I'm on board but have bad habits...

annek62 · June 2012

Hi all! I'm now officially signed up w/ myfitnesspal and have been sort of working it for a few months with no success. Today I committed completely to it. I have gained weight over the years and will work it off with all of you and the great tools here. I also am menopausal and have Grave's Disease that my doctor is sure has now reversed and am probably now in a hypothyroid phase, which could explain why I gain weight when I've been trying hard to stick to 1200 calories/day and exercising 3-5 times a week and drinking 12-16 cups of water a day...doing lots of good things you're supposed to do w/out success. Anyway, I have not given up.
I have bad habits, because almost every day after 3pm sweets call my name and I obey. I must break this habit to be successful. Can you help me?
I look forward to yours and my success! Ready set go!

ndblades · June 2012

Welcome! Feel Free to add me -- I would also recommend teh following:

*keep your diary open - it will helps to come clean on what you eat - and also others can help if you seem to be stuck with something (like a 3pm sweet tooth!)

* Learn about your metabolism and minimum calories, and all those other terms -- and eat what MFP tells you to in calories ! Give it a few weeks before adjusting anything - there are a lot of people who eat too little!

* Lean on all your friends when you need help! THis site is amazing -- lots of ways to find motivation, advise and people "just like you"

Good luck!

ConstableOdo · June 2012

I found that thinking very hard about why I eat sweets helped me. I like the taste. So I make pockets of calories for myself to eat sweets in. I will eat 13 grams of chocolate. Very little, and make sure I enjoy every nibble. I get the good chocolate. It's all about finding out the whys. Why do I eat so much? I am usually bored.

VanessaGS · June 2012

Try sweets that have less calories in them like Nabisco 100 calorie pack fudge pretzels.

Krys_140 · June 2012

Congrats on dedicating yourself to a healthy lifestyle!

Who doesn't have a bad habit or 3? I see nothing wrong with an afternoon sweet or two, IF you've planned for them (and maybe even if you haven't), and IF you log them.

I get my daily chocolate fix in with breakfast, in the form of a dark chocolate almond Fiber Plus bar on weekdays, and chocolate chip pancakes on weekends. Yum!

I'll welcome you as a friend - but beware, I'm super supportive! :bigsmile:

anikisa · June 2012

well habits break slowly if you stop suddenly its most likely that you wont succeed so if you for example eat 3 pieces of candy at night start eating two and a fruit then start eating 1 piece of candy and a fruit then you could get down to just eating a fruit and eventually stop eating... it also helps when you do not eat processed food since its packed with chemicals that your body does not recognize there are foods that you might think they are healthy but are not really healthy since it might contain High Fructose Sugar (i would just avoid every kind of refine sugar) and other chemicals that your body many not recognize... i would recommend going to youtube and looking up phycetruth it has plenty facts and doing more research on healthy eating if you have not done so already

good luck

cadillacfrank · June 2012

I have bad habits, because almost every day after 3pm sweets call my name and I obey. I must break this habit to be successful. Can you help me?

I'm with everything that Blades said above me, especially about sharing your diary with your friends (so they can harangue you about what's on there!) Also, don't view them necessarily as BAD habits. For now, that's just how your daily routine is. Just try to be more flexible about it.

I also have a sweet tooth that refuses to be ignored (thanks, Pop) so what I did is to find sweets that aren't landmines. FiberOne has a few things now in their 90 calorie line of goodies that are pretty good for you and (surprise) only 90 calories. Their bars, of course, but I recently picked up a package of their chocolate chip cookie bars and brownie bars. Granted, they're not as gigantic as Mrs. Field's stuff, but they taste great and don't derail your efforts.

It's all about finding stuff you like and making trade-offs so that you're satisfied and making better choices all at once.

Good luck!!

BetterMike · June 2012

I'm sure it will come as a mild shock to you but 90% of the people on the site have/had bad habits! I've been working this for a couple months now. I still have occasional bad days though even those are better than the days before I started here.

As you know, working towards better health is it's own reward.

Hope502012 · June 2012

Well done so far! I've always had a problem drinking enough water. I'm a newbey but I find recording everything on MFP is making me think twice about treats. I'm recording those and staying within limits. Best of luck!

Goal_Line · June 2012

Replace it with a better habit. Baby carrots and snap peas work for me.

Or..I've heard of people allowing a sweet but only as a reward for working out. This does 2 things, it satisfied the sweet tooth and associates the work out with something pleasant. Eventually you can drop the sweets, but still had positive association with it.

Lyndi4 · June 2012

We all have bad habits in one form or another, even if they aren't food related. I know I get the sweet tooth monster calling my name pretty frequently. I am getting better at telling it to "Get the heck away from me"

, but it's a struggle. I have been trying to incorporate the not-so-healthy choices that I crave, in moderation! It's not easy, but I'd be more than happy to support you in your journey! Good job for re-committing yourself to the process & that's just it, it really is a process... You don't have to master it all at once!

Cheers to you for taking a big step today! :drinker: (Cheers with a low-cal beverage

Lesley2901 · June 2012

I love sweets too especially chocolate and I still eat it regularly though I have cut back quite a bit. It is possible to lose weight and still have sweet treats - you can build up additional calories from exercise or have a snack sized bar and keep within your calorie allowance. Good luck

Donnas614 · June 2012

I'm a diabetic who has been in denial about it for a long time. About a month ago, I started curbing my sweets and other snacks. After a week, I cut them out completely. I rarely even crave them now. Last week though, I really wanted something sweet. It wasn't a strong craving, just that old habit of thinking I needed it. I ate an entire candy bar and felt horrible, physically, for the rest of the day. In fact, I got a little nauseous right after eating it. It was at that point, that I realized I don't really need it at all - ever - and for many reasons.

Now, if I have a craving, I just try to think of it as poison to my body. Actually, sugary foods can be toxic in large quantities and we don't really realize how much of it we take in daily considering the hidden sugars we already eat in foods. I read that in an article a few weeks ago but, unfortunately, I didn't bookmark it.

So, in essence, once you cut it out of your diet you'll crave it less and less as time goes by. Just resist the cravings - easier said than done, I know.

leanne5025 · June 2012

First of all...Start Walking! Exercise, for me, is the one thing that helps keep my cravings for sweets in check. I cannot even think about modifying my food intake with out exercise. Second, make sure you start drinking your water every day and track it. Next, work on healthier eating. Set up your goals on MFP and just track your normal foods, then little by little make small changes (increase protein and greens, decrease sodium and sugar/carbs). You will start to feel better right away I am sure, and if, on occasion, you have a 3pm sweet treat, you won't beat yourself up too bad because you have other changes in place to look back on and be proud of. It doesn't happen overnight!

I'm on board but have bad habits...

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