How to break over eating habits?

Check out this thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10563959/volume-eaters-thread/p1

Tracking has helped me get a handle on the amount of food I eat. Even if I go over my calories limit for the day. It keeps me accountable to myself and I am more aware of how much I am eating.

I find that if I know in advance I'm going to be around the kind of food I'll over-indulge in, if I pre-log a reasonable portion, I'm okay. I think it comes down to:

• I'm a stress/emotion eater. And worrying that I 'cheated' on my diet has been a major stressor for me during earlier weight-loss attempts. So in the past, it's been "I see something tempting. I give in. Guilt and negative self-talk commences. The stress and guilt has me going back for more. I feel guiltier. I go back for more. Etc etc" Pre-logging means that a treat doesn't have to be a cheat. I know for a fact that I'm within my calories and I'm not derailing anything. So when I have a piece of birthday cake, that's all I have. I skip the guilt and negativity and with them, the urge to keep eating.
• "Stolen waters are sweet," "Forbidden fruit," whatever. When I feel I can't have something, I want it. When I know I can... I can resist.
• And sometimes, when I pre-log, I look at the calories and think to myself, "You know? It's just not worth it." Or "I can't justify a whole donut. But I think half is pretty doable."

Other than that, I keep lower-calorie foods around for snacking. I've got more of a salt tooth than a sweet one, so I tend to have veggie dogs, Skinny Pop popcorn and string cheese. If I want something a little sweeter (and one serving gives me 30% of my iron RDA), I have Corn Squares cereal, dry. Cold? Homemade strawberry sorbet or granita. I bake, but I try to stick to recipes where a single serving is 200 calories or less. Just made an upside-down peach pie this week (more of a shallow-dish peach crisp, actually) at 90 calories for 1/8 of the plate. Chocolate truffles are about 80 calories each; my recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate and I find it easy to stop at one. Meringues are about 30 calories apiece. This falls under "If I know I'm going to want to snack, I can at least make sure the snacks won't blow my weight-loss efforts."

MostlyWater wrote: »

First of all, food is fuel; it's not entertainment. Or love. It's pretty hard to live this way, but portion control is your friend. It has to be.

I disagree food is entertainment. I spend time thinking and creating new recipes. I entertain myself by baking most weekends. My boyfriend and I entertain ourselves by cooking and sharing a meal together. We love to cook we love to eat, but we can do that healthfully. I think the chefs out in the world would disagree with you to.
Only thinking of food as fuel would be a boring life.

Food absolutely IS Entertainment...at least it has become that. If not, there wouldn't be so many cooking shows on TV or nobody would watch them!. And try telling an Italian mama that food is not love, I dare ya!!! And I'll tell y'all straight up--I Chocolate. And food is BIG business - I'm a retired food service director!

I agree, starting the food diary was a real eye opener for me too. It only took me about three days to realize I could eat an entire salad (and be full for hours) for about the same calories as a serving of peanut butter licked from a spoon. And my real eye opener has been cheese... I really don't have to top everything with an inch of it and I don't miss it at all.

So what has helped me get started?
Desire-- You've got that, you're here.
Awareness-- Oh, how MFP helps you see what you are eating
Knowledge - And teaches you too!
Pre-logging- I agree with esterdragonbat on this!
Being Prepared-- again esterdragonbat gave some really good examples
Portion Control -- Seems I used to eat THREE servings of pasta at ONE meal! Measuring everything out is a real pain, but it also opens your eyes to what you have been actually putting on your plate.
Better Choices - You'll learn how to make them.

In the back of my mind I always tell myself that it's my choice to do this. I don't have to log my food etc. I can stay fat, afterall I've been over weight at least 45 years. But this IS what I want.... and I want it more than chocolate!

I really enjoy food, too! The social aspect of sharing time with family and friends over a meal, the flavors and aromas of the food, everything. It was an eye opener for me, too, to see how much I was feeding myself with I started logging with MFP. I have found that smaller portions are just as satisfying to me now. One enchilada is tasty and filling, I don't need that second one.