For those who have beaten/slammed down/are able to control the sugar/salt/fat demons this is my question: How long did it take before you were able to break that mental addiction of bad food feeling so good?

I mean that in the sense that for a few brief moments, it does feel good, although I know after effects fell bad. If you don't eat it for a while, I know you can break the physical cravings -- but what about the mental anticipation and cravings?

How did you break up with the junk in your mind?

I tell myself "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels". Sounds cliche, but it works for me.

I just think about what it really is...... I mean you cannot spell or pronounce half of it...... so is it REALLY food?

I find alternatives. I allow myself a little bit of something healthy that seems like a treat during the day, and I basically fool myself into thinking "Yes! We had that snickers bar after all!"

Emerald has these 100 calorie packs of cocoa roasted almonds. Almonds are healthy, and there is just enough cocoa to satisfy the " Me. Want. Chocolate. Nuts. Caaaaaandy." voice in my belly.

Does it feel good or does it TASTE good? Two different things.

Anyway, I finally realized that I couldn't have junk food in my life AND be that slim, trim, active, energetic, fit, healthy person I longed to be. Nope. I just can't have it both ways. Yay for the ones who can do moderation and make it all the way to goal. Tried that experiment - for decades - didn't work. Soooo, I finally accepted that fact that I couldn't have it anymore. Okay. If that food was standing in my way - then so be it. Is it worth risking my life - the length of my life - and the quality of my life? No. A big fat gigantic NO.

Cravings? Luckily within 2 weeks of being "off" the stuff, yes I liken it to an addict, not everyone would agree, my cravings for it GREATLY diminished. Which quite honestly I hadn't expected. I was pleasantly surprised! It was easier then I thought.

As far as the cravings till that point (& if they should & have arised thereafter) - so what???? Big deal. WANTING something doesn't mean I have to have it. It's irrelevant. I go shopping all the time and have to walk away with out many things that I'd love to purchase. But I don't. Because there would be consequences to pay. A better head prevails. Because I am mature, reasonable, sensible and responsible. My food intake is no different.

So, I no longer settle for foods that just TASTE good. Nope. Now, that I've become sensible, rational, mindful, and mature with my food intake - I now require that they TASTE good and ARE good for me. No more settling. I hold myself to a higher standard. I'm worth it. I love the foods that I'm eating. Love it. Love it. Love it. And I LOVE my life more then I ever could have imagined.

It was a hard break up full of tears

lol. It's still something I struggle with- I don't buy junkfood anymore- specially not anything I like! Hubby still does but thank goodness I don't like the stuff he buys.

First I finished off what I had- then I stopped buying it. I eventually stopped craving things like chips and chocolate. And even if I had the craving I'd just let it pass. Don't get me wrong, I'll indulge now and then, but not like I used to.

I don't have it available. It didn't take long for the cravings to disappear, for me. For me, I can't do moderation because for me, it leads to binging (except for the rare occasion when I will allow myself a handful of fries or chips but only have enough available to me for one serving and nothing more).

I just wanted to add, that I had known for a LONG time that "junk" didn't make me feel good. It TASTED good for a few minutes, but that was it. I felt like garbage after eating it. Very quickly too. There was that inevitable carb stupor horrible feeling. There was heartburn which I suffered from daily. The out of control feelings of having eaten the stuff. And that was just the short term. The longterm - well it led to my obesity, my MORBID obesity and a poor, poor quality of life. So for me, it hadn't FELT good for quite some time.

Eating "those foods" never, ever, ever provided me with HAPPINESS. I WAS a miserable, inactive, in pain, worried, anxiety ridden, under productive mess. No. They didn't make me happy. Food was no comfort to me any longer, even if it was in the very, very beginning of my overeating ways.

Funny enough, now food DOES provide me with comfort. I find adhering to a healthy diet, in and of itself, never mind what it produces, but just staying on plan is indeed incredibly gratifying and yes - comforting. Who knew?

I just made the decision one day. I got fed up of making excuses for being tired, miserable, and fat. And if food is the main key to feeling better, is there really a choice to be made?

I choose the veggies and fruits over the junk. I choose salads and home-cooked meals over fast food and meals from a box. I choose everything I possibly can that will contribute to my health instead of things that will take away from it, no questions asked.

Like any bad relationship, I went cold turkey. It was 5 years ago, and I honestly don't remember the details - I don't remember wanting any of those foods and the cravings are still gone today. I was so pumped and excited about my new lifestyle, my new choices, my new energy - all I remember is joy.

Well, ya know, there were a lot of close feelings between me and J.F. I mean, I sacrificed a LOT to stay in the relationship. But eventually I had to admit that it was just... toxic! And so, I said goodbye. Changed the locks on the doors, didn't let J.F. come in again. Never went by J.F's place, just changed my route. No more J.F.!

And as time went on, I found that others could fill my needs even better, although it did take some getting used to because those new relationships were, well, healthy! And I wasn't used to that!

Of course, that went on for some time. But today, I occasionally see J.F. from time to time--and we're cordial--but I'm still the adult in the relationship and always will be. I hope never again to make that mistake and put myself into a situation that was really soooo bad for me.

Oh--and J.F. will never change. Still the same old lines and lures... It's sad, really.



Jay

I agree they're two different things. But yes, it certainly can make you *feel* good. It's emotional. Junk food can feel good as soon as it hits your tongue. In fact, it can make you feel good even when it doesn't taste good. I think it's part psychological and part physical. Long term, no. Short term, um, yeah.

Junk can be defined lots of ways. I don't even define it the same way all the time. But one functional definition I like is it's stuff that makes me want more and more, EVEN THOUGH I am consciously aware it doesn't taste good. I mean, geez, something like that has to not be good for you. Giving myself that conscious reminder that I'm eating more even though it doesn't even taste that great makes me think there must be something eeuuuwww and alien about the substance (I don't want to call it food), and makes it easier to stop.

Cute!

I get what you're saying....

But for me, there was just too high a price to pay and it came to a point, where it certainly didn't FEEL or TASTE good. It just felt and tasted WRONG. Hard to explain. I was just so DISGUSTED with it and ME. Every bite was just like, "what the H#@L am I doing? WHAT THE H#@L AM I DOING?"