Why Isn't it Enough?

I dont have a huge amount of weight to lose, but sweets get to me too. I have craved mcdonalds, this entire time. But its mind over matter. I dont think ill ever get over it, and occasionally ill have a sweet treat, but never excessive.

Maybe you're being TOO restrictive? I have a mega-massive sweet tooth. In the past, when I've tried to totally eliminate "junk food" from my diet it always ended in failure because frankly I missed the yummy stuff and I was obsessing over it simply BECAUSE I wasn't allowing myself to have it.

These days I'm taking a much more moderate approach, with a mind that "everything in moderation" is the way to go. I'm having fun finding satisfying lower-cal options for some of my favorite treasts, and I'm also stocking up on "single-serving" recipes for those days when I just gotta have something. I know others like to poke fun at them, but something like a single-serve mug cake satisfies my cravings WITHOUT leaving a bunch of tempting leftover cake lying around the house screaming to be eaten. It gives me a lot more control and mindfulness over what I'm eating. I also enjoy full-on calorie-bomb sweet treats probably once a week (a gooey cupcake or something like that), but do my best to work it into my calorie goals (or else just say f--- it and enjoy with no guilt!)

This mindset has shifted into other types of foods as well. I enjoy burgers, pizza, nachos...pretty much everything. I have no "No" list - everything in moderation is ok, and I try to plan my day around it if I'm planning to splurge on something calorie dense like fast food or movie popcorn etc. Despite all these "indulgences" I would say I still eat about 90-95% unprocessed, whole, nutritious, made-from-scratch, DELICIOUS foods, and I'm satisfied. I focus on great flavour and hearty portions when I cook so I don't feel deprived or like I'm on a "diet", which also seems to help reduce my cravings for other stuff

Well,
Think about how long you were eating your previous way. (months, maybe years?) and how long have you been eating this new way (maybe 3-4 weeks?) It takes the body a few weeks to figure out what you are trying to do when you shift your habits. But it takes your mind a few months to really and truly jump on board with the rest of the team. Sure we all get cravings here and there but the longer you go eating real food the more you will see that the "junk" doesn't taste nearly as good as you once remembered. And then the cravings will begin to shift and change and turn to other things. And believe me I am by no means an all or nothing kind of person. But if you can subscribe to 90/10 or even an 80/20 real food lifestyle, you will feel like it is all doable long term.
Here's to staying on track and letting the conscious efforts become subconscious habits. :drinker:

Why isn't this feeling of wellness enough to keep my eye from wandering to sweets and snacks and other things that I shouldn't be eating?

Because we're still hard-wired to like certain things. Our bodies like it when calories are easily accessible. We evolved when such resources were limited. So there's an instinctive desire for them.

But there also may be personal psychological associations. That's what "comfort food" is all about, and that's why we all have our different kinds.

So there are levels of positive associations tied to these foods, whether the instinctive drive to find calories or a happy memory.

The key becomes learning to moderate these desires. At first, you'll want to be very careful, as it is easy to give in to the temptation not only to enjoy what you liked, but at the amounts you used to consume it in. Over time, with discipline and will power, you can eventually learn how to enjoy them without enjoying too much of them, especially when you enter into the "maintenance" phase.

For example: I LOVE Jelly Belly brand Jelly Beans. They are one of the foods that I remember fondly and are also one of the foods that I could tolerate back when I was sick and the doctors were pushing me to eat any calories I could manage to keep down. But now I know I need to watch them more than I did back in High School. That doesn't mean that I DON'T eat them. But I buy them on rarer occasions. And when I do buy them, I portion them out into single servings. I used to be able to eat one of the larger bags in the course of a single movie. I could easily polish off a whole bag of Starburst brand jelly beans in an evening. Now, I'm usually able to spread out one of the smaller "hang up" bags over a weekend.

You may very well be overly restricting yourself. There's nothing wrong with a bit of comfort food...actually, a lot of the comfort food I eat (big stews, casseroles, etc) are very nutritious...but they're also high calorie, so I really have to watch my servings. My general rule of thumb is 80-90% good, nutrient dense foods...but allow myself some junk calories from time to time as well. This helps me stay on track and keeps me from riding off the rails completely.

Eat that one treat (without guilt) and burn it off.....Unless you are training for a competition then don't eat it lol.

You can eat whatever you want, just work on moderation and portion control. Know yourself. For example: I can eat reasonably most of the time, but if ice cream is in the house I will eat it until its gone. Find your balance.

Do you allow yourself at least one meal per week to eat whatever you want? If not, everyone needs to do that. Not only will take away feeling deprived some foods that you really love, but it jump starts your metabolism.

^^^^^
THIS

Every now and then, perhaps once a week, it Is ok to have a "cheat" meal. This will throw off your cravings, I still struggle with them and I have been eating "clean" for 5 months now, but it does get better.

Try this saying in your head next time, it really helped me a lot.
I went from "I want it but I can't have it"
to "I can have it but I don't want it."

Turning that into a positive statement really helped me out and it sounds like you are well on your way to in the right direction, keep up the good work!

Because there's something in our brains that tell us that pizza and burgers and cake and sugar all make us feel good. And they do. Until that euphoria of the first 20 minutes wears off and our stomachs realize what we're doing! And that's my very unscientific response!

In all seriousness though, I completely understand where you're coming from. I've been doing this on and off for almost 2 years (although I think my profile says I joined 3 years ago...that's just when I first filled out a profile). I've had A LOT of slip ups (including making it to my goal weight and then promptly gaining 20 pounds after a stressful life event), mostly because I've had to overcome emotional eating. Even though I still crave that cupcake or burger, I often have to remind myself how awful I will feel if I eat it. I know others have suggested working the junk into your daily or weekly calorie allowance. That does not work for me, because as you said, it's about how you feel. What does work for me is finding an alternative recipe. Lately my favorite has been a homemade banana pudding using bananas, chia seeds, dates, and coconut milk. It's DELICIOUS (tastes like Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding) and curbs my cravings for ice cream, cupcakes, and even chocolate.

I know others have said that you're being too restrictive or that you need to give yourself a treat or fit that burger or pizza into your calorie allowance. If that works for you, then that is awesome. However, for me, the key to sticking to this has been paying attention to how I feel after I eat something. If I eat a greasy burger or slice of pizza or bowl of macaroni and cheese, then I will feel awful and bloated and tired and cranky. If I replace the ingredients with homemade nutritiously made food, I can still have my burger or pizza or macaroni and cheese, and the calories might be the same (or not), but I FEEL better. I plan on doing this for life, and that includes never ever returning to McDonalds or KFC or Pizza Hut.