Sabotage

Options
asweren
asweren Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Why do I sabotage myself? I happened to weigh myself this morning (I do not have a particular weigh in day) and was happy with the number. Then I went out to lunch with my kids -- to Cheeburger Cheeburger. I could have had something reasonably healthy -- but I didn't. I had a cheeseburger and FRIES, and a small coffee shake. It tasted good. Really good. I knew while I was eating it that I was going down the tubes, but I was having a nice day with my boys, and didn't care. I care now. The other thing is I'm not hungry for dinner, and will probably eat a clementine for dinner, but I'm just disgusted with myself for caving. I'll be good tomorrow, and chin up, stiff upper lip and all that crap, but I would have been better off if only...

Do you knowingly sabotage yourself, and what are your techniques for overcoming (other than the chin up, stiff upper lip, etc)? Thanks...:grumble:
«1

Replies

  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
    Options
    Look at it, say "Well, that wasn't worth it !" (Unless it was) Then go on with life. :-)
  • Mpol2
    Mpol2 Posts: 442 Member
    Options
    Been there, done that. For today, stop beating yourself up. It happened, you acknowledge it, and you move on. Get back on track RIGHT NOW. Have a decent supper. We are in this for the long haul. Most important thing is to learn your "not safe to go there" places and not to use this as an excuse to derail the whole day. Hang in, you will get there.
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
    Options
    I TRY to remember how it felt AFTER I ate the yummy/junky food, so that next time I'm faced with a choice, I might remember that this one didn't work out so well for me.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Options
    I keep being confused by people saying hamburgers and fries are poison.

    I eat a hamburger and sometimes fries every Wednesday for lunch with my husband. I split a 1/4 pound burger with him. I eat 10 fries - half of the order that comes with the meal. I eat lots of things that have an equal number of calories.

    I don't die. I don't go over my calorie limit for the day. I only have 1300 calories net in my allocation.

    It's not the healthiest thing in my week, but it fits in fine with the overall calories I eat. Can I eat a humungous cheeseburger? No. But a burger? Sure.

    Maybe you are thinking about it wrong? If you deprive yourself, you tend to go wild once you cross that first line. Maybe relax, enjoy yourself, but monitor what you're doing.
  • honeygirl0511
    honeygirl0511 Posts: 3
    Options
    ...one thing that works for me, at home, is to set the timer and if I want whatever--cookies, cheeseburger, etc.--in fifteen minutes I go for it. Most of the time, I forget why the timer is even going off. Also, I was taught a long time ago that if I stay in the guilt I will eat more. And, guilt causes stress that slows calories from burning. Besides, in moderation, we are allowed good stuff. If you can have that now and then and not stay in that zone, I say be thankful for your good day with your boys.
  • Smokey19
    Smokey19 Posts: 796 Member
    Options
    My opinion is that if you can fit it into your daily intake goal then it is okay to have that occasionsal cheeseburger and french fries. I don't recommend it everyday, but on rare moments with your kids, enjoy yourself.
  • Dagreth
    Dagreth Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    Thats why tracking my calories works so well for me. Every time I have to write down the calories, it makes me think about my choices, and usually I plan a lot better. Anytime one meal is going to be over 1000 calories, it gives me pause. I know from experience, whether I eat a 500 calorie meal, or a 1200 calorie meal, I am hungry 3 hours later regardless of what I eat. So I am just saying when you log your meal, when you are writing down 1200 calories it may allow your better judgement to prevail. I also know I can do better tomorrow, and not to beat myself up too badly if I do have a bad meal. Eating right for life, even after three years, is still a learning experience for me.
  • Crookey21
    Crookey21 Posts: 311 Member
    Options
    well it also depends how long its been since ur last burger AND fries. but like u said, get back in the zone tomoro, no harm no foul.
  • asweren
    asweren Posts: 18 Member
    Options
    I eat a hamburger and sometimes fries every Wednesday for lunch with my husband. I split a 1/4 pound burger with him. I eat 10 fries - half of the order that comes with the meal.

    I'm not sure I am that well controlled! I love fries, and if they are especially good (cooked the way I like them), I eat and eat and eat. Good for you to have learned to enjoy your indulgence with some control. I'm working on that, and I'm sure I'll continue to work on that for a long time to come!!!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Options
    I eat a hamburger and sometimes fries every Wednesday for lunch with my husband. I split a 1/4 pound burger with him. I eat 10 fries - half of the order that comes with the meal.

    I'm not sure I am that well controlled! I love fries, and if they are especially good (cooked the way I like them), I eat and eat and eat. Good for you to have learned to enjoy your indulgence with some control. I'm working on that, and I'm sure I'll continue to work on that for a long time to come!!!

    It helps to put the extra I don't want to eat on my husband's plate :laugh:

    Seriously, I really like to eat. I have come to really enjoy paying attention to how MUCH I enjoy eating and really paying attention to how good things taste. If I pay attention to how good it is, and really savor food, it's actually easier for me to stop.

    I put things in small portions on my plate and eat that. Sometimes i finish and want more. Often I get partway through and just feel satisfied and don't even finish. Enjoying food more but eating less is something I've really come to love about watching my calories.
  • nerolimoon
    nerolimoon Posts: 32 Member
    Options
    Log the burger, ditch the guilt and move on. Today you had a burger, tomorrow and the day after and the day after that you won't. We should all have a burger - or whatever it is we want to eat - with friends and family once in a while.
  • kaybeau
    kaybeau Posts: 198 Member
    Options
    welcome to my world everytime I have 10ilbs to traget I find another stone on my backside before I get any nearer...
  • carebear7951
    carebear7951 Posts: 404 Member
    Options
    Yep. I absolutely sabotage myself. Regularly. I have been in a funk for a couple of days over this-my thing is pizza. If I start I can't seem to stop and I allow my kids to talk me into it regularly. :( I told them after yesterday's fiasco that there will be no more pizza for a while. So don't ask.
    Today I have made better choices. That's what you do. Learn from it and move on. Don't beat yourself up but also don't forget what it felt like to blow it...b/c odds are you didn't feel very good (emotionally or physically) once the eating was done. Hang in there!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Options
    Thats why tracking my calories works so well for me. Every time I have to write down the calories, it makes me think about my choices, and usually I plan a lot better. Anytime one meal is going to be over 1000 calories, it gives me pause. I know from experience, whether I eat a 500 calorie meal, or a 1200 calorie meal, I am hungry 3 hours later regardless of what I eat. So I am just saying when you log your meal, when you are writing down 1200 calories it may allow your better judgement to prevail. I also know I can do better tomorrow, and not to beat myself up too badly if I do have a bad meal. Eating right for life, even after three years, is still a learning experience for me.

    I agree. That's why logging works so well. If you pay attention, it teaches you things.
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    Options
    Go exercise. Minimize the impact. Just my 2 cents.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    Options
    I log my slip-ups and work them into my calorie budget. For example, this morning I made pumpkin spice cookes for my husband's lunches. (I had to do SOMETHING with all that pumpkin we scooped out for Halloween carving!). I ate 3 of them. I really wished I hadn't because they didn't satisfy me for very long, but I still had to wait 3 hours for lunch.
  • singglory24
    singglory24 Posts: 2
    Options
    Well, done is done. Don't kick yourself too hard for it. It isn't as if you do this every other day or so is it? No. So if not hungry later today for supper, eat the clementine, and know tomorrow there are no cheeseburgers or fries or yummy coffee drink. But maybe schedule one day every three or four weeks where you give yourself the day where you allow yourself more calories that way no guilt to deal with. Keep up the good work (You did say you were happy with the numbers, success!)

    Gloria
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Options
    Start with trying not to be disgusted with yourself. In my experience, feeling guilt, shame, disgust etc around food just doesn't help the situation, and for a lot of people it ends up making things worse. It's just food and you're not a bad person because you had a cheeseburger and fries. No one gets fat on just one burger and fries.

    Then, just try to remember how you feel now after eating those things. Also, remember your motivations for losing weight. Don't feel guilty, but just try to assess how eating the burger and fries fits into your overall goals. There may be some days when that kind of food fits in ok, but others (especially if you are on a low calorie goal) when it definitely won't. I'm glad you at least enjoyed it. Try and notice if you feel any physical effects, sometimes feeling bloated or uncomfortable afterwards can help to remind you to try something different next time.

    Next time, try pre-logging a meal you would like, and see if that makes you think twice. If it does, try pre-logging a healthier option and see if that fits better. Then, go out with the intention of eating what you have logged. It might not work every time, but making better choices is a habit that just takes practise. Stop beating yourself up about the choices you make, and just try to create new habits. It will get easier with time.
  • Hollycat
    Hollycat Posts: 372
    Options
    Cravings are a direct result of the toxic critters that live inside us. They want to live. They live off the crap we feed them. So they demand it. THEY are the reason we find ourselves holding out 3 days after Halloween, filled with anxiety and cravings and then breaking down and 'stealing' what's left from the candy bowl and scarfing it down on our way to work. THEY make us feel bad about ourselves. YOU are NOT a failure! What critters am I talking about? Viruses, Bacteria, Yeast, Parasites, Mold, Fungus, toxins. Where do they live? In our blood. Why do they live there? Because our blood is not pH balanced, due to the acidic food we eat. If our blood were pH balanced at 7.3-7.4, the critters could not live. They would DIE. They cannot live in an alkaline environment. They LOVE an acidic environment. They want it to stay that way, so they cry out for more acidic food. Sugar, white flour, fat, deep fried stuff, sugary, sticky, tasty, fatty goodness!

    So... how to kill the little monsters that rob us of our dignity and health? Eat an alkaline, plant-based diet with lots and lots of vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. Deprive them of the foods they use to destroy us. Switch over slowly over several weeks by focusing on adding these good things to your diet, rather than focusing on eliminating bad things. Try to eat less of these things, but don't worry about eliminating them entirely. That becomes legalistic and obsessive quite quickly and sets you up for feelings of failure, which is counterproductive. Increase the % of good things you eat to 70% or more and you will soon start feeling better and experiencing fewer cravings, as your blood becomes more and more alkaline. It will take weeks, if not months, and those critters will FIGHT to live. That means cravings. But if you understand what's going on, and expect cravings and have a backup plan [make some raw treats! - Search 'truffles' on this site for a raw trufle recipe], that's half the battle.

    Consider visiting a Live Blood Analyst/Nutritionist in your area for more information and a look at what's actually happening inside YOUR body.

    As long as you eat a mainly acidic diet, you will continue to experience cravings, no matter how much weight you lose.

    Good luck!

    Hollycat:flowerforyou:
  • chubbygirl253
    chubbygirl253 Posts: 1,309 Member
    Options
    I think if you work out you could afford a splurge every now and then without gaining what you just lost. I told my class instructors early in the week that friday is date night and I already know I'll be splurging. Gotta work extra hard to make up for it. Earn that cheeseburger.

Categories