I failed yet again...

I kept up a wonderful diet for a whole week, 1500cal per day, with lots of fruit, veggies, grains, and healthy amounts of fish. But yesterday, I went to the store and bought a huge dark chocolate candy bar with almonds, and some really good english muffins. I ate 3 muffins today, and about half the chocolate bar. That comes to over 1200 calories. >.< I promised myself that I wouldn't binge like that, and would only have moderate amounts of sweets. and now I feel like a total failure. My doc says I have high cholesterol, and I don't wanna have a heart attack when I'm 40. Please give me some tips on staying away from the darn sweets and pastries, and not straying from my healthy diet. ):

I've stuck to a low-cal diet for 4 weeks now, and trust me, I was the epitome of a binger before I started this diet. Now, I eat healthy 6 days a week, and 1 day ususally on the weekend, I eat out with friends and family. This one day a week is a reward for me for eating healthy (ie treating my body with care). Of course, I don't binge on this one day but I do indulge in my favourite foods in the right portions. As for controlling my urges the rest of the week, I have a personal reason why I want to lose weight and I think about it every time I feel like giving in. Maybe you should have one too! GOOD LUCK =)

:) Thanks, I actually do have a reason now that I think about it. That's a great tip.

Not binging is my biggest challenge, especially when I start craving something.  I try to trick my body and give it something else, but the craving always wins.  So what I have learned to do is things like (using you 2 items as an example) buy the English muffins, after I pay for them I take 1 or 2 out of the packaging and either toss the rest or since I usually shop with a friend I give the rest of the package to her if she wants it. All of this happens in the parking lot the excess never makes it into my house. Its a waste and I know it and I hate wasting food, but if it keeps me sane.......   Especially with fast food, when I have a real bad craving I make someone go out with me order a salad and what I am craving cut the sinful item into 4 eat one piece and hope my friend takes the rest. (on a side note all my friends are onto me and to support me they go along with it and share meals all the time.)

For chocolate cravings I love the no pudge fudge products, they have instructions to make one serving at a time :-)

Hope this helps.

You had "one of those days" but you did NOT fail!!  You're going to start over, right?  As long as you keep trying, then you haven't failed!

Buy smaller amounts of the foods that you use for treats...It's easier to controll the amount that you eat if it's already portion controlled!  If you do end up getting the large size, portion them out when you get them home, and then store them in different places, so that you don't automatically grab two or three baggies with chocolate bites in them...

For me, 2 things help to avoid binging.  One: avoid the sites of temptation.  Unless I know I'm in solid place, I keep away from places that sell my favourite foods.  I know this isn't always possible but often I find temptation goes in phases.  In particular, try to shop for groceries just after you've eaten a big meal with some protetin in it - you'll feel a lot fuller and that makes a difference.  There was a great TV programme on the BBC recently which showed the science behind this - people who ate protein for breakfast had a different reaction in the brain when shown pastries mid-morning than those who ate less protein.  Amazing stuff.  Two: when you're tempted to eat something really bad, just ask if it's worth undoing all the hard work you've done - those pounds are so HARD to take off and so easy to put on. 

I've lost around 100 lbs and I still binged last week.  I'm mad at myself but it's only really a problem if I do often or, much more dangerous, if I use it to say 'Well, I've already eaten x, so i might as well go the whole hog and eat b,c,d,e and f!'  You can do it, infraviolet!  It also gets easier, I found - partly because your body gets used to not having those sweet, sugary foods and partly because you have more to lose: if you've lost 30lbs and people start to notice, that's a real motivator to keep it up. 

Mary

Original Post by mcdh1:

For me, 2 things help to avoid binging.  One: avoid the sites of temptation.  Unless I know I'm in solid place, I keep away from places that sell my favourite foods.  I know this isn't always possible but often I find temptation goes in phases.  In particular, try to shop for groceries just after you've eaten a big meal with some protetin in it - you'll feel a lot fuller and that makes a difference.  There was a great TV programme on the BBC recently which showed the science behind this - people who ate protein for breakfast had a different reaction in the brain when shown pastries mid-morning than those who ate less protein.  Amazing stuff.  Two: when you're tempted to eat something really bad, just ask if it's worth undoing all the hard work you've done - those pounds are so HARD to take off and so easy to put on. 

I've lost around 100 lbs and I still binged last week.  I'm mad at myself but it's only really a problem if I do often or, much more dangerous, if I use it to say 'Well, I've already eaten x, so i might as well go the whole hog and eat b,c,d,e and f!'  You can do it, infraviolet!  It also gets easier, I found - partly because your body gets used to not having those sweet, sugary foods and partly because you have more to lose: if you've lost 30lbs and people start to notice, that's a real motivator to keep it up. 

Mary

I think the biggest thing to work on first is saying OK I've eaten this thing, I shouldn't have but I did. I'm not going to use that as an excuse to eat all these other things, I'm just going to keep on eating healthily and try not to slip up again.

The second thing is just don't buy the "bad" things. I've had to stop buying so many things, bread and cheese for starters! because I can't trust myself around them. If you don't have it in the house then you can't binge on it.

Don't feel bad, just keep on keeping on! Good luck x

Perhaps to avoid another blammo caloriefest in the future, you should be kind to yourself.

Let's face it. Those high calorie wonders aren't going to go away just because we've decided not to eat them every day any more. Make a place for small amounts of your favourite treats in your daily meal plans-a treat day, or what have you. We all need to learn how to accept and incorporate all loved foods into our diets. I can't imagine never having a cheeseburger again, and don't see why I should have to.

Eating healthy isn't something to do for a while until we reach some magic number on a scale that will make all our problems disappear. It's just a part of finding the balance in our lives that make NOW the best we can.

Chin up! Tomorrow's another day.

I have noticed that a lot of the unhealthy food choices are dense foods that have a pretty high calorie count.  I know this becasue in the realm of junk food, I am a sucker for Honey Mustard Pringles dipped in french onion dip.  So, when I have it, I calculate the calories and adjust the rest of my intake for the day.  This has made me make think "do I really want to give up all that I am going to give up to eat this?"

Now, this does not always stop me from eating this odd concoction, but I have eaten it much less frequently than I would have otherwise.

Giving something immediate consequences gives us motivation to make better choices.   Use the calorie count as the "immediate consequences" and it might help. 

Going off of your routine one day, especially after a week of good choices, probably will not make that big of a difference in the long run.  In fact, one is more likely to stay on a good weight loss program if they can indulge a little here and there, but don't let the supposed failure stop you from beginning again, or from making good choices the rest of the day.  When I feel like giving into a craving, I first tell myself that after I lose so much weight, if I still want it, that item will still be available (I allow myself a "reward" for every 10 pounds I lose.)  If that does not do it, then I take a walk or do something active and drink a substantial amount of water.  If the craving still persists, and I have opportunity, I go ahead and eat a little.  The extra exercise justifies, and it helps me stay on track and not feel so deprived.  But I have rarely given in, for the other two things usually do the trick.  I am also highly motivated by my personal reason for wanting to lose weight before my target date.

Don't get discouraged. Everyone cheats every once and a while you just have to move forward with a positive attitude and throw away the junk food you bought as hard as it is. The more you beat yourself up about it the more discouraged you'll get about dieting. Refined sugar and flour go directly in your blood stream and give you a high and immediate crash that makes you crave it more throughout the day. Once you haven't had it in a while your body detoxes from it and doesn't crave it anymore :). Good luck!