maillemaker Member

The 1690 calorie goal was set by MFP given my fitness profile and a goal of 2 pounds per week weight loss. I lost 30 pounds over 213 days, or 30.43 weeks. that works out to about one pound per week. This is a reasonable weight loss goal, right? Oh, sweetie, you clearly don't understand what this is like. Of course it's all…

I stopped logging at the end of October with Halloween and Halloween candy. I went back to my old habits of eating whatever I wanted until I was satisfied. You are right, but the problem is the willpower. Once I blow the day's calorie count by eating a 600-1700 bowl or two of ice cream, there's little point in logging.…

I did weigh and measure my food for 5 months. Yes, once I blow my diet, I don't log. What is the point once you've blown it? It is not really possible for me to weight out a 130-170 calorie scoop of ice cream. I do not have the willpower to do that. Once I have committed to eat ice cream, I eat as much as I want. It's like…

Maybe for some people. Here is what happened to me after 5 months of eating to my MFP calorie limit and then not logging: http://i.imgur.com/ijSkLog.jpg

This is what is really behind successful low-carb dieting. It has morphed into a cult where people think there is something actually wrong with carbs. There isn't. But the problem is they are highly compelling to eat and they are very calorie dense in spite of not being very filling. I can consume my entire daily allotment…

Like everyone said, losing weight is 80% diet anyway and she will not be able to exercise, so focus on diet. But she has to want it. You can't want it for someone else. If she is like me, having the temptation of junk food in the house is what destroys the willpower for a diet. If your father is bringing in the junk food,…

Yeah, but who has self-control issues with hummus and chickpeas?

I did not say it was.

Please note that there are addictions that have no physical dependence. Like gambling. It is my impression that his is changing. Binge eating is now listed in the DSM-V: "Binge eating disorder is defined as recurring episodes of eating significantly more food in a short period of time than most people would eat under…

But they say ex-alcoholics are only one drink away from being an alcoholic again even long after the physical chemical dependence is over. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. It's because the psychological component of the addiction persists even after the chemical component is licked.

This is what that looked like for me: http://i.imgur.com/ijSkLog.jpg

Here is what that kind of self-control looks like for me: http://i.imgur.com/ijSkLog.jpg

Why don't they do this with alcoholics?

The problem with this mentality is that one or two days of treating yourself easily turns into one or two months of treating yourself. It's the same reason why an alcoholic can never have "just one drink" even long after the chemical addiction is over. Giving in to treats is playing with fire. It takes more willpower to…

I personally find it takes more willpower to exercise off a calorie than to not eat it in the first place.

Honestly, I don't think I'll be able to. I never have been able to. I lost 30 pounds between June and November of last year but between November and today I have gained back 21. I just don't have the willpower to sustain it.

I didn't see anything in the OP's post about calorie goals, only the kinds of food she misses.

Yup. That is what the people who say, "eat what you want, just in moderation" don't get. Even if you have the willpower to only eat a tiny slice of cheesecake at a sitting, it is still an enormous amount of of your daily allotment of calories and you will be hungry again in no time and need to eat again, easily going over…

The key word here being "moderation". It's like telling someone with a gambling problem it's OK to just play one game. For some of us, once we give in to eat the tempting foods we can't eat them in moderation.

I'm the same way. The idea of "everything in moderation" only works if you have the willpower to eat very tempting foods in moderation. It's like telling a gambling addict it's OK to just play one game of slots. Easier to stay out of the casino. Steve

But, see, you do have to give up things if you want to lose weight. It is a struggle and torture. If it wasn't, most people would not fail trying to lose weight. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. But not all calories require the same willpower to resist eating. A calorie of apple is the same as a calorie of ice cream.…

I like to imagine it's more like a kazoo sound.

I find it very sad that this forum is a place where people come to for support in dieting to bolster their willpower but when people voice the fact that they don't have any they get ridiculed for it. And I think it's strange that people with eating disorders like anorexia or bulemia are not belittled for their lack of…

Basically what you are saying is that failed abstinence is moderation. Well, OK, but that's not what I'm really setting out to do. To me, moderation means eating whatever you want whenever you want in controllable portions that keep you in your daily calorie goal. I can't do that. Or rather, I very, very seldom am able to…

Again, I think you are incorrect.

OK, we have found one!

I've been mostly doing it for the last 6 months. Trust me, if I kept "bad foods" around the house, I'd probably be eating them more often than not. Sometimes I still fail, so I guess you are right that at least total abstinence hasn't worked. My willpower just isn't that strong.

Of course. Likewise, it doesn't make it false. I'm wondering if we read the same article, because it supports exactly what I've been saying. Yes, the science is controversial and not completely explored yet. Binge Eating was only added to the DSM-V within the last few months. But there are numerous references that support…

I agree with you. In a similar thread I started keeping track of the people who did not think that food behavioral addiction was real vs. those who did, and without exception every single person who did not who had a profile pictures was reasonably fit. It's anecdotal, but I did see the pattern.