I miss food

Alcoholics and gamblers CHOOSE to indulge. It has been shown that, given enough incentive (monetary in one study), an alcoholic can abstain just fine.

Any addict chooses to indulge.

It's not the same. Alcoholics can live without drinking alcohol. Food addicts can't live without food.

And gambling addicts can live without gambling. What's your point?

I'm saddened that you aren't ready to try yet.

You must have missed this:

Maillemaker, can you just avoid having those foods in the house and if you must indulge in those foods, make a special trip just for them (and don't buy the jumbo size container). For example, if don't have a giant bag of M&M's sitting around the house, you don't have the option of eating an entire bag of M&M's unless you get in the car, drive to the grocery, and buy a large bag of M&M's first. To that end, just buying a smaller bag and treating yourself to those if you have to indulge may be the way to go. I suspect it will be a lot easier to resist eating more of a particular food if you have to drive out and buy more of that food first, versus putting the giant bag of M&M's back in the cupboard.

It's one thing to say you are giving up Oreos entirely (although personally I'm not convinced that's the worst thing you could do, but that's a different discussion), but even if you eat them in moderation, I wouldn't advocate stockpiling them in your house if you know you have a problem with them.

That's how I succeeded over the first 5 months. Halloween rolled into Thanksgiving rolled into Christmas and I just blew it. I've gained back 21 of the 30 pound I lost.

I'm just waiting for an effective appetite suppressant to finally come along.

I was at 2300 when I was 215 and I was losing more than a half pound a week. I was also not starving and cold.

You must be doing a lot of exercise then.

You being cold means you are not eating enough. It is common for people doing IF to feel cold during a fast, but it shouldn't be something you notice when doing a reasonable calorie deficit.

I was following the MFP guidelines for a target of 2-pounds per week. Over 213 days I lost 30 pounds, or an average of 1 pound per week.

This seems reasonable to me. I think if I ate much more than that I would be at maintenance.

So, MFP says that your needed calories not including exercise would be 2690 and it is subtracting 1,000 calories for you to lose 2 pounds per week.

Yes, I think that is too low. I went to the Scooby calculator and this is what a person your age/size comes out to with light exercise:

BMR 2432 (the amount you would be fed if you were in a coma)
TDEE 3344 (the amount where you would maintain weight)
20% cut 2675

Of course if you exercise more than "light" it would be more than that. Right now you are at a 50% cut. This is really unhealthy, unless under the direction of a doctor.

15-20% below maintenance calories = conservative deficit
20-25% below maintenance calories = moderate deficit
25-30% below maintenance calories = aggressive deficit
31-40% below maintenance calories = very aggressive deficit (risky)
50%+ below maintenance calories = semi starvation/starvation (potentially dangerous and unhealthy if not medically supervised)

Maillemaker, can you just avoid having those foods in the house and if you must indulge in those foods, make a special trip just for them (and don't buy the jumbo size container). For example, if don't have a giant bag of M&M's sitting around the house, you don't have the option of eating an entire bag of M&M's unless you get in the car, drive to the grocery, and buy a large bag of M&M's first. To that end, just buying a smaller bag and treating yourself to those if you have to indulge may be the way to go. I suspect it will be a lot easier to resist eating more of a particular food if you have to drive out and buy more of that food first, versus putting the giant bag of M&M's back in the cupboard.

It's one thing to say you are giving up Oreos entirely (although personally I'm not convinced that's the worst thing you could do, but that's a different discussion), but even if you eat them in moderation, I wouldn't advocate stockpiling them in your house if you know you have a problem with them.

That's how I succeeded over the first 5 months. Halloween rolled into Thanksgiving rolled into Christmas and I just blew it. I've gained back 21 of the 30 pound I lost.

I'm just waiting for an effective appetite suppressant to finally come along.

Or start logging again... you are on here, spending a lot of time on this thread. If logging what you ate helped keep you on track, then why not spend your time on MFP logging what you've eaten the last day, 2 days, 3 days, as far back as you remember...

Or continue with the self fulfilling prophecy of believing you will fail...

Wow this thread has now turned into excuse central Whatever happened to willpower and personal responsibility. What a sad and tragic thread. Stop making excuses and do something about it if you cant control your food intake go and see a health professional that can help you.

I don't believe any professional can give you willpower. You've got to come up with it on your own. Over 90% of the people who try to lose weight don't have the willpower to do it long term.

Will power is over-rated.

What you need is a working plan and a commitment to develop some sustaining habits so all this isn't so much EFFORT.

You also might try reading the book "The Will Power Instinct"

http://www.amazon.com/Willpower-Instinct-Self-Control-Works-Matters-ebook/dp/B005ERIRZE

Wow this thread has now turned into excuse central Whatever happened to willpower and personal responsibility. What a sad and tragic thread. Stop making excuses and do something about it if you cant control your food intake go and see a health professional that can help you.

I don't believe any professional can give you willpower. You've got to come up with it on your own. Over 90% of the people who try to lose weight don't have the willpower to do it long term.

'Addicts' do what they do to soothe themselves and reduce psychological pain. It has nothing to do with 'learning' will power and everything to do with figuring out why you are self medicating with food. :flowerforyou:

This topic has made me so angry. I don't wish to sit here and reply to every single uninformed post about "just have one! Moderation!"

I have binge eating disorder. I have specific trigger foods that I WILL binge on if I have one. I avoid these foods, or only eat them on designated cheat days. This is the reason I have bounced up and down in weight my whole life. I know that I can't be trusted to buy a large bag of chips and eat it one serving at a time, so if I want chips I buy a single serving bag. I have amazing willpower when it comes to sticking to a plan, but I also have a mental disorder that tells me "it's okay to eat this just now, do it now, just do it now, if you eat it right now it's okay, don't tell anyone", which is similar to feelings drug addicts or alcoholics have. So I don't eat fast food. I don't buy chips (or I make my own tortilla chips out of baked cut up tortillas and only make 8), I don't buy large containers of ice cream, etc. etc.

Not everyone can eat one chocolate and stop, and telling people like me (and maillemaker from what I've gathered from his responses in this thread) that they can because YOU can is ignorant as hell.

This topic has made me so angry. I don't wish to sit here and reply to every single uninformed post about "just have one! Moderation!"

I have binge eating disorder. I have specific trigger foods that I WILL binge on if I have one. I avoid these foods, or only eat them on designated cheat days. This is the reason I have bounced up and down in weight my whole life. I know that I can't be trusted to buy a large bag of chips and eat it one serving at a time, so if I want chips I buy a single serving bag. I have amazing willpower when it comes to sticking to a plan, but I also have a mental disorder that tells me "it's okay to eat this just now, do it now, just do it now, if you eat it right now it's okay, don't tell anyone", which is similar to feelings drug addicts or alcoholics have. So I don't eat fast food. I don't buy chips (or I make my own tortilla chips out of baked cut up tortillas and only make 8), I don't buy large containers of ice cream, etc. etc.

Not everyone can eat one chocolate and stop, and telling people like me (and maillemaker from what I've gathered from his responses in this thread) that they can because YOU can is ignorant as hell.

It sounds like you have learned ways to cope, getting a single serving bag, etc. There are certain things I used to avoid because I couldn't stop eating. I am now to the point where I can enjoy a little and not go overboard.

My point with maillemaker, and the OP, is they are restricting their calories too much. I believe that this is likely the cause of the binges in their case.

Treat yourself on exercise days.

Most people find eating pleasurable, but when you can't control yourself, as you are stating, there is more than food pleasure being derived. The fact that you are willing to continually do to excess, despite the consequences shows that you need help, you need help redirecting and programming the way you think and feel about food.

Even if this were true, I don't believe anyone can help you with this kind of thing.

Most people find eating pleasurable, but when you can't control yourself, as you are stating, there is more than food pleasure being derived. The fact that you are willing to continually do to excess, despite the consequences shows that you need help, you need help redirecting and programming the way you think and feel about food.

Even if this were true, I don't believe anyone can help you with this kind of thing.

This is what therapy is for. It is about finding ways to reprogram your brain to work for you. It works if you put the time in. It is hard but the end result is a brain you nolonger have to fight on a daily basis.

I hope you consider it. Being a prisoner of your mind is hell, and unnecessary.:flowerforyou:

Thanks, levitateme!

I have gone back and logged my last 3 days as best I remember.

And did you have any observations when you looked back at the last three days? I looked at your diary. I have a couple of observations. And no, I'm not going to tell you not to go to Five Guys, because Cajun Fries are AWESOME.

One day you were over by 2,000 calories. Another day 800. Today you are over but by 90 calories. You said you have MFP set up for 2 lbs weight loss/week which is 1000 calorie deficit from your non exercise TDEE. (I think there is still some debate about if your calorie goal is reasonable for a person of your size and your goals but...) That means in the course of a week, you have 7,000 calories to use before you start exceeding your maintenance calories. You aren't even half way to that point. If you look at how far you are over at this point in the week, and make smarter choices for the next 4 days, you can not go any further into the red or even gain some of that back by coming in under your calories. If you just meet goal for the next few days, and don't go any further, then you should still lose a pound this week. But if you say, forget it, I've already blown it, might as well continue my quest to finish off those Moose Tracks, then you will not lose that pound and possibly even gain more.

You have two beautiful little girls in your profile picture and you mention how much they mean to you. What would you say to them if they said they can't do something, there is no point in trying, because it is just too hard and they are going to fail anyway?

And did you have any observations when you looked back at the last three days? I looked at your diary. I have a couple of observations. And no, I'm not going to tell you not to go to Five Guys, because Cajun Fries are AWESOME.

One day you were over by 2,000 calories. Another day 800. Today you are over but by 90 calories. You said you have MFP set up for 2 lbs weight loss/week which is 1000 calorie deficit from your non exercise TDEE. (I think there is still some debate about if your calorie goal is reasonable for a person of your size and your goals but...) That means in the course of a week, you have 7,000 calories to use before you start exceeding your maintenance calories. You aren't even half way to that point. If you look at how far you are over at this point in the week, and make smarter choices for the next 4 days, you can not go any further into the red or even gain some of that back by coming in under your calories. If you just meet goal for the next few days, and don't go any further, then you should still lose a pound this week. But if you say, forget it, I've already blown it, might as well continue my quest to finish off those Moose Tracks, then you will not lose that pound and possibly even gain more.

You have two beautiful little girls in your profile picture and you mention how much they mean to you. What would you say to them if they said they can't do something, there is no point in trying, because it is just too hard and they are going to fail anyway?

All of this is completely rational and correct. I have told people the same thing myself - the thing about "blowing it" is that if you blow it typically even if you "blow it" back up to maintenance and get back on the horse again no big harm is done.

I simply have lacked the willpower to get back on the horse since October 31st.

And did you have any observations when you looked back at the last three days? I looked at your diary. I have a couple of observations. And no, I'm not going to tell you not to go to Five Guys, because Cajun Fries are AWESOME.

One day you were over by 2,000 calories. Another day 800. Today you are over but by 90 calories. You said you have MFP set up for 2 lbs weight loss/week which is 1000 calorie deficit from your non exercise TDEE. (I think there is still some debate about if your calorie goal is reasonable for a person of your size and your goals but...) That means in the course of a week, you have 7,000 calories to use before you start exceeding your maintenance calories. You aren't even half way to that point. If you look at how far you are over at this point in the week, and make smarter choices for the next 4 days, you can not go any further into the red or even gain some of that back by coming in under your calories. If you just meet goal for the next few days, and don't go any further, then you should still lose a pound this week. But if you say, forget it, I've already blown it, might as well continue my quest to finish off those Moose Tracks, then you will not lose that pound and possibly even gain more.

You have two beautiful little girls in your profile picture and you mention how much they mean to you. What would you say to them if they said they can't do something, there is no point in trying, because it is just too hard and they are going to fail anyway?

All of this is completely rational and correct. I have told people the same thing myself - the thing about "blowing it" is that if you blow it typically even if you "blow it" back up to maintenance and get back on the horse again no big harm is done.

I simply have lacked the willpower to get back on the horse since October 31st.

It kind of seems like the horse is right in front of you, ready to ride. You even have a whole group of people here on this thread who want to give you that initial boost up into the saddle. Its been a long time since I have ridden a horse but I think you can expect to be sore for the next few days but once you get used to it you will enjoy the ride!