SELF CONTROL-why is it so hard?

You've lost 29 pounds so you DO have control.

I'm not much better than you when it comes to cravings - once i fixate, I'm a goner. It's best just to not make the stuff available to you - don't buy junk food, when you cook portion it out and put the leftovers in the fridge immediately ... perhaps a picture of you at your starting weight taped to the fridge would help you to say No?

I am about to hit the dreaded PMS week. that means I NEED chocolate! Or at least i think i do. I have found that in the last month the cravings have gone down for junk food as long as I eat my snacks thru the day. I find myself reaching in the fridge for a few grapes now instead of going to the pantry to search for whatever morsel of junkfood might be left (sadly, and fortunately, there is almost no JF left in my pantry). I am ready for chocolate, so I think I might buy some dove chocolates, i like how small they are, and I can actually hide them from myself, by putting them in the fridge where the butter would go. Out of sight, out of mind. Then when i find them a few weeks from now, it is like finding a 5 in a coat pocket. I also don't chew the chocolates, but suck on them, it takes way longer to eat them and then my cravings feel satisfied after just two.
If that pasta was left over from dinner, don't make extra dinner. Switch to healthier pasta too, then you don't have to feel so bad. At night, when my tummy tries to say it is hungry, even though my calories are at goal, I drink a large glass of water. IF, after the glass of water, my stomach is sure it needs food, I grab carrots, or an apple, all of these things are quick and in plain sight, I don't put them in the veggie drawers.
I would bet that pasta was the first thing you saw in your fridge, put those things to the back. then you don't have to say no.

ketosis does wonders if you have self control issues.

i can't do moderation. i overeat/binge on unhealthy junk..
but when i'm in ketosis, i have no appetite. no desire to eat comfort foods.
i'm happy with it and wonder why i was ever stupid enough to eat junk food in the first place.

i too have no control, i cannot seem to even make myself walk away when i am NOT hungry, when i know i dont need the food.....i swear i am an addict.....i think i need food rehab !!!!

Well, I don't have any sparkling revelations, but I can say it really helps to just get tempting food out of the house. I eat at home as much as possible, so I'm not tempted by fast food and stuff.

For me...I simply didn't want it bad enough. I always justified it with "I already lost x pounds...it won't kill me to just eat this." or "it's a special occassion." Ever since I started Insanity and I have my count down along with my trip to California planned I crave food but it's not worth it to me. I'm having a Zaxby's Birthday Cake Milkshake tonight. But I also burned 1100 calories through exercising and mowing the grass today so I'm going to spurge some of those calories. I've been craving one since last Saturday but I haven't had the calories for it so I waited because I WANT MY BODY MORE!

i had 3 days last week where i couldn't stop eating things. honestly, i let myself eat just little bits of things (half a handful of peanuts, 5 potato chips, 3 bites of ice cream), and then i walk away. (or try to.) for the last 6 months i've been super-determined, but recently i've just started missing the comfort of sitting on my couch with a huge bag of chips, not caring (or knowing) about how many calories i was consuming. now i tell myself it's the fat kid inside of me trying to take over. keep your eye on the prize, friend! we can shut that fatty up with exercise, not ice cream!

I can't count the number of times I've failed horribly and gave in to cravings over the years! I feel your pain! What I've discovered which has helped a lot is to space out all 6 of my meals out by about 2 1/2 to 3 hours making sure to include lots of high water low calorie foods like fruits, greens and veggies with some protein choices. Nuts, seeds (measured out in portions) Never eat out the container- thats a sure way to blow it! Keeping your blood sugar from dropping too low by eating at regular intervals really does help keep those cravings controllable. Don't give up, keep analyzing what you could do different and you'll figure out what works for you!

^^ this. good ideas.

check out www.reddit.com/r/keto

Ketosis is a state your body enters where i burns ketones for energy instead of using carbohydrates. Essentially you consume a 65/30/5 "macro" which means you have your calories/day .... say 1500, 65% of those calories come from fat, 30% come from protein, 5% come from carbs. You consume <20g carbs/day and eat fatty, protein filled foods such as bacon, steak, etc. One day a week you carb load >100g carbs to replenish what you depleted. I've just started and noticed no loss of energy (in fact I feel more energetic) healthier bowls, etc along with a consistent fat burn.

I don't know why some days are so hard. The good news is I don't seem to have those days near as often as I used to. And I hear what you're saying - its more than a craving. It's a compulsion to EAT, to binge, to go way over calories, to feel truly stuffed.

I had a bad day yesterday. I likened it to having some creature in my head clawing at my brain. It started shortly after lunch (I was sated, had a healthy lunch, was well hydrated) and it just wouldn't let up. I fought it with every trick I know. Hot tea, a quick walk away from my desk, working on a project that took concentration. I got home and allowed myself something crunchy and salty to see if a taste would stop it and I thought I had won.

About an hour later I ate my (now calorie adjusted) dinner and shortly after dinner the Monster was back. I had a cup of decaf coffee and tried to wait it out. Normally my last line of defense is to just go to bed but it was only 7:30! Finally it worn me down - I couldn't fight any more. I ate a bag of Pop chips (the big bag), a large handful of almonds, and the rest of the peanut butter in the house (about 4 tbs). All my macros were good for the day before that; I didn't need anything, but I put myself over my calories by +600.

I still don't know why it happens. I'm just glad it doesn't happen very often anymore. On the other hand when it DOES happen now it seems to hit with a vengeance! Not sure which is worse! LOL! I've had to learn it is going to happen on occasion and I refuse to give in to the guilt or shame over what I did. I own up to it, log it and move on. I just recalculate what I need to do for the rest of the week to make it okay so I can can end the week with a deficit.

I find it is easier to keep the chocolate in the fridge

1 It is harder so sucking it takes longer, there for you eat less cos your head gets over the NEED for chocolate.

2 If it not in the house i crave it more.

3 feed the crave while it's small cos if you ignore it, it gets bigger !

This is how i cope,plus there are some people that will eat it more in front of you when they know your on a diet !!! So if you have smaller amounts you won't fell left out or feel sorry for yourself !!! lol

good luck everyone and YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH xxxx

For me it's so much easier to say no to eating it than to take one or two bites. I can't take a bite if there is pot full there. It is easy to just not have it around, but I live in a house where the people in it are not on the same page as me, and so it is everywhere. I just have to tell myself which is more important to me, and keep reminding myself. As a side note... chocolate isn't my food, CHEESE is. So I go to the supermarket on Saturday morning when they have a cheese of the week to sample and i take a piece (or two. or three) and walk it off. That way I can have a taste, and the cheese isn't sitting at my house tempting me every second.

If you have to have it work it into your calories for the day.

you know, im a recovering opiate(oxycontin, heroin, etc..) addict, been clean for over 2 years, and i have always been at a great weight up until 2 years ago when i cleaned up... anyways, i can honestly say that the obsession overeaters have on food, like i sometimes have, is sooo similar to feelings of wanting to use.
when i was on drugs, it was like, if a certain drug happened to cross my mind, i couldnt get it out of my mind until i went out and used it.... now ive found that if a certain food i love, like icecream for instance, pops into mind, i really just go nuts mentally until i eat some. and that obssessive feeling of wanting icecream is almost literally the same feeling as wanting drugs when i was using. its truly uncanny... and up until now, i never really understood or had any compassion for people who just couldnt put down the fatty foods to save their own hearts, but now it is completely understandable.. the relationship some of us have with food, is truly nothing less than addiction! and in the beginning, i was so shocked with my own food cravings, i assumed it was just because im an addict and that;s just my nature to be like this, but through mfp, and just talking to people, ive found that its not just recovering addicts who feel this way about food! ironically enough, ive become thankful for my past with drug addiction, because now im approaching my weight loss and my relationship with food with the same outlook and tools i use/d to kick my drug addiction. along with mfp (counting calories and working out), ive applied some of my recovery techniques when it comes to those overwhelmingly intense food cravings because, lets be honest, sometimes our own willpower alone is just not enough!