When did your bad relationship with food get better?

In my experience I am still fighting my food cravings for certain junk foods but they've become less intense. I've been calorie counting since November 2014 and in the beginning every day was a struggle. Now it's just certain trigger foods that I have a hard time with, like Nutella. I love Nutella but I can't just eat one serving. I end up eating three servings at a time and feeling terrible. So I avoid eating it because it will be my downfall LOL. I have a harder time with sweet foods than I do with salty foods because I was never much of a chip or pretzel snacker. It takes time to establish a habit. I try to plan my entire day's food, log it and stick to it. Much less temptation that way. Good luck and you are doing great!

I stopped feeling bad when I saw that it fit fine in my calories. I still feel guilty when I eat too much of it though (and end up going over my goal for the day, even if I make up for it later).

Bottom line, if I didn't eat that stuff, I'd be at my goal weight already (4 pounds away, but ideally I'd love to lose 5 more). I just accepted (mostly) that I'll always be a bit chubbier than I'd like because I like my treats more than being skinny.

The difference is that I don't think it's a bad relationship with food. I think it's healthy to realize when you're overdoing it and feel bad about it... otherwise I'd still be obese. And no, I don't think it's a bad relationship with food not to be in denial that there are healthier options than others, like a lot of people on these boards (I'll be waiting for the comments about this... lol). But I guess it's not that it's BAD food, more that it's 'I know it's not going to fill me up for the calories and I'll regret it later' food.

when I realized that my body is a super awesome machine and that like any machine, it requires energy to function and operate at an optimal level...and that a calorie is simply the energy that my body uses to function. Food is fuel...yes, nutrition is very important...but a doughnut is still fecking fuel for my kick *kitten* machine...especially after a 50 mile ride.

Sorry this is so long...

Honestly, it took probably 18 months to really cement. I flipped from a diet of almost total crap to one of totally healthy stuff. Six weeks later, I had a cheeseburger and fries. It tasted great (especially the fries), but it left me feeling blechy, so no desire for a repeat performance on that.

When they loosened up my diet a twinge, I went a little crazy with Mac n cheese. That wasn't on the menu, lol, but they gave me an inch and I took a mile. I didn't feel guilt so much as disappointment and a little fear. I should've been eating better and I'm not one of the blessed people who can eat anything and remain healthy. My pushback on eating crap came earlier than most and a little harder than some. So, I need to eat healthy and if I don't, I know what is coming...hence the fear. Still, it took a while to get back to the inch.

I finally realized that if I was going to stick with healthy stuff, I needed to learn how to make healthy stuff that tasted great. It wasn't that hard because I already knew how to make fat-laden meals and cakes. I just had to learn how to make tasty dinners and whole wheat breads. The bread was a suggestion I read here when I complained about not liking whole wheat breads. "Make it yourself," someone told me, "you'll like it." They were right!

I'm not even joking when I say that "Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone" now sits where my Juila Child books did. I had to move some of the old cookbooks out to make room for new ones. I'm not much into trendy cookbooks, but I have "Oh, She Glows" (it's not bad!) and some others that the vegetarians and vegans recommend.

It was after I learned to make healthy foods in yummy ways that it all got so much easier. It's when you view healthy foods as plain and boring that you'd rather eat junk. When you look forward to eating the healthy stuff, it's no great hardship!

I never felt guilty about eating a donut and still wouldn't. If I want to, I can eat a donut any time I want. So can you. So can anyone! It's about choices and I choose not to eat it.

Choosing not to eat things is so much easier that telling yourself that you cannot. Looking forward to a healthy dinner is worlds away from, "I have to eat plain, baked chicken again."

It's all about liking what you eat, I think.