Viscious Cycle

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sunshinecamesoftly
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
I've never weighed this much in my life. I'm 50 lbs overweight and can't seem to stick to my food plan. I start strong and so far, the longest I go is a week. I've always been disciplined and great at sticking to a plan whether its losing weight, a little here and there or any other goal for that matter. I get extraordinarily hungry beginning at around 4 or 5pm. I can't stop myself from stopping to get ice cream ...my appetite can be voracious. Help! Maybe if I promise and commit to getting on this message board and calling out for support when I have these food cravings, that will help. I wanted to lose at least 30 by Thanksgiving ...but now I'll be lucky to lose 15.......Has anyone gone through this and have some ideas! I've never had this struggle with disciipline...

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  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    Just keep logging you food. Close you diary if you don't want anyone else to know what you are eating, but log everything. Don't worry about restricting yourself for the first 3 weeks you are here. The only goal you should have when you get started is to log everything.

    Weigh and/or measure you meals as closely as you can. If you don't try to restrict yourself, then you can't rebel against yourself.

    Doing that one thing is PROVEN to help people reduce their body weight by 10% or more. Even if they did nothing else re; diet and exercise.

    I hope you find success. Just take this one step for now. Once you feel like you are really getting the hang of logging, then you can start to mix things up with your foods. For now, just keep logging. What do you have to lose (beside the weight)?
  • candiceh3
    candiceh3 Posts: 379
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    Maybe you are cutting too much too fast?

    Aim for a smaller, more maintainable deficit.

    Eat lots of protein to make you feel full.

    Don't go totally carb free or the leptin gremlins will chase you.

    And help yourself out by burning calories through strength training.
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
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    What IS your eating plan? Could it be that you are not eating enough? 15lbs by Thanksgiving is a pretty aggressive goal. Maybe just try for a lb a week loss and eat a little more? And maybe save most of your calories to eat in the evenings when you are the hungriest? Have you set your macro targets and are you getting enough fiber? Maybe give this a read if you haven't read it yet.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • quiqui29
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    Its nothing wrong with ice cream but try to get a healthy flavor. I've been measuring my food and walking outside at least 5 times a week from 1 hour to 2.5 hours. I've been drinking more water and my doctor prescribed me Phentermine pills.
  • ValentineRevenge
    ValentineRevenge Posts: 3 Member
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    One piece of advice that I might be able to give you is if you notice that you're getting super hungry around a certain time of day, is be aware of the foods around you. One thing that really got me was keeping too much junk food in the house. In my past experience, if I don't have like chips or something in my house, and I want them, I'm going to have to go get dressed and drive to the grocery store to pick up a bag, and most of the time, I can't be bothered. Also, when I was originally trying to cut back on the amount of junk foods I was eating, if I had to go to the grocery store, I would avoid going down those aisles. I know this might sound odd, but sometimes, getting it out of sight and out of mind completely for a week or two might make you have less cravings for foods.

    However, if you're not too keen on cutting out certain foods entirely, see if you can do portion control. Like in the grocery stores, they usually sell those little 1 or 2 serving sized containers of ice cream, and those small/snack sized bags of chips, things like that. This way, you're not feeling like you're missing out, but at the same time, you're not going to be overindulging and slowing down progress. Also, it helps if you're one of those people that tend to eat til the container is (mostly) empty, because when you hit the bottom of the carton/bag, you've only eaten 1 or 2 servings, instead of 3-4+. Also, do you eat in front of the TV often? When you're eating while distracted, you tend not to notice what you're eating, and it takes a bit longer for your stomach to tell your brain to stop eating.

    As far as feeling hungry goes, you might want to try increasing the proteins and complex carbs in your diet. Studies have shown that people eating the same amount of calories in eggs for breakfast as people eating bagels reported eating less later in the day. If you want to do something (at least temporarily) about your appetite which may have gotten used to huge meals, you might want to drink a glass or two of water before each meal to eat less during the meal. You can also take sips of water between bites to fill up your stomach a bit more and keep you from eating less.

    It may help you to have one meal out of the week where you eat whatever you want, so that way you don't go crazy the rest of the week, worked for me.
  • sunsetzen
    sunsetzen Posts: 268 Member
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    How many calories are you eating? What are you eating? Have you changed your diet drastically, like cut out food groups, eat minimal carbs or fat, etc? It could be that you've changed too much, and that is hard for most people to maintain. Try fitting what you LIKE (including ice cream) into your weekly caloric intake.

    Also, what is your motivation? Anything you can post somewhere to remind yourself of why you want to lose weight? Even a motivational phrase you can keep on your mirror, fridge or car (something positive, not those hateful and unhelpful 'you're a fatty, stop eating' type deals).

    Basically, you should change your habits so that you can continue doing it and liking it after you're done losing weight. So learn about portions, and how much food you CAN eat for your weight, how to eat snacks and treats without going overboard. If you cant stick with it later, this will become a continuous cycle of gain-loss for you.
  • fionadasein
    fionadasein Posts: 165 Member
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    While this book has its flaws, it gives incredible insight into why we really struggle against doing what we know we need to do ("resistance"). I think you may be surprised how helpful it is, it is for me right now. http://www.stevenpressfield.com/the-war-of-art/ I got the cheapest e-book version. Good luck!
  • fionadasein
    fionadasein Posts: 165 Member
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    and i second sunsetzen, it can easily become a cycle of gain and loss if we don't address the underlying reasons why we're not fully and continually committing to a new lifestyle. take it from a girl who has gained and lost hundreds of pounds. any plan, no matter how great, can only succeed with full commitment, so the question is, why are you finding loopholes in your commitment? :)
  • Fairlieboy
    Fairlieboy Posts: 84 Member
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    Hi Sunshine. Without knowing what you are eating there are some things from scientific studies.
    1. Fructose (in cane sugar, icecream, soft drinks cakes, candy) affects your appetite. Eat lots of fructose. You will be hungry.
    2. Protein and fat are better than carbs (that's sugars, wheat, rice, potatoes) at making you feel satisfied.
    These two things pretty much explain why the Atkins, Paleo, South Beach diets all work. For the first week / month / 3 months work. Then you goback to your old eating habits. And put on the weight you took off! Sound familiar?
    So suggest you actually take time to read some books or stuff so this time this journey is permanent. When you are obese, some of the normal appetite hormones are actually not working right. So some things like leptin or insulin feedback loops are not working due to insulin & leptin intolerance.
    So it will be a struggle but keep at it. MFP has lots of people who have made the journey. Do what sunset says & measure everything honestly. Knowing what you're eating gives a baseline.
    Good luck. Keep strong.
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