I Just Can't Stop Sabotaging Myself....

Hemis_mom

I have not been faithful to this website for a month. I started in February and was fateful logging everything Good and Bad every day. Then something happened. I call it the OLD me came back. It started with a few trips to the ice cream store down the road. Then it was two weeks of my job that left me unable to exercise (by choice I admit it but I was just so darn tired). It also seems that I am surrounded by people who want to feed me to celebrate something (My birthday, graduation, graduation, graduation, father's day, a friends wedding.......) Why do we celebrate everything with HUGE meals of food that is hard for someone like me who has NO willpower to resist--Anyway that is another rant. So just when work calmed down and I had more time to myself I got a horrible sinus infection and was sick for two weeks (once again no exercise). Today I got up and had every intention of sticking to it and I went 900 calories over my limit. I am finally feeling better but can't seem to stop this really bad behavior dare I say it is almost comfortable being my old self. I really believe for some of us food is our feel good drug of choice and splurging does make me feel good (until I look in the mirror or step on the scale). So I know there are other people like me who fall off the bandwagon (in this case I not only fell off but I can't see it anymore) what do you do to get back on---I really need somebody to smack me I lost 15 pounds I don't want to put it all back on and then some--How do you quit the drug of food--Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. How do I make food (gross food, high calorie sweet stuff food) not feel good.......I also am a person who likes to reward myself with food which I think has been what I have been doing the last few weeks.
Any help/suggestions/encouragement would be greatly appreciated

nicfelkl

How about trying a cleanse program? It can really help to reduce cravings (esp to sugar which is also my downfall), help lose inches, and really makes you feel great! I have a few that I use depending on how I am feeling but they always get me back on track when I start reverting to my old habits!

alf1163

Don't be so hard on yourself, most of us have been there at one point or another. Take one step at a time. You have lost 13 lbs and that is great!!! You cannot expect to change years of "bad" habits in just 4 months. It is just not realistic. It is going to take time to change the way you look at food right now. Take one challenge at a time and work on it, then the next, and so on. Re-set short term goals for yourself, every week or every month. You are already aware of how you "sabotage" yourself and what obstacles you have to overcome, focus on one at a time. This gets easier with time. Continue exercising, drink lots of water, don't keep in your house anything that will be too tempting to resist, eat as healthy as possible most of the time and think positive. You can do it!!! :flowerforyou:

WillyG

How about trying a cleanse program? It can really help to reduce cravings (esp to sugar which is also my downfall), help lose inches, and really makes you feel great! I have a few that I use depending on how I am feeling but they always get me back on track when I start reverting to my old habits!

What type of cleanse program do you use? I have never tried one.

SHBoss1673

Well, my dear, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm not going to sugar coat it, no cleanse, diet, or other "magic pill" will fix this for you. You need to get right down to the heart of the matter, take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself if you're worth the effort.

If your answer is yes, then you need to figure out how to make yourself stick to your plan. I can tell you this, for almost all of us, the issue isn't THAT we eat too much, it's the reasons WHY we eat too much. Whether you use food as comfort, for control, as a release for stress, or as a way to hide your emotions, it doesn't matter, until you find out why you are doing it, you won't fix it, and all the weight loss plans and diets and exercise in the world will only be a temporary fix.

I suggest you buy a cheap notepad and pen, and when ever you feel the urge to eat something, write down how you feel at that time, it doesn't have to be food related, but it does have to be what you truely feel. At the end of the week, go back and see what you wrote.
this has a 2 fold effect, 1 it gives you insight into your thought process with regards to food, and 2 it makes you stop and think logically about your food choices, which can stop you from mindless eating.
I would also suggest you try to do as much research as you can on food, the types, what they do, the good, the bad, the needs of a human body, and how the human carbohydrate metabolism works in painstaking detail, this (for me at least) is the biggest deterrent to eating badly. I KNOW what that chocolate éclair does when it hits my belly, and I DON'T LIKE IT ONE BIT!

best luck dear.

-Banks

stamps4fun

can you elaborate on the "cleanse"?

I am 4 weeks into the program now and have lost 14 pounds. i am so happy!!! but i have a long way to go.
I have to say i am a rewarder type eater too but since making myself accountable for EVERYTHING
i am eating i am logging food in before i cook and seeing how high calorie things are.
i have gone back to VERY basic cooking. lean meat, plain potatoes, low cal veggies and fruits
and basically no desserts, except i have had McD's cone a couple times.
i don't miss the desserts and i was a big dessert eater. also potato chips or cheese puffs.
i also was indulging in cashews as my hubby keeps a big can by his chair and he grazes
all the time. (he is tall and skinny...not fair)
i am a big eater, period.
logging in everything makes me realize how extensive my daily caloric intake must have been.
all i can say is, each day is a brand new day and a new chance to come clean and start over.
if you can't leave the cake alone or whatever it is you have at celebrations, then eat smaller
portions. make yourself be happy with less. find filling foods to eat like i did which allow you to stay within your
calorie budget. if i can do it, so can you!
my breaking point was a shopping trip to find some summer clothes. nothing fit, not even 3X
and i got so sick of seeing my fat buldging body over and over in the dressing room mirror!
my son recommended this site and it is working wonders for me, along with determination.
good luck. get yourself going again, you can do it!

Hemis_mom

Thank you for all of your suggestions I really like the notebook idea! What kind of cleanse program do you do--I have thought about this before but would like to do something natural not chemical.

Hemis_mom

can you elaborate on the "cleanse"?

I am 4 weeks into the program now and have lost 14 pounds. i am so happy!!! but i have a long way to go.
I have to say i am a rewarder type eater too but since making myself accountable for EVERYTHING
i am eating i am logging food in before i cook and seeing how high calorie things are.
i have gone back to VERY basic cooking. lean meat, plain potatoes, low cal veggies and fruits
and basically no desserts, except i have had McD's cone a couple times.
i don't miss the desserts and i was a big dessert eater. also potato chips or cheese puffs.
i also was indulging in cashews as my hubby keeps a big can by his chair and he grazes
all the time. (he is tall and skinny...not fair)
i am a big eater, period.
logging in everything makes me realize how extensive my daily caloric intake must have been.
all i can say is, each day is a brand new day and a new chance to come clean and start over.
if you can't leave the cake alone or whatever it is you have at celebrations, then eat smaller
portions. make yourself be happy with less. find filling foods to eat like i did which allow you to stay within your
calorie budget. if i can do it, so can you!
my breaking point was a shopping trip to find some summer clothes. nothing fit, not even 3X
and i got so sick of seeing my fat buldging body over and over in the dressing room mirror!
my son recommended this site and it is working wonders for me, along with determination.
good luck. get yourself going again, you can do it!

This reminded me that before starting this website I ate much worse for example today I had 2200 calories BUT before this website I bet I was eating 3500-4500 calories a day I guess I need to be more optimistic and as everybody said above take it one day at a time

vjar

The former head of the FDA,David Kessler, wrote a book recently called "The End of Overeating." It approaches "hypereating" in a unique way, why and how we become so focused on food. Similar methods to "banks" suggestions can stop the behavior before you're half way through a carton of ice cream...check it out.

Hemis_mom

can you elaborate on the "cleanse"?

I am 4 weeks into the program now and have lost 14 pounds. i am so happy!!! but i have a long way to go.
I have to say i am a rewarder type eater too but since making myself accountable for EVERYTHING
i am eating i am logging food in before i cook and seeing how high calorie things are.
i have gone back to VERY basic cooking. lean meat, plain potatoes, low cal veggies and fruits
and basically no desserts, except i have had McD's cone a couple times.
i don't miss the desserts and i was a big dessert eater. also potato chips or cheese puffs.
i also was indulging in cashews as my hubby keeps a big can by his chair and he grazes
all the time. (he is tall and skinny...not fair)
i am a big eater, period.
logging in everything makes me realize how extensive my daily caloric intake must have been.
all i can say is, each day is a brand new day and a new chance to come clean and start over.
if you can't leave the cake alone or whatever it is you have at celebrations, then eat smaller
portions. make yourself be happy with less. find filling foods to eat like i did which allow you to stay within your
calorie budget. if i can do it, so can you!
my breaking point was a shopping trip to find some summer clothes. nothing fit, not even 3X
and i got so sick of seeing my fat buldging body over and over in the dressing room mirror!
my son recommended this site and it is working wonders for me, along with determination.
good luck. get yourself going again, you can do it!

This reminded me that before starting this website I ate much worse for example today I had 2200 calories BUT before this website I bet I was eating 3500-4500 calories a day I guess I need to be more optimistic and as everybody said above take it one day at a time

OOPS 2500 Calories today (eating out twice ;-) It gets me everytime

Kidvicious28

I too have been struggling with watching my cals and exercising for the past 3-4 days. I can't find the motivation right now to exercise. I don't know where it went. I've been so great with exercise since I started in May. I stuck strictly to MFP (cals and such) up until 3 days ago. What is that!?!? *sigh* I know how you feel and it sucks.

I'm going to take banks advice and I hope you do too! Good luck to you. I hope you get back on track.

ilike2moveit

I lost 30 pounds by not "dieting" and just making small lifestyle changes. I didn't want to be hungry or feel deprived so I slowly changed the foods that I ate. I quit buying my lattes, substituted higher calorie sour cream for light and then worked my way down to fat free; switched 2% milk to light soy, etc. I started reading labels and buying those that had less calories. I started walking - I was moving but not killing myself. I quit eating when I wasn't hungry. I didn't do it all overnight but I did it gradually. I lost 10 pounds and was motivated to lose more. I also still treated myself to a piece of cake, or whatever so I didn't feel like I was cheated out of enjoying food. I also avoid having what I call trigger foods in the house. These are foods that I can't eat just one and I binge on them until I am sick or they are gone or both. (For me that's chips and cookies) I also was borderline obese according to my BMI and that scared me. I was afraid that I was spiraling out of control and that I was only going to keep getting bigger. I have maintained my weight loss and joined MFP to lose those last 10-15 pounds-that for me are the hardest! I hope this helps you. Best Wishes.

jenzimmer

I do the same thing. Have you read "You on a Diet " by Dr. Oz? It's a great book and explains why we tend to over eat and what food we can eat to help us not to do it. For exsample, cinnamon can curb your cravings. There is a ton of cool stuff in the book and it makes a lot of sense.

Kidvicious28

Thanks for sharing that. It sounds interesting. I'm going to look into it.

Hemis_mom

I will add it to my amazon wish list

Hemis_mom

I got up this morning and did 30 day shred and 30 minutes of weight loss yoga--Thank you for the encouragement! 500 calories burned it is a start in the right direction