Why does it still feel like I'm torturing myself?
shackamax
Posts: 3 Member
Blah.
I'm successfully losing weight since I started on here, I'm down 22 lbs as of this morning, so what I'm doing appears to be working. My main issue is that even after a month or two of eating healthy, I still feel like I'm torturing myself (not allowing myself to eat foods I'm craving, sticking strictly to my diet, etc). When should I expect to feel like a lifestyle change has taken place and that this is actually sustainable?
"Fitness people" are always saying "eventually your body will get used to it and you'll WANT to eat this way after a while, you'll be happy with it." I'm worried that when I get down to my goal either later this year or next year, that I'll become complacent and put the weight back on, because the burden of "you dont have to eat this way anymore" will be gone.
Anybody else gone through that?
I'm successfully losing weight since I started on here, I'm down 22 lbs as of this morning, so what I'm doing appears to be working. My main issue is that even after a month or two of eating healthy, I still feel like I'm torturing myself (not allowing myself to eat foods I'm craving, sticking strictly to my diet, etc). When should I expect to feel like a lifestyle change has taken place and that this is actually sustainable?
"Fitness people" are always saying "eventually your body will get used to it and you'll WANT to eat this way after a while, you'll be happy with it." I'm worried that when I get down to my goal either later this year or next year, that I'll become complacent and put the weight back on, because the burden of "you dont have to eat this way anymore" will be gone.
Anybody else gone through that?
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Replies
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I crave certain foods all the time. However I let myself have one cheat meal each week, and every now and then try and work in the other stuff in my diet (I.e smaller portion and have veggies on the side so I'm still full).0
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If it feels like torture to you then it's not sustainable imo. Tastes do change, but it's ok to still have the foods you love. Personally I'd try a more gradually change, rather than a complete 180.
I do moderation and have never felt deprived. I usually allocate about 20% of my calories for chocolate or whatever I'm craving. The rest of my calories I use to hit my protein goal and get nutrients in.0 -
I was going to take a look at your food diary to see what you've been doing different, but it is locked. Are you eating foods that are delicious? Even if it is something that is different than you've been doing, if you are not enjoying your meals or are forcing yourself to eat foods you don't like it is going to feel like you are denying yourself the pleasure of eating.
Food is supposed to taste good, and exercise is supposed to be fun. Otherwise a fit and healthy lifestyle is just not sustainable.0 -
Why are you not eating the foods you want? This is all about a calorie deficit. If you want a burger, fit it in. If you want cake, fit it in. If you have to exercise to be able to have your burger or cake, do it. You don't have to 'torture' yourself. I've had plenty of 'off' days and I still lose weight. It's not about restriction but being balanced/0
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Blah.
I'm successfully losing weight since I started on here, I'm down 22 lbs as of this morning, so what I'm doing appears to be working. My main issue is that even after a month or two of eating healthy, I still feel like I'm torturing myself (not allowing myself to eat foods I'm craving, sticking strictly to my diet, etc). When should I expect to feel like a lifestyle change has taken place and that this is actually sustainable?
"Fitness people" are always saying "eventually your body will get used to it and you'll WANT to eat this way after a while, you'll be happy with it." I'm worried that when I get down to my goal either later this year or next year, that I'll become complacent and put the weight back on, because the burden of "you dont have to eat this way anymore" will be gone.
Anybody else gone through that?
Nope! I have been maintaining over a year, and I still wanna eat junk all the time, but I don't because I want to look good naked!0 -
my problem is sugar. sugar is so dang good i want to eat it, but the more sugar i eat the less full i feel and the more sugar i want which is a slippery slope. and the way i feel i can't just have a little bit of sugar and be done with it. when i eat sugar i want to eat a ton of sugar. and that just isn't healthy.0
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If you are feeling like you are torturing yourself then you have to ask your self if it is really a long term solution? Sooner or later there's a good chance you'll end up back where you started because you slipped back into old habits.
How about trying the TDEE -20% method combined with an IIFYM (if it fits your macros) approach. This should give you enough food to feel satisfied and you can still eat your favourite foods so you will not feel you are 'torturing' yourself, just work them into your calorie allowance.0 -
If it feels like torture to you then it's not sustainable imo. Tastes do change, but it's ok to still have the foods you love. Personally I'd try a more gradually change, rather than a complete 180.
I do moderation and have never felt deprived. I usually allocate about 20% of my calories for chocolate or whatever I'm craving. The rest of my calories I use to hit my protein goal and get nutrients in.
This.
My approach wasn't to avoid foods, but to add new, different and healthier foods to what I already enjoy. So I still have pizza, but typically once a week instead of three times a week. I still have pasta, but instead of a meal of just pasta, I have pasta with chicken and a pile of vegetables. I'll have a chocolate and peanut butter protein bar instead of Reese's cups.
And every single thing I eat is delicious. I will never have plain grilled chicken and steamed broccoli as a meal. Ever. Add some BBQ sauce to the chicken and some butter to the broccoli and a few more sides, and maybe we'll talk. :laugh:0 -
Sounds like you are torturing yourself if you are not eating foods you crave.
It basically comes down to a choice. You choose to eat the food you "crave" or not. You are choosing not to.
Which could eventually lead to a binge.
I choose to eat food I crave, but I plan for it.
I do not call it a "cheat" day, because I try to keep it in line with my calorie and nutrient goals for the day.
If I can GREAT
If it is a bit over, then oh well, it is only 1 day in the week. As long as I do not make it a habit I will not worry about it.
Seems to have worked for me so far.0 -
The truth is you really were torturing yourself before you made these changes. All the bad foods and unhealthy habits was the torture. Now your just trying to make your life better.0
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"Fitness people" are always saying "eventually your body will get used to it and you'll WANT to eat this way after a while, you'll be happy with it."
In my experience I have not found this to be true, and I consider myself a "fitness person" at this point. It is true that after eating really healthy for a while I'll crave junk food LESS, but I'm still always down for a greasy burger or some cheesecake.
What I have found helps is allowing myself one small treat every day. Occasionally, I'll turn that small treat into a big cheat meal. It hasn't hindered my fitness and it keeps me from going crazy. I've been trying to maintain without calorie counting lately and it has been tough, because like you said I've developed that "woooh my diet is over!" mentality and it's hard not to eat junk all the time. I just keep reminding myself of how hard I worked and that this is a lifestyle change, and I CAN do it because there are plenty of healthy foods I enjoy. I try to eat 80% healthy, home-cooked foods and the other 20% is whatever I want (fast food, dessert, anything). It seems to be working but I agree it's hard. I think some of us just naturally have bigger appetites/more cravings than others, and it's not likely to totally go away.0 -
Blah.
I'm successfully losing weight since I started on here, I'm down 22 lbs as of this morning, so what I'm doing appears to be working. My main issue is that even after a month or two of eating healthy, I still feel like I'm torturing myself (not allowing myself to eat foods I'm craving, sticking strictly to my diet, etc). When should I expect to feel like a lifestyle change has taken place and that this is actually sustainable?
"Fitness people" are always saying "eventually your body will get used to it and you'll WANT to eat this way after a while, you'll be happy with it." I'm worried that when I get down to my goal either later this year or next year, that I'll become complacent and put the weight back on, because the burden of "you dont have to eat this way anymore" will be gone.
Anybody else gone through that?
When I first started losing weight I bought into of the "clean and healthy" eating crap. Or dont eat that cookie it'll turn directly into fat. I'm calling BS on theses "fitness and industry" peoples claims! This is how I lose fat and eat still am able to have that chocolate bar or cookie I want.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937860-how-to-lose-fat-for-newbs
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=129247741&page=10 -
When I eat healthy like salads and stuff its not very filling honestly. If I ate all the food I craved 24/7 I would 5k calories a day. When I first started eating healthy the first few weeks I ate tones of fruits, vegetables, ect. I ate tones of whole foods and I was ALWAYS starving. Everyone that claims its not torture has just convinced themselves of that in the long run, trust me no one WANTS to be sucking down a wheat grass smoothie going jogging at 5am, but you do what yo gotta do.0
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If it feels like torture to you then it's not sustainable imo. Tastes do change, but it's ok to still have the foods you love. Personally I'd try a more gradually change, rather than a complete 180.
I do moderation and have never felt deprived. I usually allocate about 20% of my calories for chocolate or whatever I'm craving. The rest of my calories I use to hit my protein goal and get nutrients in.
I agree!
Eating your favorite food should be a part of your healthy diet plan, so that you are motivated to stick to it for a long period of time, perhaps forever.
*Consume in bits but don't do away with them totally.
There’s no reason why you should not eat your favorite foods. If you love salads or fruits or sprouts or anything healthy, do include them in your daily diet. If however, we’re talking about high fat, high sugar treats, you might want to reduce the frequency of consumption. Everyone deserves a treat once in a while, so save the fried foods, sweets and desserts for special occasions. (healthmeup.com)0 -
Who eats just one cookie or one chip? We all know it has stuff in it to make you want more, more, more, more. If you are someone with a heavily addictive personality its better to just stay away from these things.0
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I've found that eating smaller portions of food I like helps. I don't seriously restrict myself as to which foods I eat at mealtime (except for buscuits, cake and milk chocolate - and sugary carbonated drinks - but these are not meals). For me, a restrictive diet will not work.
I realised early on when I joined MFP that moderation is a key word in this process. A restrictive diet would not work for me as I am very good at self sabotage. Even after 2 months I feel like I have got more used to the smaller portions and not eating high fat sugary snals between meals.
Good luck, and please don't torture yourself, a little bit of what you fancy does you good :-)0 -
If you are feeling like you are torturing yourself then you have to ask your self if it is really a long term solution? Sooner or later there's a good chance you'll end up back where you started because you slipped back into old habits.
How about trying the TDEE -20% method combined with an IIFYM (if it fits your macros) approach. This should give you enough food to feel satisfied and you can still eat your favourite foods so you will not feel you are 'torturing' yourself, just work them into your calorie allowance.
^^^ This0 -
If you feel like you are torturing yourself, your eating habits are not right for you. You want to find a way to make a lifestyle change, not a solution for short-term weight loss. You can still eat foods that you enjoy, you just have to do so in moderation. You also have to put in the effort to learn how to make healthy versions of the "bad" foods that you enjoy. They may not taste exactly the same as the full fat, fried version, but it's better than nothing and you CAN get used to that. My diary is open if you'd like to see how I stay under 1300 calories and still enjoy my favorite foods. I am steadily losing 2-3 pounds per week, never feel hungry or unfulfilled.0
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I personally am not going to buy my "favorite junk food". If you are trying to eat clean and get away from those habits how is eating a tone of chocolate or snacks good? What are you learning? Most people ( I KNOW) got fat because of portion control problems so turning around and buying your favorite chips and candy that are loaded with garbage and gorging on them, is pretty counter productive.0
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Who eats just one cookie or one chip? We all know it has stuff in it to make you want more, more, more, more. If you are someone with a heavily addictive personality its better to just stay away from these things.
I eat just one cookie all the time. One chip doesn't seem worth it, but I do eat one serving with no trouble. If you can't control yourself then sure, you should avoid those foods. But not everyone is that way. Plenty of people are capable of moderation.0 -
Being a fatty who came here because I have a problem eating to much. I don't even want that stuff in my house, its counter productive to my weight loss goals and pointless. Sure I could eat 1 cookie but I see no point in it. We all know the sugar makes you want more, so this whole "having one thing" I mean good for you but thats not the norm. lol. As someone who used to gorge (and actually needs this site for weight loss), I am good off even having that in my house.Who eats just one cookie or one chip? We all know it has stuff in it to make you want more, more, more, more. If you are someone with a heavily addictive personality its better to just stay away from these things.
I eat just one cookie all the time. One chip doesn't seem worth it, but I do eat one serving with no trouble. If you can't control yourself then sure, you should avoid those foods. But not everyone is that way. Plenty of people are capable of moderation.0 -
I think most fat people got into these situations because of "control" problems. So its very counter productive to still eat those things.0
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Much of taste is habit and learned behavior, so your tastes will change over time. That doesn't mean you'll like all or only healthy foods though. Just that you'll learn to like some healthy food better.
Don't totally deny yourself treats though. If you have "trigger food" that will cause you to binge eat, avoid those. But it's okay to have candy or french fries or <insert unhealthy food you like here> once in a while. Just don't make them the mainstay of your diet, and don't let them put you too far over on calories.
Some people like to eat light during the week and splurge on the weekends. Some like to have one "cheat day" or "cheat meal" each week where they can eat whatever they want. Some like to fit little treats in every day.
There is no right and wrong as long as you are getting proper nutrition and losing/maintaining a healthy weight. Find a plan that gets you to goal but also keeps you satisfied enough to stay there.0 -
Are you doing any regular exercise? I can't tell from your post and your profile is blocked. If you add in exercise then it will allow you more calories and would probably let you work in more food and foods you like. If you are already exercising, it's incentive to get higher burns Then you can eat more.
Also, I have just recently went from eating 1200 plus whatever exercise calories I got for the day, so usually about 1500-1600 (and on rest days only 1200, which is hard!) to the TDEE - % method. I now have my diary set to 1870 as guided by a beach body coach while I do Insanity. This still enables a loss and I am allowed almost 300 more calories guaranteed than before. I've only been doing it for 2 weeks but I just booked a 1.5 pound loss so happy so far. Check out the whole eat more to weigh less stuff here on MFP.0 -
STOP TORTURING YOURSELF!
/thread0 -
I am bumping this because I want to read more what people are saying and I want to look at the newbie how to eat link, which my current computer will not let me access! This is a great question and a small fear I have myself! Even though I wont get to the maintain phase for A LONG TIME! 0
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Being a fatty who came here because I have a problem eating to much. I don't even want that stuff in my house, its counter productive to my weight loss goals and pointless. Sure I could eat 1 cookie but I see no point in it. We all know the sugar makes you want more, so this whole "having one thing" I mean good for you but thats not the norm. lol. As someone who used to gorge (and actually needs this site for weight loss), I am good off even having that in my house.
I think it's a pretty broad generalization to say that it's not the norm. Pretty much everyone on my friend list does IIFYM so it's not just me. To me being able to eat normally is the goal, and that includes being able to have cookies or chocolate in my house without going off the rails. Sugar doesn't make me want more. I did need this site for weight loss, as you can see by my ticker. Now I use it to track macros and to make sure my weight doesn't creep back up.
What I'm saying is that you have that problem, and that's fine. It makes total sense for you not to buy that stuff or have it in the house if you find it addictive. But the OP may not have that problem. Many people don't. If a person doesn't feel out of control around foods they love them I don't see the point in cutting those foods out completely.0 -
I think most fat people got into these situations because of "control" problems. So its very counter productive to still eat those things.
Actually, no, it's called learning to live in the real world and getting control of your life. There will always be temptations and if you never learn how to say no or only eat one cookie you're going to lead a miserable life. Eating a cookie doesn't make you fat or become a health issue. Eating a bag of cookies is a problem. Learning how to eat a cookie and say no thank you to the rest of the bag is getting mentally healthy. Going through life feeling like every day is torture is not healthy.0 -
I think anyone that has gotten fat has lost control at one point or another. I generalize because this is what I have seen MY WHOLE LIFE from people in person, not magical internet land where NO one seems to be the norm.Being a fatty who came here because I have a problem eating to much. I don't even want that stuff in my house, its counter productive to my weight loss goals and pointless. Sure I could eat 1 cookie but I see no point in it. We all know the sugar makes you want more, so this whole "having one thing" I mean good for you but thats not the norm. lol. As someone who used to gorge (and actually needs this site for weight loss), I am good off even having that in my house.
I think it's a pretty broad generalization to say that it's not the norm. Pretty much everyone on my friend list does IIFYM so it's not just me. To me being able to eat normally is the goal, and that includes being able to have cookies or chocolate in my house without going off the rails. Sugar doesn't make me want more. I did need this site for weight loss, as you can see by my ticker. Now I use it to track macros and to make sure my weight doesn't creep back up.
What I'm saying is that you have that problem, and that's fine. It makes total sense for you not to buy that stuff or have it in the house if you find it addictive. But the OP may not have that problem. Many people don't. If a person doesn't feel out of control around foods they love them I don't see the point in cutting those foods out completely.
I can have those things in my house, like right now I have girl scout cookies and ritz, they are my sisters because she is here for spring break, I haven't touched them. BUT I am not going to go out and buy my favorite snack foods to just let them sit in my cabinets, that food made me the way I am, so by still eating I am completely being counter productive to my goals. Why would I want all that junk food that made me fat in my house?? If I want chocolate I can buy a dark chocolate bar and split it with my husband. But honestly I have a family of fatties and everyone I know got that way from control problems. So its counter productive to put all that tempting **** in your house. I don't HAVE to eat it, but its just SMARTER to not buy it.0
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