The Struggle

Caitlin866 wrote: »

exercise is important. I am not worried about it because that's not where I have an issue. I love being in the gym and the energy it gives me plus feeling great about myself afterward. I do pretty good throughout the week because I have a system and routine in action. I pack what I am going to eat in the morning and have that throughout my work day. I make good choices and log everything in my Fitbit and also have started doing it in MFP again for mostly the support groups! I have recently incorporated water into my diet and although that sounds crazy I have to remind myself to drink liquids at all and water isn't always my go to drink. I go to the store once a week and buy what I'll need for meals and snacks throughout the week for work because it's easier to make a good food decision once a week instead of 3-4 times a week. Where I truly struggle is when it's after work and later in the evening. It's as if my stomach is a bottomless pit and nothing seems to satisfy my apparent hunger. I will get in my car and drive to a gas station for junk food cravings and lose all care for my goals and calories for the day! if I could control the after work aspect and healthy dinner decisions aspect of my life I would see the weight fall off I'm sure! It's terribly hard however.

It sounds like you're experiencing real hunger from eating at an larger than necessary caloric deficit. What is your current intake/weight loss goals?

Congratulations on your 50 pound loss! At 1200 calories a day I would be STARVING and eat everything in sight, which sounds similar to what you are currently experiencing. Losing the last 30 pounds at a rate of 2 pounds a week is unrealistic, because your body needs fuel. If your body is not being fueled properly it sets you up for a 3000 calorie binge, which then sets you back even further from your goal.

Why not try instead a slower rate of loss (.5 to 1 pound max a week) instead and eat back a good portion of your exercise calories. Yes, it may sound slower on paper, but in the long run you are so much more likely to get to your goal instead of constantly fighting with yourself with the restrict, binge cycle that gets you nowhere.

Caitlin, your issue is extremely common. Based on what you have written, I think you are trying too hard and doing too much, overwhelming your willpower, which ultimately succumbs to your cravings.

Willpower IS a thing. It's not some random concept to be ignored. It is finite and rechargeable. Think of willpower in the same way as you think of glycogen in the body (or gas in the tank). The more you drive your body without feeding it (the more you drive your car without refilling it), the more you will deplete its fuel until you run out. Willpower is the same way. By the end of the day, you simply cannot resist cravings if you have depleted your willpower.

Good weight loss programs do not rely on willpower. They eliminate cravings so that losing weight is no longer about willpower, but rather, about smart food choices.

A few suggestions to consider:

• If you truly love exercise, by all means, continue. However, if you are working out primarily to lose weight, consider stopping altogether until your cravings are under control or reducing your exercise level significantly. Note I am NOT suggesting you should not exercise, but exercise is one of the biggest drains of willpower there is. It is taxing on both the body and mind if done too frequently, and it makes you hungrier. Exercise has its place on a weight loss plan, but it should always take a back seat to diet. What you eat is going to drive the vast majority of your weight loss, not how much you move. Again, this is temporary... until your cravings are under control.
• Cravings are caused by hormones, and hormonal volatility is usually driven by diet, sleep, and stress management, in that order. Assuming you are neither ill nor overly stressed or sleep-deprived, the problem is most likely sugar and/or processed carbs (flour and anything that comes in a wrapper, box, or container). The more you eliminate sugar and processed carbs from your diet, the less you'll crave. Try satisfying your sweet tooth with fruit, making that the main, if not only, sweet food in your diet.
• Live a little. Focus on conquering cravings first, not losing weight. The process of losing weight sustainably always starts with conquering cravings. Any weight you lose without doing so will return, usually plus interest as you get older and as your metabolism gets beat up by dieting. Once you have eliminated cravings, then obsess about the details (calorie and macro counting) if you must. However, I would be surprised if you haven't lost a significant amount of weight by the time your cravings are gone even if you haven't watched and logged every bite you eat like a hawk.

Not to sound like a parrot or broken record, but there is an oder to losingn weight "forever":
1. Conquer cravings --> 2. Tweak diet as necessary --> 3. Add exercise as necessary

Doing everything at once is doomed to fail and you will struggle with willpower daily. Make weight loss about smart food choices and NOT about willpower. That's the only way to stay lean sustainably.

Where I truly struggle is when it's after work and later in the evening. It's as if my stomach is a bottomless pit and nothing seems to satisfy my apparent hunger. I will get in my car and drive to a gas station for junk food cravings and lose all care for my goals and calories for the day! if I could control the after work aspect and healthy dinner decisions aspect of my life I would see the weight fall off I'm sure! It's terribly hard however.

Life is hard and then you die. (sorry, but its horribly true) Your whole life is a series of decisions. Or is someone holding you down, then stuffing you in a car and driving you to where there is food that they then force you to eat? Thats a whole different issue!!

Only you can make the change you seek.

You seem pretty smart - you can see the problem, you recognize that it derails your progress, you understand the mechanics of how you are sabotaging yourself, you feel the guilt and frustration of having succumbed - now you have to figure out a way to break that circuit.

Just look at all the steps you have to take to actually access the food that is causing you so much grief! If I were in your situation, this is what I would have to do - I would have to get dressed again, I would have to put on a parka to go out, I would probably have to shovel the driveway, I would have to be able to locate my keys, I would have to waste time and gas driving to and fro from whatever destination I CHOSE TO GO TO to get the food I was CHOOSING TO EAT, I would be spending money on something that was making me unhappy in the long run and which I could spend on something else that WOULD make me happy - do you see my drift, snowflake?!!!

Ditch the excess for a week and take the money you saved and get something worthwhile that makes you feel good about yourself. Dont keep torturing yourself.Please - you can do this!

xLyric wrote: »

If I had to lose weight by cutting out all of the 'bad' stuff I would have given up a long time ago. If I'm craving a hamburger and fries one day, I log them and eat them. On rare occasions I have entire days where I eat nothing but 1500 calories worth of pizza, because it fits, so I can. If I wanted a candy bar I wouldn't agonize over it for days; I just get it (usually the small size so I'm not using so many calories, unless I want to).

That's what is so great about MFP; if you want something, make it fit into your calorie goal and you'll still lose weight! Even if you ate a day's worth of cupcakes. Maybe in that case your stomach wouldn't feel spectacular, haha, but hopefully you get my point. The goal on this system is staying under your calorie goal and meeting certain nutrient goals, not eating like a rabbit 24/7 with no treat breaks ever.

I personally think it would be more unhealthy to have such a negative mindset than to treat yourself sometimes. You shouldn't feel like a horrible person for eating! It builds an awful relationship with food.

So much this.