[MommyPeaches]

Hi!

So I'm totally frustrated. I have spent the last few days munching my way into destruction. i've lost 55lbs but if I don't stop eating I'm going to pack it all back on again.

Instead of reaching for the bag of salad, or weight loss smoothie...I opted to make a philly cheese steak sandwhich.....which has like a MILLION grams of fat and a Zillion calories!

The weather is cold and crappy and all I want to do is eat!....any suggestions for Stopping!

[chick_in_the_hat]

Why does it have to have a million grams of fat and a zillion calories if you are making it yourself? Portion sizes....and maybe lowfat cheese...lean meat...easy on the mayo if it has it at all...it's winter - it you aren't satissfied with a cold meal (I'm not either)...find stuff you can have that won't break the calorie bank. I eat a LOT of soup lately.

[MommyPeaches]

Hi Chick,

Oh I used the Steak-ummm...meat..which is HORRIBLE....I should have grabbed the salad

[JayEll]

Gee, MommyPeaches. I assume no one came into your kitchen and put a gun to your head, right?

All I can say is, no one is making you fix Philly cheese steak and eat it! The time to catch yourself is BEFORE you get out the pan, get out the steak, find the cheese, etc.--not after you've gone and fixed it and eaten it.

Step away from the refrigerator! Get the "bad" foods out of the house! If you can't control yourself then at least rid the house of temptations.

Plan your meals in advance and shop for them! Do not put the corn chips into the basket! Buy what is on your list, do not buy the foods that are not.

Follow your plan! Stop with the sabotage! Your body doesn't care whether it's cold outside--it will just happily turn excess calories into fat, because it can!

No one can make you do this, Mommy! You have to take hold of the wheel and drive... Don't gain it all back... it doesn't come off any more easily later.

Good luck! Don't give up!

Jay

[baffled111]

I love it when JayEll gets hardcore and pulls out the drill sergeant icons!

[mandalinn82]

Gosh, it can be ROUGH when you have a craving and want to satisfy it, even if Jay does break out the drill sergeant icons. What I do is try to come up with an on-plan dish that'll satisfy the craving WITHOUT all the fat and calories. For example, for a philly cheesesteak, I'd saute up a mess of bell pepper and onion in some chicken broth, then cook a small portion (3-4 ounces total) of the leanest steak I could find, sliced super thin. I'd stick the steak and the veggies on a light hot dog bun, or on a piece of light bread (you can find some for 100 calories or less) and top with a reasonable portion of reduced fat cheese. Stick that puppy under the broiler until the cheese is melty and bubbly, and you can have your philly cheesesteak for dinner for 300 calories or less. Throw a side salad on that, and you've got a fabulous meal that satisfies your craving WITHOUT being bad for you.

It's all about creative cooking! Next time you get that craving, don't just make the cheesesteak like you always did...think of ways you can make it the healthiest possible while still satisfying your tastebuds.

[KristieAnne]

1. Take a deep breath.

2. Congratulate yourself ! If you're "slipping up" it means that you're doing something RIGHT -- if you WEREN't slipping up, that would mean you were eating destructively ALL THE TIME.

2. Acknowledge that *old habits die hard*.

3. When you're in the muck of destructive eating, you have to distract yourself. Go out of the house: take yourself to a movie, get a manicure, go listen to a punk rock band, whatever you're into, do something to take yourself out of your head. You're thinking irrationally and you must take yourself out of the environment any way possible. Go drive around, ANYTHING really as long as its not destructive.

4. Acknowledge that you're not perfect and be okay with that. You've a new lifestyle and this old pattern popped in for a minute -- just be okay with that and let it go out of your life again. This old frienemy of destructive eating will be back again for another visit, you can be sure--its your job to make sure the visits are short.

5. KUDOS to you for making these changes!

6. Make a list of all the things you can do when destructive eating tempts you. Add to this list whenever you think of something. When you're in a hard place you'll have this list to refer to.

7. Just keep adding appreciating all of your positive changes in your life and let these little tiny mishaps be drops in the bucket. This too will pass.

Kristie

[JayEll]

Okay, okay, I admmmmiiit that mandalinn82's approach is a good one and skips the drill sargeant... BUT! I will bet that mandalinn would already have those good foods in the house! The lowfat cheese, the lean beef, etc.

There are always better choices possible! Get creative! Strategize! You can do this!

Jay

[Rocker Chick]

Mandalinn and Jayell are exactly right! You can't self sabotage by having those foods in the house. It's way too tempting and too easy to just give in and eat. Just because you're "dieting" (hate that word), doesn't mean you can't eat great too. I feel hungry just reading Mandalinn describing how to make a low cal philly steak and cheese. I know what going on my food plan this week.

[Kery]

My own take on it is also to get the 'inappropriate' foods out of the house. It won't make the cravings go away, but a crappy and cold weather at least has one advantage: it may make it less easy to feel like going out to buy those foods if you don't have them under the hand.

Or I also try to find healthy substitutes. The other day, I was thinking about buying ice-cream (sherbet stuff), so instead I dropped frozen raspberries into a bowl of cottage cheese, and the whole stuff being cold and somewhat crunchy under my teeth was enough to 'convince' me that it was just like ice-cream. Sort of. I love raspberries, so if course this helps.

Apart from this, uhm... suck it up? (Yeah, I know, it's not very encouraging, but there are moments when there really is nothing else to do than "just do it"... so we have to just do it...)

[LookingForHope]

Boy, I feel your pain, MommyP! I lost 60 pounds last spring/summer, maintained all summer/fall right up until the holidays. I've gained 5 back and just can't get motivated. I even have a June vacation to the beach coming up that I thought would get me jumpstarted but it's not happening. Jan-June are my pressure months at school and I think partly I'm eating from nerves. I do really well during the day then lose it at night. I keep the fat free stuff at home but even enough ff pudding cups and yogurts will keep the pounds on. I'll be thinking of you as I wage my battle and wish you luck in yours. Lisa

[navywife022506]

Ok, I agree with everyone on here about not having those foods in the house to begin with. Sometimes it's hard not to have the food in the house because there are others that live in the house too. It's hard to tell someone that isn't fat that they have to eat like they are on a diet because you have to lose the weight that you gained. My husband is one of those people......lol.

What I do when it is cold and I can't go outside and I am on the verge of "boredom" eating, is to crotche or knit. It makes me forget about food and makes me accomplish something in the end too. Try keeping yourself busy!! It's hard, but you can do it. Try chewing gum too

[violaholladay]

It can be really hard to keep the food out of the house when you live with people who eat horribly like I do. lol so I'm working on training myself away from it. There will always be temptations around me so I guess its good to learn early. I eat yogart for something sweet. I started out with full flavor, then low fat, and now im eating fat free and doing it like that fat free tastes good and sweet. I'm with chick in the hat about soup. Its a great dinner on these cold nights and tastes great. I'm not very good about grabbing the veggies for snacks. I honestly hate them. I feel horrible about it. lol but I do. Also watch out for bordom. Thats my biggie. I totally screwed up today but like someone else said, screwing up means you've been doing it right so far. So I don't get angry, I exercise. I usually use a 16 ounce can of something from my kitchen as a weight (cheaper than buying weights to start) and if I'm really lazy I'll sit there and do arm curls with it until I feel like my arm might fall off lol It makes me feel like less of a screw up and boosts my confidence a lil.