No Self Control
elise488
Posts: 3
My problem is food! I can exercise like crazy and that's probably why I don't weight more than I do right now, but I can't say no to all the wrong foods. I love fast food and sweets and cokes. I find myself bored with healthy food and it cost more and takes longer to fix (most of the time). I feel so helpless that I can't say no to all these bad foods!!! Help
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Replies
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I cut out junk food over a year ago & what helped me the most was doing research on Trans Fats. After learning how common they are in convenience foods & how bad they are for my body, I pretty much just started making everything from scratch to avoid them.0
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Story of my life. Can't wait to see what advice you get :flowerforyou:0
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You gotta do it cold turkey. You won't crave them as much if you stop eating junk for about a week. I used to crave sugar and fatty foods, including fast food, and someone on here suggested quitting all of it cold turkey and only eating lean, healthy food for a week, and I was really surprised when it worked! I don't crave the junk anymore and I am losing weight not to mention feeling awesome!0
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You gotta do it cold turkey. You won't crave them as much if you stop eating junk for about a week. I used to crave sugar and fatty foods, including fast food, and someone on here suggested quitting all of it cold turkey and only eating lean, healthy food for a week, and I was really surprised when it worked! I don't crave the junk anymore and I am losing weight not to mention feeling awesome!
^^ Definitely agree with this. People will say to cut it out gradually but I think that since you're still feeding the cravings you won't completely get over it. Once you stop eating the junk food (just think of how horrible fast food actually is for you! All the fat, trans fat, sodium you name it that's in it should be enough to turn you off) and cut out the sugar -- that means label reading and cutting out items that have added sugar as the first few ingredients or even HFCS, corn syrup or anything like that -- after a week or so you won't miss it and you won't crave it. If you need something sweet have fruit.
Yes healthy food costs more but it's also so much better for you. It's not processed so it doesn't have any artificial crap in it that's not good for you or that your body doesn't know what to do with and you will feel so much better if you feed your body properly. You'll also more than likely lose weight because it doesn't have any added crap in it.0 -
I know exactly how you feel. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do! The first two weeks I craved everything from a coke to potato chips. The thing is, I don't deprive myself. If I want a coke, i drink one, but since I haven't had one in so long, regular pop is too sweet, I can't even drink it. I drink diet if I drink it at all, which isn't often. Friday's are my cheat days. And I usually only cheat one meal. But the key is excercise. You can really eat anything you want, as long as you stay under your calorie goal and excercise. If you want cookies everyday for a week, eat them in moderation and work your butt off to stay under. You'll lose the weight, I promise. I'm down 19 pounds since I've joined fitness pal in February and I'm down 26 total since I started changing my lifestyle in January. Once you start eating less of those things, you'll find yourself not caring for them in the long run.0
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Stop eating them. Just do it. You will feel awful and grumpy and irritated for two weeks, but I'd be very surprised if after the initial shock to your system you didn't find yourself feeling BETTER, more energized and more "healthy" That feeling is motivating enough to keep me on the straight and narrow. HTH
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You gotta do it cold turkey. You won't crave them as much if you stop eating junk for about a week. I used to crave sugar and fatty foods, including fast food, and someone on here suggested quitting all of it cold turkey and only eating lean, healthy food for a week, and I was really surprised when it worked! I don't crave the junk anymore and I am losing weight not to mention feeling awesome!
Second vote in agreement with this. I find now that when I eat $hittay foods, I also feel $hittay.0 -
You can say no, you choose not to.0
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Story of my life. Can't wait to see what advice you get :flowerforyou:
:drinker:0 -
I find it's easier for me if I plan everything out ahead of time and log my food for the day in the morning. Then I have a clear plan for the day and can do a better job of holding myself accountable. The other huge thing is realize you need to take this one day at a time and you will have bad days, but don't let them become the norm.0
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I'm interested in seeing the different advice. My opinion would be to either pick a meal that you eat out and cook the rest of your meals or make different choices at the fast food place. I'm not a big believer in many restrictions. I think too many restrictions leads to failure. However, judging by many tickers in this post, you have seen great weight loss on your "cold turkey" advice.
Either way you choose, remember, keeping a caloric deficit and hitting your macros, protein/carbs/fat, is the key to weight loss. Body recomposition is a different animal which would involve eating a little cleaner.0 -
try starting off with easy-to-grab healthy foods (cottage cheese, fruit, palatable raw veggies, yogurt). do your cooking in large batches and make them easily accessible (cook a bunch of chicken and cut it up into quick "snack" portions, etc).
Other than that, to be blunt, you just have to want to be healthy more than you want a double cheeseburger and a coke.0 -
You gotta do it cold turkey. You won't crave them as much if you stop eating junk for about a week. I used to crave sugar and fatty foods, including fast food, and someone on here suggested quitting all of it cold turkey and only eating lean, healthy food for a week, and I was really surprised when it worked! I don't crave the junk anymore and I am losing weight not to mention feeling awesome!
^^^ Yup. It DOES get better. It's tough, but take it one meal at a time, one day at a time. You'll start feeling so much better which will give you even more confidence & reason to stay away from (whatever your trigger is).0 -
So is two weeks the average time it takes to quit those cravings? If I go cold turkey I mean...I am just so tired of have no self control that allowing myself just a little bit doesn't seem to work.0
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I'm exactly the same. I'll eat healthy for a good few days. Then get bored.0
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I agree that you have to just QUIT. Purge your house of all the junk, make up your mind to be stubborn with yourself about buying it or stopping through the drive thru--honestly, you will stop craving after you break the junk cycle, it just takes time. Sugar is addictive, just like alcohol or heroin. No one tells an alcoholic to "just stop gradually"--they have to just quit. Same deal with sugar. Also, that junk plays havoc on your body without you even knowing it--all those insulin spikes eventually will lead to insulin resistance, which leads to Type 2 Diabetes.
You may be able to eat crap and keep weight down by exercising now, but your metabolism will slow down as you get older. Eventually, you'll likely find that the pounds will creep on, even if your exercise doesn't decrease. No time like the present to cut out the junk! Good luck!!0 -
Ahh I know this isn't easy. I personally love healthy, clean foods so I get excited to prepare them! I'm all about quick, minimal time in the kitchen and lots of leftovers! Try prepping your meals ahead of time and saving them for later in the week.
What worked for me was cut out most of the bad stuff gradually over the years. I never cared for soda anyway, so that was easy. Fast food (Qdoba Mexican Grill, Subway, or other "better" options than say McDonald's or BK) are still in the rotation since sometimes I'm on the go and don't always take my lunches with me. Candy is still something I struggle with, but the longer I go without, the less my body craves it. Refined sugar is toxic for our bodies, and I feel better without it. Of course, some foods naturally contain sugar, and I have no problem with eating them (Sweet bell peppers, apples, etc). I'm no saint, as I still have my bad days too. I just try to keep things in balance.
All in all, you've just gotta want this bad enough. I believe in baby steps, as it prevents relapses and junk OD's. Best of luck and remember: Your body will follow your mind. Believe that you can overcome the junk and your body will listen.0 -
I've been able to do much better by gradually cutting it out. I've tried the cold turkey way before then I found myself going on "I don't give a SH@T" binges which was worse off for me. I have cut down to fast food to one or twice a month, I only keep much healthier snacks in the house, I have converted to dark chocolate which I eat a couple times a week to satisfy my sweet tooth. Yeah, I still have the occasional bad days, but those are becoming less and less.0
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I don't eat fast food because I can't afford to. I can't afford to spend £5 on a meal at McDonald's when I can go to the fruit and veg shop and get £5's worth of fruit and veg which can make 4 or more meals.
I do still eat chocolate and crisps, but in moderation. My diary is open so feel free to have a look.
If I was to have some extra money then yes, I will east fast food but I make better choices in it. So a couple of weeks ago I had a McDonalds, which was chicken nuggets, garden salad and a diet cola. Was yummy, and I did'nt feel bloated afterwards like I would have done having a burger.
The key word is moderation.0 -
Story of my life. Can't wait to see what advice you get :flowerforyou:
:drinker:
The cold turkey thing would be easy if I were single and without children, my trouble is picky eaters in the house, I feel it's my job as mom and wife to keep them happy before myself, the fight with picky eaters is such a pain so there is always temptation around, i just remind myself of the reasons I'm on this journey and temptations will always be there. Try preparing your own "fast food", like spend an afternoon putting together ready to go snacks and meal for the week then you can grab and go.0 -
I know how you feel, but in the end, it's about your priorities. You can choose to put the food in your mouth or you can choose to be fit and sexy. If you don't already, spend time on the Success Stories message boards. You will see people just like you who met their goals and they didn't have it any easier than you. You are stronger than food cravings!0
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I had exactly the same problem until recently I watched a video called "Forks over Knives". The video demonstrates how to change your lifestyle and end food addiction. Today is day 29 and everything is going great. I am losing 2 - 3 lbs. a week but rarely am I hungry or craving sweets like I was.0
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I was going to say babysteps but since so many people seem to support the cold turkey approach, here's my other advice:
Research! Find out what's really in these foods and what they're doing to your body and that may at least get you motivated to try giving it up.
Set a goal: "I will not eat junk food for 2 weeks" and reward yourself for each day you keep it. Make it a cumulative reward. Example: Give yourself 1 penny the first day, 2 the next day, 4 the next, then 8, 16, etc. If you give in, you start back at 0, but if you keep it going, you'll eventually have enough saved to buy yourself a something you've been wanting (not junk food!)
Find healthy alternatives! Like baked sweet potato fries, lean homemade burgers, Veggie nuggets, etc. The alternatives are usually tastier and more satisfying any way, so you probably won't miss the junkfood.
Hope that helped, good luck!!0 -
My advice: Eat whatever you want, but log it religiously.
In my experience, seeing the caloric effect of what I am eating keeps me from wanting the bad stuff. Especially when you compare the calories to the exercise it takes to burn them.0 -
But you can say no. It's completely your choice, and you have all the power. That's not to say it's always easy, but you can do it, and it does get easier. You've gotten some good suggestions about how to go about it. It's up to you if you decide to do it or not. Good luck!My problem is food! I can exercise like crazy and that's probably why I don't weight more than I do right now, but I can't say no to all the wrong foods. I love fast food and sweets and cokes. I find myself bored with healthy food and it cost more and takes longer to fix (most of the time). I feel so helpless that I can't say no to all these bad foods!!! Help0 -
You can say no, you choose not to.
Ah yes. Well, from someone with a compulsive disorder and a former addict (not food, but know people for whom that is their demon), I thank you for your self-righteous declaration. I'm sure that's EXACTLY the kind of helpful advice the OP was looking for.
OP: Yes, cutting them out completely, for a long period of time, is probably the best. I cut out soda from my diet years ago, and then pizza, and then all fast-food. A few years later, I dropped back into eating fast-food crap (still no pizza or soda) and that was part of what bumped me back up. In the last year, I've learned I can eat pizza, if it's made at home via trader-joes, and I may have one glass-bottled Coke every six months, or when I'm visiting another country, and my options are beer or Coke.
You can do it. The first two weeks will suck, but just clean it all out of your house, and get started.0 -
I've been able to do much better by gradually cutting it out. I've tried the cold turkey way before then I found myself going on "I don't give a SH@T" binges which was worse off for me. I have cut down to fast food to one or twice a month, I only keep much healthier snacks in the house, I have converted to dark chocolate which I eat a couple times a week to satisfy my sweet tooth. Yeah, I still have the occasional bad days, but those are becoming less and less.
Yep. When I was going for 0 soda, I ended up going crazy and drinking a case in a couple of days on crazy binges. Not buying it didn't really work either, because the vending machine is right down the hall.
Restricting myself to 1-2 is working a lot better.
Find what works for you. I don't keep it in the house anymore, but I have some in my car, so if I want a can I have to go to the car, then it's nasty and warm, so I have to chill it, so ... it's easier to convince myself to have a nice cold glass of water, most of the time.0 -
My suggestion is to take baby steps... moderation is the key until lil by lil you are able to kick the habit and longings... don't try to deprive yourself of anything... before you know it you won't long for those types of foods...
I was a fast food junky... but as time passes it just doesn't appeal to me as much - though if I have the craving I give right in so that way I satisfy and then just move on and back on track.0 -
Deprivation doesn't work for me. If I want to eat a piece of chocolate cake, and eat some fruits instead (Sweet is sweet, right? WRONG!), I'll end up eating the fruits AND the chocolate cake. Instead, I eat a little piece of what I want. It keeps me from overindulging, obsessing over food, and drooling.
Most important though, is knowing what my weaknesses are, and simply not bringing anything home. Shop healthier, and you won't have any choice but to eat healthier. And healthy food does not have to be bland or boring either.0 -
I want to hear some of the advice also....I don't eat out hardly at all but I eat a whole lot of processed/frozen meals b/c I don't have the time or money to make a bunch of homemade stuff...It sux but that is the way it is...So any helpful advice would be great!! Thanks for posting this thread!!
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