Hi Today is my first day here. I have struggled with my weight for the past 9 years. I have a problem with what i call emotional eating and just plain overeating. I enjoy junk food alot. I need advice as to how to overcome those cravings. Also do any of you have a cheating day or do you even think that is a good idea? If so what did you consider "cheating"? Please share the best ideas that have worked for you.

Thank you very much!

~Jen~

As for me, I don't do cheat meals or cheat days. For me, this whole new way I have of eating is for life and I won't rock the boat, for myself and my health, to have a meal or a day of eating whatever.

I never have "cheat days" - I'm opposed to the entire concept because it doesn't work for me at all. I don't consider myself to be "on a diet." I have made a decision to live a life that includes making healthy eating choices and having regular activity. I'm not perfect so sometimes I don't make the best choices but I try to stay within my calories the best I can. And even when I don't, I still track it all in Fitday so I still know how many calories I'm eating.

My biggest reason for failing in the past was that I saw things as very black and white. I was either on my diet or I was off, no in between. So whenever I'd make one bad choice, I'd use that as an excuse to keep eating, because now I was no longer on my diet. I've worked really hard to try to change that mindset and remind myself that no matter what I eat, I can make a different choice - a good, healthy choice - the very next time. It can be the next day, the next meal, even the next bite if I decide to walk away from that food instead of continuing to eat it.

And for me, the proof of this approach is that in April, I fell off track and ended up putting back on several pounds. It took a couple of false starts where I'd go back to making good choices and then slip again, but now I've gotten myself fully back on plan, and have taken off all but .4 lbs to get back to my 3fc low weight. I don't think I've ever been able to do that before, and a major reason was that I never saw myself as "cheating" and used that as an excuse to keep eating that food. I saw myself as that same person who was trying to live that healthy lifestyle, who just made a series of bad choices but who still had the power to make the good choices, and now I am making those good choices again.

lots of people advocate a cheating day. however you need to decide if your emotionally/mentally strong enough to deal with a cheat day?

essentially can you diet hard all week keep to plan train hard and then have a cheat day that is only 1 day? if you feel your in danger of a cheat day becoming 2,3,4 etc then avoid them.

Also what is a cheat day? well is it a reward for doing well? if so why would you reward yourself with somethign you know is bad for you? all that is doing is reinforcing the fact that bad food is desireable and "special" making you want it more.

I have reward goals instead. for example my current goal is to hit 280 for which i'll probably give myself a week off from the gym to "recover" but will stay on diet.

For hitting 250 which will be a 60lb loss i've get my eyes on a headphone amp for my hifi which is £205. and for hitting 220 or below i got my eyes on an ipad.

yes i'm a gadget freak so i've moved my rewards to suit me. some people of goals of a certain dress in a set size a pair of shoes etc. the new wardrobe thing never bothered me as i'm not a fashion nut and just see clothes as fucntional.


have you tried WW or evern over eaters annoymous or anything? something where you can meet like minded people and in time of weakness can call them up or head over to see them for support is invaluable.
I don't have cheat days for the above reason.

If you want to get past cravings for junk, I recommend doing a structured diet like South Beach which will get you physiologically past the addiction and also teach you how to eat healthfully.

What works for me? Not eating sugar. That's the cornerstone of my diet. I am a recovering sugar addict (much like being an alcoholic) and so I practice sobriety from sugar.

Ditto. I can't do a "cheat day"... I will have a treat from time to time but I have to be careful to really plan ahead for it. I couldn't handle having a "cheat day" because it would turn into a gorge day. When I tend to fall of the wagon (so to speak) I will go crazy for a day and eat anything and everything I have been craving for the past month... It's not pretty. So, to avoid that insanity, I try to avoid sugar for the most part. I am very much an emotional eater/ overeater and I am trying to retrain myself. It is much easier to do that when I am eating clean and don't have sugar flowing through my system to make the cravings strong.

PS. Welcome.

As far as getting through the cravings, I would say the first thing to do is to get the sugar and junk out of your system. It will be a hard few days as you will crave everything under the sun, but once you get through that it will be a lot easier to resist. When you do still get strong cravings, do your best to talk yourself out of the situation. If you find you can't talk yourself out of it, physically walk away. Remove yourself from the kitchen... go on a walk, take a bath, work on a hobby... I have even gone to bed early several nights to avoid eating.

i decided that i will have free meals in my diet but whenever i get to them a little voice in my mind tells me "think about the time you will have to put in exercising" and i immediately stop. i think this is a good approach. other than that if i'm craving food i divert my mind to planning my next meal. finding good recipes online. and if the next meal is very far away... then i just come here and read everyones motivational stories and i"m golden!

Welcome!

Most, if not all of us, have been exactly where you are now. Getting started is the hardest part! I am glad to share my experience with cravings. I had really strong junk cravings and they have been gone for a long time now. My cravings were caused by all the high carb foods and sugar that I consumed. I was caught in a terrible loop. I ate lots of junk which caused cravings for junk so I ate more junk which which caused cravings for junk which caused.......... Get the idea.

I had to stop the loop. After limiting the junk for about three weeks the cravings were gone. I probably slowed that down because I really did not think that it was possible to completely stop eating junk. I allowed myself one ounce of baked Cheetos per day. I am still not sure if that was a good idea or a bad idea but I got through it.

So my advice is to stop or severely limit the amount of junk you eat and hang on tight. Hang in there and it will get better!

Now, I don't allow myself "cheats" or "cheat days". I have tried that in the past and I believe they are the reason I would fail in controlling my cravings. I can never be satisfied with an amount of junk. If I eat a little, I want more. If I eat a lot, I want more. If I don't eat it, I don't have strong cravings for it.

Anyway, we are all different and you have to find what works for you. But please know that this is doable. YOU CAN DO IT!

What am learning of years of struggling and reading self help books on my efforts ..is that to eat in moderation.. The book on Overcoming Overeating is helping me to eat less of the forbidden foods and make peace on eating a fun size snickers and not the whole bag or more. I'm a sweet eater and I am learning to eat them in less amount.

Good luck with your efforts!

Thank you everyone for your opinions and ideas. I am not going to chose a cheat day. I guess it wouldn't benefit me and would most likely lead me to fail. Like most of you said, i will reward myself with something that will last longer than a few bites. Thank you again:-)

~Jen~

Welcome

For me, I'm a calorie counter, there is NOTHING that I can't eat as long as it fits into my calorie budget for the day. Therefore, I don't have to have cheat days.

That being said, I have decided that I need/want to be healthier for myself and my children, so I have cut out/cut back on lots of things... I don't eat whites.. white sugar, flour, potatoes and rice (often, like I said, nothing is off limits for me). I also have learned my triger foods (or somewhat) and have to avoid them... sugar is definately a drug to me, if I have one bite of a candy.. I will devour the whole bag/bar/package, esp. if it's chocolate. The same goes with things like cookies, cakes, donuts and pies. I simply stay away from it as much as possible.

I'm with Lilliann on this one. In my new lifestyle, I have no forbidden foods. No BAD foods, no GOOD foods. I don't tell myself, "I've been BAD." If I've eaten something that isn't a healthy as another choice may have been. I am working to get rid of the BAD/GOOD dichotomy that has dominated my mind for years. If I'm heavier, I'm BAD. If I'm thin or have not eaten much I'm GOOD. Food is food. Some is healthier than other choices.

As far as cheats, I don't cheat as nothing is off limits to me now. I count calories. If I want a piece of chocolate cake, I eat it and track it. I might eat a smaller piece than I would have in the past as I want to stay within a set calorie level to lose weight. Sometimes, I just eat what I want, plan be damned but track it. It might take a week to average those calories off into my plan but it's not a cheat as food isn't BAD or WRONG.

My plan is to get as much nutrition and volume as I can while staying withing 1890 calories a day. I could eat a handful of Doritoes for 350 calories (be over on fat grams, under on fiber, over on sodium) or I could eat a gigantic plate full of salad with 6 different kinds of veggies, salad dressing and grilled chicken for the same calories. It's about choices, wanting to get the most value for my calories. Sometimes the value is in the comfort of eating junk food, sometimes it is in getting as much nutrition and volume as possible.

Best Wishes to you! One great thing about this site is there are many here with differing opinions. Pick and choose from what sounds good to you and go from there. No one plan or person is right for everyone.

Disclaimer: I've lost only 20 lbs in 3 months. But this is what is working for me now.

I don't have "cheat days" but I don't go in for total deprivation, either. I'm an everything in moderation kind of girl. I do believe, though, that in the beginning I had to clear ALL junk food out of the house until I got used to eating better. Now I can have chips, chocolate, etc. around for when I need it (TOM, thankyouverymuch LOL). I feel that if I allow myself to have a chocolate now and then, then I won't feel deprived and want to snarf a whole box out of frustration.

Welcome!

I don't do cheat days or meals right now. I stick to my calories, within a range of 1300-1800 every single day, because I will likely need to doi the same thing even after I reach my goal weight. I may get to add more calories overall to maintain, but I don't know yet. Instead of cheat days, I try to plan some of my favorites into my meals for the week. Like a small Frosty from Wendy's. A small one is 167 cals and I can fit it in sometimes. I wouldn't want to eat just Frostys, though, becuase I would have no nutritonal value from my food then. And getting healthier is the most important part of weight loss to ME. My hubby gets off work earlier on Friday than he does the rest of the week, so he usually stops and gets us a Frosty. It is not a *bad* food or a cheat food because I have planned for it and don't have to go off my food or exercise plan to have it.

My best advice to you is to try to figure out the best way for YOU to change your eating habits and your food intake. A way that you can live with forever if necessary because it probably will be. Then take small steps towqards having that lifestyle. Maybe decide to only eat food you cook at home and no fast food. Once you are comfortable with that, maybe add in a walk around the block every day. Then substitute so that once a day you eat a veg instead of a fruit and so oin...make it doable and not horrible or impossible and you will be most likely to succeed.

Barb