"All in moderation."

Lot's of great tips on this thread.

It's definitely been a difficult process of learning how to balance mindset and action. My mind goes through all sorts of justifications once a craving sets in. I have to do planning ahead when I know trigger foods will be around in order to eat them in moderation. Sometimes I find it easier to just abstain altogether, sometimes I'm easily able to eat a small amount of something without overindulging. It's been a journey of getting to know my body and my emotions well enough to recognize what's best for me at any given time. It takes a lot of practice-- I keep looking for that all-or-nothing answer to my problem; but I'm finding that what it really takes is learning how to be very conscientious on a daily basis.

It's great to have support and accountability along the way :-) Good luck-- I wish you the best on moving forward with this:drinker:

I know it works for a lot of people. Some may have more self control than others though, I don't.

How the f do you train yourself to have everything in moderation?

I tried this, I bought a loaf of bread which is my ultimate weakness. I told myself I could have some tomorrow or one slice a day. That didn't work. As soon as I got a whiff of that amazing dates and walnut bread, I just had to have it. I had one slice which turned into 2 then it became 5. I could've eaten the whole loaf if I didn't stop myself.

How did you go about having your favorite things "in moderation"?

It's truly a mental thing. For instance if you ABSOLUTELY knew that eating a second slice would leave you sitting on the john for 2 days straight, would you be really willing to risk eating that 2nd slice? Probably not. So why is it so hard right now? Because the consequence of you eating those extra slices aren't "threatening" enough to you to stop. In other words, you're not truly convinced enough that weight loss is that important to you if you're eating that 2nd, 3rd, and 5th slice. Change your mindset, and the rest gets easier.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Absolutely agree with this. I read the books Brain Over Binge and Rational Recovery and it was all about how to overcome addiction [to food]. Applying the tools in these books helped me understand what is rational and what isn't. There may be triggers that give you an urge to overeat, but "simply" (I overate for 20 years so I know it doesn't seem simple... but it is) not acting on the urge when you are not hungry. I am still recovering but it makes so much sense now.

You have to want to lose weight bad enough that you are willing to kick the binging habit.

QFT