macros macros macros... no thanks?

I don't think there's a set time frame any of us can give you.. I went clean really quickly and can stick to it for the most part.. Of course I don't limit myself when it comes to food. I can have cake or cookies or candy if i want it.. I never want it and never really drank soda initally either.. so that was easy for me.

It depends on you and when you're ready to kick the sugar habit. Really it's all mental. You ahve to be ready to kick the sugar before you can actuallly kick the sugar. The first time your body cries out for it you have to resist and deal with the headaches.. yourr body will normalize rather quickly, it's your brain that takes time to catch up. We *think* we need sugar in our coffee or food because it's always been in it and we like it that way.. Not that we need it or our bodies actually like it. Getting past that is the hardest part.

My friend was diagnosed with Diabetes and when she first tried to get her level under control she'd feel like crap and think her blook sugar was too low.. the reality was her blood sugar was lower then she was used to (but still too high) and she felt like crap becuase her body wasnt' used to it. Because she has diabetes it took her longer to adjust. When you don't have diabetes, your body will start producing insulin as needed a day or two after you stop over eating sugar.

Sugar is the most addictive substance out there. I know chefs that sprinkle thier food with sugar so people will like it better and come back to thier resturant.

However.. a gradul ease into clean eating is probably better. But i advocate cold turkey with the sugar unless you are diabetic or something.. Because better to get it over with, then draw it out.

Another though is if you really eat a lot of carbs, going low carb is hard.. that might be something you need to rethink. (if that's what your doing) I am not low carb.. I can't imagine being low carb. I am trying to increase my protein which is decreasing my carbs... but it's not intentional and i still don't think the number i hit is considered low carb.

It's all about you and what you want out of it and what your body needs you do to in order to reach your goals..

a corn tortilla, and a coconut popsicle. oh and a friend left soda over here... i drank 3 cokes!

News flash: This is junk food.

I'm not sure what you would consider "super junk food" to be if this isn't it.

I could think of a lot worse. It's just a lot of sugar and empty calories. There's nothing wrong with a corn tortilla, unless you are allergic to them.

thank you so much, everyone! except for bostonwolf... you just sound like a ****. ok, so basically, i just need time to adjust. yeah the soda thing reallllllly got me. i mean, i can't even remember the last time i had a soda. that's why people leave sodas over here, 'cos they know i don't have 'em and won't drink 'em, so that way if they want 'em when they come over, they're here. i have noooooo idea what it was about. i mean, really, what i wanted was a HUGE candy bar. like chocolate EVERYTHING. i am probably pms-ing pretty hard, but all i could come up with for sweets was the coconut bar and the sodas. then i ate 2 servings of pretzels and the corn tortilla. oh man, then i finished up all the roasted sweet potatoes i had left over. i'm still not happy; i'm thinking i'm just gonna go get a donut today and be happy, hahaha.

i mean, i wanted to go completely clean, but I think I will have to ease myself into a bit more. i need to pick up a multi-vitamin soon, too, cos i think that would help tremendously.

PMS doesn't always do clean.

so, I'm 3 days into my diet and BOOM i binge like crazy the night of the 3rd. luckily i didn't have super junk food around, but ifound some pretzels, a corn tortilla, and a coconut popsicle. oh and a friend left soda over here... i drank 3 cokes! i NEVER drink soda! not a big fan of the stuff...

what gives? here's what i think, i think my blood sugar levels went nuts and i think my palette was unappeased...

those of you who eat veryyyyy clean (competition or what have you status), how long did it take to go from counting calories to eating super clean? I think, for the sake of losing weight, i'm going to make healthy alternatives to my fave foods for a bit, but not be as concerned with macros and micros and all that. my body, i don't think, was ready for that shock to my system at ALLLLL.

anyway, thoughts? advice?

(btw, if you look at my diary, you'll find i don't post workouts. but i run a little every day. today i got yoga in a couple hours and then will run around the lake after.)

just start getting into the habit of weighing and logging your food intake and staying in a certain calorie range FIRST before you even think about macros. once you can handle logging and weighing everything, adhering to macros will be much easier.

i mean, i wanted to go completely clean, but I don't want to have the willpower or make the real effort needed to do so

Fixed that for you. Or should everyone just keep making excuses for you?

This whole process is not easy. You are not going to get there if you don't commit to a healthy lifestyle. It sounds to me like you are saying you want to ease into things but what I'm hearing is that you want things to be easy.

Or maybe we should all just say, "it's ok honey, you can keep eating like garbage and then overnight this just becomes easy to do."

You obviously don't have much of a life if you think the epitome of success is eating 'clean', which by the way, does not really even exist in this day and age, unless one is living in the woods and hunting, growing and picking all their own food.

so, I'm 3 days into my diet and BOOM i binge like crazy the night of the 3rd. luckily i didn't have super junk food around, but ifound some pretzels, a corn tortilla, and a coconut popsicle. oh and a friend left soda over here... i drank 3 cokes! i NEVER drink soda! not a big fan of the stuff...

what gives? here's what i think, i think my blood sugar levels went nuts and i think my palette was unappeased...

I am assuming you didn't just start starving yourself on your diet and you're eating a reasonable amount of Calories.

Honestly? I think when this happens it's more psychological than physical. Happens to a lot of people - tell yourself you can't or shouldn't have something, and BOOM, suddenly you crave it although normally you wouldn't give it a second glance. My opinion is that forming healthier eating habits is exactly like breaking a bad habit such as chewing on your nails. It takes time to retrain your thinking and your automatic impulses into the new behavior. And it's a major pain in the *kitten*, but you can do it.

I believe that the common thought is that it takes about 3 weeks to break a bad habit if you are diligent about it, and another month to retrain so you do something different instead. I'd say that's about as long as it took me to stop craving food that would be just empty Cals and to start wanting food that would be better for me. And the food I want now is just as tasty or tastier than the foods I'd have wanted before, so that's not it. This is not to say that I don't enjoy largely empty calories now and again. Last week I had a gelato milkshake for lunch - it was awesome. And I had no trouble stopping when I was satisfied (less than 1/2 of the shake), so I even stayed in my Cals. And I've had no craving for a milkshake since.

Rule of thumb is 10 calories for each pound. For example, if you weigh 140, you should be eating around 1400 calories. As far as macros go, you should really find out what your body type is. You are either Ectomorph, Mesomorph or Endomorph. You should really judge your macro ratios on what your body type is. Some of us, Endomorphs cannot handle carbs as well as some Mesomorph body types. Do LOTS of research. As for clean eating, I eat clean and ensure I am consuming my calories for my body weight, plus ensuring I am eating my protein, carbs and fat ratios. I find at times I have to make myself eat. I do eat every 2 to 3 hours though, even if it's something small, keeps your metabolism going. Please ensure you are incorporating physical activity though, I do weight training and tabata (HIIT). Again, do lots of research and good luck!

nononononononononononono

NO. Apparently you skipped out on research too.

Rule of thumb is 10 calories for each pound. For example, if you weigh 140, you should be eating around 1400 calories. As far as macros go, you should really find out what your body type is. You are either Ectomorph, Mesomorph or Endomorph. You should really judge your macro ratios on what your body type is. Some of us, Endomorphs cannot handle carbs as well as some Mesomorph body types. Do LOTS of research. As for clean eating, I eat clean and ensure I am consuming my calories for my body weight, plus ensuring I am eating my protein, carbs and fat ratios. I find at times I have to make myself eat. I do eat every 2 to 3 hours though, even if it's something small, keeps your metabolism going. Please ensure you are incorporating physical activity though, I do weight training and tabata (HIIT). Again, do lots of research and good luck!

nononononononononononono

NO. Apparently you skipped out on research too.

i mean, i wanted to go completely clean, but I don't want to have the willpower or make the real effort needed to do so

Fixed that for you. Or should everyone just keep making excuses for you?

This whole process is not easy. You are not going to get there if you don't commit to a healthy lifestyle. It sounds to me like you are saying you want to ease into things but what I'm hearing is that you want things to be easy.

Or maybe we should all just say, "it's ok honey, you can keep eating like garbage and then overnight this just becomes easy to do."

You obviously don't have much of a life if you think the epitome of success is eating 'clean', which by the way, does not really even exist in this day and age, unless one is living in the woods and hunting, growing and picking all their own food.

Who said the epitome of success is eating clean? Clearly there is space between eating 100% clean and just saying "F* it" and binge eating and then coming here to get everyone to tell you it is ok.

Just pointing out the OP is just making excuses. You know it and I know it. It's not helpful to her when everyone responds with support for her excuses. But of course it has to be some external factor making her binge, right? It can't be that she made an active choice to do so? So tired of people not taking responsibility for their actions.

But it is okay. A binge isn't great but it's not the end of the world. It doesn't have to be the end of anything. It's just one bad day and is okay. Looking to find the reason you binged is a smart move, not a lack of responsibility. Find the reason and maybe next time you can avoid it.