I feel helpless!

andyfatty
andyfatty Posts: 2 Member
edited December 19 in Introduce Yourself
I keep trying to eat well and eat within my daily limit but it never seems to be enough to shut down the monster inside me screaming for takeaway again and again. I can cook but i HATE cooking for myself because i am always stuck with a family sized pack of food from the shop in the fridge saying eat me eat me. I am actually a chef by trade which makes it worse because i am always around food . its literally right in my face at work and when i get home i just want to eat because it is the only thing that makes me feel good. Even if there is something healthy in the fridge like right now chicken and veg i just want to go out get a large Cod and chips and a large batterd sausage with a load of sauce and some cokes and smash them down till i feel ill because it felt good while i was doing it! Please help.

Replies

  • FixItImp
    FixItImp Posts: 8 Member
    I've not succeed many times. I'm starting over again today. I'm 1 pound off my highest weight ever, but I'm starting again today. I've found lots of things that don't work for me. One that does is: change habits. If coming home makes you just want to eat, rearrange how your house is set up? Make a production of your meal with fancy table cloth, candle etc and when you sweep away the dishes, that's it for the day. Go somewhere else? One problem I have is I come home and sit in front of the computer, and mindlessly eat. I've moved the computer to a far corner of my house, allow myself 30 minutes and have to log my food while I'm there. I'm not the greatest cook and I can't seem to modulate variety. I do best when I eat boring food (the same thing day after day, meal after meal) because I don't have to think about it. I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions and lots of help. I'm sorry you are having such a frustrating time right now.
  • RebelRebel00
    RebelRebel00 Posts: 35 Member
    edited January 2019
    If you buy family packs of meat or fish, freeze them in portions and take them out as and when you need. Or, go to a butcher and buy just what you need for that day. Eating junk until you feel ill is a bad habit, you need to break it and form some new ones. If you feel like fish and chips, bake some cod in white wine, make some homemade pea purée and do yourself some fancy a*s potatoes. You’re a chef, treat yourself like your best customer instead of punishing yourself with junk food. You say it makes you feel good while you’re eating it but then terrible after? Making better choices for yourself and feeding yourself properly and being good to yourself will feel good all the time... and if you keep it up, you’ll start to see the physical changes of those good choices as well. Are you exercising at all? I find that when I work out, I’m less likely to crave rubbish. Start small. Plan a week of meals and cook them and eat them and see how you feel at the end of the week. It’s down to you, nobody can force you or convince you. You have to want to or it won’t work. Good luck
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    First, have you ever tried allowing yourself takeaway foods but monitoring your portion sizes? Often, when people categorize some foods as good, and some foods as bad, it is guilt at eating "bad" food that causes them to overeat it. Have you ever given yourself permission to eat the food you want, in reasonable portion? Because you CAN lose weight eating takeaway foods. You can lose weight eating ANY foods, assuming you can control your calories.

    Could you pick one or two nights a week where you plan a takeaway meal, where you will get not a family sized portion but a single portion? No guilt or judgement, just log it and move on?

    Having said that, we often have emotional issues tied up in our feelings and needs around food and weight. There is no shame in needing help getting that all squared away in your head, and many people find therapy or counseling helpful.

    When you get a chance, check out these posts with tips on how to make this site work for you

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

    Welcome, please be patient with yourself, and best of luck :drinker:
  • RebelRebel00
    RebelRebel00 Posts: 35 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    First, have you ever tried allowing yourself takeaway foods but monitoring your portion sizes? Often, when people categorize some foods as good, and some foods as bad, it is guilt at eating "bad" food that causes them to overeat it. Have you ever given yourself permission to eat the food you want, in reasonable portion? Because you CAN lose weight eating takeaway foods. You can lose weight eating ANY foods, assuming you can control your calories.

    Could you pick one or two nights a week where you plan a takeaway meal, where you will get not a family sized portion but a single portion? No guilt or judgement, just log it and move on?

    Having said that, we often have emotional issues tied up in our feelings and needs around food and weight. There is no shame in needing help getting that all squared away in your head, and many people find therapy or counseling helpful.

    When you get a chance, check out these posts with tips on how to make this site work for you

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

    Welcome, please be patient with yourself, and best of luck :drinker:

    Oh and this also. I didn’t mean to sound like you should never eat takeaway food. Everyone needs a night off every now and then but make it a treat rather than the norm is what I meant ... hope you find what works for you :)
  • overeater1
    overeater1 Posts: 38 Member
    I really really feel for you. Without going down the route of I know how you feel and patronizing you, a few things worked for me. I used to stuff myself just like you and feel crap afterwards. I had to stop buying cheese mayonnaise bread and pasta (and regular junk food like pizza, chocolate etc) because when I knew they were in the press I’d have to gorge. Every time I felt like I had to go out to buy some to go gorging I’d go for a walk and repeat “for me, myself , and Tom” over and over like a mantra. Weird as it sounds, it stopped me from binging and refocused me on my goal. Plus fresh air actually took the edge off the craving. Treat yourself to one cheat meal a week, but for me I’d have to keep it to a Saturday: so if twas Wednesday evening I’d reason with myself and say I could have it Saturday instead and take myself out for a walk. Sounds crazy, but it did help. Often Saturday would come and a smaller cheat like a 120 calorie chocolate bar would do me: trick is to savor it. Best of luck with it and I know you can do it💪
  • deathofrock
    deathofrock Posts: 4 Member
    If you work around food, it will always be there! You’ve got to change the behavior with good habits. Find ways to avoid eating it. Drink water. Plan your meals. Follow support groups for those of us going through similar issues. Small steps, patience, and lots of forgiveness for yourself go a long way. Best of luck on your journey!
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