Been eating crap lately. Help!

ndj1979 wrote: »

white0rabbit0 wrote: »

I do log everything I eat however I don't have a good scale. And I usually only eat half the calories I've burned from exercise.
I do have a local grocery store that has a program like that.

Get a food scale and weigh everything....eyeballing portions results in 25-35% error rate in logging...

QFT. Instead of a fast, OP, buy a food scale. Trust us.

Be careful with fasting, you don't want to start a binge and restrict cycle.

A few things that work for me:
1. Food is food. Yes, some food is nutritionally better than other food but food is not "crap." Just because you had some pizza doesn't mean suddenly you're not going to be able to lose weight. This morning I caved and had a couple chocolate chip pancakes that I had made for my kids. The little suckers didn't finish them, and I gave in and ate them. But you know what? I logged it, I have about 700 cal left for the day, so I'll be eating a lot of soup and drinking a lot of tea but it doesn't mean the day is shot.
2. If you're craving pizza, figure out a way to make it healthy and work for your calories. If you're craving chips, buy one of those individual serving size bags. Make it work for you. I personally hate salads. If I'm craving something hot and cheesy I make a tuna melt or a personal size veggie pizza.
3. Drink a ton of water. Tell yourself, I can eat it but first I need to drink a quart of water. Set yourself up with a quart of water and a straw and zone out on your phone while you suck it down. 90% of the time after I'm done with my water I don't want whatever it is I was craving.
4. Make sure you're getting enough sleep! If you're craving something at night, and it's going to put you over your calorie goal for the day, just go to bed. At the very least, if you can't do that, brush teeth, floss, and mouthwash.

Again, I just want to reiterate that if you're craving hot, salty food, that does not mean you're craving crap, and there are hundreds of ways to satisfy that craving while keeping your weight loss goals in mind.

Thanks for this thread and the great suggestions. I had three strong weeks on MFP and lost 6 of the 15 lbs I had to lose but this week I'm regressing. So in the same boat @white0rabbit0 and hoping to kick myself in the butt tomorrow.

Weighing and logging everything despite the embarrassment (chips AND goldfish crackers with lunch today) and hitting calorie goals anyway, and hoping I'll come out of this funk.

Also, I had a little sugar the last couple of days and I might try cutting that out completely again.

wellnesschaser wrote: »

The water suggestions is great by the way @EmbeeKay and also I for one have not been sleeping due to baby and snoring husband!

It works great for me @wellnesschaser!

The "no sleep due to baby" thing sucks! I personally find it nearly IMPOSSIBLE to meet any kind of diet goals if I get less than seven hours of sleep a night. Right now I'm 33 weeks pregnant and I wake frequently at night, and on nights I try to get by on six hours of sleep or so, the next day I want to eat EVERYTHING. With other kids to take care of, naps aren't always an option (honestly hardly ever an option) though they would help my diet immensely (nap vs more food... naps are better!). I personally feel like sleep is CRUCIAL to fitness, and I don't think people always realize that, but when you simply can't get enough sleep due to external factors, it can be really frustrating.

Since you seem to be craving carbs, I wonder if adding some healthy carbs, such as whole grains, might help. It should definitely help with your energy levels. A lot of people swear by oatmeal, which I personally can't stand, but I like quinoa bowls. And maybe some dairy to take the edge off the cheese craving. The problem with stuff like chips is that it doesn't really satisfy in the long run, so eating it always makes me crave more.

Maybe you are just a little burnt out and need to incorporate a cheat day .. u know a little something to look forward to.