Why do we cheat and fail?

Craving is my downfall ,I'm a sweet craver

Food is food - it is not the quality but the quantity that will lead you somewhere. C.I.C.O.
Aiming at quality is a personal choice you make - looking into the quantity is wanting to make a change.
The day you want to eat "bad food" just eat it - track it, adjust your macros for the rest of the day and move on.

kommodevaran wrote: »

angelei177 wrote: »

Craving is my downfall ,I'm a sweet craver

Everybody loves sweets. Our current food environment is difficult to navigate. It takes a lot of skill and time to find an enjoyable way to eat that doesn't harm you.

This. The foods that are widely advertised, highly palatable, and available everywhere are largely high in calories and low in nutrition. I keep seeing "just eat a little" and I guess some people can do that, but it never worked out for me. Why torture myself with three bites or what have you and never be satisfied.

I spent the first month of my weight loss endeavor taking RX weight loss meds under the supervision of a doctor and a nutritionist to get me past that whole going bananas out of control thing where you crave and crave then you try to have just a little and you end up bingeing on everything you can get. After that month of meds I got past the part where this happens and learned to eat high nutrition, low cal. So now I abstain from those trigger foods. If I buy them, I will eat the whole mess in one sitting. Then I'll be fat again. I didn't go through all this calorie counting and sweating at the gym in order to just get fat again.

Husband brings home or orders junk all the time. And stays fat. I won't even look at it. I lost my extra 40 lb three years ago and I still wear that size 8. You sound like the kind of person who may need to abstain from trigger foods, since you describe going out of control with them. I know it's hard. Get to a location or be doing something where it's next to impossible to get those things. Be in the gym, be out walking, be doing some kind of chore. Not sitting in front of the TV or computer thinking about stuff that will make you fat if you eat it. Remove your mind and your body from the temptation. Try seeing a nutritionist or dietitian if there is a way to pay for it. They can help you form strategies.

I had 2 ice creams last night, I didn't cheat or fail anything. I just wanted ice cream so I ate it. It fitted my calories and helped sooth a sore throat.
Don't see eating the things you like as failing, just make them fit your calories.

Because you're characterising it as cheating rather than taking ownership of your intake, and you look on deviating from your plan as failure.

Do you like using the word cheat as is in "you are breaking some law or rule"? Maybe you are psychologically telling yourself you have been so good for X period of time, you are allowed to do something a little rebellious as a reward?

And failure is only derived at your own perceptions.. You can allow yourself to accept that this is a complete failure (which is it not btw) or you can allow yourself to say hey..." I just wanted to go off the diet for a day" and be ok with that.

You can also not deprive so much during the week and strategize calories to leave enough for a "goodie" everyday that you enjoy.

If you say you can't have something because it's "bad" or "cheating" then you'll want it more. So instead of banning certain foods you crave just make room in your numbers for them. It makes reaching your goals easier and less stressful when you eat what you want without limiting yourself. And if something you want has more calories than you have left then look up a macro friendly version of what you crave and make it. Or put if off for tomorrow and log it in the night before to plan your day around it accordingly.

for me its still wanting to eat the why i did (as in amount) from when i was a competitive athlete. I still have the apitite minus any of the activity.

Jimbob_James99 wrote: »

This always happens to me, it's like a big cycle. I'll eat well for about a week or two following my macros well. Then one day I just feel the need to eat bad foods and eat as much as I can!

Why does our mind feel the need to do this? Why do we seem to fail so easily? It annoys me so much

Unsustainable restrictive diet plan.
Calling foods good and bad instead of just food. Look at nutrients and meet your body's needs.
Calling it a failure if you eat a bunch one day.

I haven't cheated and failed this time because I am not on diet. I eat food I like every single day. Cheating is not necessary. I have a calorie goal not a diet plan. I didn't overhaul my entire way of eating to lose weight just portion sizes. I didn't stop if I went over my calorie goal one day. I've been able to keep going for about 2 years now.

If you can't imagine giving up a food for life then don't give it up to lose weight. Learn to eat appropriate portion sizes. Add foods to your diet instead of taking away. It is good to get enough protein, vegetables and fruits. That doesn't mean you can never eat a cookie.

I second what most have said above. If you want something, save room for it. Don't deny yourself. I have no intention of living the rest of my life without candy, sweets, ice cream, fried food, bread, sugar, etc. so I don't deny myself now. I'm in training, learning how to have a good relationship with food. All food. I always failed at losing weight when I seen the above mentioned things as "bad" or the "enemy" or off-limits. Now, I eat what I want, just in reasonable servings. I try to wait until the end of the day to eat "junk" and see what I have left over for calories but if I do eat if during the day, I just cut back on another meal later to make sure I don't go over. And even if I do go over one day, that doesn't mean that everything is for naught. Tomorrow is a new day. Today won't end your progress if you don't keep overeating so don't let one binge throw you off your whole journey.

tl;dr.....Eat what you want, just fit it in your calories. If you go over calories today, get back to it tomorrow, don't give up everything for one day.