Getting used to eating "Fear foods"

I fear buffets, from restaurants to potlucks. I have to plan in advance: I'm only going to take 1/2 cup of rice. No breads (that includes no naan, no pita, no tortilla). I'll take about 4 oz of meat, 1 cup of this veggie, 1 cup of that veggie, 1/2 cup of beans (maybe), sauces and condiments counted by the spoonful. I try to do it quietly so others don't notice and make a big deal out of my dietary changes.

I really fear pasta and pizza, which I love. I've almost given them up entirely since I've been counting calories on MFP. I had a terrible craving, so I made my own spaghetti and meatballs at home. Carefully measured out my portion, which was quite a bit less than I was used to eating. Also included a healthy salad (romaine, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion) to provide additional nutrition and fill me up. I felt really frustrated and still went way over my calorie goal on that day. So I haven't made any pasta dishes since.

I've relatively new (joined about 6 weeks ago). Don't know what the answer to "fear foods" is, but this is an interesting thread.

Listen to yourself and be honest.

There is no "need" to eat any specific dish. If you know that you have certain trigger foods that launch of a binge, it's fine avoiding them until you get to a point where you can have them under control. It's such bad advice to tell somebody who has binging issues to just "eat in moderation". If it were that simple they wouldn't be asking the question, or having "fear foods" to begin with.

I accepted long ago that ice cream was never going to be something I would be eating in "moderation". I use to be "afraid" of it, and most sweets. Those days are over, not because I learned to have a little each day, but because I have more then enough deficit built into my IFing lifestyle that I can have a couple days a month where I eat as much ice cream as I damn well please, and still lose.

But I restricted sweets for years back in the day when I was weak and eating every sweet in sight. I gained back the 70lbs I lost, plus an additional 70, from losing control for years. The ONLY thing that got me on track was time and restricting sweets until I was a stronger person, in a different mind set.

There is no hurry to eat shepherd's pie, or whatever else. Take your time. There is NO rush in reintroducing any food. Be realistic about your weaknesses and don't listen to anybody who doesn't understand what YOUR issues are.

I'm apprehensive eating pretty much anything that I haven't prepared myself. Most recipes I make I can accurately figure out with help of the recipe builder, but I get a little twitchy when someone else cooks for me. I'm working on getting over this, its hard to let go of that control sometimes. But I realize its part of real life and I need to adapt to it.

This is my issue too, I am fine with what I make normally, and try to eat what I want for the most part, about 80% of what I eat is pretty darn healthy I think (atleast compared to what I used to eat ) But I get a lil nervous when I eat what someone else prepared... especially when I have dinner at my parents, my dad is not health conscious at all lol.