How do you stick to your healthy diet?

Options
jangus9416
jangus9416 Posts: 69 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What are some ways you continue to eat healthy and stop binge eating? I know most of you will say that you don't cut anything from your diet, and you eat what you want. CICO blah blah blah. Well that's great, really, but how do you limit yourself to just one cookie? Do you put money in a jar everyday you don't binge? What stops you in that moment of vulnerability? I just need some ideas. Thanks!
«13

Replies

  • zap5
    zap5 Posts: 38 Member
    Options
    willpower
  • jangus9416
    jangus9416 Posts: 69 Member
    Options
    Where can I purchase this so called "willpower?"
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Options
    I am going to give you the typical response:

    I eat foods i like and find a way to fit them in my goal. For my sanity i eat a "cheat" meal on saturday nights in which i fast all day saturday and eat whatever i want at night.

    On a daily basis thinking of that "cheat meal" is what keeps me going. That and sheer dedication and self control.

    I know how freaking hard i've worked, where i started and where i am, and it's easy for me to see "Now, rainbowbow, you've worked your *kitten* off. Is eating "x" thing worth it?" or "do you want to spend even more time in the gym? are these 10 oreos worth an hour on the treadmill?". Usually the answer is no.

    Of course there are days and times when i eat more, or treat myself, it's life afterall. But knowing where i started and where i am now, i have no desire to get back to the way i was before.
  • rungirl1973
    rungirl1973 Posts: 2,559 Member
    Options
    I don't bring more than a single serving of cookies, ice cream, candy, chips and the like into the house. If it's there, I'll eat it all. I've gotten much better with a lot of things, but some things can still only be purchased in single serving quantities.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,789 Member
    edited April 2015
    Options
    I make sure the healthy foods I'm cooking are enjoyable -- I use a lot of spices, salsas, flavored vinegars, etc. I buy foods that help me with automatic portion control (paper-thin sliced cheese, individual yogurt cups, flatbreads and light pastries, 100-cal nut packets). I plan my meals ahead of time and leave plenty of room for snacks. I buy snacks that won't sabotage me if I end up boredom-eating them during a TV episode (popchips and salsa, lots of raw veggies and guacamole fixings, popcorn kernels to air-pop). And sometimes, honestly, I just grit my teeth and do it.

    ETA: I don't do everything in moderation. I know that I lose willpower around certain foods (potatoes, chips and pretzels, cheese, pizza), so I don't keep them around. I have them on rare special occasions, enjoy the hell out of them, account for them, and adjust the day or week around them. There's nothing wrong with that; the idea behind "everything in moderation" is sound, but you have to be able to practice moderation for it to work... and some of us have trouble with that.
  • ElvenToad
    ElvenToad Posts: 644 Member
    Options
    I think about the consequences. I think... What is the number on the scale going to jump up to if I eat all the foodz? Is this giant bowl of chocolate cheerios I could eat 3x over going to ruin all my progress for the week? Are those new jeans one size down I just bought going to button after this? Ugh.... no... walk away from the binge. Then I drink a bottle of water and do something else to keep my mind off of food until its time to eat again.

    Its just not worth it to me anymore. I do eat just one cookie, but it has to be a good one, like the ones from Subway. Double chocolate chip, I buy one, bring it home. Eat, pout because there's no more. Oh well it was yummy and it fit in my calories :smile:
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Options
    Honestly, yes I say I "eat in moderation" blah blah blah...but really, I don't have bags of cookies and large bags of chips in the house. I buy single serving things usually, except ice cream. And in the case of ice cream, I usually save a good 300 calories for dessert. I don't really believe in "substitutes" but I do have some snacks that I love JUST as much as others, that have lower calories and I can eat more of.

  • bulk_n_cut
    bulk_n_cut Posts: 389 Member
    Options
    i gave my bottle of half-full nutella to a friend when i switched from bulk to cut. out of sight, out of mind
    theres no way im not-eating nutella when i see it
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Options
    bulk_n_cut wrote: »
    i gave my bottle of half-full nutella to a friend when i switched from bulk to cut. out of sight, out of mind
    theres no way im not-eating nutella when i see it

    I would have to do the same with that crack. I mean snack.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Options
    bulk_n_cut wrote: »
    i gave my bottle of half-full nutella to a friend when i switched from bulk to cut. out of sight, out of mind
    theres no way im not-eating nutella when i see it

    This is how i am with goldfish.

    I swear i could eat an entire bag in an hour.

    Oh, and that White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter? OMFG

    OP, if you have foods you cant handle dont keep them around!!
  • galaxyeyed
    galaxyeyed Posts: 98 Member
    Options
    I limited myself to one cookie yesterday...by dropping the other one on the floor of a lecture hall and having to throw it away :( Today I limited myself to eight cookies because they fit in my caloric budget! Granted, I wasn't very filled and was kicking myself later, but I still stuck to my goal.

    I think you just have to want it. And you have to realize that bingeing isn't an option you'll allow yourself anymore. I got tired of battling with myself about eating the whole bag of candy, or whether or not to stop by and get fast food on the way home. So now I just...don't battle anymore. I don't even start down the path of reasons why it might work. "Would it fit in my calorie budget? Nope? Guess I won't then." It's made life easier.
  • jangus9416
    jangus9416 Posts: 69 Member
    Options
    I know these types of forums are everywhere, but this really helped me pinpoint my mistakes. I don't have structure to my diet. I'm in college, so I like to save up calories for a cheat meal with my boyfriend or a few going out drinks. The problem is I never know what day that is going to be. I find myself allowing myself more than one treat a week that isn't in my caloric goals simply because I don't want to miss out on anything. My boyfriend is a huge peer pressure here too. I also live with three guys so seeing their fast food EVERYDAY convinces me that I can eat it too.
    I'm not sure how I'm going to fix this yet, but I appreciate the help.
  • bulk_n_cut
    bulk_n_cut Posts: 389 Member
    Options
    arditarose wrote: »
    bulk_n_cut wrote: »
    i gave my bottle of half-full nutella to a friend when i switched from bulk to cut. out of sight, out of mind
    theres no way im not-eating nutella when i see it

    I would have to do the same with that crack. I mean snack.

    omg have you ever tried dipping lindt's lindor balls in nutella and then eating them?
    many sins have been committed
  • ACSL3
    ACSL3 Posts: 623 Member
    Options
    I pre-portion a lot of my stuff into single serving (or sometimes half a serving) bags. So the other day I bought this huge bag of pistachios. Instead of just opening it and mindlessly grazing, I measured the entire bag out into servings in baggies. That way, if I want more than one serving, I can grab two bags but I know I have to log two servings in my diary.

    I also sometimes eat under my calories one day so I can eat over the next. I tell myself, "if I eat less today, I can have a full slice of cake tomorrow" and then I keep reminding myself "I can have it tomorrow." I try to do it in this order rather than "I'll eat the cake today and eat less tomorrow" because then tomorrow seems like a punishment rather than seeing the cake as a reward for doing well the day before. Even though they would add up the same in the end, the perspective is different. I look more at the week's average anyway, which helps me a lot more than trying to restrict every day.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Options
    jangus9416 wrote: »
    I know these types of forums are everywhere, but this really helped me pinpoint my mistakes. I don't have structure to my diet. I'm in college, so I like to save up calories for a cheat meal with my boyfriend or a few going out drinks. The problem is I never know what day that is going to be. I find myself allowing myself more than one treat a week that isn't in my caloric goals simply because I don't want to miss out on anything. My boyfriend is a huge peer pressure here too. I also live with three guys so seeing their fast food EVERYDAY convinces me that I can eat it too.
    I'm not sure how I'm going to fix this yet, but I appreciate the help.

    I'm having this problem now too, and I'm 29. For some reason I didn't have it when I was first starting to lose (that's nice, right?!)...but now that I'm closer to goal, I DO want a beer and burger with my boyfriend...and maybe some chocolate, etc. I often don't know what night it is going to be on either.

    This past month I had some more success though. I lowered my calorie goal a LITTLE bit, did my cardio but saved a bit of the calories, and it allowed me a nice high day around 2500 calories...which gave me an average daily deficit low enough to shed .5 or .25 lbs a week.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Options
    jangus9416 wrote: »
    I know these types of forums are everywhere, but this really helped me pinpoint my mistakes. I don't have structure to my diet. I'm in college, so I like to save up calories for a cheat meal with my boyfriend or a few going out drinks. The problem is I never know what day that is going to be. I find myself allowing myself more than one treat a week that isn't in my caloric goals simply because I don't want to miss out on anything. My boyfriend is a huge peer pressure here too. I also live with three guys so seeing their fast food EVERYDAY convinces me that I can eat it too.
    I'm not sure how I'm going to fix this yet, but I appreciate the help.

    Like i said, if i know i'm going to go out to some restaurant where i'll eat an ungodly amount of calories, i fast that day. That way, even if i do some real damage it's limited.

    Other than that, willpower. Don't let anyone guilt you into anything. You need to make the decision that your goal is more important than being socially correct.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Options
    bulk_n_cut wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    bulk_n_cut wrote: »
    i gave my bottle of half-full nutella to a friend when i switched from bulk to cut. out of sight, out of mind
    theres no way im not-eating nutella when i see it

    I would have to do the same with that crack. I mean snack.

    omg have you ever tried dipping lindt's lindor balls in nutella and then eating them?
    many sins have been committed

    lol. No! I wouldn't do that because I'm weird and I would think I'd like to spread out my calories and my eating because they are both so delicious on their own. But, it does sound divine.
  • teamgiff4
    teamgiff4 Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    This is what I do. I bake a cake. I love baking. So I bake the cake and put the frosting on it. Then I eat it out of the pan. That way I don't have to really keep track of how much I ate, because I just 'had a few bites'. Sometimes I freeze half so I don't eat the whole thing. I used to make it, eat some and then throw the rest in the trash so I wouldn't eat anymore... but my family got mad at me.
  • JenniferInCt
    JenniferInCt Posts: 431 Member
    Options
    arditarose wrote: »
    bulk_n_cut wrote: »
    i gave my bottle of half-full nutella to a friend when i switched from bulk to cut. out of sight, out of mind
    theres no way im not-eating nutella when i see it

    I would have to do the same with that crack. I mean snack.

    Hahaha!!!
  • bulk_n_cut
    bulk_n_cut Posts: 389 Member
    Options
    also, browsing FPH keeps me from overeating
    damnit i may be about to get so much flak for posting that
    BUT IT HELPS YO

Categories