Struggling a bit

BirdyWeirdy77 · October 2015

I have done so good, I started at 407 lbs, and now I'm 358 lbs.
i have lost the most weight i have ever lost in my life. but the last couple days, not sure whats wrong with me, but i have been having these uncontrollable cravings for sweets.

And stupid me, I bought sweets. I just need any info on what to do to avoid eating so much. Your free to look at my food diary the last few days, but i warn you its pretty bad.
Like 3,000 calories in one day, yea.

my calorie goal is set at 1600, and that's set by my dietitian.

it just recently went down from 1800 calories.

some days i do really good, others i just do sooooo bad.

any way to control these cravings?

dawnmcneil10 · October 2015

You've done great so far so take a minute to process that, be proud of yourself!

I try to figure out my cravings before I eat. If I want sweets I take a few minutes to think what kind of sweet I want. This particular time of year what I really want is that cinnamon and sugar flavor so I've been sprinkling a little cinnamon and sugar over an apple.

I just looked through your food diary for the past couple of weeks, my guess is hormones might be playing a role along with the 200 calorie cut your dietician made to your plan. Do you have a nutritionist you're working with as well? If not I would ask to consult with one, see if they can help you find some more filling foods especially if you're going to have a lower calorie plan.

What I did for myself was make a "sweats and treats" section in my diary and only allow myself 1 treat or sweat a day. It holds me accountable and forces me to stop and think before I eat something. Is this really what I want to spend my 1 treat on?

_Waffle_ · October 2015

I'm not wanting to argue with your dietitian but if you weigh over 300 you should be able to lose on 1800 a day. I'm not going to cut you slack on the 3000 a day however. You need to find a balance where you don't get into that mode. Perhaps cutting down to 1600 is too much for now?

Cravings? You get them no matter what you weigh. You can partly fix this by focusing more on the quality of food. It's easy to hit 3000 calories on calorie dense food. There are "tricks" that help. Tea or coffee distracts me when I'm hungry but really don't need the food. Sometimes you're just thirsty.

//My $0.02

rsclause · October 2015

I had a home made chocolate chip cookie that a customer gave me yesterday. Now the rest of them are in the break room mocking me. Its best not to ever buy sweets or treats because its only going to get ugly after that. Its time to get back on track. When you talk about an extra 1500 calories I always think about how far I need to run to burn them back off. For me that about seven miles to burn 1000 calories, thats how I avoid going off the rails.

SueInAz · October 2015

1600 calories is pretty low especially for someone who weighs 358 pounds. I'm not surprised your mind and body are rebelling a bit. Is there a good reason that your calories are being cut so low? You should be able to lose a safe and reasonable amount of weight eating much more than that.

There's really nothing wrong with eating sweets, either, as long as you can control your portions. Only you know how you handle sweets. Can you enjoy just a few pieces and be satisfied? If you can, it might not be a bad idea to simply account for a small treat every day and keep the cravings at bay. If you can't control your portions when it comes to sweets then it might be better to simply throw or give away what you recently purchased and try to get a grip on your eating.

I'd highly suggest a talk with your dietician, though, to discuss upping your calories a bit. Losing weight too quickly results in more muscle loss than losing 2 pounds or less per week.

sfinsc · October 2015

I don't know how much you should be eating, so I won't comment on that (more knowledgeable others have already weighed in, I see!). However, here are some tricks that help me with eating sweets:

When you eat sweets, are you bagging them individually, or do you sit down with the tray in front of you? The reason I ask is that I cannot completely abstain from sweets or I "rebel." But if I sit down with a tray before me, I can easily eat that entire tray and more (damn sweet tooth...). So I put exactly what I need into a small Ziploc baggie and take it with me. That way when I'm done, I know I can't have any more. There's no deluding myself or rationalizing. And I find I'm much less likely to go back for seconds and thirds. You can do the packaging idea for all of your food.

I also have been drinking a lot of hot tea since my weight loss journey began. This is great because it'll satisfy your sweet tooth (I use Tru Via to sweeten), and tea comes in a variety of yummy flavors (even chocolate, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, etc.).

Another trick I like is saving my treats for the end of the day. That way I'm careful about what I eat throughout the day to make sure I have enough calories left over. It's all about motivating yourself and not feeling punished. Hugs! You can get back on track.

nyponbell · October 2015

I try to do portion control for high calorie "extras" with snack packs. It helps a lot to make several of them at once (I do them with nuts as well) because it means less work when I'm actually craving the item (or I want to grab some nuts for a snack on the go). It also limits the amount that I eat, as I will be much more mindful of what I'm eating when I'm eating it and the fact that I'm considering grabbing a second bag and wait how many calories was that again?

That said, you've done some fantastic work. As others have suggested, I think maybe you're a bit low - or you're not using your calories in a way that works best for you. I'm also wondering, if you do any exercise and if so, do you eat back those calories or are you trying to stick to 1600 regardless?

JaiDessaT · October 2015

I use nowloss.com to figure out my calorie needs, and then deduct 500 from that # to lose weight. It works.

The sweet cravings hit me once a month also. I pick out one thing and have one portion each night, at the end of the day. I look forward to it all day. This week was pumpkin gelato

lavaughan69 · October 2015

I took a look through your diary and I noticed a lot of prepackaged foods. I don't know what it is about processed foods but I find when I start eating stuff like that I always get more cravings. When I switch back to fresh foods that I make it seems to be better. Also, I know my triggers. CARBS! As soon as I reduce my bread intake and limit it to light rye bread I don't immediately seek out sweets.

A couple little things I do if I am craving sweets. I chew mint gum, it seems to reduce the craving. I'll eat a low calorie jello or a key lime yogurt. Sometimes you can satisfy the craving with something low in calories and you don't always have to reach for chocolate or candy. A friend of mine drinks diet cola when she's craving sweets but I don't like pop so that wouldn't work for me. Oh, and sometimes fruit will do the trick too. Strawberries/raspberries/cherries. I LOVE frozen grapes, they turn out so sweet.

I think you are doing a fantastic job! Just keep learning more about yourself and what triggers you and I think it's important to try and figure out ways to remain satisfied with what you eat and in a way that you think could be permanent. Good luck!

Struggling a bit

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