Does it ever get really easy?

Mairgheal · May 2011

I've been on MFP since mid January and I've done great, lost 10kgs/23lbs and a dress size. Love the plan, it obviously works, for me anyway.

But, it's 4 months later now and I still find it hard not to give in to massive binges. I still miss pizza, cakes, sweets. I eat them, don't get me wrong, but usually in moderation (blegh, I hate that word), while really, I want to eat a big fat whole 1200 cals pizza and a family size pack M&Ms. I don't do it, but I still miss it.

Will I ever get to the stage that I don't want crappy junk food anymore, will those cravings ever leave my system?

greeneyed84 · May 2011

I started mid-january as well and i do not think it will get any easier. I know i will always have a struggle with food but i will fight until i die!!!!

amaried621 · May 2011

You and I are at the same place. I've lost 24lbs since January and still eat some of the same foods, just a lot less of them. Plus I exercise now. Sometimes I want to just dive in and eat a huge plate of pasta and half a pizza like I used to. Maybe putting it into perspective of 'doing that is how I got to 170lbs'. I used to say that I'd rather be a little fat and happy than skinny and miserable. Boy did I know nothing! I can still eat the food that I love, lose weight, feel great, and be happy. Some of us just aren't lucky enough to have a super high metabolism and eat as much of whatever we want and not gain any weight. For us, we have to watch what we eat and how much we eat for the rest of our lives. I don't expect the cravings to ever go away, it's just getting stronger and stronger to fight them. That's why I feel it is so important to still eat some of the things we used to, that way we won't go crazy one day!

Purple_Orchid_87 · May 2011

i am only 7 weeks in and ther have been times ive woken up and actually WANTED salad which is a first for me

i really want bad food too, but i have to be tough on myself

i dont wrap everything in pink fluffy candyfloss (cotton candy) for myself and i have put excess pressure on myself for most of my life but my eating habits are something that i know i need to be tough on

not sure if those cravings will ever disappear, but i do believe they deminish - all depends how strong you are

i gave up smoking almost 7 years ago, i still crave cigarettes if i smell smoke, but i have the willpower to not walk into the shop and buy a packet - now i am battling my willpower to now walk into a chinese, or to stay off the pints when out with friends and to stick to spirits and diet mixers

tajjbell · May 2011

I've been at it since last July and have lost over 40 lbs. It hasn't exactly gotten easier for me over time, but it has become more of a habit to make better food choices. Exercise has definitely become more of a habit and I feel yucky when I skip a workout... and when I eat junk too. It's like my body really likes the healthy choices and gives me a wake up call when I stray from it. I've decided the trick is similar to those in AA... I just take it one day at a time and make the best choices I can each day. One day won't reverse my success unless I let it drag me back down. Hang in there, you're doing great!!

EDesq · May 2011

I've been on MFP since mid January and I've done great, lost 10kgs/23lbs and a dress size. Love the plan, it obviously works, for me anyway.

But, it's 4 months later now and I still find it hard not to give in to massive binges. I still miss pizza, cakes, sweets. I eat them, don't get me wrong, but usually in moderation (blegh, I hate that word), while really, I want to eat a big fat whole 1200 cals pizza and a family size pack M&Ms. I don't do it, but I still miss it.

Will I ever get to the stage that I don't want crappy junk food anymore, will those cravings ever leave my system?

NO...and that is typical for MOST people, skinny or fat. WE ALL have problems managing the foods we love to eat, but those who keep their weight under control have a Far Reaching Motivation (Vanity, Health, Career...) that "trumps" food for that moment. NOW, I get It, but it took going to hell and back! TRUST Me, you will need to manage your weight/food all of your Life, If you want a Life!

aflane · May 2011

I started in early January, and have come quite a way now in my weight loss. Unlike a lot of people on this site, I see nothing wrong with a LITTLE bit of an indulgence food. Do I eat full servings? No. Do I weigh, measure and log every bite? Yes. Do I feel like I'm missing anything.... not really. I'm convinced (for me, at least) that by allowing myself slowly eaten tastes of things, I'm not lacking in anything. Due to this philosophy, I haven't exceeded my daily caloric limits once in over 4 months. Nor have I gone on a binge.

AquaAura · May 2011

The only way I got rid of my cravings was to do a complete detox. I followed Dr Joshi's holistic detox programme. I was the biggest binger out there, lived on soda and could eat junk everyday without a second thought. Now I'm in the last week of a 6 week detox (3 weeks is the min) and I feel awesome. And better still all my cravings have gone I think about those foods sometimes and I think I really would like some but I've discovered that the memories I have of what they tasted like are just that only memories. The food all taste different now I can't stomach too much salt or sugar I don't like cake anymore even chocolate doesn't taste good. You notice all the chemicals in foods and you can taste the fat. I don't think I could have changed my eating habbits without completely detoxing. It's been a very enlightning experience. I did the 3 week version about 8 months ago and went right back to old habbits like living on Soda, but not this time!

McDougal416 · May 2011

First of all...You are doing great! Keep up the good work! 2nd of all..it doesn't get any easier! I've been dieting off and on (have had 3 kids pretty close together, lose weight--get prego and gain tons of weight and lose again, repeat 3x!) and I have come to realize that it doesn't get easier. I sooo wish it did! I LOVE food..and I mean L-O-V-E!!!! There are DAYS in a row that I crave eating a ton of pizza, or chinese or whatever I'm craving that day. Infact, just last weekend, I turned into the crave..I ate 5 or 6 slices of pizza...which is what I used to eat back when I was a kid..and back when I was prego w/my children. I did pay for it. Not sure how much I gained...but I had a bit more to work off. But, here is how I have incorporated those "cheat" days into my diet..for one..if you do it the day you weigh or the day after..I have found out that its not as bad to lose the weight than if you did it at the end, or closer to your weigh time. I have a cheat day once or twice a week, the day I weigh and possibly the day after I weigh also...I TRY MY HARDEST not to just being eat, and THAT (binge eating) has gotten A LOT easier this go around..I STILL eat my fav's...pizza, cake, ice cream, all of that on a normal basis...BUT I limit myself to my cal intake...whatever I've got on my cal's thats what I eat...then if I'm needing a cheat day, then the day I weigh, I might eat a little bit more that day..but I get right back on the wagon the next day..and the day after that at the absolute latest!!!! Any later than that, and you are going to have trouble losing the weight and getting back on track. Trust me, I know!! But, if you allow the foods you love in moderation (yes, I hate that word too) but at least let yourself have what your cal's say you've got left..it helps TREMENDOUSLY!! And remember (something that FINALLY clicked this go around)....if you eat only half of the meal this time...it means you can eat it AGAIN the next day!!!

And possibly the day after that!

So, if you can remember that, maybe it'll make things a little easier..it has worked w/me and chinese.

And sometimes Pizza.

pixietoes · May 2011

The diet end of it is actually pretty easy for me, but I believe in allowing myself any food I want if I have the calories to spare and if I've eaten reasonably well in a given day. I'm not trading protein grams for ice cream or potato chips. I have too far to go and I want to eat this way for the rest of my life. I lost a LOT of weight several years ago on the South Beach Diet, but I got to a point where I really resented having to give up certain foods to maintain it. Now, even if I can't work something in on a given day, I know I'll be able to do it at some point in the coming week. There's never a sense of "I can't eat that" that will make me unhappy in the long run.

I'm willing to take longer to lose the weight this time and have it be accomplished through changes I can live with for the long haul.

The exercise however, is much harder. I've never been an athlete. I have health problems that severely restrict what I can do, or that punish me for going outside what I can handle, but I'm determined to do everything I can do. The strength training is particularly hard, and humbling.

Hardest of all is the internal work. Dealing with the shame and anger that contributed to the poor eating habits and low self-esteem that perpetuated it is the hardest work I've ever done. Rooting out these issues takes more effort than exercise and more discipline than eating well. It also offers some of the sweetest moments of victory, and that is saying something.

Maybe at some point, later in my journey, it will get really easy. But for now, I'd say it isn't, and I don't expect it to be any time soon.

Mairgheal · May 2011

Thanks for your replies!

The other day I read a thread and someone said "you couldn't pay me to eat a slice of cheese cake, while before I'd eat the whole cake" and I just thought, really? I would still gobble the whole thing up without any problems :laugh:

I'm not really depriving myself, my settings and my target aren't too low and I won't feel bad if I go over either, but still, I had expected the cravings to lessen.
As for exercise, yes, I go for exercise (walking and Jillian Michaels), but again only because I have to (and so I can eat more). I guess deep inside I'm still a couch potato who wants to eat the whole roll of biscuits, with the difference nowadays that I don't give in anymore (or not that badly anymore).

I'm willing to take longer to lose the weight this time and have it be accomplished through changes I can live with for the long haul.

Exactly my approach! I'm nearly at target and I reckon I'll keep on going for a bit after that, to give myself some "margin". I've given all my bigger-sized clothes to charity already, so I don't have a choice anyway LOL

flausa · May 2011

The other day I read a thread and someone said "you couldn't pay me to eat a slice of cheese cake, while before I'd eat the whole cake" and I just thought, really? I would still gobble the whole thing up without any problems :laugh:

I can completely understand the cheesecake comment. I have lost my sweet tooth, and the thought of sugary fatty foods makes me feel ill. However, I still crave salty, fatty foods. I started using MFP in late January, and even though I'm doing well with my eating, there are still days where it is a struggle. I had a particularly challenging TOM this month and had two days of the munchies. Thanks to MFP friends I stayed motivated to not mindlessly cram junk in my face like I would have a few months ago. But it was a challenge. If it was easy though, I don't think we would have found ourselves in the mess we were when we started this new adventure.

Does it ever get really easy?

Replies

Categories