So, none of us got in the shape we're in by being AFRAID to eat, but let me explain my position.

I ballooned up to 196 pounds by eating fast food for every meal. Once I stopped, I more or less maintained my weight (after losing 10 pounds) by overeating all of my favorite foods. It's pretty disgusting when I started paying attention. I love turkey tacos, but instead of eating a regular serving of three tacos, I'd try to stuff my stomach with twelve tacos. (Okay, I couldn't finish it all, but I sure did try!)

I'd buy a box of Oreos and eat an entire sleeve at one time.

I've only been back on the healthy wagon - counting my calories and trying to exercise - for a little over three weeks now. And I've done great, but I've done so by avoiding those foods that are so delicious that I couldn't stop myself before. I haven't had tacos at all. I ate out at a restaurant once and actually managed to cut my normal serving by 2/3, but I was eating with my husband in public.

Point is... I'm terrified of buying the ingredients to prepare tacos at home, even though I could eat 2-3 tacos without it being too much. I substitute my cookie craving with a fat-free chocolate pudding, but pizza, tacos, everything else has just been absent. I replaced these foods with foods that are easier for me to keep to one serving.

Has anyone else had this experience? Do you find that, over time, it's easier to eat your favorite foods in much smaller portions? I don't want to erase my hard work by pigging out on my old favs.

[Edit: On the flip side of this, I'm afraid I'm going to get a month or two into this journey and feeling so deprived that I go straight to the neighborhood mexican restaurant and binge!]

I don't mess around with Potato Chips. Those have a curse of overage on them.

Yes, this is why I eat pie and cookies everyday. I really don't do well with deprivation diets.

I think you'll need to experiment and see if you can't eat some of your favorites in moderation. Like jigglefree, I can't NOT overeat potato chips. No matter how many times I assure myself that I'll just have a serving per day, I wind up eating the whole lot within a day or two. Unless I really plan to binge on them, I can't have them in the house. (I'm the same way with my healthy homemade hummus. I find it literally irresistible! It's infuriating!)

But there are lots of other foods that I CAN eat in moderation, so long as I make them a part of a balanced meal.

Why not make a big salad and have your two or three tacos and see how you go. Ditto with a slice or two of pizza. If you wind up overeating or bingeing, then you'll have learned something important!

You are not alone! I find myself always cutting out the food that I love to eat cause if not, I over stuff myself with them terribly. I did this last year, lost 50lbs...and once I got a taste of the food that I had been missing...(looks down) here goes the 50lbs again. So now I don't deprive myself, instead just smaller portions while exercising some self-control and a whole lot of exercise. Its gets hard, and I do slip-up from time to time but I get right back up. But no you don't have to completely cut them out and yes eating the foods you love in smaller portions get easier. Just picture yourself in a bikini with a super flat tummy! You won't take the extra bite lol

I won't bring trigger foods into my house. I tried recently to have one of them and fell overboard.

I am done yo-yoing. Once I get myself at a stable weight, I will carefully reintroduce those foods and work very hard on moderation.

My triggers are good cheeses and beer

You can take the girl outa Wisconsin, but you can't take the Wisconsin outa the girl!

Sometime I can handle it, and sometimes I can't. For example, Stonyfield Farms makes this organic creme caramel frozen yogurt that's really delicious. It's only 150 calories per 1/2 cup, so I like to buy it to have it as dessert after dinner. The first time I bought it, I was fine. It lasted three days, which is a record for someone like me. The second time I bought it, I found myself going back to the freezer and eventually eating it straight from the carton standing in front of the kitchen sink. So, I knew I couldn't handle it. Before I finished the entire carton, I put it under the hot water and let it melt away.

However, I do find that as I go along in this weight loss thing, my ability to eat a moderate portion of most treats is improving. I bought some Red Hot Blues (spicy blue corn tortilla chips). In the olden days (i.e., pre-diet), I used to buy a big bag of these and eat about 3/4 of the bag while driving from the grocery store to my home (I would crumble the rest purposely so that I wouldn't actually finish the bag). They're 140 calories for a very small portion (like 11 chips or something like that). I bought them two weeks ago, and so far, I've managed to measure out one portion, two or three times over the past two weeks. The rest of the bag is in my refridgerator. Oddly enough, I feel really proud of myself when I see that bag. I feel like a "normal" person---able to have a treat in my house without gorging on it.

So, while I still definitely have trigger foods, I have managed to conquer some of that over time. Why not give it a try? Introduce one of your favorite foods per week or something like that. Be sure to only prepare enough so that you won't overeat. So, instead of making enoughf or 10 tacos, make enough only for you to have two tacos and whatever your boyfriend eats (freeze the rest of the ingredients). I do think it is important to eat some favorite foods. Like you, I would not be able to last long if I didn't. Remember: This is a lifestyle change.

Ahh I know what you mean! But it sucks for me, because I am a college student living with parents and my mom ALWAYS buys yummy foods for herself and my dad(not so much for him, he's diabetic). Sometimes I eat a little bit of that really yummy deliciousness and then it starts... I eat almost the whole things or box or whatever it was. I feel like since I crave it so much I can't just eat a little piece because I turn into some kind of a monster and finish the whole thing. =/

Update: Thanks for your responses, everyone! I wrote this right before going to the grocery store tonight. I stared up at the sign above the aisle that read "oriental foods" and thought Screw it! You'll never know if you can if you don't try!

I prepared 12 tacos tonight but only ate two. I savored those two after a hard workout, and I am feeling so great right now. Not hungry but not oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-throw-up full either. Honestly, I can't believe I did it! Achieving these kinds of small victories really makes me believe I can do this and do it for life.

jigglefree Strangely, I can buy fat-free chips and count them out for one serving and only eat that serving. But I could never do that with Doritos, Cheetos, or (oh, god help me) chili cheese flavored Fritos. Probably because the fat free chips don't taste as good.

joyfulloser You can have that body and eat pie/cookies every day!? You are seriously my role model.

DietVet Will be doing a test run with pizza after my next weigh-in! (Next Friday) Thanks for the help!

ChunkySmoo Oooooh, good tip on the bikini! Oh my god, to have a flat tummy again! ::looks at joyfulloser's pictures again:: (Okay, mine never looked THAT good!)

H82Sweat I hear ya! Once a taco craving sets in for me, there's little that's going to stop me from indulging.

lin43 Thanks for the words of wisdom!

pointless2011 Ugh, I hear ya! That's why I HAD to tell my husband about my weight loss efforts this time around. I didn't ask him to stop buying himself delicious treats. (He eats a big fudge round for breakfast every morning!) But him knowing I'm not "allowed" to eat them means when I go to him begging for one, he feels fine telling me no. I'd love to know what it was about myself that wouldn't allow me to just stop eating tacos or pizza or Oreos when I was satisfied. A lot of it probably had to do with the fact that I ate so quickly I didn't realize I was stuffed until I had eaten way, wayyyy too much.

It's hard, but eventually you'll be able to reintroduce the foods in moderation. I'm new to maintenance (though truthfully I am trying to get down to 115), so I've been avoiding a lot of things I deem as "bad", but I know that I can have a serving and be satisfied. Sometimes, I've found myself measuring out a serving of say, half a cup of ice cream, and been shocked at how much it really is! Savor the flavor, says I.

This time last year I had gotten down to about 125, which was my goal then and went into maintenance. I have to say, I did really well- no binging, no going over serving sizes- just healthy, normal eating! I *did* over indulge starting around Halloween and the holidays and gained 5 pounds, but even the thought of that now turns my stomach. When you feel really positive about yourself, and let yourself be happy with your weight, I find the relationship with food is so much better.

I've always had that issue before now with Quaker Crispy Minis, potato chips, nd ice cream. Now, though, I dunno, I'm doing pretty well. I stop at 1/2 cupof ice cream (no chips though, cos I haven't been brave, lol), and two 'servings' (12 per serving) of crispy minis. *shrug* I guess it can get easier.

CorinneIrene and devnet Thanks for sharing your experiences! I hope to be maintaining once the holidays get here, but it's definitely going to be a struggle to not gain as I am a choco-holic. Maybe after all this hard work I'll see what a pain it is and make smart choices. (No deprivation, just maybe 3 pieces of candy instead of 30. )

I don't allow myself trigger foods. I no longer buy granola bars because I will eat the box. Same with the 100 calorie packs... those should say 500 calorie box because I'll eat it all.

I think you need to know where you are at in your journey. I feel that testing myself, and winning, makes me stronger and able to fight the craving the next time. There was a time in my life that I could not eat peanut butter (strong childhood comfort food) because I would go through a whole jar and a loaf of bread. I got around this by having it small doses. I go to breakfast every Sunday with my elderly father and they serve small 3/4 oz containers of PB with their English muffins. I would save the PB and when I craved a PB sandwich, I would use the single serving and it would be gone until the next week. Now, I have a jar in my cupboard but it's been there so long that it's probably rancid. I find that if I crave something, I wait a bit and if the craving does not go away, I go OUT to have it (one GOOD cookie from a bakery or one GOOD truffle from a candy store) - then the craving and deprivation is broken and I stayed on plan. But do it in small increments and don't waste the calories on anything you does not taste good.

I read a book where the author/doctor advised avoiding these foods until you have relearned healthy portions and eating habits. It was his belief that when you're early in your progress that it's too easy to give in and binge, so to just wait until you are more disciplined in general.

Is there any way that you could buy only enough of the ingredients to make one serving? I know tortillas don't usually come in packs of one or two, haha, but if you only got enough of the fillings to make a healthy-sized meal then you might not have any choice but to limit yourself to that much.