Why Can You Eat Fattening Food? What's Your Secret

I'm in the same place you are. Sweet breads such as doughnuts and cinnamon rolls are my downfall. If I screw up and eat on I have to have 2-3 more. My safest option is to stay away. If you do mess up it is not the end of the world. Just pick yourself up and follow your diet the next day. No one is perfect. Good luck

Why is it that most people can have a cocktail or two and be done, while others cannot stop?

I mean that seriously!

I think we all have unique bodies and minds... and we all have different biochemical responses to different foods. I think for some people, food lights up their reward centers in their brain JUST a bit more than others (for example: "food orgasm").... while others are not as affected.

I tend to think, across the whole- we all have our vices... all have our weak spots. The unfair thing is that obesity can be seen where other issues cannot. So that sucks!

But I really believe that some people can lose weight with the motto of "moderation"... while other people have to create black and white rules for quite a while before they can EVER (if ever) go back to trying moderation. Reminds me of any other recovery program honestly.

For me, sweets do nothing. I enjoy dark chocolate- but not for the sweetness of it. I shrug at a bowl of ice cream. It means nothing- this is a mystery to my husband.
SALT however.... gimme gimme gimme! I could eat a whole bag of chips without thinking.

So again, we're made differently.

I don't stress about what I can and can't eat. I have my goal and if I achieve it yay, if not, then I shrug and decide to do better tomorrow.

With this approach I rarely get the feeling that I have to have more than one or two pieces of whatever sweet/cake/cookie/chocolate that I want to eat. I also don't believe in overrestriction. I'm quite short, 5'2 on a good day, and I can still eat between 1500-1800 calories a day and not gain. Quite the opposite, I'm still losing inches off my waist. So I just do what I'm doing since it's working.

There's no magic to being able to eat fast food and still lose weight. You just have to make room for it in your calorie goal. You can do that by eating a smaller portion of it, by cutting back the calories in your other meals that day, and/or by exercising away some of the calories. It's simple, but it's not easy. I've been doing it for three months and I'm still learning. It works for me. It's not for everyone. Good luck to you!

An acquaintance of mine and i talked about exactly that topic last weekend. She said that she can not eat any sweet food or snack food, because if she has a bit she will have it all, but when she does not buy it she does not even really miss it.

For me it is the other way around. i need a bit of chocolate or some fries or such nearly every day, but I have no problem to stop eating after a bit.

So, I fear that is what I comes down to. I do not react the same to food as you do. I like food and I have eaten far to much in the past, but it does not trigger me. I don't think this means that I have better self control than you, though. How do you react when somebody says:"oh come on, let's go out and eat?" or "do you want the last of my chips or I have to throw them away?" things like those, social situations are MY trigger. I have serious problems saying "no" to other people in those situations. And problems with not finishing my plate at a restaurant, too. Feels like such a waste of good food, so I continue eating even if at home I would stop by that point...

you can eat it too, you just have to fit it into your total calories, sometimes Ill have pizza for dinner, at 250 per slice I can have 2-3 slices for the calories I leave myself for dinner. The key is in moderation You can eat everything you love just moderate what you eat... I don't eat pizza everyday and when I do its because I preplanned it into my day... Also if you do some form of exercise it helps fit these kinds of foods in too. Losing weight isn't about eating nothing but salads, but eating food in good quatities Good luck!

edit: something that helps me is to treat my total calories like a budget, for example I have 1400 calories to "spend" each day, its up to me how I choose to spend them You can do the same thing.

Some people also have higher calorie targets. Makes things fit A LOT easier. Today I'm going into dinner with near 1400 to spare, for example. I can eat pretty much whatever I want.

Hey nonnymousse1 -

Believe it or not, you are not that different from everyone else. Food has always been my downfall; I can workout, no problem. But I love to cook and eat really good food. I can make organic, raw, clean food into a calorie-packed meal that can ruin my week.

I think the difference between "us" and "them" is dedication and willpower. It's not that we lack the education to know what's good for you and what's not. I think it's the lack of power. Food is our addiction right now; but it's because we have let it control our lives for such a long time. It's like a bad habit... and it takes time to break it. Everyone deals with food differently; many stay away all together; for me, however, this causes me to binge. If I am truly craving something, lets say, chocolate... I will have maybe a square of Godiva or a Hershey kiss - then I'll tell myself that I will not have more because it's just a craving and my body doesn't actually need that chocolate to operate. It's purely for my mind, not body. Or, I substitute: I buy the coco almonds and organic granola with chocolate and it suffices my cravings very well. At one point in time I feel like I was more like you; right now I'm in transition of being like you (or the old me) and being like "them". I agree with the other comment about "portion control and shrugging my shoulders". Using baggies, as the other person suggested, is a great idea - I work for home health and at a hospital and if I don't pack my lunch and snacks prior, I will eat whatever my mind is craving rather than giving my body what it's needing. So, I portion out almonds or other nuts/seeds, carrots, apples, etc that will allow me not to binge on something I know I'll regret. Shrugging your shoulders is a great tactic... and I'll follow that up with a cliche comment: one day of eating poorly will not make you fat just like one day of eating right will not make you skinny. I think the best thing you can do if you binge or "accidentally" eat 5 donuts (because I know the feeling... you say "just one" and before you know it you have eaten 4 more and it's not until AFTER you ate them that your mind processes the fact that you told yourself JUST THAT MORNING that you were going to be GOOD today) is to not let yourself done even more and continue to eat bad and justify it by saying, "I've ruined my day now, guess I should just eat whatever for the rest of the day and start again tomorrow." That's not good. The key is consistency. If you tell yourself, "I was bad, but it's OK... next time I will do better" then you are accepting your fault but not giving up. Eventually, it will get easier and your will power to keep eating right and keep putting down the donuts (or whatever) will get easier as well. It's not going to happen overnight! It's literally taken me 10 years to get to this point... and I'm the best shape I've been in 10 years. Another cliche statement: people don't realize that even slow progress... is progress! The people who have been successful are not successful because they haven't fought for what they wanted like you or me... they succeeded because they finally figured out what works for them and stuck with it. Eventually, those new lifestyle changes become habits... good ones.

This was longer than I thought it be. Hope it helps.

This is a really interesting topic.
I like every kind of junk food known to man. But since, I have really following a "TDEE approach"I am losing weight by eating at least 1800-2000 calories per day. (I eat a little more on heavy lifting days).

Some days are easier than others. When I keep thinking about a certain food (like Pizza). I "budget" for it. I make sure that I have 1300 calories left for dinner and then I plan to get 4 slices of pizza. Also, before that I make sure that I snack really healthy before I eat the pizza (apples, egg whites etc.). This way I am not hungry like a starving dog.

You know what is funny.. after all that "planning" and gyrations. When I eat the pizza I think to myself. Yeah, this is good, but I will not die if I don't do this again for another month.

I am eating to fuel my life, not living to eat :-)

Hope this helps!

Firstly - fattening food is all food. You can get fat if you eat too much of anything. Well except lettuce :laugh: It is the amount, and frequency of poor choices that derail.

Calorie dense foods like cakes, deep fried anything etc are easy to over eat because they is not as satisfying. It is aso easy to think "Oh well I've blown it now" and eat the whole box/whatever.

It comes down to portion control, control, and counting everything.

Just incorporate the occasional meal that you desire, but plan for it. If you want deep fried battered pizza (or what ever) weigh/measure it, eat it, log it. Rest of the day eat lots of vegies and healthy choices to balance it out. This is a lifestyle change & choices are forever - it is not a diet that means you can get to your goal weight and then go back to eating poorly all the time.

You might find that after a while of eating healthy choices, reducing intake of fat, salt, sugar etc that you find these fast foods you crave make you feel sick when you do eat them. I have found that any way. I eat whatever I want, log it, and try to balance the day/week with better choices.

Pizza doesn't have to be unhealthy - make your own with lower fat cheese, lots of tomatoes, shredded chicken rather than bacon/cured meats.

However I must admit that if I have a jar of Nutella / Nutino (chocolate hazelnut spread) in the house I just eat it by the spoonful and find it very hard to stop - so have decided to not buy it until I get to my goal weight, then I will be OK to have it in maintenance.

Make sure you get some exercise. Especially if you eat something that you feel you shouldn't - helps erase the guilt! Good luck, read the success stories if you feel discouraged. We all manage differently but the common thread is consistency, eating enough (to target), exercise, and logging .

Edited to add: There is a thought /theory that eating things laden with sugar / salt / fat increases your desire for these foods and I think it could be true - so the more you eat of these calorie dense foods the more you eat! I notice you mention sodium - I find for me that is a killer - if I eat out my weight goes up - so if I am going to eat out/eat something with high sodium I try and drink lots of water to balance it out.