Why does it still feel like I'm torturing myself?
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Exactly there are certain things I could eat but they would leave me wanting more bad things. So its counter productiveCongratulations on losing 22 lbs! That takes a lot of hard work, however being in maintenance myself, I know that keeping it off is even harder!
You should not feel like you are torturing yourself. This will not be a sustainable way to live. You really need to look at your food choices and find a healthier balance of what will work for you. Even if it takes longer for the weight to come off, you are much better off with choices that you KNOW you can live with for the rest of your life.
Do you drink diet soda or drinks like Crystal Light? Try sticking with water or Propel Zero. I used to drink diet soda all of the time- why not, it is 0 calories- but I would then crave other foods. No one said you can't eat things you love- but you can't eat them all of the time. Try smaller portion sizes or substitutes that will satisfy that craving.
Going down this path can be scary and sometimes we do things to stop our own progress. You are doing a great job and keep on going. With a few tweeks, I am sure this will no longer feel like torture. Remember- "Nothing tastes as good as healthy looks"0 -
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.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.
^^ This. When you first start, part of the journey is to learn control. While some people throw out all the bad things and refuse to buy more and will get mad at other people who eat it around them or people who bring goodies to work and basically anyone else who is just going about their life including treats.. Most people eventually learn to deal with it. If you slip you log it and move on but if you never try then you will never gain that control and will go through the rest of your life feeling deprived, discriminated against and blaming others for your inability to lose weight.
If you are feeling like you are torturing yourself you probably are. As far as "sucking down a wheat grass smoothie going jogging at 5am" because you 'have to'... No thanks. Truth be told I don't choose to do a lot of things nor do I HAVE to. People choose to go to the gym 5 days a week, people choose to limit what they eat, choose to cut out certain food groups and all other forms of torture (in my mind) I choose to eat what I want as long as I have room in my calories, I choose to eat according to my TDEE and not at some random number dictated by a website that knows nothing about me. I choose to go about my day in the way that I always have just eating a little less and moving a little more.
Read these:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912914-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
Start there, and stop torturing yourself when you don't have to. Losing weight is simple - we are the ones that make it so hard.
tl;dr
I already commented back to that person thanks .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.
I completely agree with this. It took me about 9 months to lose 30lbs, but I changed my bad eating habits gradually and I LIVED. I had cake at birthday parties, I had a donut sometimes. I had multiple course dinners and lots of ice cream, chocolate, etc. At the beginning, I restricted too much and I knew I could never sustain it. Switching to a gradual approach is what helped me reach my goal. It does take a lot of patience though. You need to renew your motivation every day, especially when you're not dropping weight constantly.0 -
Hi Schaka - consider counseling. Not because you are special wierd, but because all of us who really struggle have something eating us, that's causing us to overeat. Secondly, when I'm craving sweets it means I need protein. But if it isn't a physical craving (i.e. I ask myself if a bowl of cooked broccolli would take care of the feeling), then it's emotional and we need help with that. I've been getting counseling and support for years and I have faith I am finding my way. I have faith you are too. -- Deb0
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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.
Dude. Settle down. Not everyone has control issues. My boyfriend has a HUGE sweet tooth, and his office is full of cookies, candy, and all kinds of stuff. I'm not going to tell him he can't buy his favorite foods. I simply don't touch it because I've learned self-control. I CAN have one cookie and stop because I've satisfied that craving. I don't binge anymore. It took time, but it can be done.
Also, some people binge because they feel deprived. If they eat something they like every day, they don't feel deprived, and, therefore, don't binge. I think you're overreacting. Nobody is saying you should eat half a cheesecake; they're just saying have one piece on occasion. One person on my friends list eats a few pieces of chocolate (like Hershey Kisses) every day, and he's lost over 100 pounds. I eat a Big Mac every so often, and I've lost 60. There's nothing wrong with having food you like *in moderation*.
If you have control issues, then yes, take some time to work through those. But, eventually, it does get easier, and one cookie or one handful of chips really is enough.0 -
This isn't MY topic. I do eat candy and junk food. I just don't typically BUY it until I want it eat it right then Chips get stale after you open them anyways and I have never been a chip person.
My thing is easy to understand, it REALLY IS GUISE. I could easily buy all those foods and NOT eat them, that isn't my problem, the problem is why would I? Why would I even let their be a chance that I am going to gorge? Why even have that in my house? Sure I could forget its there and not eat it, but its just easier to not buy it, and it makes more sense. If I want a candy bar I will go to the store (I live right next to one) and BUY a candy bar. But I have the urge to sit around and munch to much so if I have that in my house its bound to get munched on. Its just makes more LOGICAL sense as someone trying to lose weight to not load my cabinets with all that junk, its easier to avoid temptation. Would you take an alcoholic to a sports bar? Probably not.
Granted I do have junk food in my house right now that I do not eat. But I am not going to go out and purposely buy all my fav junk food when I am on a diet. I do have common sense.0 -
A little of what you like will not kill you or your diet, excess will. I work the small things into my daily diet, and occasionally have a cheat meal. If I have a cheat meal I try to work it into my weekly diet. I think it is all about remaining in control so that you don't go mad and sit down to a 3000 calorie carton of ice cream. I think you need to fid out what works better for you - clearly abstinence isn't working as you want. The more you learn about why you crave, the better chance you have of beating it. With me it was boredom, particularly in the evening. Now I keep myself busy or have a mug of tea as a distraction, and have treats or cheats if I need them. Just try something without going mad and see how you get on!0
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Hey there OP. I, too, started just restricting calories and exercising. But, like you mentioned, I didn't really feel fulfilled.
In the past month, I've been limiting my net carbs to 5%, protein to 35%, and healthy fats to 65% of my daily calorie goals. So I know it seems counter intuitive, but I'm basically eating veggies like spinach, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, sauteed in butter or olive oil, steaks, bacon, grilled/roasted chicken, salmon, and for the fats I've been mainly eating avocados, nuts, cheeses, olive oil, butter, sour cream, etc.
Mainly, I've discovered that carbohydrates in bread, rice and pasta make me feel bloated and uncomfortable, gain water weight and stay hungry after eating them. So Now i'm trying to only get my carbohydrates from veggies.
In the past month I have been doing this, I have lost a little over 11lbs. I have more energy, and I feel full for so many hours after eating lunch.
I don't know if this helps, but it has Really Really helped me.
There was another poster that mentioned the Glycemic index and i think that would be a good thing to look into as well.
Please don't torture yourself!0 -
yep 29 pounds in 3 months. Its nice to actually make progress.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.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.
^^ This. When you first start, part of the journey is to learn control. While some people throw out all the bad things and refuse to buy more and will get mad at other people who eat it around them or people who bring goodies to work and basically anyone else who is just going about their life including treats.. Most people eventually learn to deal with it. If you slip you log it and move on but if you never try then you will never gain that control and will go through the rest of your life feeling deprived, discriminated against and blaming others for your inability to lose weight.
If you are feeling like you are torturing yourself you probably are. As far as "sucking down a wheat grass smoothie going jogging at 5am" because you 'have to'... No thanks. Truth be told I don't choose to do a lot of things nor do I HAVE to. People choose to go to the gym 5 days a week, people choose to limit what they eat, choose to cut out certain food groups and all other forms of torture (in my mind) I choose to eat what I want as long as I have room in my calories, I choose to eat according to my TDEE and not at some random number dictated by a website that knows nothing about me. I choose to go about my day in the way that I always have just eating a little less and moving a little more.
Read these:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912914-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
Start there, and stop torturing yourself when you don't have to. Losing weight is simple - we are the ones that make it so hard.
tl;dr
I already commented back to that person thanks .
hope you're getting the results you want.0 -
Uhhhhh no.Hey there OP. I, too, started just restricting calories and exercising. But, like you mentioned, I didn't really feel fulfilled.
In the past month, I've been limiting my net carbs to 5%, protein to 35%, and healthy fats to 65% of my daily calorie goals. So I know it seems counter intuitive, but I'm basically eating veggies like spinach, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, sauteed in butter or olive oil, steaks, bacon, grilled/roasted chicken, salmon, and for the fats I've been mainly eating avocados, nuts, cheeses, olive oil, butter, sour cream, etc.
Mainly, I've discovered that carbohydrates in bread, rice and pasta make me feel bloated and uncomfortable, gain water weight and stay hungry after eating them. So Now i'm trying to only get my carbohydrates from veggies.
In the past month I have been doing this, I have lost a little over 11lbs. I have more energy, and I feel full for so many hours after eating lunch.
I don't know if this helps, but it has Really Really helped me.
There was another poster that mentioned the Glycemic index and i think that would be a good thing to look into as well.
Please don't torture yourself!0 -
Wow. Being one of "those" people who now just lives the life of a well-eater (I like to make up words), it's a crazy thing to read what I hadn't believed as well. I don't wanna preach "I was where you are", but I was! It WAS torture. But it wasn't the end of the world. I'm here, I enjoy chili dogs and fries and ice cream but in total moderation. I miss out on nothing, but this was after kicking my own *kitten*, growing up and making a commitment.0
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I totally agree with you. You've got to have the willpower to just stay away from it because if you DO give in, you've ruined it. It's really hard. And everyone struggles with it. It is all mental. AALLL mental. Which is sort of annoying because we tell ourselves that it is all these outside factors, but it is all within us.0
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I 100% agree.I totally agree with you. You've got to have the willpower to just stay away from it because if you DO give in, you've ruined it. It's really hard. And everyone struggles with it. It is all mental. AALLL mental. Which is sort of annoying because we tell ourselves that it is all these outside factors, but it is all within us.0 -
I know I know the cookies, candy and ice cream didn't make me fat I did blah blah blah
Are you hangry? You seem very confrontational. From looking at your diary you eat your fair share of "bad" foods so why so upset? No one said the OP should buy junk food and keep it in the house to not eat. We're saying if you want to eat something other than steamed broccoli and chicken then do so as long as you can stay in control. No one said hang a bag of chips on the frig door but don't touch it.0 -
My diary should be private which is what I set it tooo sooooI know I know the cookies, candy and ice cream didn't make me fat I did blah blah blah
Are you hangry? You seem very confrontational. From looking at your diary you eat your fair share of "bad" foods so why so upset? No one said the OP should buy junk food and keep it in the house to not eat. We're saying if you want to eat something other than steamed broccoli and chicken then do so as long as you can stay in control. No one said hang a bag of chips on the frig door but don't touch it.0 -
I'll chime in with the everything in moderation folks. To cut out everything you love to eat is torture. I like modification much more than cutting out completely. As someone else said, it is about healing your mind when it comes to food too. Making sensible decisions where you normally would have over indulged is a big part of sustaining a loss I think. I'm sure that some people can go cold turkey on all their favorite foods (like some people do cigarettes) but you don't have to do it that way. I do buy less of my favorite snacks but I still buy them and they last a lot longer too. I'm healthier on the inside, including my mindset about food. If I want a bag of chips, I count out a serving eat it and log it. I may burn extra, I may fit it into macros, but the point is I can control it, knowing this and trusting this means no guilt about having it. My experience with weight loss has been a journey inside and out so far and I've learned that with knowledge anything is possible (including mac and cheese)
Good luck to you. 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.
Alright, well I wish you the best with all of your goals. :flowerforyou:0 -
To set things straight, foods that are considered "dirty" or otherwise "unhealthy" DO NOT MAKE YOU FAT AND I REPEAT THEY DO NOT MAKE YOU FAT! An excess of calories makes you fat. A maintenance of calories keeps your fat the same and a deficit in calories makes you lose fat. It's common sense. Don't blame the fast food, don't blame the cookies or the sugar. Blame the AMOUNT you eat. It's alright to have food you like. I had a cupcake this morning. The other day I had a ton of biscoff. I eat out every Sunday. I still lose fat, maintain strength and my overall health is a lot better!
Peace and stay sane.0 -
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.
If you're feeling that starved and tortured, YOU"RE DOING IT WRONG.0 -
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.
If you're feeling that starved and tortured, YOU"RE DOING IT WRONG.
1. This is not my topic
2. I eat whatever I want
3. I just don't buy whatever I want
4.I have lost 29pounds in 3 months so I am fine.
5. I eat candy and junk. I just don't load my cabinets with it0
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