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

When I go after the cheese it's a single ounce block and done away from home, aka where the rest of the cheese is. Same goes for a few other things, though if I'm having a no appetite evening I can start waving the potatoes in front of myself without risk. Really, I think my crazy lifestyle with so many meals away from home with this heat are why I can realistically get away with portioning down tasty rubbish.

I work out every day and burn enough calories to eat pretty much whatever I want. I'm reasonable but I eat ice cream 3-4 times a week. Today I had an extra busy day at work and combined with my workout this morning burned almost 1000 calories, so I had room for a treat. On days when I don't burn as much, I eat less or at least make healthier choices to stay within my limits.

Portion control and shrugging my shoulders.

Had White Castles tonight w/McDonald's Coke.

OP, many of my friends have given you really great answers in this thread. My short answer is, sometimes I can't. But I have had to learn how to control myself in order to be able to eat certain foods in moderation.

It is sort of off-topic, but you inspired my blog post tonight, so I thought I'd share the link with you.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/danasings

MUSCLE MASS

Once a person has built up enough muscle over years of training they can get away with eating a lot more due to increased muscle mass and the fact that they do heavy weights weekly.

I've trained competitively for years and still do and my day to day calories is probably about 3000 or so. Maybe a bit more? I can pretty much eat whatever I want and maintain a good physique at 91-93kg. But to be in phenomenal shape I cant' do that. I have to carefully monitor what I eat and eat 2400-2600cal. Pizza, pasta is off the menu but I refeed on rice once a week.

Koing

I look at it this way.

What is that pie really giving me?

I just eat it for the taste, and each bite of it is the same. So 1 bite of pie is really exactly the same as 20 bites in terms of the benefit im getting.

Its not giving me as much nutrition as something else would, so I just have enough for a taste and make sure to fill the rest of my day with nutritious food that I really need.

I have no problem doing it. I just log it first and stick to one piece (or two when pizza, usually). And stick to my calories/macros as much as possible. I had to 'detox' for a couple months first though, after that, no problem. I'm just hoping it lasts!

I used to have certain foods that I couldn't just leave alone, i *had to* have them, and i couldn't just stop at one bite, I had to eat it all.... those were foods that I'd always considered to be "bad" foods that I should refrain from and even felt somewhat guilty about eating them.

I have since changed my attitude towards food. firstly, I see food as primarily for nutrition, so rather than focusing on what i *shouldn't* eat, which is what nearly everyone who tries to eat healthy or lose weight does... instead I focus on what I *should* eat, i.e. plenty of protein, healthy fat, healthy carbs, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water. (yes, within a calorie goal when losing fat, but for the past few months I've been maintaining or eating for strength gains and not tracking). I've also stopped considering any food to be forbidden. If I've eaten enough nutritious food then I'll eat whatever I want that fits in my calorie goal if I'm cutting (or if I'm not tracking then i have a sensible sized portion of it) - I remind myself that I can have these foods whenever I want and there's nothing wrong with enjoying them, or any food. Since I've been doing that, and changing how I think about food, I've no longer had a problem with cravings or with being unable to stop eating any particular kind of food. I literally used to think of any forbidden food, that if I don't eat as much as I can of it now, that I won't get to eat this food again, so make the most of it. I didn't really realise this was how i was thinking, until after I stopped thinking like that. Now I think of nothing as being forbidden, I can eat any food whenever I want, so that urgency simply isn't there any more, I eat some, I leave the rest for another time.

Also, if you are not eating enough, the desire to eat high calorie food, or food containing the nutrients you're not getting enough of in your diet, is actually a normal physiological response. it's not a psychological problem, it's something that evolved to enable our evolutionary ancestors, who had no idea what a balanced diet is or how many calories they should eat, to not die of starvation or nutritional deficiencies. So anyone who's suffering from any kind of binge eating should first rule out the possibility that their diet is deficient in any nutrient, and also ensure that they're getting sufficient calories. Aiming for slower, steadier weight loss is better, because it's less likely to trigger bingeing or constant snacking... i.e. it's a lot more sustainable and the goal is long term maintenance of a healthy weight, not how much you can lose in x amount of time. So it is vitally important to ensure that you're eating properly before you decide that any binge eating or inability to eat treat foods in moderation is a psychological issue. For many it's a normal physiological survival response to not eating enough.

I've never been one to overeat at one sitting or have trouble stopping. But my problem's always been the every day habits of bad food. Having either pie, a candy bar, or ice cream every night with dinner and often a cookie or something as my "dessert" even with lunch. It has been a major challenge to break that lifelong habit. For several years my weight was going up even though I was eating healthier foods, less fried stuff, more veggies...I think it's because I would always eat a healthy meal followed by a decadent dessert.

Good luck!

Hi - this is my question based on another topic here. How come YOU can eat pizza, donuts, fried chicken, a big candy bar, a big pie, etc.. etc. and I need to NOT eat that? I mean this is for the people that admit they eat this but yet in the big picture, it doesn't seem to hurt their weight loss. So what is it that you have that I dont?

Because, aside from certain medical conditions and food intolerances, there are no fattening foods, only fattening AMOUNTS of food. It's all about making it fit into your goals.

Pizza fits my calorie and macro goals. I normally eat about 2000 calories (total, which would be about 1500-1600 plus exercise calories if I was still following MFP's way, to lose ~ half pound a week) a day to lose weight, and budget about half of that for dinner. Half of a DiGiorno or homemade pizza usually comes in between 800-1100 calories, so it fits. Ditto for cheeseburgers, breaded chicken, etc. It fits within my calories and macros.

Same goes for candy, cake, donuts, cookies, ice cream. I don't often eat it, but when I do, it's because it fits in my goals. I've already planned out my day on my food diary, have lots of fruits and veg, reached my protein and fat goals, and have wiggle room for fun, so I'll have some fun.

I do pretty much always have bags of fun sized candy bars in the house. Sometimes I just mentally NEED chocolate. Similarly, I tend to buy ice cream sandwiches instead of ice cream, because it helps me control the portion.

I also have trouble stopping at "just a bite" or "only one" of something that is a trigger food for me. I have to do a lot of self talk to convince myself to just stay away.
Part of this self talk is telling myself that the pizza, cinnamon rolls, ice cream, whatever, is not going away. It will always be there and I can have it at any time. But for now, that food is "on the back burner" until I can handle it. Sometimes it actually works!!

Iv just had Kfc for lunch, although its taken me over my calories and left me with about 140 for the day (still not had evening meal yet) iv shrugged my shoulders and planned exercise for once iv got changed.

If i was in a super lazy mood then id just have to deal with it... after all its only one day. Tomorrow is a new day for me to not have kfc for lunch. It will teach me not to let hubby chose what were having for lunch... i knew i should have chosen.

Everyone has different regulatory styles. Some people are better at moderation, and some people are better at abstaining.

So when it comes to your top pleasure foods, for you it is easier to avoid them all together to avoid overeating them. For me it is easier to have just a little bit every once in a while. If I try to avoid it all together, I'll end up going crazy eventually and eating more than I should.

Don't think your way is inferior just because other people still need to eat some of that stuff to regulate their food habits. Everyone is just different, that's all.

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!

This.
Very sensible and very true. There is no secret, it's all about choices.

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.

Great response!