Eating has been the hardest thing for me to conquer!

Increasingly, I think it's easier if you can find a way to make what you are doing a positive (something you actively do) vs. a negative (I won't do that).

One way to make it a positive is focus on meeting your calories and if you want something, figure out how to fit it in (or put it off until you can).

Others find other ways to make it a positive, like eating according to a certain style or -- and I this worked well for me -- focusing on eating a healthy diet in a positive way, making it about getting in enough vegetables, protein, healthy fats, so on, in a fun and tasty way.

One of the tricks for me (not everyone, but for me this helped) was not eating between meals, because I feel more satisfied on less when I eat less often and I mindlessly eat between meals often when I am not limiting eating times. I made this into a positive by thinking to myself "oh, I don't eat between meals, I save my calories for delicious foods at meals" and then thinking about what delicious thing I'd have in a few hours at dinner (or whatever) when I wanted to eat.

You can fit in sodas and bread if you want to, the question is just fitting it in, not letting it derail you. For sodas (which I don't drink), one way that might help is to think "I don't want to drink calories, I want to save them for foods I love that I eat" and have something specific in mind you can afford to include because of those calories. OR, if you really love soda (for me it's an easy thing to not waste calories on), then think of saving them for a special treat and really savor and appreciate the soda while drinking it, don't just sip on it while focused on something else (one of the reasons calories we drink are often not that satisfying comparatively).

MarissaLaRea wrote: »

Thanks so much You guys! That was very helpful. I am doing my best. I didn't buy anything "bad" from the grocery store, so there's one milestone.

Stop labeling food 'bad', that creates a poor relationship with food. Eat the foods you like, just learn how to fit them into your calorie goals. As you move forward you'll start to find ways to save on calories, for example switching from regular soda to diet can save hundreds of calories with minimal fuss; there's all sorts of low calorie bread options and wraps etc etc. Some things you'll realize just aren't worth the calories for the taste, and you'll begin to find low calorie foods that you enjoy, that you can start incorporating into your diet.

I eat bread almost every day, and it fits into my MFP calorie budget. I'd probably feel a little deprived if I didn't. But I gave up soda cold turkey, substituting lots of water, tea, iced coffee lattes made with almond milk, Sparkling Ice (no calories!) and the occasional Coke Zero. I just decided if I'm going to ingest calories, I want them to be calories I can chew.