Sweets, sugar, chocolate... uhgg I think I died.

When I started this journey I was homebound at 560 lbs, consuming 10,000 calories a day and totally out of control... I was ordering in 21 inch pizza's after my family left the house (several times a week) and eating my fair share and putting the rest in tupperware and hiding it in closets so I could eat it later after everyone went to bed.. Did this with little debbies swiss cakes, candy bars, etc... When I finally had that AHA moment to get a handle on things I had to practice Abstinence in the beginning, literally brought in 2 - 35 gallon trash cans empty the house of ALL trigger foods and replace with lean meats, veggies, fruit, and grains... I allowed myself 2 meals a week of discretionary food choices but both meals had to be eaten out of the house and I could only get what I could consume there and could not bring leftovers home... I then met with a therapist to work on my food addiction with the sole purpose of mentally getting to the point that I had total control of the food and that the food would no longer control me... So as I got stronger and lost weight, we introduced those foods I could not handle having around back into my diet, in moderation, slowly overtime. I gained a new perspective on my food choices and after 4 years (3 years of weight loss and 1 year of maintenance) and losing 312 lbs. There is absolutely NO Foods I deem off limits and NO Foods that control my eating behaviors. I have a set caloric intake and macro's I aim for each day and if there is something I would like then I have it. You goal is to get to a place that is sustainable for the rest of your life and one that you can adhere too. Keeping things out of your diet forever in my mind is setting your self up for failure or at the very least the endless years of Yo Yo Dieting and gaining and losing those same 30 lbs. over and over and over...... Just my 2 cents..... Best of Luck OP but if it was me, I would figure out a way to work in some chocolate if you want it..... Best of Luck

Cannot stop thinking about buying a chocolate candy bar or bag of candy... haven't gotten over craving sweet things.. not even by a little bit =(

So buy a candy bar.

If you keep trying to deny yourself a candy bar that you really want, you'll end up passed out face first into a 5-lb bag of Reese's Pieces with your face covered in runny mascara.

There's nothing wrong with a candy bar. Eat one.

"Eat one" may be the issue. Some people can't have just one. One turns into 2, then before you know it, you've eaten about ten times more than you should.

OP, you're not cravings sweets and chocolate. You don't need them, you want them. You need nutrients...eat those instead.

No. I've tried telling my body it doesn't want chocolate. It responds by making me want chocolate AND potato chips. Now I just have a little chocolate when the craving hits. I work it into my calories and that's it. No binging, no brain damage, happy body.

You know what causes people to "not have just one"? Deprivation and over-thinking. RE: The story about landing face down in a 5lb bag of Reese's Pieces.

Not everyone has the "can't eat just one" problem.

if you're actually craving chocolate you could be deficient in magnesium.

I realise not everyone has the "can't eat just one" problem. which is why I said "some people"

Well let's give people the benefit of the doubt and not assume they have an eating disorder before giving them generalized advice.

This.

How is my suggestion in any way assuming she has an eating disorder?
How is your advice any less generalized?

If you think that the slender young woman in the profile picture has difficulty in controlling herself from over-indulging, you're assuming that she's bulimic, because she obviously isn't obese.

Tl;dr? Because I actually looked at her profile pic instead of blathering crap.

I assume nothing - you cannot determine someone's relationship with food from a photo. I was merely offering an alternative suggestion to just "eat it in moderation". I didn't assume she couldn't control herself, just like you shouldn't presume she can.

You assume that she's not craving chocolate.
You told her not to eat it.
You replied the her post with "some people can't control themselves" but then suggest that you weren't talking about her.
Why would you even mention it otherwise?

Sheesh, take responsibility for your opinion instead of crawfishing back from it.

I have an opinion - that moderation is a load of crap. Most of the people on this thread are touting moderation like its easy. It's not easy, and for many people it's near impossible. If she wasn't craving it, why would she start a thread going on about how she couldn't stop thinking about buying it? Perhaps she's got a shopping addiction she's trying to recover from?

I never suggested I wasn't talking about her, I used "some people" as to not generalise, but to suggest that it's ok if she can't do moderation as "some people" can't and shouldn't unless they overcome any issues they have that leads to moderation turning in to a binge.

Last time I checked, we were all allowed an opinion, and allowed to make suggestions. The OP can take what she wants from any suggestion and work out what best suits her and her situation.

You've made me not want to post at all, if a simple suggestion I make is going to get shot back at me and I'm told I'm blathering crap.

I have an opinion - that moderation is a load of crap. Most of the people on this thread are touting moderation like its easy.

Learning to eat in moderation is not easy, but it is possible

It is amazing to me that I am able to keep chocolate and biscuits in the house, in a fairly large quantity, and I'm not tempted to eat it all at once. [...] Knowing what I was like a few years ago, it's incredible that I have so much "self-restraint".

I'm not perfect by any means, and I still struggle with my relationship with food, sometimes I struggle a lot.

I'm not saying that people should keep foods around that trigger binges, or that this kind of stuff happens overnight. It doesn't, and maybe, for some people, there are certain foods they will never be able to eat moderately.