How do you control how much you eat?

sammyantics wrote: »

But, how do I get to that point on my own?

I have goals more important than just the number on the scale. For example, I'm training for a triathlon, so I have "no choice" but to eat smarter and move (a lot) more. I know what size I have to be to be unimaginably hot in a Brioni suit, so my choices have to be consistent with the goal.

The number on the scale falls out of that.

You don't have disgusting eating habits. It's just that you find food comforting and some foods are addictive! When I overeat (and I do - a lot!) I use MFP to pay a penalty by doing exercise! I had a crisp sandwich today so the dog got took out for an extra hour! Good luck

Drink plenty of water, prelog your meals, after filling your plate put left overs immediately in fridge so they get nice and cold, always divide restaurant portions in half and put half in fridge or better yet the freezer and if you screw up like I did today add additional exercise so you don't end up in the red. As my eating habits improve, my cravings are not as strong.

I will definitely add to the preplanning/prelogging recommendations. Even if you don't want to weigh your food, just having a set idea of what kind of portion you're going to consume and a plan will be a good step.

Another issue I haven't seen addressed that I sort of picked up on in your initial post was a way for you to tune into your hunger signals to be able to stop yourself when you're full so you're eating because you're hungry, not because you want food. There's a difference.

I've made the transition myself, and it was easy, but it took some mindful behavior. First? SLOW DOWN when you eat. Second? Take small bites. Chew each one thoroughly, and make sure that your mouth is completely empty of food before you take your next bite. If you do this, you'll give the satiety hormones time to send signals to your brain that you're satisfied before you've stuffed a lot of food into your face, instead of stuffing lots of food in, then having those hormones slam into you after the fact.

While you're practicing this mindfulness, you'll have to get used to a new feeling. A feeling of having "just enough" instead of feeling stuffed. That stuffed feeling? That's what got people like us who've had whacked out hunger signals into a situation with overeating in the first place. Learning to stop when we've had "just enough"? That's a good new habit to develop that will give us the body we want. That's what I kept telling myself while I was getting used to a new way of feeling full. It worked over time.

I eat what I'm supposed to and then immediately brush my teeth. Not hungry after that.

- Drink more water before meals.
- Log in your calories before you eat them. Put away anything extra.
- Stick to serving size suggestions (or even halve them) on anything pre-packaged you eat.
- Weigh and measure all your foods.
- Use a smaller plate, it looks like there's more on it when you have reduced portions.
- Eat more slowly and really enjoy what your eating.
- Save calories for healthy snacks throughout the day.

plenty of water and keep 3 days worth of meals made and boxed in the refrigerator

For me portions have never been a problem, either being junk food or a salad but I'll try and give ya some advice anyways.

Drink tons of water since a lot of people mistake thirst for hunger and before you actually eat your main meal eat something like a salad, especially radishes. You'll feel up on low cal veggies so this way you'll avoid overeating.

Even if you don't find it sustainable, you should try and weight your food and make them ahead/pre log them. You'll need to push yourself harder, it's only you that you're up against. If you can convince yourself you can do it, you're already halfway there.

I've usually found that I succeed the most when I log my calories ahead, but I know what you mean when you say you can't do it all the time for the rest of your life. I guess I will eventually give it up too! Even when I wasn't dieting, but only trying to mantain by myself, I didn't count calories, but I knew how much food I needed. I used to decide what I wanted to eat before eating, for example, I knew a bowl of salad with a certain quantity of tomatoes, olives and a single piece of bread was going to be okay. I knew I could add a dessert or stuff like that. I knew quite well how much I needed because I was remembering it from the time I was counting calories. I didn't count calories exactly, but I had a good idea. If you have the chance of cooking your food separately at each meal, that's better. I try to never have leftovers and I also try to never have too many treats around if I know I'm not going to be able to stop. I would also suggest you to choose what to eat carefully. If you're eating something that's particulary palatable, and you get leftovers, you'll be more prone to eating a double portion. Whenever I eat something I particulary like, I try to make smaller portions, so I won't feel compelled to eat more of it. If I'm making 2 portions of salad or pasta, I'll most definitely not feel like eating it all at once, especially if I'm already actually satiated. Choosing your foods carefully will also help you to feel full and not willing to reach for more food - I used to start my meals with a simple salad or raw vegetables or fruit so that I would get tired of chewing and eating, and I wouldn't feel the need to have extra treats or portions. Try to combine each advice you've gotten so far so that you can find what works for you. Unfortunately when you use food as a comfort it's hard to get rid of that state of mind, the only thing I can assure you is that once you find out that food doesn't really make you feel better afterwards, it will start to happen much less.