Does any one else sabotage themselves ?
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Deltamichelle
Posts: 8 Member
Am I the only one that doesn't cope well with the pressure of maintaining a healthy lifestyle / food choices? I do well to start with go to the gym eat clean as soon as people start noticing changes (I've lost 28lbs so far am happier healthier feel better am not in constant pain ). Loads of positives .... but me succeeding seems to switch something in my brain and I wana binge on junk I don't even like for no decernabke reason which makes me feel ill and then I feel like I've let myself down .... I feel like I'm constantly battling the crazy monster inside ( think Cookie Monster crossed with grouch ) with the rational sensible person inside too that knows what I'm doing is nurotic but I don't know how to change it? Any suggestions? Or am I the only one ? (I guess if I am I have my crazy monster inside to keep me company and chow down on cookies and junk lol) Thanks for reading / replying .... have only posted once before so be gentle with me pleases and thankyous
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Replies
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A lot of us have this issue. It usually means there's some reason usually unconscious and irrational that part of your brain holds for wanting to stay over weight, maybe brainstorm ideas for wanting to hold onto the weight, get them out so you can look at them, see if that helps.8
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I totally get you, I can go on a streak of healthy clean eating for about 10 days and then I binge eat all the sugary and naughty food I can find even if I'm not hungry. It's weird how I'm not 'allowing' myself to be happy and healthy, as if my brain is telling me I don't deserve it?? It's strange and I'm working on not letting it happen again (as I've done it twice now in the past 2 week)2
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You binge because you cut out the things you like imo.
There is no need to eat clean. Add in a little of what you fancy as well as the nutrient dense foods and you'll find it a lot more sustainable.17 -
You need to find balance. I enjoy living a healthy life and eating well and regular exercise...I also enjoy our family Friday night pizza night and popping a couple tops on the weekend and having a little something for desert a couple night per week.
You have to drop the all or nothing mentality. The leanest, healthiest, and fittest people I know have balance...nobody I know ( and I pretty much run in fitness circles) is "clean" 100% of the time.14 -
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle isn't difficult... because it's healthy. A healthy lifestyle is easy and feels natural. Doing well, going to the gym, eating clean... sounds like you're just embarking on a new diet.
Keep in mind that humans aren't completely rational beings, we are animals with the ability to be rational. Food tastes great and is supposed to. Trying to always restrict something you want, is going to be difficult. That constant battle is what makes you "neurotic". Have a little of what you fancy. No, better, eat food you like every day and make room for everything you want, but in sensible amounts.3 -
yes, everyone does it.
It helps to realise that its completely normal.
The key to success is to try again and again and persist.
Good luck on your journey!1 -
It's not "sabotage". It's the thought process that "healthy" eating only means eating foods you THINK are healthy. There are foods that have higher nutritional value than others, yes, but once you've reached the nutrient values you need on a daily basis, you DON'T get extra credit by eating more "healthy" food.
CICO equation helps to dictate weight gain/loss/maintenance. There as so many ways to eat to fulfill this as well as keep good health. Abstaining from foods you actually like isn't one I would recommend unless it causes an actual health issue (like gout, acid reflux, etc).
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I completely get how you feel. With me,
once I've had that one chocolate bar, I think, well now I've had one, I may as well have another, or a packet of crisps and just continue eating all the crap I can find.
Then find myself back to square one again and trying to find the right day to start my healthy eating diet.
Today (my first day of trying to get fit) I haven't allowed myself any "bad" food, and constantly I'm craving sugar. Even now, I'm in bed and love the idea of eating some jammie biscuits or a chocolate doughnut.
I tell myself I have only 9 more days of this sugar ban, and once I have completed that, if I still want it I will alllow myself a treat.
I'm just hoping that by then, the craving for sugar and junk food will have diminished.4 -
Sabotage is a strong word, and I don't have personal experience with binging, but there are times I think to myself, "It's not fair that I don't get to eat that cupcake, everyone else is eating a cupcake, I'm not actually fat, I should be able to eat it!!!!!" And then a few hours later I'll eat something else, not the cupcake, but not something I intended to eat when I woke up that morning. And not because I was hungry or even craved it, but because I was "mad" that I didn't "get" to eat a cupcake. Which makes no logical sense.
I try to remind myself that having my jeans hang loose on me truly feels better than than 5-second moment of pleasure you get from the first bite of cupcake. Sometimes that helps.5 -
I sometimes over-eat, and I sometimes eat less nutrition-dense foods than my usual.
I don't think of that as "sabotage". I think of it as "making choices".
Sometimes they're impulsive, sometimes they're sub-optimal choices, but once action is taken, there's no going back, so: Think about why it happened, make a plan for better accomplishing my long-term goals next time I'm in similar circumstances, then go on with life.
It's usually that I've (slightly) compromised my future self's well-being for my current self's pleasure. Usually it isn't an instant threat to future Ann's total well-being, as long as I don't do it very often.
I think the wisest sign in the whole world is one I see frequently: "You are here." Not where I wish I were; not where I'd be if I'd made a different choice. Here. It's the only place from which I can take the next step.
Agonizing further over the past - beyond the look at why, and a new plan - serves no purpose. Doesn't burn calories. Increases stress, which raises cortisol. Doesn't Help.13 -
Absolutely. Oddly, it tends to happen when I am doing really well (like one of those days when you suddenly lose five pounds overnight.) And it's not a thought process of "Oh, I'm doing extra well so I can indulge", either. It's like a kind of panic over the success (in my case). I think it's tied to the fact that for most of my life I've had pretty low self-esteem, so success just seems strange and out-of-place. I've been self-sabotaging a lot less in the past two years as I got to a better place mentally.3
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BlueSkyShoal wrote: »Absolutely. Oddly, it tends to happen when I am doing really well (like one of those days when you suddenly lose five pounds overnight.) And it's not a thought process of "Oh, I'm doing extra well so I can indulge", either. It's like a kind of panic over the success (in my case). I think it's tied to the fact that for most of my life I've had pretty low self-esteem, so success just seems strange and out-of-place. I've been self-sabotaging a lot less in the past two years as I got to a better place mentally.
Fear of success, or fear of change, are very real and potentially powerful things. So can be the feeling that we somehow don't deserve a more successful life. It can take some serious introspection to recognize those in oneself.8 -
Agree with the comments on finding balance between "clean" and "junk" foods.
For me when I stopped labeling foods as good or bad it virtually stopped guilt dead in its tracks.
Because you eat healthy and because you workout consistently you should feel ok having the occasional sweet. Not being overly restrictive gives the power back to you and not the food.
At least this is true for me.3 -
A couple of things help me.
*In the beginning I just couldn't talk about my goals too much because it seemed to derail me.
*I also decided that because I'm in this for life, a bad day or week isn't an undoing but just a setback.
*I also agree with people above about finding balance.
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I have 1 splurge meal a week because I too will go insane eating "healthy/clean" all the time. Sometimes through the week I may have some Halo Top ice cream or couple pieces of chocolate.
Definitely enjoy what you eat and don't think you have to be perfect all the time. No one is perfect (some people may think they are) lol2 -
I find this happens to me specifically when I'm trying to eat clean and "healthy" vs allowing myself to eat foods I love.
What I've done is try to stay within my calorie goals and only eat what I love now. I no longer make a decision to eat just because it's good for me because I'm still going to end up craving what I love anyways. I've found this helps in a huge way3 -
Looks like I have some thinking to do .... thanks guys it's very kind of you to take the time to answer .... balance is something I struggle to find .... you have been helpful thankyou x5
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I totally understand what you mean. And it's not about not being able to eat this or that. I eat really healthily but don't deny myself the occasional treat if i want it. But as soon as i start seeing results a switch goes off and i undo all the good work .... I think, for me, it's because i have always been short and fat and was teased for it as a child, and so, even though i am now a reasonably slim adult, my brain still thinks of me being that short fat (miserable) kid. I try to remember I'm not her any more, but sometimes it's hard. I'm currently carrying an extra stone in weight but find it so easy to overeat even with good healthy food. I hope you find a resolution for your own sabotaging behaviour
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I sabotage myself because I LOVE baking but somehow always end up eating half the stuff I make. Really rough to reconcile the only thing I really like doing with losing weight
But no.. I won't binge on things I don't like.2 -
I sabotage myself because I LOVE baking but somehow always end up eating half the stuff I make. Really rough to reconcile the only thing I really like doing with losing weight
But no.. I won't binge on things I don't like.
Do people ever binge on stuff they hate the taste of, though? Not only would I never gorge myself on things I don't like, I would never eat them, period, binge or not. 2
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