I can't change my eating habits!!
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Are you going for the chips and candy because you are hungry? If so, you may need to plan your meals to be more filling (more protein and fiber) or pack a healthy snack you can reach for when you get the munchies.
Sometimes I get a craving for something salty or sweet and that's how I end up going to the junk isle and eating the whole bag.
Get the small bag of chips and stop. You just have to learn to stop.6 -
I bring a little bit of everything to work incase I get a craving for example today:
Half of a caprese panini for breakfast (homemade)
Coffee
Lunch: Frozen meal (Amy's Kale & three cheese mac.) Normally I have left overs but didnt have any today so had to settle for this
Snack:
One cookie (homemade)
2 pretzel rods
1/2 serving of raw unsalted almonds
I have something sweet, something salty and something I can "snack" on (the almonds) throughout the day incase my breakfast or lunch are not filling enough.
ETA: I do all of this the night before and weigh everything so I know it will fit my day, if I bring something and I dont want to eat it, I simply leave it at work and copy the meal to the next day.4 -
Start with logging all of your food. And you're managing half a day? That's a good start. Try to extend that bit by bit or day by day. Take it one day at a time, don't wait for Monday to come around to start again. Start again now, whatever day now is.0
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Ironandwine69 wrote: »At least you're consistent and never fail.
You gotta want this. Motivation is not always the answer.
Do you want it?
Yes, I want it, but even then I go back.. I don't understand it. This has been going on for like 3 months now. I could've been at least 20 pounds lighter or something.. ugh.
I feel your pain. That was me about 3 months ago but I had to suck it up and make a change if I wanted to get the weight off. And so far have lost almost 30lbs in 2 months. And believe me when I first started it was hard and I was still eating a lot of processed foods those first few weeks but I made small changes.
You can start off small. Like still eat the chips but make it low cal baked chips or even kale chips instead, no sugar added candy, for chocolate candy bars...quest bars instead, for ice cream...halo top or enlightened ice cream, etc etc.
You don't have to change your whole entire eating plan right off, just try to find ways to make it healthier and to lower your cal content.0 -
Ok, I get it ... you are in an environment where you are surrounded by junk food and other unhealthy things. However, no one is making you eat them. Bring food with you to work and when you have a hankering for something crunchy/salty, eat what you bring. I remember in college, I worked in a country store/feed store and I was also surrounded by all that you are. However, I packed crunchy pickles (for crunch and salt) and pretzels (low fat and salty) and dipped them in plain yogurt that I jazzed up with ranch seasoning. I packed an apple for the sweet and dipped slices into peanut butter (measured out in advance and in a small container) ...
All the above was ... wait for it ... 20 years ago! I am 45 years old now and I adopted the same principles for weight loss a few years ago until I got a handle on my impulse control. While I work solo in an office now, there is a corner store only a 2 minute walk away AND my organization often has fundraisers so there is ALWAYS candy in my office. however, I am able to just say no! I bring my lunch to work every single day. However, I do make room each day for a treat like a scoop of ice cream or a brownie or something that is full fat (no since skimping on treats!). Sometimes I eat it and sometimes I don't.
I agree with the others. You have to want it bad enough and then when you do, you will go out of your way (like some of the easy ways I listed above) to make it happen.6 -
In the 3 months you have been playing I have lost 45 pounds. You are the only person who can put the chips down.13
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kommodevaran wrote: »Do you by any chance eat chips and candy because you like it and because you have it available? What motivation does your self on Tuesday-Sunday have for being normal weight some time next year?
It will take forever if you don't get your things together. What can help, is not buying chips and candy, and planning meals that are in line with your goals, and not deeming foods you like, unhealthy, because that will only increase your desire for it.
I work at a gas station so it's kind of hard to avoid it. We also get to eat the food we serve which isn't healthy at all. I basically live there so I think that's why I switch back to eating unhealthy. I can definitely see a difference when I'm not at work.
Bring your own snacks to work. If I can have a strawberry cake (and I love cake) and donuts in front of me at my job for days on end and avoid it by bringing in healthier options then you can too!
If you feel compelled to eat what you serve at work (which I can understand because my roommate often brings fast food in the house and it's taken me weeks to learn to curve it), you just might have to workout more and halfen how much of it you eat until you get the hang of meal prepping or picking up healthier options.0 -
Can you grab snacks from the shop without paying for them? If not then maybe also track all the money you spend. You can find a simple spreadsheet app for your phone I'm sure. Make a simple table with headers for food, transport, fun, snacks, others for example. Then see how much money you actually spend on snacks. That can be quite eye-opening.2
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okohjacinda wrote: »Ironandwine69 wrote: »At least you're consistent and never fail.
You gotta want this. Motivation is not always the answer.
Do you want it?
Yes, I want it, but even then I go back.. I don't understand it. This has been going on for like 3 months now. I could've been at least 20 pounds lighter or something.. ugh.
I feel your pain. That was me about 3 months ago but I had to suck it up and make a change if I wanted to get the weight off. And so far have lost almost 30lbs in 2 months. And believe me when I first started it was hard and I was still eating a lot of processed foods those first few weeks but I made small changes.
You can start off small. Like still eat the chips but make it low cal baked chips or even kale chips instead, no sugar added candy, for chocolate candy bars...quest bars instead, for ice cream...halo top or enlightened ice cream, etc etc.
You don't have to change your whole entire eating plan right off, just try to find ways to make it healthier and to lower your cal content.
I think my thing is also I try to set a high bar for exercising.. I think I'm doing too much at once.1 -
Silentpadna wrote: »Just like anything else, sometimes it takes working your way into it. Just like running (not saying you need to run or exercise - only illustrating), you can't go out and run 10 miles after getting off the couch. You have to work your way up. You can do the same thing with your eating habits.
You can make individual choices with practice.
This exactly. I think a big reason so many weight loss plans fail is that we think we have to start off (on Monday!) running that 10 miles. The last time I tried running, I couldn't even jog a mile at first! Similarly, changing your eating habits is hard, but it's doable if you work up to it. Start by logging everything you eat. Make one choice at a time. If you like chips, try grabbing the smallest bag you can, then waiting as long as possible before grabbing another one. See if there's another salty snack that fills you up more than chips so that you're eating less overall - crackers or cheese or something. Maybe take a walk around the block on your break and then decide if you want to grab the chips. And keep logging so that you can see those totals go down with each little choice that you make. It's going to take a while before you see weight loss results, but you WILL see them if you just keep making little choices and sticking to it.0 -
Can you grab snacks from the shop without paying for them? If not then maybe also track all the money you spend. You can find a simple spreadsheet app for your phone I'm sure. Make a simple table with headers for food, transport, fun, snacks, others for example. Then see how much money you actually spend on snacks. That can be quite eye-opening.
We can eat the hot foods for free.0 -
Eating chips from a bag is what I call "Hand to mouth disease".
I suffered from it greatly. My spouse, on the other hand, does not. She loves Cheetos Puffs. When Puffs are in the house, and she want some, she'll get a bowl, the typical American breakfast cereal bowl, and put a handful of Puffs in it. Then she eats it and she's done. She gets no refills. She doesn't weigh her Puffs, but I did once. That method gets 1 oz. That's 1 serving. That's awesome.5 -
okohjacinda wrote: »Ironandwine69 wrote: »At least you're consistent and never fail.
You gotta want this. Motivation is not always the answer.
Do you want it?
Yes, I want it, but even then I go back.. I don't understand it. This has been going on for like 3 months now. I could've been at least 20 pounds lighter or something.. ugh.
I feel your pain. That was me about 3 months ago but I had to suck it up and make a change if I wanted to get the weight off. And so far have lost almost 30lbs in 2 months. And believe me when I first started it was hard and I was still eating a lot of processed foods those first few weeks but I made small changes.
You can start off small. Like still eat the chips but make it low cal baked chips or even kale chips instead, no sugar added candy, for chocolate candy bars...quest bars instead, for ice cream...halo top or enlightened ice cream, etc etc.
You don't have to change your whole entire eating plan right off, just try to find ways to make it healthier and to lower your cal content.
I think my thing is also I try to set a high bar for exercising.. I think I'm doing too much at once.
Possibly. Try eating at a 500 kcal deficit for a couple of days without deliberate exercise. See how that goes.0 -
I work at a gas station so it's kind of hard to avoid it. We also get to eat the food we serve which isn't healthy at all. I basically live there so I think that's why I switch back to eating unhealthy. I can definitely see a difference when I'm not at work.
That's got to be hard. Can you bring along some healthy foods to eat instead when you have a craving?0 -
okohjacinda wrote: »Ironandwine69 wrote: »At least you're consistent and never fail.
You gotta want this. Motivation is not always the answer.
Do you want it?
Yes, I want it, but even then I go back.. I don't understand it. This has been going on for like 3 months now. I could've been at least 20 pounds lighter or something.. ugh.
I feel your pain. That was me about 3 months ago but I had to suck it up and make a change if I wanted to get the weight off. And so far have lost almost 30lbs in 2 months. And believe me when I first started it was hard and I was still eating a lot of processed foods those first few weeks but I made small changes.
You can start off small. Like still eat the chips but make it low cal baked chips or even kale chips instead, no sugar added candy, for chocolate candy bars...quest bars instead, for ice cream...halo top or enlightened ice cream, etc etc.
You don't have to change your whole entire eating plan right off, just try to find ways to make it healthier and to lower your cal content.
I think my thing is also I try to set a high bar for exercising.. I think I'm doing too much at once.
Yeah get a fitbit or a cheap version of it and start tracking your steps. If you can, try to aim for 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day at first. That's it. You don't have to do anything fancy when starting out. But your main focus should be nutrition. Exercising is secondary to weight loss.
Once you get your eating in check then add more steps and/or workouts.
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Every week never fails. I go through the week thinking I'm going to start on Monday... Monday comes and I get through 1/2 of the day going strong and then the next minute I'm in a bag of chips, candy, etc. I know it takes a long time to develop a healthy eating schedule, but why can't my "being overweight" trump my eating habits. Maybe I need better motivation to not go back to my unhealthy eating?? I don't know.. any advice?
When you eat those things do you track them here at MFP? Maybe if you did that it would help you to see how much you are eating and that might be what you need to get yourself going is to actually see the bad stuff you are eating that is causing you to get nowhere with the weight loss.1 -
Can you grab snacks from the shop without paying for them? If not then maybe also track all the money you spend. You can find a simple spreadsheet app for your phone I'm sure. Make a simple table with headers for food, transport, fun, snacks, others for example. Then see how much money you actually spend on snacks. That can be quite eye-opening.
We can eat the hot foods for free.
Maybe make yourself a "hot food jar" like a swear jar but instead of a quarter for every time you say damn, put in $5 every time you take a plate of free food. Or bring a scale to work and put a $1 for every 8 oz that plate weighs. After a few weeks of "paying" for the food you may see that an hour once a week to prep some food is time and money better spent.
Also, I'm not sure who you're working for but if you're in the states and earning an hourly wage I believe that they are required by law to give you a 30-60 minute food break and two 15 minutes breaks for every 8 hours on the clock.4 -
okohjacinda wrote: »Ironandwine69 wrote: »At least you're consistent and never fail.
You gotta want this. Motivation is not always the answer.
Do you want it?
Yes, I want it, but even then I go back.. I don't understand it. This has been going on for like 3 months now. I could've been at least 20 pounds lighter or something.. ugh.
I feel your pain. That was me about 3 months ago but I had to suck it up and make a change if I wanted to get the weight off. And so far have lost almost 30lbs in 2 months. And believe me when I first started it was hard and I was still eating a lot of processed foods those first few weeks but I made small changes.
You can start off small. Like still eat the chips but make it low cal baked chips or even kale chips instead, no sugar added candy, for chocolate candy bars...quest bars instead, for ice cream...halo top or enlightened ice cream, etc etc.
You don't have to change your whole entire eating plan right off, just try to find ways to make it healthier and to lower your cal content.
I think my thing is also I try to set a high bar for exercising.. I think I'm doing too much at once.
Setting a high bar for exercising isn't a bad thing. I tend to do the same thing. If I'm going to work out, I want it to be worth it. If I put my sports bra on, it's game on and I'm full throttle. However, I think you may benefit from learning more about nutrition. For me, if I know how one food will serve my overall health better than the other, I'm more likely to pick the healthier option and save treats or indulgences for every now and then instead of regularly. I also find if I workout early in the day, I'm more likely to make good health decisions for the rest of the day because I don't want to "undo" my good work. Knowing how to eat for myself and my needs for proper health and nutrition makes it a lot easier to want to eat healthier and make overall better choices. This may help you too.3
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