Need Help Making It Past the First Week!
 

Hi Everyone

This has been really tough to deal with, I have a hard time sticking to my healthy eating plan. It is really hard for me to get past the 7th day and stick to it.

I have started over so many times that I have lost count! :(
It's really annoying. Once I get to the seventh day I get so desperate for stuff like pizza, Chinese take-out, or fried food. I have lost weight before (70lbs), and gained it back along with a few extra after keeping it off for 4 years.

This time, I start off great for a week and even if I see a couple pounds of progress, I start craving again. Help me! Any suggestion? Would appetite suppressants help?

Are you perpetually hungry? If so, the cravings are manageable for me if I eat meat, veggies, and fat (add salt and fruit for sugar for salty or sweet cravings) until I am 100% full. We made brownies today for a potluck (which are for many reasons not allowed by my diet. I had a very small taste (about the size of a quarter) and had a 70% dark chocolate square in replacement. That's how I avoid things like baked goods (my vice). Pasta and chips (along with other very sugary or heavily processed packaged foods) I am going cold turkey, because it is unrealistic for me to have any small amount and put it down.

It boils down to: don't be hungry and don't eat bad foods. If you have a taste, don't beat yourself up over it, but stop after the first taste and put it completely away.

I recommend you make small changes every week or every few days. Keep a food log and see how many calories you're consuming. Cut out all caloric drinks and only have water, if you can. Try to fill up on healthy foods that are filling....I love steamed cauliflower and broccoli. I also love to make healthy soups that I have before a meal which fill me up. I also avoid sugar and flour because I can't eat those things in moderation. I do have one fruit a day and it's usually berries, which are low in sugar.

I have found that by having a cheat day every other weekend, that it helps tremendously with cravings. If it's something that I want really bad, I know I can have it in a few days. Also, I say if it's a once in a millennium event, like your mother's homemade banana pudding, have a taste, but just don't go overboard, and make a pact with yourself that you'll be right back on track immediately afterwards.

Why don't you plan your meals for the next two weeks? You can make a stir fry one night, a pita pizza another night, etc, and try to work with your cravings instead of against them.
I like to do things like batch cook and freeze portions too so that I have a whole selection of healthy meals at my fingertips.

Try to find new, healthy ways to get excited by food. I really enjoyed discovering recipes in Tosca Reno's Clean Eating books, and found foods that were delicious and healthy. If you can make it into an adventure and not dread, it will be fun, pleasing to the palate, and ultimately you will not feel deprived and may even prefer some of your new, healthy foods. It can open doors to foods and flavours you have never tried before, or encourage you to try them in a new way. Eating healthy does not have to be drudgery or punishing.

I don't think that your desire to eat those high calorie foods will ever go away. It has been said you can't lose old habits, you can only create new ones. It takes about 30 days to make new habits.

Perhaps you can just experiment and go 30 days without relapse and see how you feel at that point.

Also, there maybe a better plan than you are following now to help you minimize cravings.