I was doing so well. I was down to my lowest weight yet. I was eating well. Walking each day. Everything was going fine. Then Christmas hit and I took time off from being so strict and well, think you can guess how it went.
So I have been reading books to keep myself motivated. But one of the binge books says that you should gradually introduce your trigger food so that food becomes less black and white. But I have just ended up on a binge since then and put on a lot of weight.
I was wondering what people thought? Should you just say I will never be able to eat chocolate and just face up to it. Or keep hoping and saying I will eat one piece and end up diving head first into it the next day? Lets face it, after 20 years I know what I buy I eat. Maybe in 5 years time that will change but atm its not going to is it?
Hi there! For me, and only for me, I have had to change my mindset from "eat it while it is there, because it might not be there tomorrow" to one of understanding that there will ALWAYS be this food around. The second thing is that I had to recognize that there are some foods that I love beyond the point of reason, so I identified them.
THEN (bored, yet?) I decided that I needed a guided, focused plan that would give me the option of eating these foods if I wanted. For me, it was WW. I can have any of these foods IF I can fit them into my program. And if they only came in a large bag, I'd measure out ONE portion and garbage the rest. Waste of money? Possibly. Better there than on my hips, though!
FINALLY, I decided that IF I could work one of these foods in, I would BUY ONLY the amount that I COULD work into my plan.
For example: I LOVE CRISPS. But I have one small bag of Baked Lays WHEN it fits into my schedule. I won't buy a huge bag, because I have accepted the fact that I can't have them in the house or else I'll eat them ALL.
I LOVE CHOCOLATE. I buy chocolate-based desserts as single servings. But I NEVER buy a large Cadbury bar, intending to "save it" or eat it "later" because this just doesn't work for me.
I can't imagine a life without crisps or chocolate. I can't rule them out of my diet because that sets me up for a binge. But I recognize the fact that I have to SUPER-CONTROL my access to them or else I'll just binge! And I don't have them daily nor store these foods in my home. I'm expecting too much of myself if I do, because I have a history of overeating these foods. Why stress myself out???
Hi Amber. I totally understand what you're going through. As much as I like to think I have self-control, you put a bag of chips in front of me and I'll eat the whole thing. Then, of course, I'll feel awful about myself, so why even have that temptation? I do think that in order to maintain weight loss and achieve that "healthy lifestyle" instead of just being on a diet, you have to be able to have just one glass of wine or just one square of chocolate, otherwise you'll hate life! But it takes time to get to that point, and if you're not there yet, it makes sense to just get rid of all temptation and not even give yourself the opportunity to binge on your favorite foods. Instead, try to find healthy substitutes that are satisfying. Over time, you'll find that you'll have fewer cravings for those unhealthy foods and when you do let yourself indulge, you'll be in control and more able to stop yourself before you go too far. Hope that helps!
Man, I totally know how you feel.
The end of every diet for me was me being PERFECT and not cheating at ALL.
and then on a whim I decide to have one little piece of chocolate and end up going on a week long binge.. its ridiculous. You can do it though.
I think the tips that kiramira used are great! I'm going to have to try that!
i do the work it in method, although having said that, I haven't had chocolate (my temptation) for weeks now, just don't want to waste the calories.
I do try to work a bit of 'trigger' in but only if it's something I can genuinely know the calories of, so someone else's sponge cake is out, for example. I do this so I don't get afraid of food. However, I can only cope with having in the house the pack/portion/serving I'm about to eat. I've tried, although not recently, having say a cake that can cut into 6, and eating 1/6th a day but that has usually led to throwing out half on day 3, because it calls too loudly to me. There is something in my head that says I have to eat All of something, so I choose very small Alls.
I think there's something fascinating about the whole weight loss thing. People jump or fall off the train, but there's always another train passing by that you can catch and the only ticket you need is that as-long-as-you-need-willpower-ticket that you bought the first time you jumped on the train and is valid till you reach your goal, unless you throw it away.
Well, people don't intentionally throw away valid tickets, so just jump on that train passing by!
I did actually plan in a nice single dessert I bought from a patisserie. But it was disappointing and that sent me on a binge. I wonder if I just need to avoid sugar full stop. Maybe not a bad thing.
Give it a try! There are lots of people on the forum that have given up sugar completely and don't regret it. I understand the first two weeks are really tough, but what have you got to lose? Except your binging!!!
Let us know what happens,
Kira
I'm always in awe of people who can keep a bag of dark chocolate candies in the house and just eat one small square a day. Um, that's not how I roll....I'd be pigging out on the chocolate until it was gone. Today I did want some chocolate and hadn't had any for a long while, so I went and bought a small Dove chocolate bar. I ate the whole thing (190 cals) and am happy. But for others, simply eating that bar might have sent them into a binge. So I think the key is knowing what your binge triggers are and simply avoiding them. For me, it's Dorito chips and things like that. I simply don't eat them any more because they're bad for me, they're not food, and they will almost certainly make me go crazy for salty, fatty chips.
I was doing so well, but that want months ago...
