diets...

[Pamela H in Texas]

Here is my issue...I'm on a diet, a good one...and it's working REALLY well.

 

Every time I diet (even if just general "no real deprivation, just eat better"), I get to a point where I want to eat VERY poorly. I "cheat" thinking I deserve the cheat or that a treat once in awhile won't hurt or whatever.

 

But....

 

I can't stop. The little cheat turns into a bigger cheat turns into a huge cheat turns into a diet stopper. It just keeps getting more and more out of control. I don't seem to be able to make myself not take that first bite which I wouldn't think is that big of a deal but I can't seem to not eat that _______(fill in the blank) and then the 14 other cheats after that.

 

I'm making awesome progress. What can I do to stay on track?

[Marylou]

Don't cheat!

[Marylou]

You could make a rule for yourself that when you are going to have something unhealthy you must buy it at a restaurant and not bring it in the house. And you can only do this one time per day. Are you really going to go to a restaurant 7 days per week? I think this would be a good way to have treats but not over do it. If it's not in your house you can't eat too much of it!

Edited September 7, 2009 by dmmosher

[clarkacademy]

so what diet are you on???

[Bess]

I would reward yourself on the weekend with just one cheat item. Maybe one on sat and one on sunday.

[KIN]

We used to have cheat Friday nights. We could eat anything we desired Friday night at supper. But EVERYTHING had to be gone after supper. Chips, dessert, whatever, had to be put in the trash. In my case, chips had to be broken in little pieces and dumped out of the bag into the trash bag in order to prevent myself from getting them out!! (Remember George doing this on Seinfield? The donut out of the trash?)

[Sunkirst]

Gosh, I'm in the process of doing this right now. I've lost a decent amount of weight since early spring, and I Want to keep it off, but ...

 

Obviously, this is a mental thing (at least with me :D)

 

It helps me when I can get a decent amount of exercise so that I can have a bit of a cushion, but I'm not exercising much since getting a puppy in early August and starting school.

 

What really works best is just having that talk with myself - You know, the "don't blow it" talk. Usually I can bring my brain out of the "entitlement" mindset with the talk and deciding to get back on the diet the next day. I also rarely totally deprive myself. I just try to have only one piece of coffee cake instead of 4 (yes I could).

 

There is also some stress-related component for me. I know that I've been eating poorly because I've been scared of not fitting in all the necessary school for all 3 kids (but I actually did a schedule - unbelievable! And it's working!).

 

One last thing is remembering the food that is healthy that I really like: A great big salad with roasted beets and walnuts and tuna, or stir-fried greens with avocado, onions, lime and peanuts, or a smoothy with low fat plain yogurt, banana, dates, a bit of peanut butter and cocoa powder.

 

Thanks, you've just helped me, I hope it helps you a bit!

[Melissa in Australia]

what about every time you cheat, you have to do some vigorous exercise to burn off the extra calories.

[ma23peas]

You're NOT alone!

 

Best way for me to handle it was to pick ONE day a week where I can have a little bag of cheetos or a candybar....but only ONE day...the remaining 6 days I do my treadmill and eat under 1500 calories...it works...and you can switch up your days to fit in birthdays and such when you know you'll be tempted! :)

 

HTH!

Tara

[starwarsmomma]

I am horrible at diets, I really admire people who are stong enough to do a diet successfully.

 

Keep up the good work!

[Ferdie]

We used to have cheat Friday nights. We could eat anything we desired Friday night at supper. But EVERYTHING had to be gone after supper. Chips, dessert, whatever, had to be put in the trash. In my case, chips had to be broken in little pieces and dumped out of the bag into the trash bag in order to prevent myself from getting them out!! (Remember George doing this on Seinfield? The donut out of the trash?)

 

:iagree: I take a free day once a week. Eat healthy for six days and take a day off.

[Karen in CO]

What food do you usually cheat with? Is there a pattern to the food you cheat with?

 

Maybe start thinking through how to stop the cheat cycle before it begins. Such as, read the ingredients on every bit of food in your house and throw out EVERYTHING that has more x grams a fat per serving or more x grams of sugar per serving. Then don't buy anymore. Like quitting smoking, you have to get rid of the cigarettes and then quit buying them and quit bumming them from other people - one at a time. It is easier to not binge if you don't have that half gallon of ice cream or that extra pack.

 

I had to quit eating everything with msg and corn to help slow down my migraines so I removed everything that wasn't allowed and then read every single label before I bought anything else. It was hard and added tons of time to my shopping until I got into the habit of buying the choices that were better for my head.

[Joy at Home]

Well, I've been on WW and lost 7 pounds, felt on track, etc., then this weekend hit and yesterday I blew it, then one day turned into two, yada yada yada.

 

No advice. Sigh.

 

Lisa

 

 

Do tell - what diet is working for you?

 

Lisa

[sarahf.]

You're NOT alone!

 

Best way for me to handle it was to pick ONE day a week where I can have a little bag of cheetos or a candybar....but only ONE day...the remaining 6 days I do my treadmill and eat under 1500 calories...it works...and you can switch up your days to fit in birthdays and such when you know you'll be tempted! :)

 

HTH!

Tara

This is also what I do!

[Pamela H in Texas]

Thanks y'all....

 

I think the one cheat per week may be a good idea. Use it wisely, don't overdo it, just enjoy.

 

As I put in the other thread, I'm using the hCG diet to jumpstart my loss then switching to the Gabriel Method which is really about adding things IN, not taking things out (the latter naturally happens as your body quits craving because you are getting what you NEED as well as the amount of good pushes out most amounts of bad). I chose the hCG so as to lose a lot quickly for the jumpstart but also because it is a cheaper diet to start out with and we were/are waiting for certain checks, foodstamps ($96/mo<sigh>) and hubby to get a job.

 

But I am looking foward to Gabriel instead. I won't have to deprive myself. BUT...my concern is that I seem to be addicted to certain foods or something. Like, hubby bought some sweets just to try (from the world market). He didn't like them. They weren't the best, but once I tried half of one, I just wanted more and more.

 

Basically, I'm addicted to ANYTHING bad though. I love pork steak which has almost a day's worth of calories. I love salty foods. I love sweet foods. So I'm a little fearful that even when I'm doing the Gabriel Method I'll eat too much of the junk (milkshakes, fried foods, etc) because I'll eat when I'm not hungry, even when I'm full. So sure, my BODY doesn't need it cuz I gave it what it needs, but my head says, "one isn't so bad" and then it's two, ten, a thousand.....The thing seems to be that I need to not have one, but who wants to be deprived always?

 

Maybe the idea of once a week at a certain time would work. We did that for fighting once many moons ago. Hubby and I decided we could only fight once a week on Wednesdays between 7 and 8 (or whatever it was). It really got us out of the HABIT of fighting. We almost never fought, btw, at our scheduled time but we stopped doing it all the rest of the time also!

 

So maybe if I decide, Friday night cheat between 7 and 8 pm....hmmmm

 

BTW, one aspect of the Gabriel Method is to figure out your "FAT programs" so they can be reset. I am working on that. I think that I narrowed down my remaining issue to be feeling sorry for myself. And because I'm deprived in other ways (fertility, health issues, etc), I binge (I really don't eat much outside of binging). I get it in my head that I deserve what I like because I can't have certain other things I like. So now I'm working on appreciating the pearls in the sand. Okay, so I couldn't have a houseful of kids, but I have a long list of benefits of having the two I have and a whole list of other things. Same with the health issues. Anyway, so there is a psychological component (but for other people, it may be physical or mental or educational or whatever).

Edited September 7, 2009 by 2J5M9K

[Mom0012]

What kind of diet are you on? I find that I have far fewer cravings if I am doing something lower carb where I am eating protein at each meal. I don't even do a real low carb because that makes me incredibly irritable. I just count calories, but make sure a significant amount of those calories are coming from protein. For example, melted cheddar on toast or an egg on toast for breakfast or grilled chicken in a tortilla wrap for lunch. It is amazing to me that when I am eating like this, I hardly even think about food.

 

If I try to follow a typical low calorie, high carb diet, all I can think about is food and I don't make it through more than a couple of days.

 

Lisa

[Chris in VA]

Have you tried using a 12 step approach? Overeaters Anonymous is a really, really good program--not a diet. Deals with the heart, and dependence and surrender to a higher power (which I know you already have in your life). Could provide the missing component, esp since you are dealing with feelings of being deprived (perhaps anger or mourning?) in other areas.

Just a suggestion!

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I agree with maybe trying to approach it from a different angle. I'm the same way. One little cheat leads to a bigger cheat, then a bigger cheat. I can't be on a diet. I have to make a conscious decision to entirely change my eating as a way of life. I used to smoke, and when I stopped smoking, I replaced it with sugar laden foods. I can't just eat a handful of M&Ms. I won't stop obsessing over the M&Ms until the entire bag is gone. I can't eat one slice of banana bread, I eat the whole loaf. I can do great on a diet for awhile, then something happens to cause me to emotionally eat, and the whole thing is blown. I've had to approach it as sort of like an alcoholic. I can't have one sweet thing, or it throws me entirely off the wagon. I don't know if you are in as drastic of a position as I am, but if so, OA might be a good idea.

[UnPrairieMuffin]

Perhaps you need to drink more water. I get bad cravings for food I don't need when I'm dehydrated. I don't know anything about the hcG diet, but I have been doing weight watchers for 9 months and I've lost 20 pounds (very slowly). In fact, I need to drink some now!

 

HTH,

Erin

[Rosie_0801]

It will improve over time. The longer you eat healthily, even if you go on the occasional binge, the less your tastebuds will enjoy the junk. It will get to the point where you'll turn down the Sara Lee cheesecake because it doesn't taste as good as it used to. I still find the best way to cure myself of a binge is to binge properly. After a few days of eating nothing but junk, I feel so lousy I want salad :) I think you have to go all the way down before you want to come back up.

 

Rosie

[Lovedtodeath]

I am glad it is working! :)