How to stop eating once you start.

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Sharp123321
Sharp123321 Posts: 29 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My issue with weight loss is portions. I eat generally healthy foods except in some circumstances. However, whenever there is food on the table, I find myself unable to stop eating mainly if it is carbs.

For example, today I went to a breakfast potluck and told myself just to have a little because I am trying to loose weight. After putting all the food I ate in, I ended up with over 700 calories for breakfast. Most of it was from muffins, cookies, chips, and other junk.

I know I need to work on myself control but the thing is that this was me controlling myself.
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Replies

  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
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    Finally, it's becoming a way of life. Joining the MFP community turned my life around. No more guilt about food. I learned that we all struggle. I felt guilty because I could eat an entire bag of cookies in two days. Even the most successful struggle with weight loss. It's not as complex as we make it.

    I actually love logging now. Don't stop. Keep logging. Keep trying. It will become a new and rewarding lifestyle for you.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    Easy. Bring a big bottle of water with you. Alternate a couple bites with a big gulp of water. You'll feel full fast or kinda destroy your appetite.
  • Sharp123321
    Sharp123321 Posts: 29 Member
    edited May 2016
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    I tried to drink water, but I kept going back for food even when I was full.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Don't have it on the table. Portion out your desired meal and tuck the rest away in the darkest deepest hole in the fridge/cupboard so it isn't sitting there taunting you. Once you are done you are done. You need a bit of self control and willpower in the beginning before you start forming habits. Just be firm with yourself and put your foot down. You can't keep doing the same thing and expect things to become magically different.
  • Sharp123321
    Sharp123321 Posts: 29 Member
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    I live in a house hold where food is always out.
  • Sharp123321
    Sharp123321 Posts: 29 Member
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    I live with my parents and my father always buys junk.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Sharpgirl123 wrote: »
    I live in a house hold where food is always out.

    Then it's going to be a bit harder for you, but you can do it. Give yourself a couple of weeks of firmly saying "no" to overeating and you will find it gets easier with time and practice.

    Edit: I actually find I do better with intermittent fasting in this regard. When you have rigid rules to eat very little on one day (or to eat almost nothing for a portion of the day) I'm less likely to break the rules because I can tell myself that tomorrow I get to eat at maintenance and larger portions of the food I like (or concentrated calories in the evening if you are doing 16:8). This is a band aid not a solution though. You do need to work on your self control. If you are able to resist at least once or twice a week you will already be doing better, so you can work up from there!
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    I fill my plate with my portions, (weighing as I go if I have my scale handy- I don't like, take it to restaurants with me), eat what's on it, and then I put my plate in the dishwasher. Even if the rest of my family is still eating and socializing, I get rid of my plate. Then I have my glass of water, and hang out with my family.
    Eating out, I ask for a box up front, divvy my food into portions, and put half my meal in my box. Then I can eat what's on my plate, take my time and enjoy it, and not have to worry about breaking into the box.

    The work buffet is always a problem, but I find if I take a plate, put the fruit and whatever protein option is available on it the plate first, then there's a lot less room for that muffin, croissant, bear claw or whatever. :) Eat what's on my plate, and when I'm done, get rid of the plate. Get a full glass of water or a cup of coffee, and keep that in my hands to continue socializing.
    In the end, though, what it really comes down to is having the willpower to stop eating after your servings are gone.
  • crzyone
    crzyone Posts: 872 Member
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    I so understand. If foods there, I'm going to eat it. I have had to clear out my house and not have it around. It's hard for you if the other people in your house keep food available. If you find an tips, please share, to help me and others who have no control when food is around. Good luck!!
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    It's going to be a bit harder because most of us just stopped having it around to begin with but for me, I live alone, I certainly don't buy single portions of everything. So I put what I'm going to eat on my plate and commit to eating that and only that. No going back for seconds. No freestyling. Same applies to buffet type situations (which I actually rarely have to contend with), one plate, not piled to ceiling and done.

    It's just one of those committed self control things that comes with practice. I can have just about anything in the house now after a year of logging and even on the odd occasion I give myself permission to eat what I want I am finding I am naturally stopping after not much more than a measured portion. Getting to this point feels so much better than eating a whole bag of Kettle chips in one sitting ever did!
  • RebelDiamond
    RebelDiamond Posts: 188 Member
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    Sharpgirl123 wrote: »
    I live with my parents and my father always buys junk.

    I went through the same with my parents. I actually had to ask them to put it away so it didn't tempt me. I always knew where it was, but knowing that it wasn't for me made it a lot easier to avoid.

    Some people find it easy to stop/have small portions, I struggle with that like you do, but it gets easier to manage.
    Unfortunately, the only person who can stop you, is you. We all have ups and downs, good days and bad days, but the key is to not let the bad stuff get you down. Keep going and remember what is going to make you happier in the long run.
    Good luck :smile:
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
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    Self control around food is like a muscle - you have to work it out to make it stronger.

    Ok, so you ate 700cals (approx) this time. But hey, it could've easily been 1000cals! Next time try for 600cals, then the next time 500cals.

    It will only get easier if you keep trying - any attempt (even if it fails) is worth the effort in the long run.
  • NewMEEE2016
    NewMEEE2016 Posts: 192 Member
    edited May 2016
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    1. Everyone has 'trigger foods". These are foods that are difficult to stop eating. Mine- and it sounds like yours- are REFINED CARBOHYDRATES. If that's the case- look at it like a DRUG. You can't do "just a little" heroine. I eat ZERO refined carbs. Once I got past the "withdrawal period" of a week or so, I have *never missed them". I can eat TONS & TONS of filling, healthy actual FOOD instead.

    2. I regularly eat over 600 cals- of GOOD, HEALTHY food- for breakfast. You do NOT have to starve yourself- and as they say, "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". You can lose weight on a LOT MORE FOOD than you think. Very low calorie is not a good idea- and if you're always hungry, you may want to consider EATING MORE!! (but still at a SMALL calorie deficit). That's something you can keep up for the LONG HAUL. I've lost 31+ lbs since January- eat **constantly** and LOVE the food I eat. I have never felt a hunger pang or felt deprived- and thus have no desire whatsoever to "cheat". I'm eating over 1500 cals a day now, and still losing about a little less than a lb a week, which is just fine w/me.

  • geoblewis
    geoblewis Posts: 44 Member
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    The issue is what the added carbs do to you. For me, when I eat inappropriate carbs, it just makes me feel hungrier. I tried really hard for a long time to control how much of those sorts of foods I could eat, but I wasn't able to control my appetite. Eventually I stopped eating them altogether. It was hard. Very hard. I couldn't taper off. I had to go cold turkey. I did this cold turkey thing lots of times, and failed over and over again. I finally figured out that I needed to replace those carb calories with something else that wasn't going to make me feel hungry all the time or hungry for more. And that was healthy fats.

    Now, I set my level of protein I need per day and make sure to eat between 20-30gm of protein at each meal. I make sure to have at least 2 to 3 servings of non-starchy vegetables at each meal. And I eat fats like avocado, raw almonds, walnuts, or pecans (no more than a handful), full fat yogurt, fatty cheeses, olive oil, uncured bacon, and cream and butter made from the milk of grass-fed cows. I also use the rendered fat from the bacon, and from chicken that I roast. My protein sources are fattier as well, like salmon, chicken thighs, the fatty bacon, lamb chops, and grass-fed ground beef that is not lean or extra lean.

    At first, I had to eat A LOT of fat to deal with hunger. I didn't worry about the calories at all. I ate healthy fats until I was satisfied. I didn't gain any weight from eating the healthy fats. I found that over time, I slowly didn't need as much fat, and my calories started to drop.

    Another thing that helped me was to take l-glutamine powder about 15 minutes before each meal. It helps my body to better use the protein and cuts my carb cravings.
  • janetennet
    janetennet Posts: 143 Member
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    ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »
    I fill my plate with my portions, (weighing as I go if I have my scale handy- I don't like, take it to restaurants with me), eat what's on it, and then I put my plate in the dishwasher. Even if the rest of my family is still eating and socializing, I get rid of my plate. Then I have my glass of water, and hang out with my family.
    Eating out, I ask for a box up front, divvy my food into portions, and put half my meal in my box. Then I can eat what's on my plate, take my time and enjoy it, and not have to worry about breaking into the box.

    The work buffet is always a problem, but I find if I take a plate, put the fruit and whatever protein option is available on it the plate first, then there's a lot less room for that muffin, croissant, bear claw or whatever. :) Eat what's on my plate, and when I'm done, get rid of the plate. Get a full glass of water or a cup of coffee, and keep that in my hands to continue socializing.
    In the end, though, what it really comes down to is having the willpower to stop eating after your servings are gone.

    In addition to the above which is great advice, why not try...
    1. Using a smaller plate to "trick" your mind into thinking you are eating more?
    2. Another trick would be to have one serving then wait 20 minutes (drinking water while you do) and then re-evaluating whether you need that extra plate (notice I said need not want, we all want extra it's whether we need it to survive is key).
    3. Drink a bottle of water (500ml) before eating, this will full you up significantly and will hopefully stop you snacking without thinking and awareness of your body.
  • megomerrett
    megomerrett Posts: 442 Member
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    I have that issue with party buffets and lunches at conferences etc. Proud of myself yesterday - I just played up couple of little sandwiches, fruit and one little bhaji and took my plate and cup of tea to a table where I "networked" too hard to go up for more.

    I also went to one of those buffet pub meals at Brewers Fayre last night (not my choice!) and rather than have burgers with baps or hotdogs in rolls I filled my plate with a chicken breast, more meat, corn on the cob, salad etc. I felt full, ate a lot of calories but not as many as if I'd gone mad.

    It is hard but it doesn't have to mean you can have a muffin just don't eat all of the muffins.

    Plate up, move away from the buffet and don't go back.

    Or fill your boots and don't have any other meals. If that's the pay off I'd rather have a smaller buffet.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Fill a plate, eat what is on the plate, and do not go back. You know your hands are controlled by your brain. And what goes in your hands and then into your mouth, is all controlled by you..

    This process is the one thing you can control, now tap into your power and just do it!

    edited to say: a person has got to want to do this (and "this" being all things that you want to achieve which is weightless, eating healthier, and being a better version of yourself), don't keep yourself from achieving all these things!
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,411 Member
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    The one method I have for dealing with this issue is logging every single bite. I am committed to logging as accurately as possible and not leaving a single bite, lick, or taste off my log. This helps me be more mindful when faced with temptation, because I don't want to log a muffin, then a pastry, then some Nutella, then half a cookie...I really understand what a struggle it is day after day when you are surrounded by food...another trick I use is to drink a protein shake before I go out for a meal so by the time I get to the restaurant I am not famished. I don't know if this will help you or not, these are my tricks.

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