Hi guys. I have been doing pretty good, but over the last month of so, I have been falling off my diet hard and it is showing as I am plateauing big time. Im even afraid that the pounds are going to start to creep back on. I have total addiction to food particularly crappy fast food. It sucks bc I know that fast food is disgusting. I love cooking and I can't believe that I even want to eat the crap that is ground up and deep fried just to be called a McNugget. I know Im in a bad place bc yesterday I thought about stopping at the McDonald's drive thru the whole commute home and taking that left turn away from the Mcdonalds was the hardest thing ever and as I approached the intersection (right turn McDonald's....left turn directly home), I started feeling anxious and salivating. I could feel my heart rate increasing in the not so good way that it does when a person is anxious. I made the mistake one day of stopping in for fast food and now my thoughts are consumed with it. I have been making really bad food choices and I am wondering if anybody has any ideas on how to help me get back on track with my diet. It feels like such a physiological issue that I feel like I need to do carb starve for a few days. Ughhh, the idea of that sucks, but I think it is the only way. If anybody has ideas, please help.

That must be a horrible feeling. Maybe drive a different way home? Pack a bottle of water and some nuts in the car for the drive home? Brush your teeth before leaving work?

LOOK how far you have come. One thing I have used to keep me going is a 12 pack of diet coke. I don't drink it. It weighs exactly 10 pounds. Every time I think about going a little crazy with the food or drink, I pick up the 12 pack and remind myself how heavy it is, and I imagine carrying 4 of them everywhere I go as I have almost lost 40 pounds now. I tell myself how much better I feel, how much easier it is to walk around and ride my bike.

When I quit smoking, 30 years ago, I didn't tell myself I was quitting. I just said I wasn't going to smoke that day. I told myself it wasn't good for me or my family and that I could go another day not smoking. It worked and I still tell people I haven't quit smoking; I just don't smoke today. I also bought myself flowers every friday

So - today - you didn't stop. Good for you! Also, maybe you need a diet break and to work on maintaining for a while? Maybe your body needs a weightloss break. 84 pounds already! Wow.

My idea would be to make your own versions of the junky stuff you like, trust me, with the right seasonings/herbs etc, you can make something that has fewer calories, is healthy, and actually tastes better!

One recent surprise for me was adding 0% fat greek yogurt as a sort of sour cream replacement in my own homemade burritos, it tastes great! You just need enough for a creamy consistency and the yogurt will simply assume the flavor of the other stuff in the burrito

Finally, I wouldn't cut it out completely, that might just make you crave it more, I think having it maybe once a week/two weeks might keep you in better control.

Nightowlrn you have some AMAZING ideas on this. Thanks for sharing!

I have an idea but you're not going to like it. Stop dieting. Dieting makes us crazy. It is set up to fail. Depriving yourself of something you want to eat always backfires - always. This is why 95% of diets fail. By labeling yourself a good addict you're doing yourself a great disservice. You are NOT a victim of food, or of weakness. Your body is behaving exactly as it should when it is deprived. It is biologically programmed to respond this way. I don't know about you but I'm willing to bet your response to dieting is exactly the same as me, as all of us in fact. You diet for a while, pat yourself on the back for being "good" and losing a few pounds and then suddenly it's like BOOM you're driving by McDonald's and getting the shakes. Before you know it you're in a binge tailspin, you hate yourself for it and then you somehow manage to "climb on the wagon again." For a little while until it happens again. It seems radical but binging is directly related to dieting. You won't binge if you don't diet. As someone who was a terrible binger for over 20 yrs of my life I can attest to how true this is. All the dieting in the world did nothing but fuel my BED. I see so many people struggling to get back on that wagon time after time and blame themselves for falling off without ever bothering to question the sturdiness of that wagon.

But I'll give you some practical advice that helps me. When I give into a binge like the ones you describe (where it's all you can think about) it is never about the food itself. It is about a stressor in my life such as anxiety, anger, frustration, a work problem, a relationship problem etc. As a long time binger my way of dealing with stress was always food. So in times of great stress I automatically turn to food. Just knowing that has given me a lifeline because I can start to address the issue at hand and have developed coping techniques that help me actually solve the problem rather than zoning out with food. So let's say I get an intense desire to eat fast food. That is my lower primitive brain at hand - the lower brain does not respond to logic (such as knowing that fast food is not real food). The lower brain operates independently from the higher brain and only gets activated when the higher brain refuses to engage with what's really bothering you. So when I am I the throes of wanting to binge I immediately stop and ask myself what is really bothering me. The answer is usually evident once I pose the question. So let's say the true stressor is a fight I had with a girlfriend and anger I can't seem to shake. I begin to immediately think about ways to address the situation, plan what I will say to her, journal about my feelings, talk to another friend about it, ask someone for advice, etc... and by concentrating on the problem my intense desire to binge on it goes away!

Thanks all for the advice.

I honestly know how you feel. Some times I really have to talk myself out of it and convince myself that my food at home is just as good. Its all mental, well at least for me.

Maybe you could try eating fried foods at home but using healthier options. I have fried chicken in coconut oil and when seasoned well, still just as good if not better than the fast food alternative. I even tried packing meals. When I'm trying to convince myself not to go to Wendys or McDonalds, I say, "No girl, you have food waiting for you at home. You don't need that." Sometimes it makes all the difference.

But if I do give in, cause sometimes that just happens and I want what I want. I set a goal for the next week or month and try to hold out longer and reward myself if I succeed. Reward systems for me, help me to push myself (in a good way) when I want to stay on track.