Volumetrics- setting myself up for failure?

  • Just wanted some opinions... Today, as I sat down to eat my entire pint of arctic zero ice cream (150 calories, my planned treat for the day) I thought, "no wonder I have binge episodes on treats sometimes!" if I need this whole pint of ice cream to feel satisfied, what happens when I want just one cookie... I can't do it. I love eating HUGE bowls/plates of low calorie food, but am I just getting in the habit of needing to feel full? I plan for these huge amounts of vegetables or whatever... But am I just learning bad habits? I don't know... Just a thought I guess!
  • I don't know, but I think it's what you're eating large amounts of that could be an issue since, as you say, overeating treats have been an issue.

    Hopefully someone who also eats volumetrics style will chime in.
  • You are 5'8" and weigh 128 pounds? Are you trying to lose or gain?
  • Some might say it's bad having a treat, but I think it's good to reward yourself for good work. As long as you don't binge on anything. You shouldn't be saying I'll never be able to eat a certain thing again, you should limit it to times when you deserve it. I'm not following any plan, I'm doing my own based on different things I've seen and read. I understand the main thing is commitment and being focused to get where I want to go. So I'm allowing 1 day a week where I can eat anything I want, as long as I don't stuff myself.

    We have to change and have sensible portion sizes, not be a pig and scoff the lot and then think... I'm bad, what have I done.

    You have to be strong and say I'm only eating a normal size portion, if I'm still hungry have something healthy or have a glass of water before and after to fill you up.
  • Quote: You are and weigh 128 pounds? Are you trying to lose or gain?
    Good question! 128 pounds is tiny for someone who is 5'8"!
  • Could be she's trying to maintain?
  • I follow the volumetrics style. I have always been a quantity eater. I ate until I was stuffed and then I stopped. Obviously this is not the healthy way to eat. I use volumetrics to get more bang for my calorie budget. It has also opened me up to lots of new foods that I had never tried before due to looking for new lower cal foods.
    Part of this whole process of weight loss for me has been that I don't need to be stuffed; I can stop when I'm just not hungry anymore. I think it's also a visual thing. I have this HUGE salad, I eat until I'm not hungry anymore and then I stop. I don't think that volumetrics is a way to continue with that unhealthy way of eating (being full to the gills) but I look at it instead as away to retrain my eating habits. Does that make sense??

    I was the same way with sweets too, there was never just one cookie. It was eating as many as I wanted until I felt sick. This time around, I just had to stay away from all sweets for a while to sort of "detox" my body of the cravings.

    Hope all that helps!!
  • I'm pretty sure danzingurl77 is a maintainer...I remember seeing her around the maintainer forum before.

    I don't think you're setting yourself up for failure, but rather ensuring that you don't fail by catering to the side of you that likes to feel full. We calorie counters learn fast that veggies fill us up for little calories.

    Every so often I just want a big meal. I can't explain it really as I'm satisfied just feeling satisfied 90% of the time, but sometimes a girl just wants to eat. So I either go to a restaurant and order a low calorie, filling meal or I make one myself and just eat it. Most of the time it's grilled chicken and a crapload of veggies. I love it, I enjoy the volume of food and the taste and I'm good for a while
  • I don't think you're setting yourself up for failure if you can handle it without bingeing and you don't do it everyday.

    I eat in volumetrics style because if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to survive in the low range of calories. I consider volumetrics to be more like bumping up meals with non-starchy vegetables. I probably wouldn't regularly eat 6 sugar free popsicles at once even if they total 90 calories because they are treats, and not food.

    Is it harmful? Probably not as long as you can sustain it!
  • Yep- I'm a maintainer! I mostly hang around the "chicks in control" forum to help me with binge-eating, and love the support around here!

    I do appreciate the answers, sontaikle and graces momma- I think that's kind of where I sit as well, sometimes I just feel like I want to eat a lot of food! Not neccecarily as a binge, but just eating a large bulk of good food.

    Thanks for the opinions! That's just what I was looking for!
  • I can relate to the desire to eat a LOT of food from time to time. I always went to a salad bar and got the world's biggest salad with nothing but the non-starchy vegetables and maybe some chickpeas on it. Then I ate until I was sick of eating. Since I wasn't able to fully control the behavior (at that time) I just did my best to make the behavior create as little damage to my diet as possible.
    Does that make sense?
  • I can sooo relate to you post. The only problem is that I don't like "diet" foods, and although I like healthy foods, I don't tend to want to pig out on them. But normal portions of goodies often do not satisfy me. For example, I buy those individual servings of Edwards' pies on occasion because I want to control my portions (if I make a pie or if I buy an entire Edward's pie, I'll eat the entire thing within a couple of days). However, those individual portions come with two slices of pie, and for dessert, I eat both slices (totaling anywhere from 500 to 660 calories). I don't feel truly satisfied unless I do. When I do eat both slices, I feel a sense of contentment. I mean, I feel really good.

    That's why sometimes I would just rather have nothing than have a normal portion of a treat because the normal portion just doesn't seem like enough. The only exception to this is if I go out to eat at a fine dining restaurant. Perhaps because the courses are spaced out, I get very full even with relatively moderate to scant portions.