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caitmcwill
caitmcwill Posts: 102
in Health and Weight Loss
I just started two weeks ago to lose weight and eat better. I have significantly cut down on the amount of calories that I take in and am exercising 6 times a week. I have already lost 8 pounds which I feel great about, but my biggest struggle is thinking about food. I absolutely love it and there are times that I feel I need it even when I am not hungry. How have you guys not given in to eating food when you don't need it? It's a psychological thing that I am having a hard time overcoming. Any advice would be great :)

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  • atomicpunk1974
    atomicpunk1974 Posts: 54
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    Welcome! It sounds like you're off to a great start! My usual strategy when I want food that I don't need is to drink water so that I still have something to put in my mouth that won't add calories. I don't know if that will help for you, but it does for me.
  • luci2403
    luci2403 Posts: 28 Member
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    I always ask myself what I want more... the food item I'm looking at or a slimmer body. The slimmer body is working :-)

    Part of it will be routine too - I'm now in a better routine where I don't eat crisps, chocolate and cake!

    Good luck on your journey
  • ajenkins66
    ajenkins66 Posts: 9
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    I try to got up and involve myself in other things. Of course this doesnt always work...some times i find a healthy alt. to the thing I am craving. One thing I am trying to teach myself is this. I eat to live nothing more. Food is to keep me going I do not live to eat even though I enjoy it! ALOT. I hav eot balance my life just as if I were addicted to anyother thing.

    SOme days are tuff and nothing works but you will get past it. I promise. My husband and I have been on the no white diet since the last week in April. Hes lost 26 lbs and Ive lost 25lbs as of this week. I praise God for every pound!
  • duncanryan
    duncanryan Posts: 122 Member
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    I really think this is a matter of will power. And it gets much easier as you continue to fight the cravings.

    If you are going to eat something that you think you shouldn't, which is totally fine in moderation, make sure it's only enough for one serving size or even less. Don't let yourself eat the whole bag of something.

    And as the other poster said, find a healthy alternative. Have a piece of fruit, chips/salsa, veggie.
  • SunshineKisses_2012
    SunshineKisses_2012 Posts: 471 Member
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    I have those urges all the time. I think it's a matter of perspective. If you are focusing on the food, then that's what you are going to fall for. If you look deeper - WHY do you want to eat - then you can start overcoming those urges. I'm a Christian. I rely A LOT on God to get me through because there are days that I just know I want to dive into my fridge face first and not come out until I run out of food or oxygen. Those are the tough days, but that trigger is usually caused by anxiety or lonliness or something else that is bothering me. Chewing gum, drinking water, choosing smarter alternatives when you want to eat are also ways I cope. Instead of - say - fried chicken - I eat pretzels. Thank you for sending me a friend request! You can do this!!!
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    I have similar issues. I would often find myself eating tons of food when I wasn't even hungry. For myself personally, the thing that works best is getting into a routine.

    Here are some things that I have done:
    I get to work about two hours earlier than I used to and I wear gym clothes on my commute. This forces me to go to the gym if nothing else to grab a quick shower and change for work. While I've done this on occasion if I had a hectic day in front of me, usually I workout. This contrasts with when I had a gym membership near my home that I never went to cause I would get lazy around the house and find excuses. The 5 days a week of exercising really starts to add up. I find I have more energy throughout the day and maybe it's just in my head but I feel less likely to break my diet now because of it.

    Packing lunches is huge. If I try to eat out at lunch and stay within my calories I'm always STARVING afterwards. With meals I make from home though I can add in a lot of things that are very filling and low in calories (I also make my food spicy as **** because I eat it slower like that and tend to overeat less) and are just healthier in general. I'm also less likely to make a bad decision for the whole week Sunday than I am 'just this once' throughout the week.

    Every time I catch myself thinking/obsessing about food, I try to drink a liter of water (I'm lazy with my diary, I just put 8 cups if I think I had enough water, I don't actually track the water I drink). It means a lot more trips to the bathroom throughout the day, but it helps me make sure I get enough water, is healthy for me, and makes it harder for me to ogle cookies or cupcakes or whatever with a gallon sloshing around down there.

    This is my second serious attempt at a diet. Last time was two years ago and I lost 50 lbs in just over 3 months. The reason that diet failed and I gained all the weight back and then some was because I had no routine. I was working out like an animal and eating practically nothing but yogurt all day. It wasn't something I could maintain for any extended period of time. This time around I'm going a little bit more slowly, and cutting myself more slack than I did before. Most importantly I'm trying to change my lifestyle into more of a routine. "Hungry? Well it's not lunch time yet so I'll wait until 1230 to eat my lunch like I have done every day." Even now, after just over three weeks, I'm starting to notice that my body is responding. Whereas at the start I was getting hungry at 930-10AM since my breakfast was smaller than I was used to, now I start to get hungry around the time I'm supposed to eat lunch anyway. Stick with what your doing (make sure it's healthy and you're not cutting too extremely of course) and your body will adapt. You just have to be patient and stick with it.

    So if I haven't said it enough: ROUTINE ROUTINE ROUTINE!!!

    Good luck!
  • AbbyAmenson
    AbbyAmenson Posts: 3
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    I know how hard this is, because I'm not working right now so a lot of my days are spent at home, board. I try to find something to take my mind off of it. Lately its been excercising with my Wii Fit. I don't know what resources you have at home for working out, but if you can make it fun like that I think it helps. I try to find other random things to do, even if its just cleaning or organizing something, or finding a new hobby. Basically even engaging in a random task takes time and becomes what I want to be doing more than eating. If I realy do want a snack, and don't want to give in to grabbing a bag of chips or box of cookies and chowing, I take my time and find what will actually satisfy me and I count out one serving, figure how it fits into my calories, etc for the day and keep that in mind if just one serving doesn't do the trick, will 2 servings fit into my day before I decide on the snack. One of my problems is drinking water so I have a glass of water with my snack too. A lot of days the more I put off the snack I want the later it gets and its either close to "suppertime" or when I go to bed and I have a smaller snack than I would have. I'm just throwing out random thoughts, but do want to help, maybe we can help eachother, feel free to add me as a friend or just take or leave what I said here. Either way good luck!
  • nursenicole
    nursenicole Posts: 15 Member
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    I have found that it is 50% mental. I read somewhere that food is meant to nourish your body, maintain all the proper functions of your important organs. It is not meant to be a reward or necessarily fun. We as a society have made food into social gatherings. TV advertisements are bad especially when you are on a diet. The best way to work around that is to allow your self to have one thing you crave once a week so you do not feel like you are depriving yourself. If you can stretch it to 2 weeks or 3 weeks or a month that may even be better. I also found having a support group to talk to will help hold yourself accountable for the things you indulge in too much. Most people understand and will not berade you but empathize with you and then give you strength to move past it.
  • MissMarthaGrace
    MissMarthaGrace Posts: 227 Member
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    I'm in the same boat ~ a lot of mindless eating is done and though most times I don't actually feel full ~ mentally I fell awful. So...a couple friends told me about this site and I signed up yesterday. Though I don't have many friends here yet, I'm amazed at how many people are struggling with the same issues as I am. I've just come off of a really rough couple of weeks (making bad choices) but am on Day 2 of being conscious of what I'm eating and feel pretty darn good! Even went out to lunch today and made a healthy choice!

    You can do it ~ and there are plenty of people here willing to help you along ~ me included! Best of luck on your journey!
  • MzPix
    MzPix Posts: 177 Member
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    I try to do things that CAN'T involve eating, like going for a jog, taking a shower or bubble bath, or even going to bed (if it's a night time craving).

    Other times, I might get in a quick work out to burn a burst of calories so I CAN have the food I'm craving.

    Congrats on taking the steps to change your life and the 8 you've already achieved!
    If you need MFP friends, feel free to add me. :)
  • caitmcwill
    caitmcwill Posts: 102
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    love the bubble bath idea...definitely need more of those :)

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