So I don't know if it's the frustration I've been feeling or just the general desire to sabotage myself and my attempts at weight loss, or the fact that I am sick (only a cold...just started yesterday)...but I left work late last night, after having to do some overtime and made a very bad choice for dinner. I was supposed to go to a friend's after work, do a workout and have a good, healthy dinner together. But I had to cancel due to the overtime at work and I was pretty hungry by the time I left work...and went to the Wendy's drive thru ....

I know I can log everything I ate and count them as my weekly extra points in weight watchers (doing the online plan) and since yesterday is my first day of the week and i have all my extra points to use still, I can't help but feel like THIS is the one behaviour that I MUST conquer or I will never get to my goal...

Anyone have any suggestions on how to stop this kind of behaviour? I want to stop it so bad but the feeling that comes over me is so strong and I don't know how to listen to myself when I say "don't do this!!!!".

I've done this before. It helps me a lot to have an apple or a protein bar waiting for me in the car or in my purse for when I'm starving. I also need to drink lots of water. When I'm sick, that leads me to want to binge too. I don't know why but I think that very deep in my brain, I see food as complete comfort. I think it has something to do with when we're babies/kids and food is used to comfort us, but some people just never stop using it in such a way. You must have a different way to comfort yourself. Take vitamins and if you're sick maybe have a green smoothie. I know it's not as appealing but it might be worth a try. You might even have a manicure if you can afford it...something special to do for yourself that doesn't involve food. Just some random thoughts. I hope you figure it out....this is something I need to figure out as well.

willpower sucks. I feel like sometimes there is someone else in side of me who is evil and does want to sabotage me! It can just be so difficult when you have to fight yourself and feel like, even though you are telling yourself you shouldn't you feel the control slipping out of your hands and you feel like you can't stop yourself.

But the truth is I am in control of every single one of my actions. I just have to remember that. I might have to be firm with myself as if I were a stubborn child. Tell myself NO and mean it.

I am finding when I get that rush of out of controlness I just take a time out. Just stop and don't do anything for a minute and it will start to pass and I can think logically and make the right choice.

But you can do it! I try to replace all the negative sabotaging thoughts with positive- thinking about how much better I will feel to do the right thing, my skinny jeans, how proud of myself I will be. Chanting some affirmations.

It is a struggle but I am hoping it gets easier with time. And know if you do make a mistake, learn from it and don't beat yourself up just track it and do better next time.

This is absolutely wonderful advice. Regaining your control is so important. It's huge. Weight loss is very mental.

I find removal and replacement to be more effective tactics than will-power, which in my experience is no match for gnawing hunger (whether physical or emotional). As far as possible I try to remove temptation from my path and to replace eating with other pleasurable activities. It doesn't work perfectly, but it works better for me than relying on will-power.

F.

I struggle with myself being drawn to things Food that I know is not good for me.
So I have a running conversation inside my head why I can Not give in to temptation. What in the end keeps me honest is not wanting My kids to see be fail. Guilt of letting my children down and not teaching them to persevere through challenging times motivates me!
You need to find what is your pull back from the edge and then use it like a Shield to protect you from temptation!
Good Luck, Roo2

Plenty of things you can eat at Wendys that are "healthy" but ultimately it depends on calories.

Double bacon cheeseburger with large fries and coke is obviously not a great plan.

I have the same problem! Being stressed or not having enough time. What I used to do was pick some of my favorite "bad places" and find reasonable food choices. Like Starbucks for example - I can get a non-fat Chai Latte for 150 calories and a Chicken Sante Fe Sandwhich for 400 calories = only 550 total. Not bad considering how much a huge meal at McD's would be. Or if I have to have McD's a Cheeseburger (370) and small fry (230) is only 600 calories. Having a back-up plan helps

I've found if I let myself get really hungry, it's game over for my diet. So I keep a thing of nuts at work, and I make sure to hydrate all day long. If I feel my blood sugar slumping, I have a handful (about 10) of nuts.

At home, I have protein shakes that are high protein/low carb and I can have one of those. The calories are modest but the protein really helps to halt that starving feeling. That can help get me back on track.

And I don't carry cash, which limits my impulse spending on things like fast food because I don't want to pay for FF with a credit card.

This is a great thread. There are so many good ideas here. I've had some slips with my diet that I'm not happy with, but I think I'm learning a lot and I will get the hang of it as long as I don't give up. I'm sure that's true for you, too. Most things are harder in the beginning, with most of the payoff at the end. I'm trying to keep that in mind. I think the suggestions of a backup plan, and lower calorie alternatives is really good. I remember the last time I lost weight, one thing that helped was just keeping my portions down, too. Often I get nearly the same amount of enjoyment out of eating half of something as eating the whole thing (as long as I'm not in ridiculously hungry mode), but of course it's only half the calories. Actual physical hunger is harder...and I think that's where having healthy food readily available is a great idea.

I always keep some nuts and natures valley granola bars or cliff bars in my glove box. That way if I'm out longer than expected and I'm starving, I have no excuse to get fast food. The bars or nuts can hold me till I can get home to have some good food.

Haha, unless you're on my plan! Tonight my dinner is a triple bacon cheeseburger with no bun, a Caesar salad, and diet coke on the side. Very filling for my biggest meal today and perfectly on target for protein/fat/carb counts for my goal.



With a bun and fries? Pretty crappy. But Wendy's is VERY diet friendly in terms of the choices they have on their menu and their willingness to modify food according to diner specifications

More on topic, I find keeping either a snack in my purse (like macadamia nuts) or having a mental list of foods that I can choose most places that are on plan (a burger at Wendy's I know the counts of, a salad from subway that works, an easy way to modify your basic diner food fare to fit plan, etc) keeps me from poor choices. Planning is key to avoid this, but it's not the end of the world if I'm stuck out and having cravings. I allow myself on plan snacks and treats and that is ALL I consider 'my food'. Everything else isn't right for me and I don't even entertain the thought

I'm really not far from this approach myself. I don't even consider ordering/buying/eating outside of my comfort zone about 90% of the time, and my comfort zone includes a mental list of what's appropriate for my plan at all the restaurants I most frequently visit. I don't even think to look outside of my comfort zone anymore and it's a breeze if I'm caught off-guard and have to make a run to In-N-Out, Panda Express, McDonald's, or the like.

There are some great suggestions here. Today I bought some slim-fast snack bars (100 cal) to keep in my desk at work in case I have to stay late. I think letting myself get too hungry and not being into my plan long enough to really make it the "lifestyle change" just yet (still often entertain the idea of having bad foods and have to really fight with myself to say no) and feeling under the weather all added up to my poor decision.

That being said, the part of all of this that has been the most upsetting is not that I ate that food (because I did count it in my weekly points and i'm still on track but will just have to try much harder not to have no-nos the rest of the week), but that I let that crazy feeling take over and win and that is precisely the behaviour/action I need to address and change. For the most part, I follow my plan quite well...but every so often I have these binge days (which sometimes last more than a meal...or even a couple of days of meals!) which always stop me from getting to where I need to be. It's that feeling of not having control of myself. It's just a terrible feeling and that's really what needs to be fixed.

I guess there's no magic fix. It's being prepared, knowing what your triggers are, having pre-set choices/options so you're never left to leaving it up to the evil demon lurking in your brain just waiting to take over. lol

So yes, I will continue to focus on being prepared, focusing on the positive and getting right back on track when I have made these bad choices.