Not wanting to track ''bad food''

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.

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.

forget willpower. that's fleeting. it's creating a habit. self discipline. woman up.

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.

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.

I am nowhere near perfect, but I log it and try to plan for it. I love love love crap food but you need to make a decision - do I want to be healthier, or do I want to eat this crap? Some days, you say, "Dammit, I want to be healthier!" Others... well, it's fried pickles and a couple pints of beer.

I also find pre-logging my meals (especially dinner) helps me to not eat bad foods and stay within my calorie intake. I usually "eat out" once a week, mostly on weekends when I'm out running errands. One bad meal won't stop you in your tracks. That's why we have cheat meals. If you could figure out a way to eat something bad only once a week, or possibly look into the nutritional facts somewhere you know you're going to eat at and choose something lower in calories/fat before you even arrive, you'll feel much better. Good options are grilled chicken sandwiches without cheese, mayo, or any kinda special sauces (like big mac sauce). Pile it up with veggies. Some places offer whole grain buns as well. Just the sandwich.... no need to splurge on the fries. Try some apple slices instead. If you MUST have a burger (we all have those cravings), choose a smaller burger. If you're at BK, don't go all out and get that double whopper with cheese. Just a simple bacon cheeseburger is only 290 calories and only 13 grams of fat vs. the double whopper at a whopping 900 calories and 56 grams of fat (that doesn't even include cheese)! Do your research You can have your cake and eat it too long as you stay within reason.

A lot of people on the thread are talking about willpower. That's kind of what I meant when I used the term "white knuckle." When I think of willpower I imagine having an internal argument with myself, where the willpower is the little angel on my shoulder saying saying "NO, don't eat that!" and the little devil is on the other shoulder saying "YES, you know you want it!" In my case, sometimes the angel wins, but more often it loses.

CBT/mindfulness teaches you to approach your relationship to food without judgment, and to take your time and really think about what you're eating and why. Your internal dialogue is more like "You really want to eat this X, but do you know why you want it? You're not really that hungry...you just had lunch an hour ago. You've been counting your calories all day and you know that X will put you over your limit. If you get it, you'll feel bad about yourself. Maybe you just want it because you're frustrated about what happened at work today. Maybe if you skip X this time and have the healthy dinner you planned instead, you'll feel better about yourself at the end of the day. If you really want X, maybe you can plan ahead and have a small serving of it tomorrow."

I don't know if this sounds totally hokey and ridiculous. If it does, feel free to shut me up. It does work for me most of the time, though.

I agree with those who say that you need to decide what you want more - the weight loss or the food. But...that approach is easier said than done for those who struggle with certain compulsions. Scientifically there is no chemical dependency to food, but there are compulsions towards certain behaviors, and it's more to it mentally than just "you lack willpower."

Part of the mental shift is really giving some thought to why you choose to eat these foods in an uncontrolled fashion. Why is it that even though you want to lose weight, you're willing to sabotage your weight loss with uncontrolled eating of certain foods? I did this myself, and I had to take a really good look at myself and the "why" of my actions to make a real change.

In the short term, though, my thought is to log the fast food anyway and log it. Then see what you are eating and then decide ways to work around it. Slow change is easier to sustain and build upon than trying to cut everything out right away. For example, if I want McDonalds down the street from my house, I need to figure out what I'm really wanting most from that establishment - is it the fries, or the burger, or the chicken sandwich? Then instead of getting the whole meal, I get exactly what it is I want or I cut down on the portion - such as just getting a burger, or adding in a small fry instead of a medium or large, then work my calories for the day around it. That way I don't feel deprived, but I haven't screwed myself over on my calorie counts. Then as you require fewer calories, you can work on substituting for other foods, or even eating healthier alternatives at home. I hope this helps.

Your not addicted.

An addiction results in withdrawals, like sweating and even worse
A bad addiction will make you even wanting to steal to get what you want.

Its willpower that will keep you away from those places.

I like junk food too. But just dont eat it. Its that simple
And when i want to eat it...and i will and do sometimes, than i control my portions. It must fit in my calorie allowance for that day.

So when i go out for dinner, like i know coming Sunday, i pre-plan my day so the dinner out will fit into my calorie allowance.

There is no good or bad food. There is only the lack of control that makes us go "off the road"


I told myself "grow up" and say no when needed.
Works perfect for me.