How to willpower

mlbrox
mlbrox Posts: 41
in Motivation and Support
Hey,
I'm sort of new here and I have a question.
I seem to have trouble telling myself no or having the willpower to stick with my healthy diet. I often crave sweet things. Once I get it in my head, I can't stop thinking about it til it's in my mouth. So, the question is, how do you have the strength to say no or choose the healthier option? How do you stop from ruining all your hard work in just one meal? I need tips and tricks and methods to follow. Any advice would be great! I really want to do this and I want to get healthy and stay healthy. Thanks! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • PatrickTrentin88
    PatrickTrentin88 Posts: 3 Member
    Hy,
    I found myself stuck in the same situation, and did not find a proper solution to it. Applying willpower is really tough and requires me to stay in vigilant mental state all the time, which it's simply not going to happen.

    Thus I decided to adopt workarounds, working on other aspects of my personality.
    - I involved other people in the process of staying fit, by sharing with them my goals and short-term plans, I exploited my need to meet other's expectation to actually change my behaviour.
    - I started collecting all kind of statistics on weight and food intakes (as well as exact price of all dishes), after a while I became fully aware of calories intake of each dish and the time/workload required to get rid of it. Since I'm a 'lazy' person who's already obsessed with minimum cost/maximum gain mindset, that was easy to induce myself to not eat in order to avoid extra exercises. This is not the healthy way to go, but for the time being it works.
    - All in all, it helped also to remove all those temptations from within my house. Strangely enough, when I'm in the shop - surrounded by other people - It's easier to maintain control and avoid purchase that stuff again.

    cheers m'lady!
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    I fit it into my day. *shrug*
  • El_Cunado
    El_Cunado Posts: 359 Member
    I fit it into my day. *shrug*

    This^^
  • cdoesthehula
    cdoesthehula Posts: 141 Member
    First, why do you want to lose weight? For me, it is having a body that works properly, and because I want to have a family. I think to succeed you have to have a goal that's about you.

    Second, is what you want to do realistic? Are you spending all your time denying yourself? You are still human, and you like what you like. A bit of anything is fine.

    If you those things are OK, just ask yourself if eating the thing you're about to overeat fit in with your goal? If it does, go ahead, if not, remember why you're doing and don't eat the thing you were about to. The cravings for anything go away after a few minutes.
  • rainrain83
    rainrain83 Posts: 82 Member
    i am the same
    but i have been leaving myself about 200 calories
    everynight and having something sweet.

    a piece of banana bread, greek yoghurt with choc chips, peanut
    butter & vanilla etc

    Experiment with a few receipes trying to make them healthier
    but that you still find hit your sweet tooth :-)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Save room in your caloric allotment for a treat everyday.
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
    I don't deprive myself- just eat a small portion of whatever I'm craving and log it and include it within my calories. I try not to do it often, but if I have a real craving I know it's better to give in to it once in a while. It does help not to buy it so it's not at home. But at work if people bring cake, cookies, etc, I will sometimes have a very small piece and include it. Yesterday Texas Roadhouse brought some hot rolls because they are promoting us using them for fundraisers. Bread is one of my biggest weaknesses. So I had one roll, no butter and logged it. Than I rode my bike for an hour. You're always going to be around fattening food no matter what, so it is good to eat a controlled amount so you can continue to do so after you reach your goal. There's nothing wrong with a treat now and then anyway. My husband always says, donuts are not bad for you, but donuts every day are.
  • cuteypolice
    cuteypolice Posts: 32 Member
    Im glad I found this thread because I just started crossfit three times a week and I find myself starving the days I workout and going way over then I feel miserable and like I worked out for no reason :(
  • hyperchase
    hyperchase Posts: 13
    You will not ruin ALL of your hard wok in just one meal. Don't beat yourself up over 1 mistake. Pick yourself up, learn from it and move on :)

    One of my favorite fitness celebreties, Shaun T, says "Eat clean 85% of the time, and FUN 15% of the time". If you don't know who Shaun T is, then look up the Insanity workouts and you'll see why I think he is awesome.

    Preparing your meals ahead of time, logging them in advance, and saving some calories for a treat really helps a lot. Being part of a group where you are accountable to others is another way to stay on track.
  • omgitscharlie
    omgitscharlie Posts: 12 Member
    Prelogging my day goes a long way to help me say 'no' to treats. If it isn't in my budget, or I know what I'm cutting later to make it fit, helps keep me on track. If I have a cookie now, but it means I can't have my icecream later, I'll skip the cookie.
  • cuteypolice
    cuteypolice Posts: 32 Member
    Thank you those are really good ideas !!! :)
  • lambchoplewis1
    lambchoplewis1 Posts: 156 Member
    Knowing that I have to face the scale in the morning helps me. I know it is controversial but, I weigh myself everyday. I know I can gain water weight of up to 3 lbs but, the trend should be going down. I lost and maintained for almost 2 years and stopped this. Slowly, the weight started to come back on. I denied that I was eating a little more here and there. I stopped logging and weighing and voila, here I am with 15 lbs to get back off.

    I pre-log and when I find I am hungry or just in the mood for something, I remember that I will have to face the scale. I love to see it go down and I don't want to have excuses for why it is going up. This works for me.
  • mlbrox
    mlbrox Posts: 41
    Thank you everyone!! You are all so helpful! I will have to try it all! Ty again!

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