How Can I Get Back on Track?
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lilninjakitty
Posts: 16 Member
Hi guys~ I wasn’t eating the best during the pandemic and over the holidays, and I want to start eating better again because it makes me feel better and will make me overall healthier.
What’s the best way to get back on track and stop yourself from eating too much? So many times I find myself planning meals but then eating too much or extra anyway. Today at work I was feeling tired so I bought a chocolate chip muffin and I feel pretty bad about it. How can I get back on track and stop eating so much?
What’s the best way to get back on track and stop yourself from eating too much? So many times I find myself planning meals but then eating too much or extra anyway. Today at work I was feeling tired so I bought a chocolate chip muffin and I feel pretty bad about it. How can I get back on track and stop eating so much?
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Replies
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Pre-logging all your foods helps me. It forces me to face the facts before I make a decision instead of ignoring them in the moment and feeling guilty afterwards.8
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I am dealing with the same and just getting started. Unfortunately I now have to break the habit I developed of overeating and choosing sugary foods. I think the pre-logging is key. There’s nothing wrong with eating a chocolate chip muffin! Anything can fit into your plan. But you have to ask yourself if that muffin is worth it because it probably is a good chunk of your daily calories. Also just forcing yourself to log everything, planned or not. Seeing it there in numeric form keeps you from being in denial. I tend to stop logging when I go off track and I think that’s a big part of my problem.1
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Thank you so much for your input! I will definitely try logging everything from now on so I can see numerically how it makes me feel and how I can fit different things in!! I just have a problem with overeating like many struggle with so hopefully seeing the numbers helps me stop!! I just crave sweet foods and eat a lot all the time so I need to find ways to be more satisfied. I think a lot of it is mental.1
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First--stop feeling guilty about eating the muffin. Was it the healthiest choice? No, but you ate it and can't go back, so move on to choosing a healthier option at the next meal.
It sounds like you already know why you bought the muffin--you were tired. Ironically, for me, eating a refined high-carb food like that may give me a short energy boost, but crash afterwards--so I end up feeling worse before I ate it. Other than that--I'd really look into why you think you are eating too much. Are you not eating enough throughout the day and restricting too much, or eating foods that lead to crashes and for you to feel hungry not that much after you ate? If so--look at changing the types of foods you eat Higher protein, less refined carbs/more fiber and a bit of fat is typically more satiating, but everyone is different. Do you see foods as either "good" or "bad," and try to avoid all foods you consider "bad?" If so--you can change th way you view foods. No foods are inherently "bad," and viewing them as such can be detrimental to establishing a healthy relationship with food. If you're eating for reasons other than hunger (which almost all of us do), what are they? Can you address those reasons with other tools?
I think the main thing is discovering WHY you're overeating, and addressing it to match your needs is the best way to prevent it.3 -
Speakeasy76 wrote: »First--stop feeling guilty about eating the muffin. Was it the healthiest choice? No, but you ate it and can't go back, so move on to choosing a healthier option at the next meal.
It sounds like you already know why you bought the muffin--you were tired. Ironically, for me, eating a refined high-carb food like that may give me a short energy boost, but crash afterwards--so I end up feeling worse before I ate it. Other than that--I'd really look into why you think you are eating too much. Are you not eating enough throughout the day and restricting too much, or eating foods that lead to crashes and for you to feel hungry not that much after you ate? If so--look at changing the types of foods you eat Higher protein, less refined carbs/more fiber and a bit of fat is typically more satiating, but everyone is different. Do you see foods as either "good" or "bad," and try to avoid all foods you consider "bad?" If so--you can change th way you view foods. No foods are inherently "bad," and viewing them as such can be detrimental to establishing a healthy relationship with food. If you're eating for reasons other than hunger (which almost all of us do), what are they? Can you address those reasons with other tools?
I think the main thing is discovering WHY you're overeating, and addressing it to match your needs is the best way to prevent it.
This was really helpful. I think I am going to try to talk about this with my therapist or maybe get a nutritionist to try to work on a healthy relationship with food! I have had BDD and a pretty bad relationship with food all my life, but I think looking in to WHY I am eating the way I’m eating is a great start!
I find I often don’t eat enough in the morning or I try to restrict too much early in the day and end up shoving my face after work! I think that’s my primary issue and I’m going to try to work on that! Thank you!3 -
lilninjakitty wrote: »Hi guys~ I wasn’t eating the best during the pandemic and over the holidays, and I want to start eating better again because it makes me feel better and will make me overall healthier.
What’s the best way to get back on track and stop yourself from eating too much? So many times I find myself planning meals but then eating too much or extra anyway. Today at work I was feeling tired so I bought a chocolate chip muffin and I feel pretty bad about it. How can I get back on track and stop eating so much?
One way that is easy but boring is to eat the same thing every day. It works really well if you can stick with it. I could not but I am considering it again.3 -
Log everything accurately (use a scale if possible) and honestly, without making value judgments.
Meal planning helps - once a week I sit down and plan all the evening meals for the week (helps with grocery shopping!), and have a few different breakfasts and lunches that I rotate.
if you find you get hungry outside of meal times at particular times of day, make sure you have pre-planned snacks with you - a 25g bag of nuts, a protein bar, an apple or orange, for example. It may help you stop having unplanned snaccidents.
A lot of it really is in the planning - I view my calorie allowance as a budget, and consider whether I want to feel satisfied (and therefore not be thinking about food all the time) or have ecstatic tastebuds but face a sugar crash 30 minutes later. If I really want chocolate bar, I'll have one, but I have managed to get into the habit of asking whether I *really* want it, or if I'm bored, or hungry enough for, say, a high protein yogurt.
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Log everything accurately (use a scale if possible) and honestly, without making value judgments.
Meal planning helps - once a week I sit down and plan all the evening meals for the week (helps with grocery shopping!), and have a few different breakfasts and lunches that I rotate.
if you find you get hungry outside of meal times at particular times of day, make sure you have pre-planned snacks with you - a 25g bag of nuts, a protein bar, an apple or orange, for example. It may help you stop having unplanned snaccidents.
A lot of it really is in the planning - I view my calorie allowance as a budget, and consider whether I want to feel satisfied (and therefore not be thinking about food all the time) or have ecstatic tastebuds but face a sugar crash 30 minutes later. If I really want chocolate bar, I'll have one, but I have managed to get into the habit of asking whether I *really* want it, or if I'm bored, or hungry enough for, say, a high protein yogurt.
Thank you, this is a really helpful way to look at it! I’ve been trying to focus on how certain foods make me feel. Like the other night, I ate a lot after work but it made me feel sick after, so I’m trying to use that to think about WHY I ate so much and to not do that again.0 -
Just get started logging your food on MFP if you haven't already. Just logging your food will help you be accountable for what you are eating. It can help you be more mindful of your choices, which might be a good start.
One of my realizations from my experience losing 40+ pounds and keeping it (mostly) off was the carb crash cycle. I ate too many carbs then got logy and tired in the afternoon, leading for me to reach for the sugar and carb filled foods like a chocolate chip muffin...repeat. When I started to select meals and snacks with more protein, I didn't have that crash and it was typically easier to pass up the Oversized Chocolate Chip Muffin. I also was more mindful of planning my food and had a better selection of food on hand when I got hungry.
Today's a new day. You're going to make some choices that aren't the best, and it's all part of the learning process. MFP forces you to figure out what's right for you, rather than give you prepackaged meals or shakes or something. And that means there's some trial and error. DON'T PANIC ABOUT ERRORS.
Also, sometimes the chocolate chip muffin is just what you need and that's OK sometimes too.
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Speakeasy76 wrote: »First--stop feeling guilty about eating the muffin. Was it the healthiest choice? No, but you ate it and can't go back, so move on to choosing a healthier option at the next meal.
It sounds like you already know why you bought the muffin--you were tired. Ironically, for me, eating a refined high-carb food like that may give me a short energy boost, but crash afterwards--so I end up feeling worse before I ate it. Other than that--I'd really look into why you think you are eating too much. Are you not eating enough throughout the day and restricting too much, or eating foods that lead to crashes and for you to feel hungry not that much after you ate? If so--look at changing the types of foods you eat Higher protein, less refined carbs/more fiber and a bit of fat is typically more satiating, but everyone is different. Do you see foods as either "good" or "bad," and try to avoid all foods you consider "bad?" If so--you can change th way you view foods. No foods are inherently "bad," and viewing them as such can be detrimental to establishing a healthy relationship with food. If you're eating for reasons other than hunger (which almost all of us do), what are they? Can you address those reasons with other tools?
I think the main thing is discovering WHY you're overeating, and addressing it to match your needs is the best way to prevent it.
Find your "whys". Don't try to tackle everything at once, baby steps work better than cold turkey.1 -
Speakeasy76 wrote: »First--stop feeling guilty about eating the muffin. Was it the healthiest choice? No, but you ate it and can't go back, so move on to choosing a healthier option at the next meal.
It sounds like you already know why you bought the muffin--you were tired. Ironically, for me, eating a refined high-carb food like that may give me a short energy boost, but crash afterwards--so I end up feeling worse before I ate it. Other than that--I'd really look into why you think you are eating too much. Are you not eating enough throughout the day and restricting too much, or eating foods that lead to crashes and for you to feel hungry not that much after you ate? If so--look at changing the types of foods you eat Higher protein, less refined carbs/more fiber and a bit of fat is typically more satiating, but everyone is different. Do you see foods as either "good" or "bad," and try to avoid all foods you consider "bad?" If so--you can change th way you view foods. No foods are inherently "bad," and viewing them as such can be detrimental to establishing a healthy relationship with food. If you're eating for reasons other than hunger (which almost all of us do), what are they? Can you address those reasons with other tools?
I think the main thing is discovering WHY you're overeating, and addressing it to match your needs is the best way to prevent it.
Find your "whys". Don't try to tackle everything at once, baby steps work better than cold turkey.
Thank you so much for your advice. Do you think journaling could help? Like writing down my moods and why I ate what I ate and stuff?0 -
kenyonhaff wrote: »Just get started logging your food on MFP if you haven't already. Just logging your food will help you be accountable for what you are eating. It can help you be more mindful of your choices, which might be a good start.
One of my realizations from my experience losing 40+ pounds and keeping it (mostly) off was the carb crash cycle. I ate too many carbs then got logy and tired in the afternoon, leading for me to reach for the sugar and carb filled foods like a chocolate chip muffin...repeat. When I started to select meals and snacks with more protein, I didn't have that crash and it was typically easier to pass up the Oversized Chocolate Chip Muffin. I also was more mindful of planning my food and had a better selection of food on hand when I got hungry.
Today's a new day. You're going to make some choices that aren't the best, and it's all part of the learning process. MFP forces you to figure out what's right for you, rather than give you prepackaged meals or shakes or something. And that means there's some trial and error. DON'T PANIC ABOUT ERRORS.
Also, sometimes the chocolate chip muffin is just what you need and that's OK sometimes too.
Thank you so much, this makes me feel a lot better and this is great advice! I’m just going to do my best and like errors slide off.0 -
lilninjakitty wrote: »Speakeasy76 wrote: »First--stop feeling guilty about eating the muffin. Was it the healthiest choice? No, but you ate it and can't go back, so move on to choosing a healthier option at the next meal.
It sounds like you already know why you bought the muffin--you were tired. Ironically, for me, eating a refined high-carb food like that may give me a short energy boost, but crash afterwards--so I end up feeling worse before I ate it. Other than that--I'd really look into why you think you are eating too much. Are you not eating enough throughout the day and restricting too much, or eating foods that lead to crashes and for you to feel hungry not that much after you ate? If so--look at changing the types of foods you eat Higher protein, less refined carbs/more fiber and a bit of fat is typically more satiating, but everyone is different. Do you see foods as either "good" or "bad," and try to avoid all foods you consider "bad?" If so--you can change th way you view foods. No foods are inherently "bad," and viewing them as such can be detrimental to establishing a healthy relationship with food. If you're eating for reasons other than hunger (which almost all of us do), what are they? Can you address those reasons with other tools?
I think the main thing is discovering WHY you're overeating, and addressing it to match your needs is the best way to prevent it.
This was really helpful. I think I am going to try to talk about this with my therapist or maybe get a nutritionist to try to work on a healthy relationship with food! I have had BDD and a pretty bad relationship with food all my life, but I think looking in to WHY I am eating the way I’m eating is a great start!
I find I often don’t eat enough in the morning or I try to restrict too much early in the day and end up shoving my face after work! I think that’s my primary issue and I’m going to try to work on that! Thank you!
I would definitely mention that to your therapist. I have had a disordered relationship with food for a long time, but it's pretty good now, I think. I used to "be good" early on, but binge later.
I wonder if for you, it may actually be helpful to NOT track foods for awhile, but maybe focus on developing a healthy relationship with food and your body. I found for me, when I wasn't in a good place with food, tracking foods with the goal to lose weight actually increased my anxiety around food and what I could and couldn't have. If you were to track, maybe do it with the goal to just write down what you eat to make yourself more aware of why you eat and where you could make some improvement with nutrition and timing of when you eat. I don't know if you're actively trying to lose weight now, but it sounds like it may be wise to establish a healthier relationship with food and your body. What also helped me was switching my mindset to choosing foods that make me feel better physically as far as giving me more energy, keeping me full longer, not leaving me feeling a little sick afterwards, etc. vs. choosing foods/amounts to lose weight.
Good luck!1 -
I sometimes question what im about to eat.. do I need this? Can I work it off? Will this be the only one? And sometimes I get the advice that I grab a water to drink instead of eat. For me, pre logging doesn't work simply because I can just change it. If you're like me then I try to leave a little extra on the plate instead of eat it all. I also only pull out and cook the amount I plan to eat. Sometimes I grab a little extra and sometimes I'm so hungry that I'll justify a snack to hit my daily calorie limit. It's still a work in progress.. you'll get there! Don't feel bad, these things take time ☺️2
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My restarts usually have to do with cutting the quantity/volume of food. So, I try to load up on the zero impact veggies (like mushrooms, spinach, zucchini). I like my food warm, so I'll microwave the mushrooms and add whatever spice I am craving- like cumin and some salt. And I try to fill up on that and broth or water before moving to something high calorie. As for the muffin, work can be boring and tedious. Here are my hints: Walk the stairs or do a loop to get your mind clear and change the setting, bring a toothbush and toothpaste and brush your teeth to refresh your mouth and that should end the craving, chew gum, have a water with a lemon or citrus squeeze, just not after the toothpaste :-), choose an apple over the muffin. Just own your choices without guilt. I think guilt about food or feeling powerless really takes one down a bad emotional path.2
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