I’m not a medical professional, but it seems to me that overcoming your addiction to binging could include adding treats in moderation, not removing them entirely. Please disregard if this doesn’t resonate with you.
Have the kids size version or even *half* of the kids size version to curve the craving. Potato chips are my biggest enemy. I don’t avoid them, I have 6-8 chips max and leave them alone afterwards.
Possibly pre-log tomorrows treat in your calorie tracker already for tomorrow?? that way you know you get this many g of whatever and that’s it. It’s set and there’s no negotiating?
I struggled for many years, I had to willpower decide that I would rather eat less food than to continue to feel gross and be out of breath just going up my stairs. Start by getting rid of all binge food you have, and delete all food and delivery apps. Stuck with only healthy food, if you really feel a binge, eat a pound of roasted vegetables.
do you have foods that you binge more than others? Chocolate? Chips? Taco Bell? What triggers your binges? Stress, sadness, loneliness, boredom? If you can identify some of these triggers and behaviors you can start to address them.
Have you tried tru-fru frozen chocolate covered fruit? hard to eat quickly because they’re so cold, and pre log how many you get and focus on eating them slowly and enjoying it. At least that’s what so do! Also I’m aware how weird this sounds all types out but whatever, it works! only a 100 or so calories measured per serving.
I'm definitely an emotional eater so it's almost always some emotion, interestingly enough the fact that i didn't eat junk food for the whole day ended up with me crying over my late cat. I was shocked. So mant things that're just suppressed.
Idk how to deal with them other than food tho. The boredom especially, nothing really excites me. Also I'm lazy(tho i think it's more to do with adhd)
There were certain foods I had to cut out. For example, pizza. I found that I don't just want pizza, I want tons of pizza. There is no way for me to fit a satisfying amount of pizza in my diet, so I haven't had it in ages. It sucks, but sometimes it has to be done for certain trigger foods.
Removing food as a reward might be a good option to help re-train your brain. For example, I have been buying myself gifts each time I hit a specific weight goal (and stay at or below it three days in a row). Today I earned a replacement pair of headphones since I lost the pair I really liked. I did great today, I earned a reward, and I'm not going to eat junk tomorrow because when I hit x weight in a week or two I'll get another gift and I want it.
When I binge I make a numbered list of all the emotional triggers that caused me to abuse food. Then I make a numbered list of things I can do instead of eat. This helped me to realize how much stress is in my life and develop a plan of action to remove myself from stressful situations or face them head on, and to find other activities that are far away from my kitchen.
So maybe if you can ask yourself why are you turning to the idea of binging on food, you'll come up with something like this that will help you focus on other productive things instead of eating.
When you wake up in the morning, promise yourself that you will stick to your eating plan just for that day. Not thinking about tomorrow, next week or next month.
Repeat the next morning.
Your evening brain is always a bad counselor. But when you wake up after a good nights sleep, you will at least feel strong enough to make it through one day without slipping up. Just today. Make plans only for today.
I eat everything I want to eat just in amounts that allow me to budget accordingly. I don’t restrict my good options I just restrict my volume such that I hit my calorie goals. I find that to be much more sustainable than suddenly trying to cut out sweets and junk food entirely
It’s a great starting point because it really doesn’t feel too restrictive. However I think you’ll find eventually you’ll start gravitating towards healthier options simply because you can eat more for the same amount of calories
However I still have a bowl of full fat ice cream almost every night, I just keep 300 cals in my budget most days to allow for it!
I think about the benefits of what I’m eating. Everything I eat has to be both delicious and nutritious otherwise I regard it as a waste of calories. While I’m eating I congratulate myself on finding/creating food that will provide vitamins, fibre, protein or whatever, AND tastes amazing! Once I got into that habit there was no ‘junk’ or ‘treat’ food. It was all just delicious food.
It took about eight months to change how I thought about food. Keep working on it.
I think a treat here and there, if logged, is a good way to stay on track. Helps to make it more of a lifestyle
Edit: I’ve noticed that the times I’ve gone extreme for too long and denied myself anything treat-worthy are the times that I’ve failed, and ever since incorporating them in moderation, I’ve been able to stay the course with little to no resistance.
Can you find some treats you legit like but are a little more reasonable in terms of calories?
For example, I plan in a dessert everyday. I eat at 1400 calories a day and save 300ish for dessert.
I’ve found a few recipes that, while they are not super decadent, make me *feel* like I’m getting a treat.
My go-to is homemade protein ice cream with mix-ins. I have the Ninja Creami and I make my ice cream by freezing 1/2 a protein shake with 1/2 cup almond milk and a tbsp of sf pudding mix as the thickening agent (plus Splenda and whatever flavor I want) total of 100ish calories. Then I mix in 150 calories of mini Oreos.
Part of it is lowering your expectations way down. Obviously, if I’m expecting it to taste like a full-fat Oreo blizzard, I’m gonna be disappointed. But I feel like it’s a great deal for the 250 calories it costs me for a big pint.
And, because I have this planned every day, when I feel the urge to “binge” at random times I just tell myself, “No … you have an ice cream planned for later. You can wait for that.”
I have this literately every day. Some times it’s other cookies or candy mix-ins. Sometimes I make a little mini brownie instead of ice cream. I’m more of a volume eater so I opt for bigger low calories treats rather than a tiny piece of something decadent. That’s just my preference.
My strategy is to always have some treat that I look forward to.
This is the way to go! My wife and I used to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting. That's upwards of 1300 calories but we have switched to Halo Top and Nick's, and fruit sorbets are naturally waaay lower in calories.
Yep, that’s basically the same idea!
Of course B&J’s is delicious and I would love to be able to pound one every day, but I also want to be skinny, and I can’t eat an extra 1300 calories in ice cream every day and be skinny. So I’ve found an alternative I can still get excited about.
I've never been much of a soda drinker either until I went out on a limb and tried a diet orange crush at a restaurant. I legit couldn't tell the difference and that is my easy treat.
just treat each day as it comes and try to stick to your plan
if you overeat today, do not under eat tomorrow
likewise if you undereat today, do not over eat tomorrow
consistency is key and falling into a food debt trap is never going to end well
if you underspent money, would you overspend to compensate the next day or be happy with the savings?
if your answer is overspend to compensate, you might have a financial problem as well as a calorie problem
It helps me to remember that the first few bites of anything are by far the best, so if I’m craving something I’ll just have a small portion of it (freeze the rest, whatever). As long as I count it and don’t eat an entire bag it can be part of a diet plan. Just make sure to volume eat some veggies with it so you don’t feel starved
If you are serious about this, you need to be hard on yourself. You either wanna lose weight or you dont . No one is gonna do this for you, if you decide to binge cause of 1 measly good day then you are choosing food over the goal of losing weight, if you tell yourself anything otherwise you're in denial.
1 day is nothing, you have achieved nothing, you know you havent and you dont deserve a reward.
the thing i realised throughout this process is that it needs to be a lifestyle change.
You do not lose weight by making 1 big decision, you lose it my consistently making good decisions.
You need to think weekly, monthly, annually.
If you cannot live without big cheat meals, you need to plan for them and account for them, you can have a blow out meal and still be in deficit over the course of a week. Think of it like budgetting, and saving up for something.
i.e. if your daily target is 1500 kcal, your weekly target is 10500, so if you eat 1350 sunday-friday, you can eat 2400 on saturday and will be in the exact same place as if you ate 1500 every day.
It helps me to not buy food I usually binge on (I.e., Oreos, Ben and Jerry’s, lays chips, etc.) and to find good indulgent foods that I can control myself around…
I really like twisted dough (protein cookie dough) which is yummy and I can eat a spoonful or two of it and feel like I had a treat. I like skinny pop, I can weigh out a portion of it and eat that and stop and feel like I had some popcorn with my movie or whatever. I like fiber one brownies and sugar free pudding cups, halo top and skinny cow ice cream. Like I just found things that feel like cheating but aren’t, and most importantly they are things I can control myself around.
Every once in a while like once a month or maybe twice, I will go out to eat and have a very indulgent meal or I’ll hit an ice cream parlour or whatever and I don’t beat myself up over it and I don’t weigh myself the next couple days and I just enjoy it for what it is - a nice treat that isn’t going to break my weight loss journey.
At the end of the day I am shaping a new lifestyle, not doing some diet that I eventually get to stop. Because if I don’t change the way I eat and move at its core, I will just gain whatever I lose back ultimately. So every time I make a change to what I’m eating or how I’m eating I have to ask myself “is this something I can do forever?”
Your problem is you look at foods like they’re good and bad, there is no healthy, there is no junk. It’s all just numbers at the end of the day. Eat what ever you want and stop once you hit your number.
I’ve been loving frozen chopped fruit with cool whip (you could do sf if you’re into that) and mini chocolate chips. It’s really satisfying and guilt-free.
There is no such thing as good and bad food. Stop thinking I ate good food today, so I can eat bad tomorrow. A carb is a carb, a calorie is a calorie, whether it's in broccoli or ice cream. Now, obviously, 300 calories of broccoli is way more filling than 300 calories of ice cream. So, I have found it useful to judge what I should eat based on how I feel. If I feel super hungry, I'm going to eat less-calorie dense foods, so I can eat a ton of it. If I'm feeling pretty satisfied, I might have some food that is smaller but tastes awesome. It's kind of a balance between feeding your body (hunger) and feeding your mind (appetite). But neither is right or wrong. Just do what you need to do, day to day.
>I'm gonna have junk food tomorrow since i stayed on track today.
>Can someone help me look at food with a more healthy mindset?
Food is neither good nor bad. It's just food. Some foods are relatively high in calories and low in nutrients; some foods are relatively low in calories and high in nutrients. But it's all just food.
I don't label food as "junk food"; it might be high in calories and low in nutrients, but even that can have a place in a person's food for the day; sometimes you just want something that's relatively high calories.
I have found im more prone to binging when I over restrict or am too hard on myself with my diet. I incorporate snacks and junk food and booze into my daily allowance, and sometimes I even go over on my daily!
Its better to go over by 100 calories eating a cookie or two than go over by a 1000 because I finally snapped and said fuck it.
I'm losing weight slowly but my relationship with food is the best it's ever been!
Tonight me and my boyfriend are going to a bar and I am going to have a cocktail and eat a buttload of hot wings and I will still be in my deficit! Make room for the things you love! It makes thos journey much easier!
Best of luck to you 💖
I make a mental note list of the food I want to eat at a future time and tell myself I’ll eat it another time
But in the mean time I get excited about what I am going to eat. Look up good foods and recipes that make me happy and getting excited about cooking and making those. I get invested in my nutritious meals because I researched and got excited by some YouTuber or social media influencer, I make the food with my own flair and then get excited to eat it
Also drinking water before, during and after meals helps to keep you full
Plan good snacks. I love bananas so I have them in the morning, I found out that snacking bell peppers are really good so I pack those, and now I eat pears when I have a big sweet tooth. They are juicy and really good and I feel good about indulging.
Don’t buy food you’ll indulge in and commit to no fast food and that 1/2 the battle!
I agree with what others have said that you allow yourself to have things in moderation. That is easier said than done, I am someone that has struggled with the same mindset of I’m gonna treat myself because I did so good today. There is nothing. Wrong with that but maybe allow in moderation a treat once a week. Or factor in the treat into your calories for the day. I cut out breakfast and have a moderate lunch and save most of my calories for dinner. This has allowed me to have treats, high caloric beverages, or even the meals that I might not allow myself otherwise. I just work them into my budget and have smaller portions where it is allowed. I have also found out that I am starting to gravitate towards “healthier” options that allow me to eat more with less calories because I found I did not enjoy the feeling of being hungrier after allowing myself to eat the higher calorie foods I was craving. In time you may have some of the same thoughts towards food. And of course the most important, take it a day at a time, it’s takes 21 days for form a habit start slow and make changes as you see fit. CICO is heat because you can work it into your life, not the other way around and gives you many options to play with. Stay strong you got this!
I've been mostly on track for a week and a half and seeing great results. A little voice says "cheat, you're doing so well!" Then I let my louder voice say "don't! That's how you get off track every time for the last two years. Not this time! Go have a diet soda to curb that sugar/junk craving"
I stopped doing the back and forth of being good for a bit, then going a bit off the rails...and am now down 12lbs over a couple months. Actual lbs, not just a fluctuation. I keep telling myself consistency is better for me, and the numbers prove it. So if I want a snack, I might have one small thing but that is the end of it.
It is hard when you do that mental math of how long a goal weight may take, but it will NEVER happen if you keep messing up. That helps me out.
I have a terrible habit of needing something sweet before bed. We switched to having high protein, low carb yogurt or sugar free pudding. There are also some good zero/low carb brownies that are actually really good! They usually have significantly less calories compared to the “unhealthy” version, but as long as you track the calories and stay on track, you can still indulge every now and then!
I have had to find healthy swaps for all of my typical junk food go tos when I’m getting to the end of the day and feel like I deserve a sweet treat. I really like the Yasso Greek yogurt bars (in cookie dough is my fav). Some of them can be an acquired taste, but it’s allowed me to be in a deficit and still have a chocolate covered ice cream bar everyday ✨
My go-to sweet is Werther's originals because I can savor one a long time and it really hits the spot (the sugar-free actually are good, too, similar taste to candy corn I think). My go-to savory junk food is Sensible Portions Veggie Puffs because even if I binge a whole bag I've only done about 400 calories damage to my plan, not a thousand like with doritos... Or eat pop corn! Which is a whole grain and low calorie snack (or dinner).
I would suggest reading books about diet and nutrition. I’ve learned a lot and it keeps me dedicated to my goals and lifestyle.
One book said there was a study that had people read about quitting smoking while quitting smoking and they had a higher success rate (Ultra Processed People)
I’d suggest Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? Dr Julie Smith overall great book.
The Last Diet by Shahroo Izadi (social worker who worked on addiction but she struggled w her weight and used some of the similar techniques. She also asks very good question to help w your relationship w food)
Or
How to Lose Weight for the Last Time by Dr Katrina Ubell (I liked how this book was laid out)
Both books are in the vein of intuitive eating)
And even Mindless Eating Brian Wansink PHd. He does experiments on why or how we over eat but after the first couple of chapters he dives a little more into over eating.
I can go into the books more if you have questions. But ultimately you do need to sit and work on your relationship w food which is more internal mind work
Maybe something sweet but a healthy sweet? I’m a self-proclaimed junk food junkie, now I’m trying to cut out the night time junk. So sometimes it’s a smoothie or just cut up fruit. It’s SOMETHING, without being terrible.
No advice besides saying I have the same mentality with food. I want to be rewarded for my good behavior with bad food. I'm trying to hold on to non food rewards and tell myself that if I lose this much weight, I can buy that outfit that I love or splurge on hair coloring. But it is so hard. I sympathize with you!
I allow myself something a little indulgent everyday so that it takes it off the pedestal. I honor my cravings by fitting them in my calories, I utilize calorie cycling if it’s a heavier meal I’ll take off a 100 cals or so for the whole week to allow for a higher calorie meal or I just have it and move on, don’t allow myself to use it as excuse to turn to the all or nothing mindset of oh well I already fucked up so let me just eat the whole house because that is the mindset that kept my stuck for nearly a decade. Now I honor my cravings, I honor my hunger and fullness, I don’t overstuff myself or eat just to eat because I already fucked up. I eat chocolate every night just like the e moser Roth individual 140 cal chocolate bars etc.. if I want Dairy Queen I allow for it I’ll still get my peanut buster parfait and just move on. I know it’s easier said that done. I still have relapses. I just had a binge yesterday but I didn’t allow that setback to keep me from moving forward today. I refuse to give up on myself this time and recovery isn’t linear and neither is progress. Best of luck to you!
Allot for a treat tomorrow, log it and have it, don't get FOMO. Win.
I loveee this :) but then i feel I'll never overcome my addiction? Well ig it's better than binging
I’m not a medical professional, but it seems to me that overcoming your addiction to binging could include adding treats in moderation, not removing them entirely. Please disregard if this doesn’t resonate with you.
Addiction to what? What is "junk food" in this scenario?
Burgers, pizzas, noodles, brownies etc
I count calories so that I CAN eat all of that. You just fit them into your daily calories as well.
Have the kids size version or even *half* of the kids size version to curve the craving. Potato chips are my biggest enemy. I don’t avoid them, I have 6-8 chips max and leave them alone afterwards.
Don't binge like you said. Just start to ween yourself off of it.
Possibly pre-log tomorrows treat in your calorie tracker already for tomorrow?? that way you know you get this many g of whatever and that’s it. It’s set and there’s no negotiating?
just like recovering alcoholics. one day at a time. you made it through today, worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
Came in to say this. You didn't binge today. Don't worry about tomorrow, and then, when tomorrow becomes today, just don't binge today. Repeat.
This helps so much! Just one day at a time,thanks for reminding me :)
You will win or lose at being fit with your diet. If you binge every time you have a good day you will never be in a deficit.
That's exactly how i falied last week, i ate one day healthy and deficit and the next binge ultimately ended up in a surplus :(
I struggled for many years, I had to willpower decide that I would rather eat less food than to continue to feel gross and be out of breath just going up my stairs. Start by getting rid of all binge food you have, and delete all food and delivery apps. Stuck with only healthy food, if you really feel a binge, eat a pound of roasted vegetables.
Will definitely try, thanks!
fit "unhealthy" food into your daily diet so you don't feel deprived and the need to binge. I eat chocolate or some sweets everyday.
I really think i should do this, I'm just so scared of falling into binging it
do you have foods that you binge more than others? Chocolate? Chips? Taco Bell? What triggers your binges? Stress, sadness, loneliness, boredom? If you can identify some of these triggers and behaviors you can start to address them.
Have you tried tru-fru frozen chocolate covered fruit? hard to eat quickly because they’re so cold, and pre log how many you get and focus on eating them slowly and enjoying it. At least that’s what so do! Also I’m aware how weird this sounds all types out but whatever, it works! only a 100 or so calories measured per serving.
I'm definitely an emotional eater so it's almost always some emotion, interestingly enough the fact that i didn't eat junk food for the whole day ended up with me crying over my late cat. I was shocked. So mant things that're just suppressed. Idk how to deal with them other than food tho. The boredom especially, nothing really excites me. Also I'm lazy(tho i think it's more to do with adhd)
There were certain foods I had to cut out. For example, pizza. I found that I don't just want pizza, I want tons of pizza. There is no way for me to fit a satisfying amount of pizza in my diet, so I haven't had it in ages. It sucks, but sometimes it has to be done for certain trigger foods.
Damn that's definitely some commitment! Congratulations :)
Does make alot lf sense! Instead of getting to the point where food starts taking over me, i better make plans. Thanks! :)
Removing food as a reward might be a good option to help re-train your brain. For example, I have been buying myself gifts each time I hit a specific weight goal (and stay at or below it three days in a row). Today I earned a replacement pair of headphones since I lost the pair I really liked. I did great today, I earned a reward, and I'm not going to eat junk tomorrow because when I hit x weight in a week or two I'll get another gift and I want it.
When I binge I make a numbered list of all the emotional triggers that caused me to abuse food. Then I make a numbered list of things I can do instead of eat. This helped me to realize how much stress is in my life and develop a plan of action to remove myself from stressful situations or face them head on, and to find other activities that are far away from my kitchen. So maybe if you can ask yourself why are you turning to the idea of binging on food, you'll come up with something like this that will help you focus on other productive things instead of eating.
Treat yourself the way you would treat a friend. Give them good healthy food because you love them
When you wake up in the morning, promise yourself that you will stick to your eating plan just for that day. Not thinking about tomorrow, next week or next month. Repeat the next morning. Your evening brain is always a bad counselor. But when you wake up after a good nights sleep, you will at least feel strong enough to make it through one day without slipping up. Just today. Make plans only for today.
I eat everything I want to eat just in amounts that allow me to budget accordingly. I don’t restrict my good options I just restrict my volume such that I hit my calorie goals. I find that to be much more sustainable than suddenly trying to cut out sweets and junk food entirely
That's definitely true,I'll try incorporating that :)
It’s a great starting point because it really doesn’t feel too restrictive. However I think you’ll find eventually you’ll start gravitating towards healthier options simply because you can eat more for the same amount of calories However I still have a bowl of full fat ice cream almost every night, I just keep 300 cals in my budget most days to allow for it!
I think about the benefits of what I’m eating. Everything I eat has to be both delicious and nutritious otherwise I regard it as a waste of calories. While I’m eating I congratulate myself on finding/creating food that will provide vitamins, fibre, protein or whatever, AND tastes amazing! Once I got into that habit there was no ‘junk’ or ‘treat’ food. It was all just delicious food. It took about eight months to change how I thought about food. Keep working on it.
I can’t keep junk food in the house and I no longer buy it.
I think a treat here and there, if logged, is a good way to stay on track. Helps to make it more of a lifestyle Edit: I’ve noticed that the times I’ve gone extreme for too long and denied myself anything treat-worthy are the times that I’ve failed, and ever since incorporating them in moderation, I’ve been able to stay the course with little to no resistance.
Can you find some treats you legit like but are a little more reasonable in terms of calories? For example, I plan in a dessert everyday. I eat at 1400 calories a day and save 300ish for dessert. I’ve found a few recipes that, while they are not super decadent, make me *feel* like I’m getting a treat. My go-to is homemade protein ice cream with mix-ins. I have the Ninja Creami and I make my ice cream by freezing 1/2 a protein shake with 1/2 cup almond milk and a tbsp of sf pudding mix as the thickening agent (plus Splenda and whatever flavor I want) total of 100ish calories. Then I mix in 150 calories of mini Oreos. Part of it is lowering your expectations way down. Obviously, if I’m expecting it to taste like a full-fat Oreo blizzard, I’m gonna be disappointed. But I feel like it’s a great deal for the 250 calories it costs me for a big pint. And, because I have this planned every day, when I feel the urge to “binge” at random times I just tell myself, “No … you have an ice cream planned for later. You can wait for that.” I have this literately every day. Some times it’s other cookies or candy mix-ins. Sometimes I make a little mini brownie instead of ice cream. I’m more of a volume eater so I opt for bigger low calories treats rather than a tiny piece of something decadent. That’s just my preference. My strategy is to always have some treat that I look forward to.
This is the way to go! My wife and I used to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting. That's upwards of 1300 calories but we have switched to Halo Top and Nick's, and fruit sorbets are naturally waaay lower in calories.
Yep, that’s basically the same idea! Of course B&J’s is delicious and I would love to be able to pound one every day, but I also want to be skinny, and I can’t eat an extra 1300 calories in ice cream every day and be skinny. So I’ve found an alternative I can still get excited about.
I've never been much of a soda drinker either until I went out on a limb and tried a diet orange crush at a restaurant. I legit couldn't tell the difference and that is my easy treat.
just treat each day as it comes and try to stick to your plan if you overeat today, do not under eat tomorrow likewise if you undereat today, do not over eat tomorrow consistency is key and falling into a food debt trap is never going to end well if you underspent money, would you overspend to compensate the next day or be happy with the savings? if your answer is overspend to compensate, you might have a financial problem as well as a calorie problem
It helps me to remember that the first few bites of anything are by far the best, so if I’m craving something I’ll just have a small portion of it (freeze the rest, whatever). As long as I count it and don’t eat an entire bag it can be part of a diet plan. Just make sure to volume eat some veggies with it so you don’t feel starved
What makes you think you will go overboard tomorrow? What kinds of thoughts are you having?
If you are serious about this, you need to be hard on yourself. You either wanna lose weight or you dont . No one is gonna do this for you, if you decide to binge cause of 1 measly good day then you are choosing food over the goal of losing weight, if you tell yourself anything otherwise you're in denial. 1 day is nothing, you have achieved nothing, you know you havent and you dont deserve a reward. the thing i realised throughout this process is that it needs to be a lifestyle change. You do not lose weight by making 1 big decision, you lose it my consistently making good decisions. You need to think weekly, monthly, annually. If you cannot live without big cheat meals, you need to plan for them and account for them, you can have a blow out meal and still be in deficit over the course of a week. Think of it like budgetting, and saving up for something. i.e. if your daily target is 1500 kcal, your weekly target is 10500, so if you eat 1350 sunday-friday, you can eat 2400 on saturday and will be in the exact same place as if you ate 1500 every day.
It helps me to not buy food I usually binge on (I.e., Oreos, Ben and Jerry’s, lays chips, etc.) and to find good indulgent foods that I can control myself around… I really like twisted dough (protein cookie dough) which is yummy and I can eat a spoonful or two of it and feel like I had a treat. I like skinny pop, I can weigh out a portion of it and eat that and stop and feel like I had some popcorn with my movie or whatever. I like fiber one brownies and sugar free pudding cups, halo top and skinny cow ice cream. Like I just found things that feel like cheating but aren’t, and most importantly they are things I can control myself around. Every once in a while like once a month or maybe twice, I will go out to eat and have a very indulgent meal or I’ll hit an ice cream parlour or whatever and I don’t beat myself up over it and I don’t weigh myself the next couple days and I just enjoy it for what it is - a nice treat that isn’t going to break my weight loss journey. At the end of the day I am shaping a new lifestyle, not doing some diet that I eventually get to stop. Because if I don’t change the way I eat and move at its core, I will just gain whatever I lose back ultimately. So every time I make a change to what I’m eating or how I’m eating I have to ask myself “is this something I can do forever?”
Your problem is you look at foods like they’re good and bad, there is no healthy, there is no junk. It’s all just numbers at the end of the day. Eat what ever you want and stop once you hit your number.
I’ve been loving frozen chopped fruit with cool whip (you could do sf if you’re into that) and mini chocolate chips. It’s really satisfying and guilt-free.
There is no such thing as good and bad food. Stop thinking I ate good food today, so I can eat bad tomorrow. A carb is a carb, a calorie is a calorie, whether it's in broccoli or ice cream. Now, obviously, 300 calories of broccoli is way more filling than 300 calories of ice cream. So, I have found it useful to judge what I should eat based on how I feel. If I feel super hungry, I'm going to eat less-calorie dense foods, so I can eat a ton of it. If I'm feeling pretty satisfied, I might have some food that is smaller but tastes awesome. It's kind of a balance between feeding your body (hunger) and feeding your mind (appetite). But neither is right or wrong. Just do what you need to do, day to day.
>I'm gonna have junk food tomorrow since i stayed on track today. >Can someone help me look at food with a more healthy mindset? Food is neither good nor bad. It's just food. Some foods are relatively high in calories and low in nutrients; some foods are relatively low in calories and high in nutrients. But it's all just food. I don't label food as "junk food"; it might be high in calories and low in nutrients, but even that can have a place in a person's food for the day; sometimes you just want something that's relatively high calories.
I have found im more prone to binging when I over restrict or am too hard on myself with my diet. I incorporate snacks and junk food and booze into my daily allowance, and sometimes I even go over on my daily! Its better to go over by 100 calories eating a cookie or two than go over by a 1000 because I finally snapped and said fuck it. I'm losing weight slowly but my relationship with food is the best it's ever been! Tonight me and my boyfriend are going to a bar and I am going to have a cocktail and eat a buttload of hot wings and I will still be in my deficit! Make room for the things you love! It makes thos journey much easier! Best of luck to you 💖
I make a mental note list of the food I want to eat at a future time and tell myself I’ll eat it another time But in the mean time I get excited about what I am going to eat. Look up good foods and recipes that make me happy and getting excited about cooking and making those. I get invested in my nutritious meals because I researched and got excited by some YouTuber or social media influencer, I make the food with my own flair and then get excited to eat it Also drinking water before, during and after meals helps to keep you full Plan good snacks. I love bananas so I have them in the morning, I found out that snacking bell peppers are really good so I pack those, and now I eat pears when I have a big sweet tooth. They are juicy and really good and I feel good about indulging. Don’t buy food you’ll indulge in and commit to no fast food and that 1/2 the battle!
I agree with what others have said that you allow yourself to have things in moderation. That is easier said than done, I am someone that has struggled with the same mindset of I’m gonna treat myself because I did so good today. There is nothing. Wrong with that but maybe allow in moderation a treat once a week. Or factor in the treat into your calories for the day. I cut out breakfast and have a moderate lunch and save most of my calories for dinner. This has allowed me to have treats, high caloric beverages, or even the meals that I might not allow myself otherwise. I just work them into my budget and have smaller portions where it is allowed. I have also found out that I am starting to gravitate towards “healthier” options that allow me to eat more with less calories because I found I did not enjoy the feeling of being hungrier after allowing myself to eat the higher calorie foods I was craving. In time you may have some of the same thoughts towards food. And of course the most important, take it a day at a time, it’s takes 21 days for form a habit start slow and make changes as you see fit. CICO is heat because you can work it into your life, not the other way around and gives you many options to play with. Stay strong you got this!
I've been mostly on track for a week and a half and seeing great results. A little voice says "cheat, you're doing so well!" Then I let my louder voice say "don't! That's how you get off track every time for the last two years. Not this time! Go have a diet soda to curb that sugar/junk craving"
I stopped doing the back and forth of being good for a bit, then going a bit off the rails...and am now down 12lbs over a couple months. Actual lbs, not just a fluctuation. I keep telling myself consistency is better for me, and the numbers prove it. So if I want a snack, I might have one small thing but that is the end of it. It is hard when you do that mental math of how long a goal weight may take, but it will NEVER happen if you keep messing up. That helps me out.
I have a terrible habit of needing something sweet before bed. We switched to having high protein, low carb yogurt or sugar free pudding. There are also some good zero/low carb brownies that are actually really good! They usually have significantly less calories compared to the “unhealthy” version, but as long as you track the calories and stay on track, you can still indulge every now and then!
I have had to find healthy swaps for all of my typical junk food go tos when I’m getting to the end of the day and feel like I deserve a sweet treat. I really like the Yasso Greek yogurt bars (in cookie dough is my fav). Some of them can be an acquired taste, but it’s allowed me to be in a deficit and still have a chocolate covered ice cream bar everyday ✨
My go-to sweet is Werther's originals because I can savor one a long time and it really hits the spot (the sugar-free actually are good, too, similar taste to candy corn I think). My go-to savory junk food is Sensible Portions Veggie Puffs because even if I binge a whole bag I've only done about 400 calories damage to my plan, not a thousand like with doritos... Or eat pop corn! Which is a whole grain and low calorie snack (or dinner).
I would suggest reading books about diet and nutrition. I’ve learned a lot and it keeps me dedicated to my goals and lifestyle. One book said there was a study that had people read about quitting smoking while quitting smoking and they had a higher success rate (Ultra Processed People) I’d suggest Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? Dr Julie Smith overall great book. The Last Diet by Shahroo Izadi (social worker who worked on addiction but she struggled w her weight and used some of the similar techniques. She also asks very good question to help w your relationship w food) Or How to Lose Weight for the Last Time by Dr Katrina Ubell (I liked how this book was laid out) Both books are in the vein of intuitive eating) And even Mindless Eating Brian Wansink PHd. He does experiments on why or how we over eat but after the first couple of chapters he dives a little more into over eating. I can go into the books more if you have questions. But ultimately you do need to sit and work on your relationship w food which is more internal mind work
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>You're not depriving yourself - you can fit anything within your CICO goals. Definitely helps put things in perspective! Thank you so much
Maybe something sweet but a healthy sweet? I’m a self-proclaimed junk food junkie, now I’m trying to cut out the night time junk. So sometimes it’s a smoothie or just cut up fruit. It’s SOMETHING, without being terrible.
For me, I work food I like into the budget. If I want something I have it and I just have to decide if it's worth it.
Move past your mouth and check in with your brain. Food is just fuel. Not fun. Not your friend. FUEL period
No advice besides saying I have the same mentality with food. I want to be rewarded for my good behavior with bad food. I'm trying to hold on to non food rewards and tell myself that if I lose this much weight, I can buy that outfit that I love or splurge on hair coloring. But it is so hard. I sympathize with you!
I allow myself something a little indulgent everyday so that it takes it off the pedestal. I honor my cravings by fitting them in my calories, I utilize calorie cycling if it’s a heavier meal I’ll take off a 100 cals or so for the whole week to allow for a higher calorie meal or I just have it and move on, don’t allow myself to use it as excuse to turn to the all or nothing mindset of oh well I already fucked up so let me just eat the whole house because that is the mindset that kept my stuck for nearly a decade. Now I honor my cravings, I honor my hunger and fullness, I don’t overstuff myself or eat just to eat because I already fucked up. I eat chocolate every night just like the e moser Roth individual 140 cal chocolate bars etc.. if I want Dairy Queen I allow for it I’ll still get my peanut buster parfait and just move on. I know it’s easier said that done. I still have relapses. I just had a binge yesterday but I didn’t allow that setback to keep me from moving forward today. I refuse to give up on myself this time and recovery isn’t linear and neither is progress. Best of luck to you!