Will Power - Where Are You? Please Help

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xxxglaxxx
xxxglaxxx Posts: 327 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All,

So before when I first started my weightloss journey I was able to control myself. I stuck to my diet very strictly and did not even cheat even on weekends. And if I did cheat which was rarely, I was able to just have a taste or eat a little bit of the cheat meal.

However, lately I have been having trouble controlling myself. On weekends, I'm out from morning till night time and I eat out for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks without holding back - I just eat what I want - even when I know and I tell myself that I'm not supposed to. In addition, when I'm home when I see some food or snacks that I like, I can't help but control my cravings. Instead of just having a small taste, I eat the whole thing.

Do you guys have any advice on how I can better control my cravings and appetite? In addition, any advice regarding regaining my will power to stick to my weightloss and healthy eating will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)

Replies

  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Like many that struggle, you are just torturing your will power when you only focus on it. It's just a matter of time for it to succumb. How about give your will power a break and focus on the other side of the equation. Specifically what would happen if foods lose their appeals?
  • xxxglaxxx
    xxxglaxxx Posts: 327 Member
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    endlessfall16 wrote: »
    Like many that struggle, you are just torturing your will power when you only focus on it. How about give your will power a break and focus on the other side of the equation. Specifically what would happen if foods lose their appeals?

    Hi :)

    Can you expand on what you mean by "if food lose their appeals"?

    I love food and I eat anything and everything I see for the most part. Some people are OK if they have a little taste of something just to satisfy their cravings. But for me, for my cravings to be satisfied I have to feel full - sometimes bursting full :(
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    edited April 2016
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    You won't need any will power if there isn't anything testing it! You love food and would eat anything because it's been easy and you've never trained your mind otherwise. Funny, the time and energy for this (new) training takes far less than the effort to fight temptation. Once succeeded, you are set for life. You'll have virtually complete control over your eating, ie you eat when you want, don't eat when you don't want.

    About this new mindset, don't be naive and only think good things about foods. (Excessive) foods can do very nasty things to the body and harmful to your life/lifestyle. I'm sure you know many ways to make yourself gross out of foods.

    For instance I love and crave bacon, but it takes me 10 seconds to visualize all the salt, the nasty feels I will have after eating a few strips and my appetite is immediately gone.
  • myheartsabattleground
    myheartsabattleground Posts: 2,040 Member
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    Try minimalism. It's helped me a lot!
  • Nicklebee93
    Nicklebee93 Posts: 316 Member
    edited April 2016
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    You're allowed to enjoy food-- you just need to learn how to do so in moderation. Stop thinking of your diet as a.. diet? It's a lifestyle change. You need to relearn how to eat. Some people need a sweet everyday, so they fit that into their calories. If you're that type of person then do it.


    Try measuring out the food before hand. A bowl of chips, instead of the whole bag. A cup of ice cream, and not the whole pint. And it's no problem giving yourself a "cheat day". But do so within moderation. You need to learn to be tough on yourself. ;)
  • xxxglaxxx
    xxxglaxxx Posts: 327 Member
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    Thanks you guys for the advice :)
    I will give them a go.
  • kandeye
    kandeye Posts: 216 Member
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    It's just a habit. Habits are sometimes hard to break, especially if we enjoy them. You have to create a new habit of moderation. I had a bad habit of eating dessert and drinking soda nearly daily("I only call it bad because it was way too many excess calories). It was difficult at first to change that, but now I don't even crave it. I'll eat dessert or have a soda every once in awhile now as a treat, but don't feel the crazy craving for it.
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    I was just thinking about how the concept of will power is a tricky one. It makes us think we have this well of energy we can draw on. That if we don't contain it we are weak and if we succeed we are strong. I think it's better to think about it as someone attacking your fortress. You don't try to defend your fortress with will power alone. You build walls, you instill good habits in your soldiers. Keep bad food out of the house. Plan ahead when you have those moments of focus. Plan what you are going to eat on the weekend that is within your plan. You might find yourself looking forward to it. Place barriers against overeating (I brought this sandwich with me, so I can't eat out for lunch). Remind yourself whatever you want to eat will still be there next weekend, plan for treats and things you want, just not every meal.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    ^^ The notion of "bad food" inspires a lot of controversies in here. Then, there are also those who argue over restricting is detrimental, ie binge. And, keeping certain foods out of the house isn't possible when involved other family members. There's lots of reasons.

    Bottom line is..there's work to do. Go to the source. That is your perception, attraction, relationship with foods. Just train yourself to see eating as just another life sustaining activity, like brushing your teeth. Don't fall head over heel for foods. Just like when your first gf/bf dump you, you don't tell yourself to keep missing, loving them, they were all good, making yourself miserable :) You put up a defense mechanism which likely to tell yourself that they suck.
  • Abby2205
    Abby2205 Posts: 253 Member
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    xxxglaxxx wrote: »
    But for me, for my cravings to be satisfied I have to feel full - sometimes bursting full :(

    What will happen if you don't satisfy your cravings? Will something terrible happen?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    OP I have the same issue, lol. The bottom line is that when I was obese, I REALLY wanted the weight off. Now that I'm way under the overweight line, I don't care as much anymore even though I'd still like to lose 10 pounds. I don't believe there's much more to it than that. Habits etc are all nice and all, but I did just fine for 2 years and you'd think that if it was just about making new habits, it would have stuck...

    I mean, I'm still maintaining, which is fine, but it's harder to say no when I want some chocolate. Otherwise, I guess it does help when you plan your food about things you actually want to eat (except grilled chicken and veggies because it's 'good for you'), so there's something to look forward to.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    Are you eating foods that don't fill you up on the weekends? For example, I can eat a LOT of pizza without feeling satiated.
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
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    Will Power is off driving Indycars. He's a fit athlete, as you need to be for such.

    Whenever my willpower is flagging, standing naked in front of the mirror always helps.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
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    misskarne wrote: »
    Will Power is off driving Indycars. He's a fit athlete, as you need to be for such.

    Whenever my willpower is flagging, standing naked in front of the mirror always helps.

    I was going to make this joke, but you beat me to it.
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 798 Member
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    I haven't had much trouble sticking to my calories and don't feel the need for "cheat" days or meals because I've told myself from the beginning that if I want it I will make a choice of whether I want to spend my calories on that and if so I eat it:) I never feel deprived because I know I can choose to eat whatever I want and in control because I now make informed decision about my food:) I have loved what tracking cals through MFP has done for my relationship with food!
  • hstoblish
    hstoblish Posts: 234 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I was just listening to a podcast talking about habits and how habits can preserve willpower. It was really eye opening. Her explanation was that she doesn't eat sugars. So she's in the habit of saying no when they're offered. If it's not a habit, she has to dig into her willpower instead.

    A couple of things I do:

    I will drink my calories in the form of milk and juice and tea or coffee with honey so easily if it's around. So I don't buy it. I'm in the habit of keeping cold water in the fridge so I'll drink that. I also measure out two tbsp of honey every day, and if I want more tea or coffee, i have to have it without the honey.

    I pre log if I'm eating out and I know the restaurant. Including drinks. So, if I've got a family dinner at Boston pizza, I check their menu online, pick my meal and pre log it. That way, I work out if I need to and I know things like whether or not I can to have a beer or two. Oh and I usually DD which means I can't drink.

    Basically, the key is to look at the areas where you repeatedly use your willpower and then figure out a habit to bypass it.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I suggest you pick one bad habit to modify. Brainstorm a few ways you can disrupt your old patterns and pick one. Practice for a week. Re evaluate did it work? Keep doing it. Classic fail? Try something else.

    For instance to control daytime snacking I pre-pack. Snack bars are cut in half so I eat only half.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    I've written pretty much the same post before. The first 85 lbs I lost were easy. My self control was great and I only went over calories if it was an intentional decision. Since reaching almost maintenance (a couple pounds away now) my self control is much worse. I think it's because I'm overall happy with how I look, I'm at a healthy weight, and it's harder to be motivated. Also like you I enjoy that feeling of being overly full and sometimes it just happens. I do find that the lack of self control comes and goes. I might have a couple weeks that are a real struggle at all times. Then a few weeks where I am feeling good. I just try to get through the hard weeks as best I can. Sometimes I give in and eat too much and I just get back to it the next day. I also switched to maintenance a little early because I think my body needs a break from being in a deficit. Maybe I'll attempt those last few pounds later on.

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