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How do you guys keep yourself in check?

markhernandez4815
markhernandez4815 Posts: 2 Member
edited February 3 in Food and Nutrition
I keep finding myself unable to not eat terrible, high calorie foods. Once I log the meals I feel absolutely terrible for eating them! I have eaters remorse, I know I shouldn't but my self control is apparently worse than I thought. I have tried adding the food before I finally decide to eat it but that doesn't always work out. I am wondering how my fellow MFPeeps (like that?!) keep themselves from eating bad, high calorie foods. I look forward to hearing your methods!

Thanks!

Replies

  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    Don't think of them as bad? The less emotional you get about food, the less power it has over you. Eat what you like and take responsibility for it.

    And the usual suspects - are you restricting so much you binge afterwards? Are there other areas of your life that are stressing you out? Are you burning out your willpower on other decisions? Are you making it easier to make poor food choices than good ones? (That one's the easiest to fix - prep your meals in advance, don't keep foods you have a hard time resisting in the house.)
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    If I am able to meet my daily calorie goal, I do not worry.

    If I am going over my daily calorie goal, I choose less calorie dense foods.

    If I have 2k calories left over after lunch, I eat a large pizza.
  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
    Don't think of them as bad? The less emotional you get about food, the less power it has over you. Eat what you like and take responsibility for it.

    And the usual suspects - are you restricting so much you binge afterwards? Are there other areas of your life that are stressing you out? Are you burning out your willpower on other decisions? Are you making it easier to make poor food choices than good ones? (That one's the easiest to fix - prep your meals in advance, don't keep foods you have a hard time resisting in the house.)
    Pretty much this! Also I have tried concentrating my cravings. I'm not a big sweets person but I want something like a cupcake or chocolate instead of getting something cheap and mediocre I wait and go to the nice bakery by my work and get a brownie or fancy cupcake or something. Quality over quantity helps a bit :)
  • suziepoo1984
    suziepoo1984 Posts: 915 Member
    I wish i had some of your guilt..LOL..but seriously, i don't feel bad about eating any kind of food as long as i am within calories. Don't think too much about it, just go with calories in-> calories out and keep an eye on your weight. If i start gaining 1-2 pounds, i know i am over eating and try being in control till i stabilize. Learn from trial and error. We want this to be a lifestyle, so may as well practice what we have to eventually do to maintain anyway.
  • Alehmer
    Alehmer Posts: 433 Member
    I think it sounds like you might have some psychological or emotional issues related to food. If you genuinely 'can't stop yourself' then there's something inside of you that's pushing you to those foods. You know for a fact that nobody is forcing you to eat this food, you are making a conscious decision to eat that food and you're an adult with free will. No diet tricks or special combination of ingredients will stop you from doing what you KNOW is bad for you and that you've sworn off. You just have to face it and figure out what's behind those cravings.

    That said, high calorie / high fat or sugar foods are physiologically addictive. The only way my wife and I could could cut the cord was to go cold turkey and just not bring anything in the house we would regret eating.
  • DaveneGfit
    DaveneGfit Posts: 338 Member
    As a person who has struggled with emotional eating all her life I can fully relate. What has helped me is to keep things in perspective and give myself grace. I know for me when I tell myself I can't eat something that's when I want it even more instead of looking at is as what can I eat that would benefit my body. Change it from a negative to a positive and you will be amazed at how quickly your brain changes and the pressure comes off. Also determining why I am here in the first place has helped me and keeping that image in mind. If you have any questions please feel free to message me. I Know that it is not always easy to do it by yourself.
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