Help! I'm so hungry!

You know, I go through cycles. I do really well eating "clean" and then a special occasion or the holidays roll around, I start eating sweets/pastries (my weakness) and I'll eat junk for a while, get sick of it, eat clean again until another special occasion/holiday.

How do you NOT give in? I feel like crap when I do, but, there I go . . .

I really is amazing, however, how I feel so good and satisfied when I eschew processed carbs and eat protein and veggies. You're right. It's like your body no longer craves the sugar.
 
Truthfully I think you have to be beyond hardcore to NOT give in.

I am not that person. I give in sometimes and feel like crap afterwards too, sometimes giving in turns into a binge day which turns into a binge weekend -- it sucks. But I am human.

I try and find clean sweet substitutes that I love and then I feel like I'm cheating when I'm really not.

These are my two favorite examples of sweet subsitutes:

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 scoop of protein powder (Dymatize Butter Creme Toffee is my favorite but Cookies and Creme works good too)
1 tablespoon of almond butter -

blend it so its smooth and creamy put it in the freezer for a bit (or overnight in the fridge) and it tastes just like ice cream.

This is a true weakness for me and I eat it far more often than I should but that type of binge is way way better for me than real ice cream.

My other favorite sweet is

3 egg whites
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
whisk together and then cook in a skillet with Pam like a crepe. When you flip it over put a tablespoon or two (depending on your protein/fat needs for the day) of almond butter, peanut butter or any other type of natural nut butter, so it melts on the crepe and then top that with a tablespoon or so of no sugar added fruit spread -- it is like a peanut/almond butter and jelly crepe and it is really really good.

These are the type of things I try and eat when I'm craving something sweet -- or maybe need more food. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't -- but I think if you're eating clean 80% of the time you are way ahead of the majority of the world and shouldn't feel to badly.
 
If you do Core on WW you get the clean eating that you mention and you don't have to count points AND you can eat when you need to. BUT, I agree that the leaders don't tend to focus on the Core program. I'm lucky - I have a great leader that always talks about Core!

As for the original topic - I agree w/ Jerry on the water - it's been ultra-important for me.
 
>I don't see water mentioned anywhere here...how much are you
>drinking, water, plain water that is, not diet coke, things
>like that. Plain water is a great appetite suppressant, I know
>from experience because I found myself in the same boat as you
>in the past, more water really helped do the trick!

Agree. I drink water constantly. Zincenko and others have said that we often mistake thirst for hunger. We eat when all we really need is a glass of water. Get that and, often, we're cool.
 
>>
>I agree with everything you posted except the "calorie
>counting is superfluous to weight loss" part. The Laws of
>Thermodynamics would also disagree.
>
>You can eat as clean and as substantially as you want, but if
>you're eating more calories than you are burning, you're going
>to gain weight. Period.
>
>The plus side is that if you are eating lots of unprocessed
>foods (which contain fewer calories, even lean red meat), you
>are automatically eating fewer calories, hence, the weight
>loss.

Thermodynamics, or the calories in/calories out ratio is understood by me, I promise. I was merely stating that I don't bother TRACKING my daily calories because I don't need to. I lift weights, squeeze in cardio 2-3 times per week and simply eat right, at the right time so I don't have a problem. I find this method much simpler than the arduous task of counting or journaling and feel lots of people might want to try the same method, since it's both common-sense and effective. And since I'm down another 2.5lbs. today I'd say thermodynamics is well at work. But if you feel you need to track your calories then you probably should, at least until you get a handle on how many calories you're really taking in. I started out tracking mine. I just don't need to anymore.
 
>You know, I go through cycles. I do really well eating
>"clean" and then a special occasion or the holidays roll
>around, I start eating sweets/pastries (my weakness) and I'll
>eat junk for a while, get sick of it, eat clean again until
>another special occasion/holiday.
>
>How do you NOT give in? I feel like crap when I do, but,
>there I go . . .
>
>I really is amazing, however, how I feel so good and satisfied
>when I eschew processed carbs and eat protein and veggies.
>You're right. It's like your body no longer craves the
>sugar.

I began dabbling with clean eating on December 24, very quickly getting to where I eat VERY clean. The other day, for the first time in months, because I had a tight schedule of morning appointments and couldn't pack my lunch/snacks for work, I wound up stopping at a fast food joint and eating the stuff I used to live on because I didn't have time to do the right thing. And because I didn't have all my usual high-protein goods, and my fruits and vegetables, and complex carbs, I spent the whole night trying to make decent choices from the cafeteria and vending machines (It was expensive). What a mess. I would say about 75% of what I ate wasn't clean and it all set in my belly like lead. I got all hot and felt like I was getting the flu. As soon as I got a salad I felt better. When I got home I ate a bunch of protein and was right back on track. No wonder I felt crappy all those years. Don't get me wrong, If you eat clean about 80-90% of the time you can have what I call Stupid Snacks, now and then, but if you keep doing it, after month's of diligent detoxing, you'll get sick. After I got back on track I felt soooooo much better I'll never quit clean eating.
 
This discussion has inspired me. I am so very excited about the prospect of getting into the best shape of my life but I know it's going to take a lot of work.

Can you guys recommend something aside from that clean eating magazine that will help me figure out ways to eat more clean? Also, one of the things I really struggle with is cooking for my family while I try to eat clean. Like for my husband (who is 6'5 and can't gain weight if he wants to) and my little kids (3/19 mos). Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again for all your responses!

angie
 
>This discussion has inspired me. I am so very excited about
>the prospect of getting into the best shape of my life but I
>know it's going to take a lot of work.
>
>Can you guys recommend something aside from that clean eating
>magazine that will help me figure out ways to eat more clean?
>Also, one of the things I really struggle with is cooking for
>my family while I try to eat clean. Like for my husband (who
>is 6'5 and can't gain weight if he wants to) and my little
>kids (3/19 mos). Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
>
>Thanks again for all your responses!
>
>angie

Tosca Reno's book THE EAT CLEAN DIET will get you started. She's quite militant so she can be tough to follow but you'll get off to a good start and will get the strongest impression of what clean eating means. Then I'd read two David Zinczenko books: THE ABS DIET FOR WOMEN and THE ABS DIET ULTIMATE NUTRITION HANDBOOK (both contain a ton of interesting diet/nutrition facts I've never seen, which surprised me). I've read so many diet/nutrition books lately it's almost a blur but Zinczenko makes proper nutrition very easy to understand and follow. If you read both authors you realize that most people who lift weight seriously are coming from the same place and recommend much of the same foods and fitness approaches. But, until you get your hands on those, try to focus on eating unprocessed foods with high protein content. Good carbs are good for you but i try to get my BIG carbs early in the day and focus on getting protein every 2-3 hours (except when sleeping). A lot of us use an array of protein powders when we just can't eat one more bite of chicken breast. So, yea, start with these books. That's how I started and I'm feel great, getting rapid results and I'm never hungry or craving the junk I used to eat and I only started on December 24. Hope this helps.
 
>
>Thermodynamics, or the calories in/calories out ratio is
>understood by me, I promise. I was merely stating that I
>don't bother TRACKING my daily calories because I don't need
>to. I lift weights, squeeze in cardio 2-3 times per week and
>simply eat right, at the right time so I don't have a problem.
> I find this method much simpler than the arduous task of
>counting or journaling and feel lots of people might want to
>try the same method, since it's both common-sense and
>effective. And since I'm down another 2.5lbs. today I'd say
>thermodynamics is well at work. But if you feel you need to
>track your calories then you probably should, at least until
>you get a handle on how many calories you're really taking in.
> I started out tracking mine. I just don't need to anymore.


Oh, people like you and others on this board who exercise frequently and eat clean don't have to count calories. I used to fall into that category - HA! I never tracked calories until 6 months ago.

But, you would be shocked at how many people underestimate their caloric intake (I think it's 8 out of 10) and over-estimate their caloric expenditure.

My clients are really dismayed when they realize that walking for 30 minutes at 3.5 MPH on the treadmill burns about 150 calories. What is that - an apple?

So, calorie-counting is a real eye-opener for many people who wonder why they're not losing weight.
 
Hi Christine,

This is off topic, but I had to comment on your dog graphic -
I just adopted 2 rescue Berners, and just love them to pieces! The first time Molly finally wagged her tail brought tears to my eyes, I was so happy. So your icon made me smile.

Just thought I'd share.
 
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