My food/eating confession

I have to tell myself DURING my splurge: Damage control, DAMAGE CONTROL.

I know once you start sliding you just wanna lay back and let yourself go, but you need to remind yourself that all that food you're consuming is just going to make this all harder for you in the long run.

Oh man Im the exact same way!! I think screw it ive already messed up so now I mine as well just bag the whole day and enjoy it! I have no advice,infact I need advice LOL I lost 30 and have gained 9 back I did so good for 9 months and now I cant seem to get back on the band wagon! I feel your pain but good job on the 7 lbs.:)

What is your calorie deficit set at? If it's minus 500 calories a day for 1lb a week, you should remind yourself that going over 100 calories still means you're down 400. Don't make it an excuse to go over everyday, but use it as a reminder that going over by 50-70 doesn't mean you ruined your day.

I try to look at it like this: If I am at a deficit to lose weight, it is just a cut of a few hundred calories a day and that gives me results. If I eat an extra 100 calories everyday, that will slow my results. If I eat an extra 400, I have basically eaten my 100 over for the next four days in one sitting.

Before I tried losing weight I thought that extra cookie and chocolate I had every night had no effect because I ate "healthy" all the rest of the day. That logic got me up to 158. Little things do matter.

Also, if it only takes a small cut to lose weight, it will only take a small amount of extra food to gain, lose slower, or maintain. I am saying this within reason since I do not support extremely low calorie diets.

Not sure what else to say that may help though. It is really about control. But those extra chips do matter. And yes, others are correct. If you eat an extra 100 then you will still be at a deficit. But I am referring to going over by more than 500 calories.

I find if i have these things in the house it is easier to eat, of course i have to buy them for my son and husband. so I ask my self before i open WILL THIS HELP ME REACH MY GOAL? my answer is no..
IF i was to ask myself do i want this my answer will clearly be YES..
I chew gum to help me get pass the urge to chew

I'm fairly new to this site as well. And I agree, it is a great place to find support (and inspiration) as well as keeping up with the calories. And while I've not gone over my calorie amount there have been days when I start eating and can't stop---and I don't mean veggies! It's like that one small cookie triggers something and I'm off to the races just munching whatever (usually unhealthy) I can find. Then I have to record it and adjust the rest of my accordingly.

It seems like from what I read, you do this more in the evening and then have an oh well, defeatist attitude when you go over your calorie allotment. It's hard to quit sometimes!
I have been so tempted to do the same and this is how I've so far been able to avoid that pitfall:

After I'm finished with my supper I log it in. If I have not gone over my calorie count I ask myself if I want anything else tonight. A serving of Girl Scout cookies? A cup of tea with sugar? If the answer is yes, I go ahead and log it to see if I'm still within my calorie amount. If I still want the food items I click the complete button and that is my signal that I AM DONE for the evening. I'll clean the kitchen, get whatever food I've just logged in, and get the heck out of the kitchen! And I stay out.

If I went over my allotted calories for the day, it would still be the same.
This way, I am master over what food goes in my mouth. I am empowered. And this choice has been done with thought.

And that is what this new lifestyle is all about for me...I want to be the master of my body. And I'm choosing to not lose weight for a moment but to become healthy for a life time. Step by step and bite by bite and when I fail to get up and keep going forward instead of turning back in defeat like I've done so many times:)


Blessings and Joy!

dg09 - You've lost 136 pounds?!! Amazing and very inspiring!!!

I would include a walking routine to your day even if it's just 20-30 min. This will allow you to gain a bit more calories.
Also, it sounds like you don't realize what those extra calories mean-- it means you will have to work even harder- also with every extra calorie, it takes you farther and farther away from your goal. Just try to stay as close as possible- it's NOT an all or nothing deal. Please please please don't think of it that way.
One thing I would definitely suggest is to cleanse your house of all the junk-- you shoud not have donuts, chips and pizza at easy access-- that's just an accident waiting to happen.

Good luck!

Be careful since you are nursing. I have found I need more calories than I calculated and if I don't get at least a certain amount I wont loose weight, but there is a delicate balance if I go over too much i also don't loose weight. Some of us are not designed to diet while nursing Out of 3 kids this is the only time I have lost weight while nursing and it is because of the tracking calories and finding out how much I have to eat to keep my body from conserving itself and how much I can cut down by and still loose weight. There is no hard fast rule for everyone. Having a slip-up day every once in a while (few and far between) can help boost weight lose during a lull if you go right back to 'healthy' eating the next several days so don't get too hard on yourself. Just don't let it happen all the time and you'll be fine! You can also always up your exercise to help make up for a tasty treat as well. Good luck to you, don't give up!

I have cheat days too but the logic of I am already over so I might as well make it worth it is not a good idea, if anything if youre going to go over as constant as you are it would better to go over by a small margin a few days rather than a large margin on one day. I know when I get cravings like that is usually if I am bored, so I recommend finding something to take your mind off of the food such as a hobby or cleaning or watching a favorite show or movie, or simply go to bed. Everyone is allowed what I call "Fat days" but to an extent if you are ingesting mass quantities then it seems that keeping track wont help as much. It's like anything it takes practice and a good will, just remember the end result is worth it and also look at how far you have come not how far you have to go.

I was introduced to the My Fitness Pal website through my nutrition class at my local community college. Basically, we had to sign up and track our food for a whole week as a part of an assignment for that class. Even though I came because I had to, I'm staying because I want to. I think this is a great place to find support and be supportive of others as we all stive to lose weight and become healthier in general. Also, I agree that tracking your food helps a person to lose weight because they have to come face-to-face with what they are eating each day. They can't quite be in denial about it if they are looking right at a list of their daily food/drink choices and the nutritional content of each.

That brings me to my food/eating confession that I would like advice on. If I know I am going to go over on my calorie goal for the day, I often go quite a bit over. I figure that if I'm going to go over, I might as well go way over. For example, I found out later last night that I was going to be something like 70 or 80 calories over. Then, I decided to eat the donut stick that was sitting right next to me at the time because I had already missed my calorie goal. After that, I grabbed some Lay's potato chips (although I did count out how many I took at least) and a slice of cheese.

Does anyone have any advice here? I do understand that going a little bit over your calories is obviously a lot better than going way over, but some days, I just can't get over the desire to indulge. I don't know why I think that over is over, so I might as well enjoy some extra goodies anyway.

Thanks in advance for anything constructive anyone has to say!

The goal is not to stay under your allowance, but to be near it aim for +/- 100 cals of your total. Too far under can have negative side effects and going over is not bad as your allowance has a deficit so if you are over by a bit you are still below maintenance and will still lose weight.

Heyyy Fiona!! :-) I don't really think that what you're doing is a bad thing as long as you're not doing it every day. When I go grocery shopping I only buy healthy food. When I have a chip craving I reach for the Kellogg chip crisps... 27 of them are only 110 cals and they're delicious. I buy skinny cow ice cream and have that when I'm craving chocolate - they also make candy bars. I tend to be more of a night eater myself... My husband and I put our son to bed and then we sit on the couch and watch our TV shows. Of course you're going to want to snack. Just try not to keep junk in the house. If your husband likes it and wants to eat it then ask him to keep them out of your reach or measure his serving into a bowl instead of sitting there with a bag of chips. Thankfully my husband is doing this lifestyle change with me so it makes it easier. I used to have that mindset though. I used to think, "oh well I already ruined my day might as well eat the whole pint of ice cream". I just feel like when I binge all the hard work I do all day at the gym and with eating is pointless. I'll reach my goal sooner if I stay on track. I also think now when I want to eat something bad and say to myself... well, you already know it tastes good, but it makes you look fat lol but I do feel that once a week it's okay to have a cheat meal. Even Dr. Oz says so :-)

I employ a little reverse psychology for this conundrum...
Weight loss and losing weight is a simple equation... calories in vs calories out.

The way i tweak this equation to help myself stay ahead of the curve and beat the splurge ( I think we all do this from time to time - sometimes I'm just soooo hungry i cant help it - damage control helps, reducing the size of the splurge helps, but those are only for use AFTER you've gone over your goal...

Try overestimating the portion size of whatever you eat by 10 - 50% (if it looks like a cup, log it as 1.25 cup, or even 1.5 cup - this will make it appear to you as if you've eaten more than you actually have, and give you room to be a little bad, even if your diary doesn't say you have i.

Also, in regard to exercise, underestimate the amount of cals you burn in a workout by 10 or 20% - if MFP or the treadmill or the elliptical says you burned 300 calories in 30 minutes, log it as 270, or even 240.....

If you do this consistently you will create a deficit that you cant really see or identify with any real clarity - so your splurges won't hurt so much, if at all!!!

having to maintain until my surgery next week for the last month has taught me alot. splurges, cheats, slipping, falling off the wagon... what ever term you want to call it... can send you spiraling. funny, when in weightloss... i wouldnt touch a smell.... even when emotions ran high n emotional eating was tempting. but somehow in maintenance.... something changed.. n i did taste... n i did gain.. which shocked me that i did... but mostly in that if you do not get ahold of it... it can run rampart.... telling yourself, well i already had one... just today... n then its another day n before you know it you have packed some weight on. once the taste of sweet in your system you feel like an addict n need another fix.. n its endless.
i know know why diets never worked before for me.... one has to remain vigilent always.. and disciplined as well....keep exercising daily n watching calories n weight.... weighing out if i have treats .....a bit more exercise i have to do ....to burn it off.

weight is hard to get off... n so easy to mindlessly put back on.

WOW~385 lost~CONGRATS!