Cutting it all out?

I hope you find your level goal.

I am in late 60's,

This is all bit unreal logging onto this. I hope it work.

I'm about 50 days since I bought chocolate, soft drink and chips. Yes, it definitely gets easier. The first few days are the hardest.

My biggest craving is for Coca Cola...I will say I had to slowly get myself off of it Bc I was addicted. I slowly reduced my consumption of it...now I’m down to about 3-4 7.5 ounce cans of it a month.

I’ll never completely cut it from my diet though Bc it’s delicious and I enjoy savoring it as a treat!

I think we have different issues. I need to give myself a moderated amount of the things I like and I can live with that without feeling a need to binge. Have you tried slowly reducing the foods you like to binge on until you get to a level you consider manageable in terms of your goals?

Don't ever go to the grocery store, or anywhere else with junk food, when you're hungry. It's really hard to make good choices when you're hungry.

What worked for me was replacing my junk food with healthy snacks: vegetables for when I'm eating because I'm bored, and nuts or cheese (i.e. fat or protein) for when I'm hungry before mealtime. I weigh out and log a portion before I start eating it, so that I don't forget. Personally, I know that I would never be able to stick it out if I didn't have snacks, so I figured out a way to include them without going over my calories.

It definitely gets easier eventually. After a few weeks of no candy, I had some, and it tasted insanely sweet. Even the dark chocolate, which is normally on the border of being too bitter for me!

Yea don’t bring it in your house...purchase healthy snacks

What do you mean by junk food? I think I was overly picky about the kinds of things many call junk food (packaged treats, dessert foods) even before losing weight, so didn't tend to have it at home or buy it. Didn't keep me from getting fat, however.

Mostly I find what works for me is focusing on what I do eat and not what I don't -- nutrient dense breakfast, lunch, and dinner, understanding what I want in my diet and what's filling. I used to snack kind of mindlessly at work when food was there (which it often is, and sometimes what I would eat wouldn't even be something I liked that much) -- this was when I was stressed or unhappy especially, but also habitual. I decided immediately that I would cut that out. Related to that I decided to cut out added sugar (mainly because I kept reading about how we all supposedly consumed so much sugar and it was so hard to quit). What I found was that the snacking thing took about a week to break the habit and was incredibly helpful. The no sugar thing was suprisingly easy, but I didn't think it was especially beneficial. Eventually I decided to allow myself a little ice cream (my favorite added sugar treat) after dinner within my cals a few days a week, and I think that approach rather than thinking dieting meant no just for fun foods made it more sustainable for me.

Oddly enough I haven't really been eating many dessert type foods for months now, as I've just lost the taste for them, but on occasion I do (I've been at maintenance since 2015).

shaf238 wrote: »

I think we have different issues. I need to give myself a moderated amount of the things I like and I can live with that without feeling a need to binge. Have you tried slowly reducing the foods you like to binge on until you get to a level you consider manageable in terms of your goals?

I'm this way too. I've trained myself to eat a small portion. Because I know its there I know I can have more tomorrow. I also read an article once that said the first few bites taste the best and after that the taste satisfaction goes down. So I remind myself that any bites after a few aren't going to be good. It sounds weird but it works for me.

I also tell myself that if I want more I have to wait 10 minutes and if I still want it in 10 minutes I can have it. I have never once gone back for more after 10 minutes. But giving myself that option helps.

BuggerLugsX wrote: »

Has anyone cut all 'junk' out?

I can't do moderation. It's binge or nothing. I crave it every evening. So thinking within a few weeks of nothing it might get easier?

I cut out junk food and candy on day one. You have to rethink your all or nothing mentality. Today makes day 45 that I haven't snacked at night.

Within two weeks of eating healthier foods, my cravings for the crap food had disappeared naturally.

I eat pescatarian which is a plant based diet with seafood, eggs and some dairy.

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

I found in the past I can cut things out for a few weeks or months but then I just snap one day and splurge and end up back in the same routine.

I find the best way to do it for me is to plan my meals, try not to buy items other than what I need for meals and if I want something like chocolate or crisps buy a single pack for consumption elsewhere (i.e. not at home).

I also found that playing around with my macros helped me feel fuller from my meals.

My biggest problem now is emotional eating because that's not limited to junk food, I will literally eat anything, it's the act of eating that calms me whether it be veg, fruit or chocolate.

Tackling that is what I think will help me more in the future.

This is true for me too. I can eat a whole container of cottage cheese, for example. My main defense against it is not what I eat, but not snacking, so I'm less likely to habitually reach for food at a non meal hour, and working hard on other ways to deal with stress/anxiety/difficult emotions.