Rubystars

You know I've been able to do pretty well as far as keeping around 1400 cals most days and not really having that hard of a time but one thing that does get to me is seeing pictures of food that look really good. It's hard to avoid them. If I watch anything on tv the commercials come on and show people eating decadent and delicious high fat foods and I went on MSNBC today and there are these pictures on the front page of these little pigs in a blanket and they looked so juicy and tasty... I am not even hungry and yet these pictures get me to thinking about food anyway.

I think I know one reason why so many people are overweight. I guess food companies make more money if we overeat.

wildbeanerz

Food companies make more if we overeat. Then diet/nutrition companies make money when we try to lose weight. Then because the diet doesn't work, we are back to supporting the food companies. Then it's onto a different diet. That is why it has to be a lifestyle change. It is really hard to not give into the temptation but also strictly limiting yourself may be setting yourself up to fail. I give in now and then because if not, I will spiral out of control. This weekend I made a batch of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. 4 dozen actually. But since Saturday when I made them I have eaten 2-1/2 cookies. Not bad considering previously I would have eating 2 dozen of them myself in that amount of time. I have twice gotten out a cookie to eat and taken a bite or two and handed the rest to one of the kids or my hubby. My mind had to have that taste fix but my body was acting like what in the heck are you doing!! You will get through it and visual clues are hard to resist and it isn't like you can just avoid them.

Kathy13118

I don't think that food companies are a problem - they are certainly not THE problem. What's in our heads, what we carry around in our minds every day, is the problem. There's no blame game worth playing here.

When I was on a very very low-calorie diet, years ago, (a diet clinic that no longer exists provided the program), the guidelines were simple. X number of calories. No exercise unless you felt like it, because the calories were so low. No TELEVISION commercials. You could only watch television if you muted the TV and turned away during commercials - or, better yet, skip TV!

Watching Red Lobster commercials and Chili's commercials, etc., you're looking at things you KNOW taste good. Who wouldn't want to eat them? Today, the food blogs have the most gorgeous pictures, I just want to make whatever the recipe is! If I can't handle looking at pictures of fatty steak and glistening butter, why even look? Why look at pictures of crumbly, nutty cookies if that's the kind of thing I would love to bake and eat? So, there is a choice - just don't look.

At least, until you get to your goal. And even then... only if you can handle it. You know what you can handle.

But - there are plenty of people for whom this is not a problem, because they are not overweight and will never be. They have different exercise habits, different food triggers. They catch weight gain when it's at +3 oz., not +3 lbs. So, the many products on the market are a good thing for many people.

Rubystars

The pictures don't actually cause me to break my diet, they just cause a certain amount of suffering, feeling of want, etc. even if I'm not hungry. And to say not to look is one thing (well you can close your eyes through commercials and mute them which is good) but pictures of food are everywhere, I mean everywhere! Even when I go to facebook I see advertisements with a pizza or super-loaded burger or something on it saying "find the best local restaurants". Why is it never like... a chicken breast with vegetables being shown? It's always something that tastes much better than that and is soaked in fat.

edahlt

Next time you get a craving from looking at food commercials or ads, remember that most of that food is at least partially inedible--covered in shellac or other disgusting substances, made with a styrofoam center, pretty much anything to make it look good:

Fake Food - Television Tropes & Idioms

Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality

Not quite so delicious looking anymore, huh?

(I know this was originally posted a while ago, but I'm sure Food Porn is something everyone struggles with.)

01gt4.6

That 2nd link is awesome. That's pics are like night and day. I feel bad now for all my pics and food porn.