I find that there is a big difference between obsessively craving something-- that feeling that I will get no relief until I eat the thing I want-- and just wanting something because I think it would taste good.
Right now, I have a big chocolate cake made by a friend sitting inside my kitchen. She makes wonderful chocolate cakes and my whole family loves them.
I thought about having a slice, even went so far as to think about looking up the calories on fitday, but I decided that I didn't want it that bad. I was afraid I would want it more, much more, obsessively more, if I started out with a slice. Right now, I KNOW that I won't eat any of it because I decided not to, and because I'm not in that compulsive craving mode.
I'm not quite sure what that obsessive craving is, but I don't think it has anything to do with hunger-- I think it's more of a compulsion.
It didn't take me that long to get over the compulsion to eat stuff I shouldn't, but I have no illusions.
I think I'm like RR and I will never have the talent for moderation. I can keep it in my house, for limited periods of time, but I can't eat it.
But for me, there was just too high a price to pay and it came to a point, where it certainly didn't FEEL or TASTE good. It just felt and tasted WRONG. Hard to explain. I was just so DISGUSTED with it and ME. Every bite was just like, "what the H#@L am I doing? WHAT THE H#@L AM I DOING?"
I've been there too. It really feels like a kind of insanity.
I'm not quite sure what that obsessive craving is, but I don't think it has anything to do with hunger-- I think it's more of a compulsion.
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You know I've never thought of it in terms of a compulsion. But it is fitting. That explains it very well. A light bulb just went off in my head. Wow. Eye-opening.....
As far as moderation..... I have learned it - to an extent. I will have indulgences every now and then, but they have to be in a controlled setting, usually that means AWAY from my home. And there are still certain foods that will never be in my home again. Oh well. No room for them anyway. Now that I'm slender, my phenomenal and extensive wardrobe, , is taking up every extra inch of space in our home . C'est la' vie.
I just look at how many calories are in it and leave it at the store.
I now eat sugar free ,Low calorie snacks.
As an example:
I haven't ate a cookie in proboly 8 months.....And never will again...The calories they have in it aint worth the feel good or the taste 0f it.
GOODLUCK
P.s. ~The trick is to decide junk food is unhealthy and high In calories~find low calorie snacks that are healthier for you If possible or eat in small calorie portions if you can not fully give it up.
I have two junk food weaknesses: fast food and something sweet after dinner.
For fast food, I just started paying attention to how gross it is. I mean, your mouth feels coated with grease after you eat a combo meal. It's gross! So I would just pay attention to that gross greasy feeling, and convinced myself that fast food is disgusting (which, you know, it is!).
Breaking myself of dessert was harder. As soon as I finish my evening meal I start craving a sweet. I tried those 100-calorie cookie packs, that sort of thing, but it didn't work. They weren't as good as the "real thing." So I just went without. The habit was hard to break because it would consume my thoughts after dinner. But when I eventually stopped craving it, so I bought some Skinny Cow ice cream cones. Compared to the big fat nothing I'd been having for dessert, those Skinny Cows tasted really delicious! But since the cravings had stopped I only had them now and then and it was fine.
Basically, you just do it. Use mental tricks if those will work - like I did with the fast food - or just deprive yourself until you're over it. Because you WILL get over it.
For some reason I HAVE to have something sweet in the evenings, or I start going crazy. (I'm like a drug addict rummaging through the kitchen!) I decided not to torture myself and got myself these little bags of of those rainbow cookies which are about 200 calories, or a skinny cow ice-cream cone which are 150 calories. I just make sure that I allow myself enough room in my diet for these calories at the end of the day. So I guess we can say that I never really broke up with junk food. I won't get any chips though because I know how that goes. I am just tired and hungry and all I want to do is snack on something and before I know it, the whole bag is gone!
For my "trigger" junk food items, I remind myself that it's not food. When I'm tempted, I look at the object and say, "Oh, I can't eat that--it's not food." Triggers for me are chip and dip, Cheetos, and cookies. I do keep Skinny Cow ice creams in the house and will have one of those most nights if I want something sweet.
If I REALLY want something bad, I think about how I felt in December and January. I was depressed and crying all the time. My jeans were literally busting through at the seams on the inner thighs. I felt heavy and slow and awkward and my asthma was out of control. I could barely fit into my one remaining pair of work pants.
So....when I want to reach for candy or a trigger food, I remember December and how horrible I felt. It was junk food and crap that got me to that place. Junk food is NOT food; it's garbage that makes me feel bad.
I had to dump it cold turkey. No matter how much time goes on, I'm sure I'm always going to LIKE the taste of chips and candy and ice cream, I just will. I think our cave-man brains are hotwired to loveeeeee fat and sugar when we stumble on them in the wild...oh wait we're not cave-people any longer, I can get all the fat and sugar I want, whenever i want! LOL
To me "junk food" is stuff our grandparents never ate as kids. The garbage fastfood burgers and fries and bags of crap with unpronounceable ingredients, I kinda feel that way about 100 cal packs too. sure, it's 100 cals but of what??? LOL I do like a sweet after dinner, so I make these kind of organicy ginger snaps and freeze them -- they're good but not THAT good that i'd eat the whole tray LOL
for me tho, I just had to let the snacking GO at night. I can't do a little snack mid evening, even a piece of toast. That would lead to 4 slices and then something else....sigh... it's a drag knowing yourself inside and out sometimes!!!!
I didn't give up my sweet tooth. I found alternatives. Instead of buying prepackaged goodies I make my own that are lower in calories and not as bad for you. I don't eat them every day only on occasion. I would say to just have them in moderation. Plan for it. Don't give it up.
Now if sweets are your down fall and you can't just have one cookie or a small slice of cake, pie, etc then I would give it up totally.
I can recommend you Jason Vale`s book "Slim for life". Very highly.I`m glad I was able to see past the (IMO somewhat unfortunate) title and buy it. It`s mainly about breakingthe addiction to junk food.
You don`t need to do anything but read and really take it in. I re-read it again and again. It`s what Allen Carr did for smoking (I successfully stopped after reading his book, 10 years ago.)
C'est la' vie.
