I love food..

M

meow

Cathlete
Hi everyone

I have a stupid question, and someone probably has already asked before, but I can't help it and I need to ask you all experts...

What do you do when you really want to eat something you shouldn't?

The bad part of it is that I ALWAYS want to eat stuff I shouldn't eat, and a lot of time I stuff myself. I think it's becoming a habbit that I would always want to eat, so now it's really difficult for me to just.. "close my mouth!!"x( I would eat clean one day and the next day I couldn't help but eat something evil; sometimes I get tired of trying to eat clean, and I find comfort in eating the food I eat (which would be sweets-chocolate, cake, muffin, etc- and carb stuff-rice, buns, noodle,yams,etc). Horrible, horrible!!

I think this is the main reason I cannot go back to my usual weight, other wise I work out every day or at least 5 days a week, sometimes twice a day, and because of my work, I waste a lot of energy (the earliest I get up at 4 a.m. and latest at 7 and don't take a nap or go to sleep until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. or later).

Please help! How do you eat clean, enjoy your food, and what do you eat or do when you want to have your guilty pleasure and you really shouldn't??
 
You have to make a conscious decision to eat clean, not to put the refined, overprocessed foods into the body you work so hard to maintain with your workouts. It's easy, but not easy, if you know what I mean. You have to want it. It's hard work and sacrifice. Someone else asked something similar and I said that Nike got it right with their slogan. You want it bad enough, you'll do it. There's no magic pill or easy way.

Clean food tastes good. Sure chocolate and cake is nice to have occasionally as a treat, but not every day. You appreciate it more that way. Train your palate to enjoy the way real food tastes.

You can do it. But you have to want it.
 
I struggle with this a lot, too. I find if I pay a lot of attention to how I feel when I eat "cleaner" (I'll never get all the way to "clean"), that helps- because I do feel better, both mentally and physically (not making myself feel badly about how poorly I'm eating). I have stuff every few days, and make sure I do the "right" thing at least more than 50% of the time. And, when I do eat something "unclean" I make sure I ENJOY it!
 
The more you stay away from the "not so good" foods, the less you will be interested in them. I used to be a total Pepsi junkie when I was in my late teens. Then I decided to give it up after reading about how theobromine has an effect like caffeine. It was hard at first (I REALLY craved some!), but about 6 months later, visiting my parents, I decided to have some...it tasted too sweet, artificial, and not at all appealing.

Find healthy food that tastes good. I refuse to eat anything healthy that doesn't taste good to me. I think flavor and health are both important. But I won't eat something JUST because it tastes good (most of the time!).

What's wrong with yams?

Figure out what texture or flavor you are craving, and find a healthier way to satisfy it:
Fruits can help satisfy your craving for sweets. Apples are berries are some of the best fruits (good fiber in apples, high phytochemicals in berries, and both are low glycemic).

I just got some raw foods chips made of dehydrated kale, lettuce, celery, onion and garlic, and they satisfy both my "crunchy" and "salty"(even though no salt is added to them) cravings.

Many people have "trigger foods" that they just can't eat one of. Mine is chips. If I really feel I want some, I'll find the smallest amount I can, because if I get a big bag, I can easily eat a big bag (it's easy to overdo on foods that have little fiber in them).

You also may be setting yourself up for these "binges" by thinking of certain foods as foods you "shouldn't" have (sounds like someone scolding you and telling you what to do) or as "evil" ("evil" can be very seductive!) Instead, think of them in terms of "I DON'T WANT X" (not "I can't have" X). There have been times when I almost envied my colleagues eating sugary, lard-frosted cake, until I told myself, "wait a minute...I don't even WANT that!"
 
You have AWESOME advice from the ladies above. Something I wanted to mention you should try is research. Huh? Yes, research. Set some goals whether it be weight loss or increased endurance or greater stamina...whatever and read up on the foods that will help you achieve those goals. They are out there.

Shelley is right, it is hard but not hard forever. It becomes second nature. I think what you need to do is make smaller, more attainable changes. Once they become habit, make a few more healthier changes. The changes have to be small and gradual. If your plan is to go from eating a totally crappy diet to a totally clean diet overnight, you are setting yourself up to fail. Make changes that are less drastic and build from there.

I will say, someone mentioned clean foods tasting delicious...they really do. Once you get all the crap out of your system, you will be amazed at how wonderful the clean stuff is! Then you get a bite of carbo crap and you can hardly choke it down (at least that is how it is in my dreams...and in heaven)!
 
We all struggle with food for sure. And like Sarah said - I really think you should focus on a few things at a time. Like deep fried or other trigger type foods. I used to think the same way that eating healthly meant boring - but now I just dont want to eat the cakes and candies and other sweets that are around me.

A phrase that I stick with, and have posted here and there - like on me keyboard is

"NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS FIT AND THIN FEELS!!"

That has gotten me through some major cravings. So much so that I have even taken a bite of something sweet - and had to spit it out. I just dont want to sabatage all my hard work. It is totally a mindset.

BTW - Yams and sweet potatoes are excellent for you. They are the #2 in the top 10 foods in the BFFM list. It is what you load them up with that causes the problems. So if you can have a yams without a bunch of toppings - it may help some of your cravings.

It is certainly not easy and doesnt happen overnight - but it can and will happen for you.
 
You've gotten some great practical advide here but I think our relationships with food it is more complex. We get comfort from eating certain foods and those foods are usually not the foods that are good for us. Comfort eating is a pretty deep psycological thing, if it were easy to overlook it we would all eat perfectly and be our ideal weights. I would look at it from a different perspective than *just say no*, even though that is what you have to do eventually. The first question is why do you (I) feel compelled to eat that (whatever food) when you (I) don't want it and know I'll feel like crap for eating it? It's almost self destructive behavior. Comfort foods can act like a drug complete with addictions so it is no easy task to change eating patterns. I think the first steps are to commit to wanting to change, then look at what obsticles might be keeping you from doing it. It's not about the food. Just my own 2c based on my personal experiences.
 
I generally eat very healthy, but if I want a Milky way bar I will have one. It's not often, but I don't get obsessed and I don't get upset about it either. Life is way too short. I know too many people who diet and diet and loose it all on a binge...it's not worth it. As long as I know I can have whatever I want whenever I want, I will never be fine. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but it does work for me.

Robin:9
 
Oops....I meant to say as long as "I know " I can have whatever I want I will never be overweight. Psycologically it is very freeing for me to know I will allow myself to have it. If I tell myself I can't have "it" I am sure 10 cartons or 10 tons of whatever "it" is will never be enough to satisfy my cravings and I will want it even more. I hope that makes sense.

Robin :9
 
I usually eat junk food in response to stress, depression, anxiety etc. When I feel frustrated or disappointed with events or people – usually with my boss and co-workers- I feel I need to eat something sweet but after eat that I have feelings of guilt, disgust and failure. I usually control that with my willpower but when I am during my menstruation I can't control the food cravings.





Mariángeles a spanish terminator,TAEBO and Turbo Jam junkie.
.
 
Hi Meow,

You could not have come to a better place for support.

I too have a problem with foods. I do however, eat soooo much better than I use to, but every now & then I do jump back on the crap wagon and the STUPID thing is I KNOW I feel like crap when I have the bad stuff. But b/c at times I get so aggravated with certain people, situations, I will eat, and that's not good. But for the most part, I try to stay focus. Now in NO WAY am I a "clean eater" but like I said I am doing soooo much better than I used to. And the one thing that helps me, try, to stay on track is: Why the heck am I exercising the way I do if I'm not going to eat right. These two things go hand in hand.

So now that I'm on day 4 of this month's rotation, I have been logging in my intake of foods. This morning I was so proud of myself that for breakfast I had a wrap with egg whites, spinach, tomatoes and alpine lace swiss, and around 11:45 am I had yogurt with "real" fruit inside mixed with a little honey. For lunch I plan on having something that hardly ever goes on my plate: veggies.

As a matter of fact, since doing this month's rotation, I've been doing damn good with my veggies. Day two, I actually had sauteed zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, bow tie pasta, broccoli with grilled chicken, and it was VERY good.

This is long and I'm sorry, but hang in there, b/c if I CAN DO THIS so can you. I have faith in you :).

http://www.PictureTrail.com/haydee1

Haydee
 
Just another idea...try eating half the amount of your favorite foods than you normally do. My DH and I both eat this way as we do not restrict what we eat because we love food too.

I love everything about food, preparing it, eating it, experiencing it...it's fun! But I also try my best to always strive to eat as clean as possible. That way when I want to go to that lovely French restaurant and order what I want, I won't feel so guilty.

We have both lost alot of weight and maintained our current weight by just cutting back and eating smaller portions of the foods we like.

Hope that helps!
Jen
 
I just eat. All that conflicting info about what is good ... what isn't ... carbs ... organic ... sugar ... trans fats ... blah, blah, blah ... gives me a freaking migraine. Hats off to people who have time and willpower to figure it all out, but all it does is stress me and stress prevents weight loss too. I figure if I can cut out a major stressor (worrying about food), I'm already ahead of the game. Must be doing something right because I'm 48 and I still maintain my weight by working out 5 or 6 days a week. I'm not saying I eat whatever I want, but if I want a candy bar I eat one. Just one. For me, it's all about common sense. This approach won't work for everyone, but it works for me and has done so for years. I'm much happier for it.

Carol
:)
 
You have gotten great advice. I too love food, but as some of the ladies have mentioned, once you start eating clean, you start to love foods that not only taste good but are good for you.

Once in awhile I crave sweets, but I find I reach for a Luna Bar or something that has something good in it for me vs. something very sugary (big surprise to me as i used to be a chocoholic). My SO loves chocolate bars but when he eats them I have no cravings for them. On special occasions I will have cake but it has to be cake that isn't too sweet as my taste buds have changed.

Yams, sweet potatoes...luv them and they are good for you!!!

I went to a lecture by Brad King 2 nights ago, he wrote FATWARS, ...www.fatwars.com, and he mentioned that if you eat well most of the time then you have no need to feel guilty when you indulge.

Take care,
sham
 
>I just eat. All that conflicting info about what is good ...
>what isn't ... carbs ... organic ... sugar ... trans fats ...
>blah, blah, blah ... gives me a freaking migraine. Hats off to
>people who have time and willpower to figure it all out, but
>all it does is stress me and stress prevents weight loss too.
>I figure if I can cut out a major stressor (worrying about
>food), I'm already ahead of the game. Must be doing something
>right because I'm 48 and I still maintain my weight by working
>out 5 or 6 days a week. I'm not saying I eat whatever I want,
>but if I want a candy bar I eat one. Just one. For me, it's
>all about common sense. This approach won't work for everyone,
>but it works for me and has done so for years. I'm much
>happier for it.
>
>Carol
>:)

Carol,

I couldn't agree more. I simply can't keep up with the this and the thats of what is the best food, the right food, the trendy food etc. I do maintain a loose philosophy of "everything in moderation" and "the closer to the original state, the better." So for me, a scoop of regular old Bryer's ice cream with just milk, sugar and fruit would be better than say, some of the fat free ice creams out there loaded with chemicals I can't pronounce. I also know when I am having too much of something (lately it's sugar) and I'll cut back a bit. I used to be a lot more rigid about food and it was a miserable experience.

Sparrow
 
Hi Carol!! Yup couldn't agree more with you:). I follow the Weight Watcher program and I alway save some points for Friday for a treat which I really look forward too:),yums. Usally its a TCBY Shiver with 2 of any candy toppings because I just love their yogurt.

I think with me when I start gaining its because I don't journal my food and when I start writing everything down It helps alot to really control what you eat. HTH:)

P.S. Oh by the way I love food too!!!!
 
Hey Barbara, good to "see" you again! I still loosely follow WW because it's what helped me lose 60 pounds once. I mentally keep track of points (loosely) throughout the day and I don't worry about the days I know I go over. I just resolve to stay within them the next day. I also drink my water everyday which I have found over the years does so much to keep my weight even, keep my appetite from getting out of control, and of course keep me hydrated. I agree writing things down does help a lot. It can help you spot patterns you might not have noticed otherwise.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one on here who just loves to eat for the sake of doing so!! What would life be without Starbucks and chocolate??? YIKES!!

Carol
:)
 
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