Grasping for some Hope...

I have found that my new junk food is watermelon, find your new junk food, it will help!!!

Yes, find something new, something good to "binge" on. Mine is seedless red grapes. My go to junk food was always plain corn chips with salsa. I could eat a family size bag in one sitting EASY. Needless to say, I don't have them anymore. I do allow myself to have them if we go to a Mexican restaurant, because hey, I don't do that very often. Plus I'm used to eating less, so even though I do damage, it isn't anywhere near as what it used to be.

I read an article not too long ago about how food companies MAKE the food so that you crave it. Anything refined, salty, sweet, your body just wants more and more.

You'll get there. You are correct, you have been addicted to these foods (because they are processed to be that way) and you need to detox. The more healthy, nutrient dense foods you consume now, the more the cravings will subside. But it does help if the temptation is not in front of you.

fi found finding a favorite meal help because i crave that most of the time (jacket potato with cheese and salad and coleslaw) but if i am somewhere where there is a McDonalds (the deaded word!) i will have a meal and just work extra hard the next day. I find if i totally deprive myself then i want it more, I dont live or work near those types of fast food places so it is easy for me to only have it as a treat, hope that helps. Good luck.x

First, you have to forgive yourself for getting fat. You sound a lot like me, as in someone who is bitter/angry at times over what has happened to my body. It's ok. It happened, and all that matters now is what you do from here on out.

Let's say you binge and eat a pan of brownies. Does that mean your world is going to end? Does that mean that all the progress you made in the last 2 weeks is suddenly erased? No. You just have to say, "Oops, bad choice." and pick right back up tomorrow.

There will come a time when the intense cravings and crazy binges will seem like a distant memory. But more than that, when you fail a little it will be ok. Everyone is entitled to some good old fashioned junk now and again. Just don't let one slip derail you. So often we let one overindulgence turn to a weekend or and entire week or month of pigging out because we "already blew it"

You can always come here for support when you slip up, too.

There is a way to look at it other than its not fair others can eat it with no repercussions.....they are slowly killing themselves everytime they it. Just because they look like they are healthy doesnt mean they are. You need to take comfort in the fact that your not poisoning your body as you sit there and eat your grilled chicken while they clog their arteries. Imagine, whenever you get down and tempted, what it is going to do to your circular system and your heart as you take a bite of that kind of food. It cures me 95% of the time eventually you will change your desires by training your body to physically reject the junk good luck!

Get them out of your house and don't go down the aisles at the store if you can help it. But after 5 days of only drinking one can of cherry coke a day I have found that when I went to a restaurant last night that I hated the taste of the coke and drank some water instead. I have never done that but its a good start you can change your taste buds but it takes time and patience and if you start feeling that way where you deserve it try and remember that way of thinking is what made you gain the weight.

There's a reason why junk food tastes so good, it has a lot of fat, and our body NEEDS fat - it just needs to be the right type! It's worth thinking about trying to give yourself some good fats - from nuts and seeds, avocados, olives - think mediterranean diet basically. When your body then starts getting the right amount of the nutrients it needs, you will start to find that you crave these junk foods LESS! Your body NEEDS fat - so make sure you give it the right type of fat - it's a myth that eating all fats will make you fat. There's an interesting article here: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/weight-loss-myth-eating-fat-makes-you-fat.html

Keep them out of the house. I honestly don't understand why people crave those things. Candy bars make me feel nauseous. Chips leave me feeling bloated and still hungry. Next time you think about those things look at the nutrition content. It's nada!

I don't eat french fries anymore. Can't say I miss them. I will eat tortilla chips with homemade salsa though. If you want a healthy snack with crunch try Cauliflower. Nice crunch and very low in calories. Has a bit a mild onion flavor as well. Celery is good too. Has a bit of a salty taste.

When I see people eating chips they usually look bored and detached. Have you heard Jillian's story about a day in Karate training. She took some chips in with her. She was eating them while the instructor was talking. Afterwards the instructor called her aside and said hey look, "you're not serious about this and are wasting your mom's money. You need to go."

For each of us, it is something different that leads us astray. I don't feel tempted by junk food, so I don't exactly have the same food issues as you do. For me, it is hard to stop eating once I start. So if I tried to eat 3 meals a day and two healthy snacks, I would be in trouble 5 times/day. I would want to keep eating and not stop. I have learned that for me, it is best to avoid eating altogether except for two meals a day. Then I permit myself to eat whatever I want for those two meals. Since I don't crave the fatty sugary stuff, it is hard for me to overeat if I only have two meals a day. Obviously, this might not be a good approach for you.

My guess is that for now, you are correct. You must eliminate ALL junk food from your home and surroundings. This is not likely a forever thing, but just while you are in this phase. I would do my best to find alternative and satisfying items for your junk food. Perhaps some low calorie yogurts, low calorie pudding cups, packages of 100 or 90 calorie deserts, baked chips. You can still get your sweet and salty fix, but in limited quantities. As Dawn suggested, she likes watermelon. One of my healthy treats is dill pickles. I just love them.

I have been working on this weight loss pretty actively for a couple of years (with 7 months off in the middle to gain back most of my losses). What I have really noticed is that we go through phases. Our food issues change over time. We need to be mindful and observant of what is working and what isn't, what we can control and what we cannot. We need to be ready to change our plan of attack when something quits working, rather than just quitting. For awhile, I could only maintain control if I was dieting full bore and losing weight at a rapid pace. I needed that for my motivation. It's a hard way to go, because once you mess up, it's hard to get back into the mindframe. Currently, I am patient enough to work at this at a leisurly pace. I am only trying to lose 4 or 5 pounds a month. Sometimes this is very hard because I forget I am dieting. But I know this is the best way because that is what I will have to eat like to maintain my goal weight when I get there. In a few weeks, I may need to change my approach. Things get stale and we get bored. Rather than taking a break from dieting, just change up your routine. So while now I only feel safe eat two meals/day, in the future, when I feel more in control of my eating, I may up that to include some healthy snacks and have smaller meals. The reason the two meals a day is working for me now is because I can eat large quantities, feel fully satisfied and still lose weight. The downside is that I have to basically fast the rest of the day. Of course, this isn't all that hard when you aren't hungry.

So my advice to you is to first, identify your biggest eating issue (which you have already done), make a plan to deal with that (like finding substitutes for your junk food) and then focus on your behavior by documenting your ever activity. You need to be selfish and you need to think of this a lot. Don't let your mind ever wander far from what you want to achieve. Keep track of everything you eat, even if it doesn't fit within your goal. If you are out of control for more than two days, go back to step two and come up with another plan. Don't let weeks go by without reassessing your plan of attack.

I don't know if that helps at all, but at least for me to just respond to your post helps keep me focused on my goals and approach (and it keeps me out of the kitchen cupboards).

Best wishes

For I found that once I removed the junk foods, soda and processed foods the cravings left and I could make good foods choices. Processed foods, especially love fat and no fat foods are just as bad as junk food and help perpetuate the junk food cravings. Once I got used to eat real food or at least as real as you can get the cravings left. Soda really triggered my need for sweet so kicking that was a HUGE help.

If you did it once, you can do it again. Try eating cleaner and see if that helps. it also helped for me to not think in terms of "healthy food", "diet" or "cheating". I plan my meals as much as possible and try to figure out how to eat well in all types of situations. This isn't temporary for me, it's a lifestyle change.so I am only eating what I can safely eat the rest of my life without feeling deprived.

Great suggestions!

I find I do well, when I eat the foods I love, but I make them healthier. You can make almost anything healthier. Even fried chicken, use panko and bake it. Maybe get a few new cookbooks and make some new recipes. Don't buy food you don't like because it's "healthy". Eat things you do like, but make them healthier.

I often find if I allow myself to have a little bit of naughty food each day say.. a single serving.. maybe one in morning and one in afternoon between meals.. i have less urge to splurge.. and don't feel I am depriving myself or dieting.