to go to work and take my kids to school today and after dropping them off I go to the Store to pick up lunch.. and get some gas money. so After leaving the store I am driving to work and the next thing I know I am in Jack in the Box's drive thru getting a Grilled breaksfast sandwich,hash browns, and a lrg Diet Dr. Pepper. then I find myself eating it and after I am done. I feel sick with my self. Why to I continue to punish myself with these foods. I know I should not by them I can hear myself saying do not get it, but I find myself ordering the food anyways whiel still arguing with myself not to get it. Then it oooo i bought it I might as well eat it now.... which only leads to dissappointment in myself, at my lack of self control. I am doing good on my diet, down 16 lbs in a month and a half, but I could be doing a lot better if I had more self control. Any advice for someone who is ADDICTED to fast food??

My guess would be that you were hungry and didn't eat anything before you left the house.

I fall off the wagon when I stop planning out my day with healthy food. There isn't a time when I am hungry or feel the need to buy some unhealthy food.

Pick out healthy breakfast (since you seem to need breakfast in the morning), snacks and lunch and use those instead. Eat balance so you won't have any cravings.

I believe firmly that 75% of my success is due to planning.

Good Luck

cowgirlslikeus86

:laugh:

3) I throw the food out the window as punishment to my alter self.

P.S. I unwrap it first ( No littering)

^ :laugh: seriously, i'm glad you're not littering. the only problem is that paper degrades faster than fast food :laugh:

Oh yay--remember that hamburger story where it kept forever (can't remember if it was 6 mo or a few years)

:laugh: Haha! I only care that the paper wrapper can induce a paper ticket, requiring me to pay large sums of money, when I could have just tossed the "Food" and dumped out the milkshake and only lost $10 :sad:

Jlongblade

OP - Iove your AV photo. You caught all that?

they were caught with my 2 young daughters daughters at a small trout Lake up in Northern CA.

1girlcook

PLAN AND PREPARE HEALTHY FOODS TO HAVE WITH YOU ALL THE TIME.

Jlongblade

Thank you everyone for the words and advice, I do realize nothing happened to me that I am doing it to myself. I just struggle with the cravings to pull into a Fast Food restraunt when I see one. I have gone long periods of time in the past without stopping, and then i give in and stop and the grease and everythign in the food makes me sick to the point of vommiting, but i go back again and it does not bug me so i am back in the cycle. I KNOW I CAN do it, it is just a bad day this morning and I will have to work harder to make up for it.

Once again Thank you everybody.

1girlcook

I totally agree and nice work btw!!!

bbriscoe13

Are you consistently logging you're food and staying honest with it? That really helps me to not do stupid things knowing I'll have to account for it. Maybe you can try pre-logging to help keep yourself even more honest?

This really helps me too. I usually pre-log my food and exercise so I HAVE to do it. When I realized how many calories things like that have, I don't even bother. I also find home cooking tastes WAY better than fast food stuff. You should always have a go-to quick healthy food with you, like almonds or an apple...and always have water. Sometimes all I have to do is drink some water and it holds me over for a little while until I can get some healthy food. Good luck.

DawnVanSlim

Next time order the chili cheese burger, bring it home and eat it in front of a full length mirror in only your boxers with no napkins..lol It wont be pretty, maybe you will think of that image the next time you are tempted

ElizabethRoad

You could give it to a bum instead but, if I wouldn't feed it to myself, why would I give it to someone else?

Wow, maybe because fast food is better than starving to death?

stephzub

Do you think it would help you if you had your meals already planned for the day? Maybe after dinner everynight. Figure out what you are going to eat for the next day and stick with it. If you dont have to think, hmmm whats for breakfast? at the last minute it might make it easier. Just be like Oh, now its time to eat my eggos and banana!

THIS! I know my co-workers think I am a little nutty but I bring a small cooler to work every day usually with my plain Greek yogurt and fresh berries, choice of salad for the day with spinach and romaine, pre-measured snacks of raisins, carrots, trail mix, etc. One of the ways that I have found to control my cravings and walk past the bakery every day (it smells great!) is to know that I already have enough food to get me through the day. I also pack one Lindt truffle (70 calories) or a small piece of chocolate to get me over the 3 PM hurdle without going to the darn bakery. If only the cupcake truck would stay away from our building! That would make it just that much easier to stay on track. We all have temptations; willpower and planning is the key!

MinnieInMaine

First, congrats on your success so far! Sure you've had some slip ups but you're still making great progress and I think asking this question shows that you want to (and are willing to) make a change.

I don't know if this will help you but I had to come up with a sort of rating system in my head. Basically the thought is - am I willing to waste calories and risk feeling sick for this food? There are certain things I wasn't willing to give up because deprivation of the foods I love is what didn't work for me in the past. So I'll still have pizza and chocolate but for the most part, I skip things like a burger and fries at McD's. I know if I just go home and make a chicken salad sandwich, it'll stick with me for a lot longer (and therefore I won't have to eat again to stay satiated) and I won't get heartburn.

Plus, think about how much money you're spending that could be used for other things like the new clothes you're going to need as you continue to lose weight.

If the cost doesn't do it for you, and you're not one to plan meals or you're not quite willing to give up fast food altogether, how about coming up with some other places you can stop at on the way to work that have better choices. Dunkin Donuts' egg white flat bread sandwiches are pretty good. McD's and Subway both have some good low cal choices. And Ive heard the oatmeal at Starbucks is awesome. Just make sure you skip the other greasy sides like homefries and have some water or tea instead of soda.

Jlongblade

Are you consistently logging you're food and staying honest with it? That really helps me to not do stupid things knowing I'll have to account for it. Maybe you can try pre-logging to help keep yourself even more honest?

I do log the food I eat and stay honest with it or there would be no point in logging the food at all, i do not pre-log my food becuase I have found out in the past when I did that I never followed it. I log my food right after i eat.