Help! Really struggling with SWEETS and MODERATION
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missmelis1976
Posts: 17 Member
Hi All,
I'm new to posting in here. I've used MYP off and on for a few years. Just recently I started back up counting my calories. I've gained 30 lbs in the past few months. Heaviest I've ever been. I'm 5'8 1/2" and as of this morning weigh 168.9. My goal is 143. I was roughly 143 - 4 years ago and felt great and was comfortable in my skin. I feel VERY sluggish and just awful these days. None of my clothes fit and I'm very upset with myself for getting this way so far.
My problem? Several! I love, LOVE food. I'm a foodie big time. I have a hard time with moderation. For instance as I write this I have a share size of M&M's in my desk drawer at work. I KNOW the bag is full. It's a large bag. I will literally eat this bag within 1 day whereas other people it would take days to eat. I can't eat just one serving - 12 M&Ms.
Another issue I have is my sweet tooth. It's over the top. Always has been. I could care less about salt. If I had my way I would eat sweets (99% of the time I'm talking about CHOCOLATE) all.day.long. I would skip breakfast, lunch and dinner and just eat chocolate. I love it so much. I'm talking good quality milk chocolate. I can deal with dark but dont care for it.
My diet is terrible. I dislike fruits and most veggies. I do love proteins and carbs - of course. haha!
I have a 3 year old, work full time and dont have time to get to a gym.
We have a treadmill that is collecting dust in our basement.
Please anyone! Give me advice/tip/advice on how to get out of this sluggish depression I am in. I want to lose this weight, feel alive and active and full of energy again.
Thank you for reading.
I'm new to posting in here. I've used MYP off and on for a few years. Just recently I started back up counting my calories. I've gained 30 lbs in the past few months. Heaviest I've ever been. I'm 5'8 1/2" and as of this morning weigh 168.9. My goal is 143. I was roughly 143 - 4 years ago and felt great and was comfortable in my skin. I feel VERY sluggish and just awful these days. None of my clothes fit and I'm very upset with myself for getting this way so far.
My problem? Several! I love, LOVE food. I'm a foodie big time. I have a hard time with moderation. For instance as I write this I have a share size of M&M's in my desk drawer at work. I KNOW the bag is full. It's a large bag. I will literally eat this bag within 1 day whereas other people it would take days to eat. I can't eat just one serving - 12 M&Ms.
Another issue I have is my sweet tooth. It's over the top. Always has been. I could care less about salt. If I had my way I would eat sweets (99% of the time I'm talking about CHOCOLATE) all.day.long. I would skip breakfast, lunch and dinner and just eat chocolate. I love it so much. I'm talking good quality milk chocolate. I can deal with dark but dont care for it.
My diet is terrible. I dislike fruits and most veggies. I do love proteins and carbs - of course. haha!
I have a 3 year old, work full time and dont have time to get to a gym.
We have a treadmill that is collecting dust in our basement.
Please anyone! Give me advice/tip/advice on how to get out of this sluggish depression I am in. I want to lose this weight, feel alive and active and full of energy again.
Thank you for reading.
7
Replies
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I'm a single dad of a 10 year old and work more than full time. You can make time for exercise! I sacrifice sleep, but it's worth it. I get up at 4 am every day and have two hours to myself for exercise and etc.6
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For me personally, ducks down from thrown rocks and boohissses, lol was going keto. I only respond because your story is identical to mine..those M&Ms are share with myself sizeable. Then also I'll eat more after that. My breakfasts were candybars and Diet Coke.
I went keto on June 28th and no joke every single craving is gone...GONE I'm losing about 1lb/week, haven't been going to gym (yes counting cals and macros to stay net 25carbs, but keto makes it so easy to stay in range). Is this the only way? No..but from one sugaraholic to the other, its what worked for me. I'm 43 and went to Dr. because I thought I needed depression meds, so lethargic, no energy, I'd rip off a face in mere moments..ba ha ha and that is all gone. Weird as can be, but maybe an option.
Best of luck!3 -
Regarding the sweets:
-Portion out the sweets so that you CAN"T overindulge. Instead of having a large bag of M&Ms in your desk, just take in a ziploc with 1 serving in it. The rest won't be there so you can't be bad about it
-Weigh everything and stick to one serving. I have issues with measuring out large sweets, so I switched my sugar intake to smaller chocolates. Godiva, Ghiardelli squares, that sort of thing. I look at the serving size, grab as many as serving says, and WALK AWAY before I start eating. Out of sight, out of mind.
-If it helps, give yourself a financial sweets budget. That may give you incentive to not graze on chocolate, as you only get to buy so much a month and the more you eat today the less you have later.
Regarding exercise:
-You don't have to go to gym or dedicate large chunks of time. Find what works for you
-Go for walk around the neighborhood, with or without kid.
-Do exercise videos. Start with beginner stuff, try to start with 3 days a week, increase number of days as you get more used to having it as part of your routine. This is what I did, and within a month I went from mindset of "oh god i have to exercise now" to "I know I don't have to exercise today but I feel like a slacker". Currently I do 30 min videos 6 days a week
-Find exercises you can do in short blocks and do them throughout the day. Take 10 mins where you can to do some reps, then go back to life.7 -
You have two options - moderation or abstinence.
I'm a moderator. I plan for 200-300 calories of sweets (usually chocolate or ice cream) every night after dinner. If I try to cut them completely out of my diet, I freak out after 3-4 days and binge on them.
Other people cannot moderate. One bite and they are off on a binge. They have to completely cut that item from their diet.
Find out which one you are, and do that.12 -
After reading this, here is my opinion in a nut shell:
1. You disliking fruits and vegetables is a struggle, but my suggestion would be to work with the ones you DO like. 2. Not everyone needs to hit the gym to lose weight or exercise for that matter. Take your 3 year old on walks, run up hills, jump up and down .. play like a kid does - that is basically HIIT Ride bikes together, go swimming .. there are so many great options available to you.
3. Finally, your biggest issue according to this post, is to modify your sweets intake - I am not sure how to tell you to do this one. You have to make a conscious choice and effort to change this in order to reach your goals.
I am a true believer in balance and moderation. You will never have to give up chocolate, but you will have to sacrifice your cravings for food that you might not want to eat at times. You might want to try a IIFYM plan - this will allow for dieting flexibility that I think you need from what I read here.
Best of luck to you on your journey0 -
You don't need a gym/to work out in order to lose weight. It helps for overall health, but it is not required. I also do not recommend sacrificing sleep as your body needs that time to recover from the day. What has gotten my sweet tooth down a bit was going without added sugar for a month (I tried to do it for lent, but caved). When I went back to eating sugar, I couldn't handle as much sweets.
The other thing I do, is I do not buy anything which I am not willing to sacrifice the calories if I eat the whole package. I lack the will power to say no to only eating 1 serving out of that package of twizzlers. I will eat the whole damn package so I don't buy that. A single candy bar is generally around 250 calories for the full size, so I can usually find a way to fit that in. I have been cutting for about 6 months and it comes in waves with how easy it is to say no.2 -
I am a binge-er. Dark chocolate is not my favorite either. But that is exactly what I use to curb my chocolate cravings because I won't binge on it. Start with 72% cacao. Eat 1-2 squares (whatever your calories/macros allow for the day) when you crave it the most (I eat mine at night in front of the TV). I break each square into about 8-10 small pieces and let each melt in my mouth slowly. By the time I'm done, it's been 15-30 minutes and I feel like I've been eating chocolate non-stop, and so does my brain (yay, I tricked it!). Slowly over the next few months you can raise the cacao number to 85%. I do 90% now but it is EXTREMELY BITTER. I have grown used to it and still feel like I'm indulging. You can even break it into pieces and take it to work if need be. Dark chocolate is lower in calories and lower in carbs. The antioxidants are a bonus! Best of luck.2
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quiksylver296 wrote: »You have two options - moderation or abstinence.
I'm a moderator. I plan for 200-300 calories of sweets (usually chocolate or ice cream) every night after dinner. If I try to cut them completely out of my diet, I freak out after 3-4 days and binge on them.
Other people cannot moderate. One bite and they are off on a binge. They have to completely cut that item from their diet.
Find out which one you are, and do that.
Thank you! When you say 200-300 for ice cream/chocolate at night...Do you eat regular chocolate or the carb control kind? This might be a good start for me0 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »You have two options - moderation or abstinence.
This.
There is no magic spell that is going to help you do one of the other. It's not a situation where you can't....you simply choose not to. Not being mean but we all have it in us to make the right choices.
I confessed that before I did my restart on here, I finished a bag of Rolo's because I didn't want to waste them. Yeah....I admit it. But since I started back, I haven't had ONE piece of candy in my mouth. I simply chose not to buy or eat it. And as a diabetic, candy is NOT a good life choice.
If you CAN go the moderation route, purchase ONE of something....not a bag. One piece of something as a treat. And that's it. I have a sweet tooth....got it from my mother....but I realize it's like an addiction and I have to beat it. And I am. Even with Halloween looming on the horizon.3 -
missmelis1976 wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »You have two options - moderation or abstinence.
I'm a moderator. I plan for 200-300 calories of sweets (usually chocolate or ice cream) every night after dinner. If I try to cut them completely out of my diet, I freak out after 3-4 days and binge on them.
Other people cannot moderate. One bite and they are off on a binge. They have to completely cut that item from their diet.
Find out which one you are, and do that.
Thank you! When you say 200-300 for ice cream/chocolate at night...Do you eat regular chocolate or the carb control kind? This might be a good start for me
I know the answer to this and carb control is not in it :laugh: @quiksylver2962 -
I am with a lot of other posters here, but will repeat what @Cassandraw3 said - if I know I am going to binge on something, I just don't buy it. Right now, I have zero trigger foods in my house, because I cannot trust myself to go off the deep end when I have a bad day or I'm bored or stressed or fill-in-the-blank (in my case, it's red wine and tortilla chips).
So that bag of M&M's? Portion into single servings for the week, and when you leave each day for work, you take one of those with you. If you know you're going to have a hard time fending off the bag in between servings, ask a coworker or your partner to hide the bag the rest of the time. Seriously.
On your lunch break or other breaks at work, push away from your desk and go for a walk. Or do squats. Or lunges, or planks, or jumping jacks, ANYTHING! Your body needs the movement and eyes and your brain need the break. This will help with your energy levels, as well.
You can do this, but it's going to take work, commitment, planning, resilience. All of these are within you.3 -
WOW thanks everyone for your comments.
I'm leaving for lunch in 30 min and didn't bring a lunch. BAD!!! I'm STARVING! So I'll go to the grocery store and hopefully find something low in calories.. I'm thinking those California rolls in a package of 6 in the deli section. The ones with the crab meat and avocado. Going to first check online to see how many calories are in those.. but I figured it would be better then bread/sandwich3 -
missmelis1976 wrote: »...work full time and dont have time to get to a gym.
We have a treadmill that is collecting dust in our basement.
Please anyone! Give me advice/tip/advice on how to get out of this sluggish depression I am in. I want to lose this weight, feel alive and active and full of energy again.
Thank you for reading.
Hi! First off, you have a banging sense of humor and are honest with yourself, and that is going to help you throughout your efforts! I know how crappé it is to gain weight in a few short months. It feels miserable. Digital fist bump of solidarity.
So, I can’t add too much that is unique but I can echo two specific things enthusiastically —
I am with @dtelsah — I get up earlier than I’d ever imagined possible to get my exercise in. It took me a month or so to get used to it, but for seven years I’ve been doing it habitually and I don’t dread it. I wake up just fine at this point.
And @toughmuther has a good point about keto and sweets. I’m on a ketogenic diet for medical reasons, but boy oh boy did it edit my sugar craving genome. I used to literally fantasize about pancakes and maple syrup while I was running. I couldn’t be in the same room as a peanut butter cup without tearing into it. I’m just not the same anymore.
The only thing that really ever helped me with weight loss was the ritual of logging my food into MFP. It kept me informed and honest and in control. Good luck to you, I think you’ll do very well!3 -
missmelis1976 wrote: »WOW thanks everyone for your comments.
I'm leaving for lunch in 30 min and didn't bring a lunch. BAD!!! I'm STARVING! So I'll go to the grocery store and hopefully find something low in calories.. I'm thinking those California rolls in a package of 6 in the deli section. The ones with the crab meat and avocado. Going to first check online to see how many calories are in those.. but I figured it would be better then bread/sandwich
Preplanning and bringing a lunch will help a lot. If you can eat before you get to that starving stage, or have food in place when you do hit it, you are less likely to eat foods that will not easily fit into your goals. As for the sandwich, I've found several that are only 300-350 calories, so easy enough to fit into the day. Carbs are not the devil here, they can fit into a balanced diet and do not stop weight loss, if you are in a calorie deficit. Some medical conditions respond better to low carb, but in absence of these, it makes no difference.
For treats: For the longest time, I had to buy single servings of things that I had little control around, things like ice cream. I would also eat them towards the end of the day, so it was a little satisfaction at the end of the day and didn't set me up for craving for more for hours on end. Slowly over time, I began to bring in multiple serving sizes, and practiced taking only one serving each day. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. So I'd go back to single servings for a while, and then try again. I can now keep those things in my house, without overeating them. It's time, practice, and patience.
The best thing I've ever done in all of this was to stop labeling food as good or bad. Does this help me meet my goals (80% of the time - 20% is for treats)? And stopping feeling guilty every time I consumed something that didn't fit in my goals for that day.1 -
Its interesting you say you hate most fruits and veggies and at the same time want chocolate constantly. Almost like your body is craving magnesium! So its like, you need those foods and because you don't eat them often, you want chocolate! Just like the chart!
Of course, why have fruits or veggies when you can have chocolate right? Especially if you aren't a fan. (I myself am very picky about the fresh stuff too.) What I do is help myself to a tiny bit of milk chocolate every now and then. Last time I did this dieting thing, I did peanut butter and banana or graham crackers for my sweet snack.
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missmelis1976 wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »You have two options - moderation or abstinence.
I'm a moderator. I plan for 200-300 calories of sweets (usually chocolate or ice cream) every night after dinner. If I try to cut them completely out of my diet, I freak out after 3-4 days and binge on them.
Other people cannot moderate. One bite and they are off on a binge. They have to completely cut that item from their diet.
Find out which one you are, and do that.
Thank you! When you say 200-300 for ice cream/chocolate at night...Do you eat regular chocolate or the carb control kind? This might be a good start for me
I know the answer to this and carb control is not in it :laugh: @quiksylver296
That^^
I have real chocolate. Fake chocolate isn't worth the calories. Don't waste the delicious points (calories) on food that isn't delicious!3 -
missmelis1976 wrote: »WOW thanks everyone for your comments.
I'm leaving for lunch in 30 min and didn't bring a lunch. BAD!!! I'm STARVING! So I'll go to the grocery store and hopefully find something low in calories.. I'm thinking those California rolls in a package of 6 in the deli section. The ones with the crab meat and avocado. Going to first check online to see how many calories are in those.. but I figured it would be better then bread/sandwich
I always pack my breakfast, lunch and snacks. I would never make it if I bought lunch after I was already hungry. I don't make good decisions then.
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You just have to make a decision. Do you want to lose weight and be healthier? Then do it! You don't have to go all in on some crazy diet and workout every day for 3 hours. Think of small changes you can make, one at a time. That are sustainable for life. You don't HAVE to go to a gym. Maybe to start - you just go on a walk every evening with your child. Ride a bike. etc. Maybe choose a quick 20 minute workout video that you do a few times a week. Surely you can squeeze a 20 minute workout in. Pick a vegetable that you want to try, and find recipes/new ways of cooking them. Honestly as far as eating more vegetables, I think you just have to do it and eventually you will learn to like them.0
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