When you need to stop...

Ok I've been counting calories for a year. I've lost over 80 pounds, and yet I still have the problem. I can go a couple of weeks of being good, but then I blow it for a day or two and then I"m back to being good again. I just don't understand why after all this time and all this weight I still can't stop being a hog! Why can't I eat just one cookie or even two? It's like I either don't eat any or I eat like 6. I mean people, I wanted cheesecake so bad the other night I almost cried I hadn't done very good over the weekend so I knew I couldn't have any. That's a problem. People shouldn't feel like that, it can't be normal! Crying over food? I could understand it if I'd just started or even if the weight was still on. But it's not! Does this ever end???

Nope! It never ends! I get the same way sometimes. Just try not to be too hard on yourself and practise "mindful eating'. Really think about how much you're eating at a time. If you have 2 cookies are you satisfied or do you need another 4? It's all in your head and you really just have to talk yourself out of it. 

Same here but I could swear I only have thos relapses when its TTOM week. All the other weeks I'm just simply less hungry and get filled up with healthy sized meals and foods.

DAMMIT!

i know exactly how u're feeling! and for that, i hate being a woman!

i think it ends when we want it to end, when we allow ourselves whatever we want to eat.

but the bad side to that is..... what if we eat everything? that always bugs me.

Maybe try having a cheat day every 2 weeks that way when you see the bad food you know "ok I can't have that now but in 2 weeks I can" Then you won't eat it. I've been doing it for a couple months now & it seems to work ok for me.

Well at least I know I'm not the only crazy person out there! I swear sometimes when I know I really need to not eat something that I'm craving I feel like I'm going insane! It's like suddenly I have multiple personalities and hearing the voices! hahahahaha.

janabm81

Yeah I think I need to go back to doing that. I used to do that and then I decided to stop altogether and limit everything and obviously it's just not working for me! hahaha. Plus i"m getting closer to my goal so the weight loss is slowing down and that's not helping any...

LMAO! yo i hear ya!

and i always end up thinking about that certain food THE WHOLE DAY!!

a few times, i've even dreamt of it..... and me eating it, that was horrible!

hahaha Yeah. Have you ever found yourself eating something and it's like you didn't even realize that that was what you were doing? It's such a horrible thing to be a hog! hahaha

first off, congratulations on losing 80 pounds. what an achievement. do you find the days you are a 'hog' affect your weight for the day/week/month? 

I was just telling someone today that before I could do really good for a couple of weeks and lose some weight and then when I screwed up for a couple of days it just meant that I didn't lose any more weight, but I didn't gain any. Now if I screw up for a couple of days it does affect me. It sucks! I've been stuck bouncing back and forth between 139 and 141 for like a month! I'm sweating on the elliptical every night while my thin husband is on the couch watching tv and eating chips.

And yes this website is the best!

I am that way every weekend -- pig out on junk -- disgusting habit.

Oh and food dreams - I had one of those the other night I was eating fast food greasy food and then was just about to order at "Outback" when my alarm clock went off -- I about cried cuz I wanted that blooming Onion and chocolate cake thing so bad!!! 

This is a timely thread for me.  I'm roasting a turkey for dinner tonight.  Of course I also have to make mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing.

This will be the 1st time I have ever "half stuffed" a turkey.  I don't want to make too much because then I'll just inhale it.   Wonder how it will turn out?  I think it might be mushy because of having too much juice in the turkey and not enough bread.  That will probably be a good thing because maybe then I'll just throw it out.

I really want to "pig out".

I just plugged the calories in to the food log....UH OH.

I'll roast the turkey tomorrow...and plan for the calories.  LOL.

I think "cheat meals" are essential for a long-term nutrition plan. For me personally I have around 2-3 small "cheat meals" per week-end since I only eat "clean" during the week (unless it's a holiday week). I don't have cravings since I do let myself eat more of the food I want on the weekend. I don't think I'd be able to stick to a long-term nutrition plan if I didn't occasionally have some pasta or an occasional cheesecake. The thing is I don't keep any "unclean" food in the house and I always look forward to my cheat meals on the weekend as a reward for my hard work during the week. Having to actually go out for the kinds of cheat meals I want also means that I am never tempted by what's in the fridge during the week. Also eating 5-6 smaller meals per day on a regular basis kills my ability to "pig out" and consume too many calories at one sitting. I usually 1/2 a desert or big appetizer with my wife anyway so the calories are split automatically.

 

I'm not a woman so I can't comment on how female hormones play a role in cravings. Like I said I eat 5-6 smaller meals a day so I don't really remember the last time I had a "craving" .  Perhaps certain people are just more prone to them than others?

 

Hey, it's a good thing to eat at-- even above --maintenance one or two days a week.  Helps prevent metabolism from slowing down in response to relentless calorie deficit, and especially if you're doing hard strength training (which you should be doing, 2 or 3 times a week) your body will make great use of extra carb & protein calories on "weight days".

Beyond that, eating 6 cookies once in a while isn't nearly as harmful as stressing over doing so.  Even if 1000 calories worth of cookies went entirely into fat (which it won't), that's only about 4 1/2 measly ounces.  Do that every day, sure, you'll gain fat quickly.  But do it once in a while, it's just not a big deal in reality.  Enjoy it instead!  Stress raises cortisol levels, and that will make you fatter, and weaker, and tireder, a lot faster.

I had a flu last week, and when shopping for extra fresh fruit I found myself irresistibly drawn to the bakery.  I bought a coconut cream pie, something I never eat and couldn't make sense of.  As soon as I got home and ate a slice, it became utterly clear:  it felt sooooo good on my aching sore throat.  I went on to finish the whole pie in one sitting, laughing all the way .

Did that help me lose fat?  Not bloody likely, but it didn't hurt much either.  One-shot indulgences never hurt much, unless you beat yourself up over them.

Also want to echo what omnisis said:  eating frequent small meals (5 or 6 per day) really helps.  Keeps blood sugar levels stable, never leaves you worse than just comfortably hungry for brief periods between meals (the kind of mild hunger that adds real enjoyment to eating, not the more intense kind that drives you to distraction), and all but eliminates cravings.  And there's another benefit:  if you rarely eat a lot of fat in a single meal, the amount of pancreatic lipase your body produces decreases.  Then when you happen to eat a lot of fat in one meal, there's not enough lipase in your system to digest it all, and much of the excess dietary fat is simply crapped out.  That's a big reason for why the occasional "cheat meal" does less harm than just counting calories suggests it should:  a gram of undigested fat is effectively 0 calories (note that fat-blocking drugs, like orlistat, exploit the same idea:  crap fat out undigested and it's the same as if you hadn't eaten it to begin with).

80 pounds?  That is amazing!

I am like you - I can't have cookies around, or I will wolf them down.  I will not be able to rest until the are gone.  Interestingly, it is usually with sweet or processed carbs where I go crazy.  If cookies are in the house, they call me, and I can't rest until they are gone.  If they make it to the cookie stage.  I usually devour the dough.  Honestly, I don't make cookies anymore for this reason.  I see that my six year old daughter is the same way.  Luckily, she is still thin and healthy.

I have a theory on this - I think it is very much like alcoholism.  In fact, we have alcoholism on my mother's side of the family and I wouldn't be surprised if some day science would find that the body dynamics/chemistry of alcoholics and carboholics is very similar.  And, as any alcoholic will tell you, you never get over it, you are always recovering, you always need to be on your guard.  So does it ever stop?  The answer is no.

 To get around this, if I really need a cookie (or cheesecake) I would go somwhere where I could get ONE - like Subway  Hit the Cheesecake Factory with a friend or two and split a piece.  Then leave.  But don't ever have the stuff in your house.

 

tgpish - that is really interesting about the lipase. Where did you get that info? I would like to read more. It would explain alot for me - I usually eat a low fat diet, but every once in a while-I will go out for mexican food or something else fatty (like cookie dough). I am finding that I am having a terrible time with it (think all those terrible side-effects you hear about for Orlistat/Alli) where previously, this had not been an issue. SO your explanation rings true based upon my own experience.

try eating your sinful foods in moderation. Just enough to satify your craving for whatever it is.   Its totally ok to treat yourself to something you want, just try not to over do it.   best of luck!

Well as for that time of the month, I no longer have that issue and believe me ladies it is worse.  I had a hysterectomy 2 years ago and I don't have the cramps or bloating (yeaaah) but the hormones are all over the place.Before when I had the TOM it only effected me once a month....... It has taken 1 year now for my Doctor and I to agree on medication that does not have many other side effects (weight gain, mood swings, headaches, nausea etc.) Then my Thyroid stopped and well another year of getting the meds back to working with me and not against me. Sigh what a lot of work it was, but the good news is I have lost 28 lbs now and look forward to loosing more.  I allow myself cheat days; if you don't you will fall off all together.  I am trying to figure out how I can fit in a Dairy Queen before the season is gone.  (I live in the south) Dang those advertisements!!!!  Think they would mind me taking my food scale up there so I can count everything, LOL! Moderation is the big thing, have it but in moderation. Plan the day you have more activity in it.   

 

OMg I am the same way. I have been working at this for sooo long now it feels stupid. I am ok an than I eat an feel horrible. An I can't just stop at one. I have cried once before, my bf had to remind me I was on a diet when I was trying to order some deliscious dessert. I was so awe struck, it actually hurt my feelings that I "couldn't" do something. An it might not be big to other people, but to people that are losing wieght food is the one thing that can either bring us up or down. I suggest trying to look on the bright side. Everytime I think of binging I watch some skinny people TV or a model magazine, and then I suddenly change my way of thinking. It's not denying myself food. It is trying to be who you are.