Not wanting to track ''bad food''
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Pre logging is a good tip. I also find the more I eat healthy stuff the worse fast food tastes...I can crave my fav fast food and give in, but then I find it is not nearly as good as I thought it would be, doesn't fill me and makes me feel bad about myself. Going through that enough times I hardly ever want fast food anymore. Try to change those habbits and you might be surprised how your tastes change too.0
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The biggest thing that helps me is to avoid getting too hungry. If I allow myself to get hungry then it seems like it takes forever for me to feel full and I'll devour all "nasty" foods insight without a second thought. But if I don't allow myself to get hungry then I have much more control. Though you can't deny yourself "bad" foods all of the time, but be smart about it. Choose smaller sizes and healthier options. Also don't get the fries etc just because if it's really say the burger that you want. Maybe get the hamburger (or whatever the item that you really want) and eat that with a salad or something with low calories. Therefore you're mitigating some of the "damages" you're doing to your allowed calories for the day.
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While I think addiction is too strong of a word (habitual issue might be more appropriate), I found that the best thing I could do is say "I can have x, but I have to wait until y" sometimes it was just waiting 5 minutes, or until the next day. This was how I managed to quit smoking, and get more in control of my food intake. I find that time gives me time to think about whether I want it, or I just crave it in a more impulsive way.0
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I don't think you need to wait for a time to be right, otherwise it'll never happen. Start now and take it one day at a time. You need to find a balance between being kind to yourself and being realistic about your goals, but also taking responsibility for the things you can change.
I gained weight by binge eating/drinking to a very bad state - they are a profoundly unhelpful way of dealing with things. If speaking to a counsellor or something would be helpful and available to you, then it may be very useful for you to do so as part of you becoming physically healthier.
But you don't need to wait for a magical 'head space' that may never happen. Some of the reasons people turn to food and things like that have nothing to do with food/weight. For example, my family are, and always will be, a bag of d*cks. We worry about money as my husband stays at home to care for our son with autism. Those things are never going to go away. Whether I chose to eat a bucket of chicken alone or to instead read a book or go for a swim will make no difference to the thing that is causing stress, but there is a choice there to be made.
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I can relate! My addiction is sweets. I'm working on it. I have cut back quite a bit, but it's a process! Hang in there.0
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I was in a very similar situation. There was this awesome Chinese take out place 5 minutes from work that was cheap. I ate there 3 times a week. Every time I would get back on track I could not give up my Chinese food. Looking back I'm positive I was addicted to it. I only gave it up once I switched locations and no longer work in that town. It was horrible for weeks. I had withdraws. I even drove 45 minutes on my off day to eat there and 45 minutes back. That was the last time I ate Chinese food.
You can give it up if you are really determined but I would suggest completely cutting it out of your life for several months to break the habit and addiction. Then maybe try finding something you can work into your calorie limit that you can have as a treat from time to time. Just keep in mind, it may send you right back into your addiction. You won't really know until you try.
Stay strong!!! Believe in yourself!!!0 -
Honestly? Reading horror stories about your fast food chain of choice really helps if you want to make it seem less appetising to you. Bang it into google and you'll soon want to go less. I had to do that with McDonalds. It wasn't that I was addicted to McD's, but every time I was out with my friends we always seemed to end up there, and when you're in there the smell of it cooking is kinda tempting. Deliberately made myself go off it so that I'd just order a coffee or something when I went in with my mates.0
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lookitsnicky wrote: »Honestly? Reading horror stories about your fast food chain of choice really helps if you want to make it seem less appetising to you. Bang it into google and you'll soon want to go less. I had to do that with McDonalds. It wasn't that I was addicted to McD's, but every time I was out with my friends we always seemed to end up there, and when you're in there the smell of it cooking is kinda tempting. Deliberately made myself go off it so that I'd just order a coffee or something when I went in with my mates.
Unfortunately, I accidentily came across a news article about worms in sushi. This person had sushi at a bad place, and they took xrays of his body, and there were worms all through his chest. I don't think I will ever be able to eat sushi again, which is unfortunate because it is healthier than the other stuff, and so delicious!0 -
Go cold turkey until you can handle yourself better. I haven't had mozzarella sticks in a whole year because I'm powerless against them.0
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I love the greasy, salty fast food places -- all of 'em. I know I can "work it into my day", but right now, the calories aren't worth it. For example, Saturday I will be taking my daughter shopping, & I know we're going to have lunch at the food court. We're probably going to Wendy's, because it's the best choice available (outside of Panera, & she'll prefer Wendy's). I could get a Jr. Hamburger for 250 calories, an Apple Pecan Chicken salad for 350 calories, a Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe for 350 calories or a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger for 390 calories. I'm getting the salad--it takes much longer to eat (any of those burgers would be gone in 3 minutes if I restrain myself), and it takes a while for me to feel full. I wouldn't be satisfied with the small serving, so I get the larger volume healthier serving.
That's the main reason I avoid those places -- I could easily eat a full days worth of calories in the time it will take me to eat the salad. Also, we're having dinner @ my mom's, & while she knows what I am doing, I'm not sure exactly what she will cook, so I want to leave calories for that available.
It's all about choices0 -
It's all about choices and personal motivation. I used to say I was addicted to food as well and that I just couldn't get control of it. We would eat out several times a weekLooking back now I realize that I just didn't want it enough. I wanted the food more at that point in time. I think sometimes we need to get in the right mindset to know that we have more control than we realize. And as others have saidYou can still have the foods you love. Just watch your portions and fit them into your calories.0
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OP you have gotten mostly really good advice here. Just to reiterate a few things..
You can continue to eat fast food and lose weight. Many people commenting on this very thread have done so and lost 30, 50, even 100 lbs or more.
You seem to think that this has to be an all or nothing thing - based on your comments about "bad food" and "not in the right headspace to do this". Make small changes and you will start to see small results. You'll likely be motivated by the success and make more small changes. Before you know it, you will have what we call a "lifestyle change" and not a "diet". Some of those small changes might be: ordering water instead of pepsi max. Getting the potatoes but forgoing the gravy. Asking if they can make hawaiian chicken sandwich instead of hawaiian burger. Getting a salad instead of fries. Again - not all of these changes at once - pick one of those at a time.
Logging consistency is key. Whether you have a "good" day or a "bad" day - log it. Sometimes putting it in your diary, you may realize it isn't as bad as you think. If you don't log it, you may be tempted to say, "oh what the heck, I already blew it, might as well add in dessert or give up altogether". By logging it, and seeing that you are 500 cals over, or 1000 cals over, or whatever the number is, you can then try to find ways to make up for that the rest of the week - additional exercise (even walking) or cutting a couple hundred cals from your daily deficit in the subsequent days.
Good luck!
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I love the greasy, salty fast food places -- all of 'em. I know I can "work it into my day", but right now, the calories aren't worth it. For example, Saturday I will be taking my daughter shopping, & I know we're going to have lunch at the food court. We're probably going to Wendy's, because it's the best choice available (outside of Panera, & she'll prefer Wendy's). I could get a Jr. Hamburger for 250 calories, an Apple Pecan Chicken salad for 350 calories, a Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe for 350 calories or a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger for 390 calories. I'm getting the salad--it takes much longer to eat (any of those burgers would be gone in 3 minutes if I restrain myself), and it takes a while for me to feel full. I wouldn't be satisfied with the small serving, so I get the larger volume healthier serving.
That's the main reason I avoid those places -- I could easily eat a full days worth of calories in the time it will take me to eat the salad. Also, we're having dinner @ my mom's, & while she knows what I am doing, I'm not sure exactly what she will cook, so I want to leave calories for that available.
It's all about choices
It's a food court. Why can't you both get what you want? When I go to the mall with my young children and they want pizza and I want chik fil a, we go get theirs first because they don't care if it gets cold and then we go get mine. And then we get a pretzel!
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I don't even think I'm ready to lose weight, I'm not in the right head space. Every day is a battle.
So, maybe don't try to lose weight right now....Why not start with a simple promise to start logging both your food consumption and exercise fearlessly and honestly, and journal about how your body and mind feel each day. After a few weeks, look back at your food diary and the reports MFP will show you about your caloric and macronutrient intake. Read over your journal entries and evaluate how you felt each day...were you sluggish? Did you feel weak or tired? Or did you feel energized or motivated? Did you feel too tired to go for a brisk walk, or inspired to take an extra turn around the block? The self-knowledge you gain from this exercise will help you be truly ready to face challenges and make decisions if or when you do choose to reduce.
Once you're in the habit of logging, evaluate how you feel about cutting out the fast food. Maybe give it up for Lent? Or limit yourself to 2 fast food meals a week?
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OP, I would strongly encourage you to take the advice of those here who have been at this for a while AND have been successful. I would think twice about the advice from people who are as new to this as you are. And if you want to know who has been successful, look at their profile. Ultimately, YOU have to do the work. Good luck!!!!!!!!!0
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I don't even think I'm ready to lose weight, I'm not in the right head space. Every day is a battle.
So, maybe don't try to lose weight right now....Why not start with a simple promise to start logging both your food consumption and exercise fearlessly and honestly, and journal about how your body and mind feel each day. After a few weeks, look back at your food diary and the reports MFP will show you about your caloric and macronutrient intake. Read over your journal entries and evaluate how you felt each day...were you sluggish? Did you feel weak or tired? Or did you feel energized or motivated? Did you feel too tired to go for a brisk walk, or inspired to take an extra turn around the block? The self-knowledge you gain from this exercise will help you be truly ready to face challenges and make decisions if or when you do choose to reduce.
Once you're in the habit of logging, evaluate how you feel about cutting out the fast food. Maybe give it up for Lent? Or limit yourself to 2 fast food meals a week?
This is great advice if you don't feel ready to lose weight. Just be honest with yourself about what you are eating and how it makes you feel. If you find that having a public diary makes you omit things, then make your diary private.
One more thing: you write that "every day is a battle." What are you battling, and is your penchant for fast food the thing itself, or a symptom of it? You don't need to tell us your answer to that question, but you need to figure it out for yourself.
Good luck!0 -
Over the last few days, I have been eating really badly.
When I know something is really bad like KFC or Burger King, I want to eat what I would usually eat there, and I know that will set me over my allowed calories for the day. It would probably be ok if it was only once a week or less, but my habit has been to eat fast food 4-5 times a week.
I think I have an addiction.
How can I manage this? Should I go cold turkey?
If it is going to put you over your calories, yeah, it's going to interfere with your goals. My advice:
1. PLAN WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO EAT.
Seriously, no kidding, I have no idea how people who don't plan some large percentage of their meals stick to their diets. (I am sure plenty do, but I am totally not one of them!) If I have not planned a meal, chances are very good that I will spontaneously decide to have something while hungry I would not have chosen when thinking rationally after a meal.
2. If you are going to be out, PACK A MEAL.
Clearly, you're not ordering kids' meals at these places, so stay out of 'em for awhile. (A happy meal has about the right amount of calories for a meal for me) I have a hobby of making these cute lunches in little Japanese boxes. A very diet-friendly hobby that brings me to my next point.
3. Make sure you're looking forward to some part of the meal!
Have at least some bit of it be something you really like, or pay attention to presentation, or eat in circumstances that are pleasant that you are looking forward to. (Or all three).
Will it break your love of fast food? Probably not. (Hey, I really enjoy McDonald's. I admit it) But it does get you out of the place and fueling your body with things that are more in harmony with your goals.
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There was a time when my choice was eat what is in front of me every time... but i knew the new year was coming. ... and I told myself that I was going to be good. Which lasted a few days before I skewed from my path... but you know what... it's a LIVET not a DIET, it was my husbands birthday and now it's not and I'm back.
I actually eat better out, than in. There are almost always 500 or less choices at restaurants; and truth be told... they're pretty good!
A waitress is a great person, you ask for things and they bring them. Another choice, pick the higher calorie plate... sometimes... and remove the high calories stuff off of it. For instance, I go to Applebees... they have a great grilled chicken plate, except it lays on a bunch of long lenght chips; I ask the waitress to leave that off and the plate calories go way down.
My motto... just keep swimming. Good Luck!!0 -
prattiger65 wrote: »One thing that may help is stop thinking of food in good/bad or healthy/unhealthy terms. There are no bad foods. You didn't get fat eating bad food, you got fat eating too much food. Eat foods you love in smaller portions with an eye towards balance. Don't over think it.
Rock On!0 -
Tracking will stop you or slow you down. It did me.
I went to Taco Bell one day and ordered my usual. Got home ate it and went to track it. That entire meal was the amount of 80% of my calorie limit. I was stunned.
After that no more. The only fast food I get is like a happy meal. I think a cheese burger one with apple slices and a diet drink is just 420. So I do that maybe once a month.0 -
MFP is an information tool, and it works best if you put all the information in; good, bad, and ugly. Sometimes I have just put in an estimated calorie count (say, 1,000 or 1,500 calories) after I have mindlessly eaten over my allotment (my old habits).
It will be useful for you to see what an impact four or five burger meals a week does to your overall calorie count and weight goals. It might help you look at the burgers with some healthy suspicion. Is it really worth it?
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/halting-a-binge-session-7151310 -
If you really feel like you cannot control this, Overeaters Anonymous has some good resources: http://www.oa.org/
However, if you saw that link and thought that it was an overreaction, then it's up to you to suck it up and deal.
Either this is a serious problem that you need help to correct, or it's an issue that's within your control and you are choosing not to control it. People here have given you wonderful tools to help you control it (prelogging, fitting it into your day, staying away completely for awhile if you need to). It's up to you to decide which category you fall into and take the necessary steps to address this.0 -
Whether you are or aren't addicted isn't the big issue. It's a stupid, little issue. My advice is the same advice whether you are or are not addicted.
Cut that crap out. Just don't get the Burger King. Know the power of the onion ring, but decide that you can be stronger than it can. Don't go. If you want to obsess about missing it, do that. But do it while you're in the grocery store, selecting veggies. Do it while you're cooking those veggies in a way you haven't before, to see how you like them that way. Do it after you've eaten a yummy meal (or maybe, occasionally, a not-so-yummy one.).
Decide that you're going to lose weight and just say, "Onion ring, I know you are good and will provide me with all those things you're promising, but you aren't part of my plan right now and I will not be allowing you in my stomach right now."
Break up with the fast food. Do it all at once, quickly and For Sure. No wavering. Just get it over with.
You'll both be better off in the end.
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forget willpower. that's fleeting. it's creating a habit. self discipline. woman up.0
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That's easy since there are no BAD foods... Just track everything you eat.
Why do we keep trying to make our food behave instead of enjoying the bounty from the Lord and making ourselves behave?0 -
Hubby and I eat out a lot. But we've slowly cut down. One tradition we don't break is Quizno's Thursdays. We are on first name basis with the staff, and we were once celebrated like heroes after we returned from a two year hiatus.
But I own it, track it, fit it in.
A quick and easy way to portion fast food meals besides cutting the fries, is to cut the meal exactly in half.0 -
If you really want it, burn off the calories before you eat it. After an hour (or two or three or four) in the gym see if you really want to blow all that hard work with a crummy mcdouble0
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Haven't read the thread yet, but have you looked into CBT or mindfulness approaches to food? It requires a lot of head work, but that's your problem. You can't be addicted to food the way someone can be addicted to nicotine or heroin, but psychological addictions are pretty strong. Until you work on your mental/emotional relationship to food, you're going to be stuck. IMO, you can't white knuckle your way through it. Stop. Read. Think. Talk. Think some more.0
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And if you're not willing to burn the calories before you eat it, you sure as heck won't be afterwards, so don't kid yourself.0
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