even if you've planned for it, and it's within your plan?
I am totally feeling guilty for eating some REAL ice cream, even though i planned on it and was within my calories for the day. silly i know, but i wouldn't have the same problem if it was light ice cream or some packaged diet treat....it's that whole 'diet' mentality....
hugs
tracyg

I eat real food, 100% of the time. Diet food is still food. I don't feel guilty about anything I eat, because I eat anything I want to eat as long as I keep under my calorie limit. If I want to have a more satisfying day, I eat better. If I want to treat myself to cake and ice cream, I make sacrifices during the rest of the day. This isn't a diet, it's a life change. I'm in it for the long-haul

You know whats weird? I've been maintaining for so long that "real food" to me is clean food. All the other stuff ie white flour, sugared cereal, ice cream etc. is crap food. I know it's semantics and I get your question, I just thought it was weird.

And yes, I feel guilty if I eat crap food, and I know I'll need to pay for it later ie more exercise or less food the next day. Also I do feel guilt even if I've planned for it. That's because I know that I can use those calories way more nutritiously than eating junk.

Didn't quite realize how much my mind had changed when it comes to views on food.

I don't feel guilty if I've planned for it, no.

But I wonder if I'll ever feel like boarderchick...

yes, I do!
all the time. I hope it gets a little easier as we go!

Funny, until I read Boarderchick's answer, I didn't realize that I've come to feel that way too. 'Crap food' - as she so eloquently (and correctly!) describes it - always has a price tag attached to it. Like she said, we've gonna pay for it later and I've personally reached the point where it's usually not worth that momentary taste in my mouth.

Let's say you're eating 1400 calories a day and you decide you want to eat 200 (or 300 or however many calories) of crap food ... that means you have to knock that many calories of nutritious food out of your diet in order to replace them with the junk calories. Don't know about the rest of you, but I'm trying to cram as much good nutrition into my daily calories as possible. If I 'spend' 200 calories on crap, I've got to pick something to give up ... my oatmeal? Fruit? Chicken breast? Veggies?

Nah, just not worth it.

And yes, I feel guilty -- and I hope I never lose that guilt.

Wyllenn, I wouldn't be surprised if you end up feeling that way without even thinking about it. I think it's a natural evolution of healthy eating.

yes i do feel guily when i splurge!

Know what else is weird? I feel exactly the same way! And I'm not even anywhere close to maintaining... been on this for just a couple of months. But you could not PAY me enough to put "crap food" into my mouth! LOL I just hope this lasts... especially with my going on my first cruise next month!! I don't don't DON'T want to blow it!!!!

Meg, as usual, I think you're on to something.

You know what I find really interesting about this new lifestyle? How I'm afraid of things before I start that aren't scary when I get there.

Before I started, I was scared to "give up" some of my favorite foods. How would I live without my mac and cheese??? I didn't want to let go of it. I was scared to let go of it. It has been one of my comfort foods since I was a child. But I told myself that I wasn't giving it up, but only having less of it, and I could have it sometimes, in reasonable amounts (not the whole box of Kraft anymore!).

And I have had it a few times since I started, back in July. More frequently early on. I don't right now recall the last time I had it, but I think it's been a couple of months.

I don't really miss it. Not only do I not miss it, but I've started to realize that a) it doesn't really keep me full, and b) it doesn't taste quite as good. As you said, it's not really worth it.

For now, I'm going to keep telling myself that I can have it occasionally when I want it, but looking back, I can see how my fear was misplaced! As was the comfort!

So, from where I am now, when I read about people giving up even more of the sweets and other yummy foods, I think "I can't give that up entirely..." What I forget is that somewhere down the road it may not appeal anymore. In fact, I'm eating so many of those "crap" foods so infrequently anyway...

So, I don't know if I'll ever get there. I can't imagine really being there. But I'm learning not to worry about it.

What an amazing journey, huh?

Oh.... reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy good point!!!! Same here!!

I think that's where we get into trouble is seeing/saying/thinking the word"Diet".That is when we fall off the Wagon and overeat cos dieting makes us feel pressured to act in certain manner(if that makes sense?).I don't feel guilty for eating"real"Food but do try and eat Foods that are for"Diets"(healthier in other words)when I try to watch what I eat and lose.Guess what I mean is I eat real Food when losing not prepackaged Food(s)..

I surfed past this thread a few times because I didn't know how to say what I meant. And it turned out fine because Meg and Wyllen covered it nicely.
"Real" food, as it came from nature, is not the problem.

I'm with Lydia!

Touche!

I don't feel "guilty" for eating anything. I feel disgusted with myself however when I make poor choices. Poor eating choices, exercising, daily activities, all of it.

But I don't let my disgust last long. I pick myself up and move on. I've got to take care of me. There is no room for lasting guilt or disgust.

Absolutely Jayde! I had a donut and a date square last night. It ain't gonna kill me. Today I intend to do better than that since I can't go back and fix it.