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Old 07-28-2012, 07:35 PM
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Me llamo David.... and that's about the extent of the Spanish that I know I signed up to this forum a few years ago and in the middle of my diet, my mom passed away from lung cancer. Needless to say, my diet went to hell and I never came back to the site, until now. I am 34 yrs old, 5'9" and prob about 200ish pounds, need to get a scale!

I have been going to the gym for the past 6 months at least 4-5 days a week and know quite a bit about nutrition, maintenance/loss calories for my height, weight and age, can recite calorie counts for a lot of foods in regard to their portion size and what to do in the gym to get to where I want to be. I gained a lot of this info about 15 years ago when I lost 60 pounds due to diet and exercise. Lots of good knowlege... well, except for the food willpower part. It seems to be much, much harder to diet now then it did when I was 20-22. I am hopelessly addicted to meaty, cheesy and greasy foods and the more I work out the more my body craves them. I don't care at all for sweets, but I will devour a double cheeseburger in record time and be hungry 3 hours later. In the last 2 months or so I have really turned my eating habits around but still have bad days enough to ensure that I gain muscle at the gym, but still gain weight for the most part though in the last 2 weeks I've lost approx 5 lbs or so.

I am mainly on here to get tips from people who have absolutely ravenous cravings for bad foods. I know to drink lots of water. I bring carrots to snack on now to work, which brings me to another problem of mine... my work schedule. 4 days a week 12 hour shifts during graveyard. I have learned to only bring enough food for one night as if I bring any more I will devour it all without a second thought. I really want to get down to about 150-160 and put on some lean muscle mass.

Like I typed above, I basically know quite a bit about what to do I just need help and advice on how to control my almost uncontrollable cravings. I am about to chew my own arm off as I type this, lol.

Well. Hopefully this wall of text doesn't blind you and thanks for reading. Any quick, low cal snacks, advice whatever is welcome...

Last edited by inflamesjester; 07-28-2012 at 07:41 PM. Reason: left out info
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Old 07-29-2012, 01:45 AM
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I'm sorry to read that your mother died. That would derail a diet; while grieving, the last thing on your mind is calories.

I go to WW. I do have cravings for certain foods, but I have found ways to work them into my limit of calories. For fast food, I get McD's Cheeseburger Happy Meal - the new version, that has apple slices and a very small order of french fries. The meal is fewer calories than before, but still, I try to save that fast food indulgence for really stressful days when my will power is wobbly. Then I do better if I eat it when I get home. If I eat it at McD's, or while driving, I'm tempted to go back and get another. Also, I try to eat it very slowly. If I'm at home, I can supplement with some cooked vegetables and some more fruit for dessert.

I eat Lay's Original low-fat potato chips (made with Olestra). The Olestra has never bothered me (it does give some people mild stomach upset, but this is not that common). It is crunchy and as close to a real potato chip experience as I can get. Again, I save it for days when I'm having a hard time controlling my diet, disorganized, stressed.

For dessert, I have cut fresh fruit with some Splenda and low-fat milk.

Those are my indulgences. I keep an eye on 'fiber' on the food labels and I try to eat as much fiber as I can, as a part of food, not as a supplement. It makes my meals very filling. I eat a lot less meat, so that makes my cheeseburger an extra special treat!

Good luck with the diet! You can do it (you did it before, you can do it again...)
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Old 07-29-2012, 10:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Kathy13118
I'm sorry to read that your mother died. That would derail a diet; while grieving, the last thing on your mind is calories.

I go to WW. I do have cravings for certain foods, but I have found ways to work them into my limit of calories. For fast food, I get McD's Cheeseburger Happy Meal - the new version, that has apple slices and a very small order of french fries. The meal is fewer calories than before, but still, I try to save that fast food indulgence for really stressful days when my will power is wobbly. Then I do better if I eat it when I get home. If I eat it at McD's, or while driving, I'm tempted to go back and get another. Also, I try to eat it very slowly. If I'm at home, I can supplement with some cooked vegetables and some more fruit for dessert.

I eat Lay's Original low-fat potato chips (made with Olestra). The Olestra has never bothered me (it does give some people mild stomach upset, but this is not that common). It is crunchy and as close to a real potato chip experience as I can get. Again, I save it for days when I'm having a hard time controlling my diet, disorganized, stressed.

For dessert, I have cut fresh fruit with some Splenda and low-fat milk.

Those are my indulgences. I keep an eye on 'fiber' on the food labels and I try to eat as much fiber as I can, as a part of food, not as a supplement. It makes my meals very filling. I eat a lot less meat, so that makes my cheeseburger an extra special treat!

Good luck with the diet! You can do it (you did it before, you can do it again...)
Awesome! Thanks for the response. Fast food is a big roadblock for me especially while working as I have no time to cook on a 12 hour shift. Portion control is paramount in my case. If you gave me only heads of lettuce, I would find a way to eat too many calories with just that! One thing that I have been doing lately is Carl's Jr. has turkey burgers now that are around 500 cals. I will get one of those made into a lettuce wrap which brings it to about 350 or so. Not many other choices are available that I actually want to eat at those places so I try to avoid them.

I eat lots of fruits and vegetables now, but they don't make me feel full for very long. I have tried the Olean chips.... ummm.... yeah, my system doesn't really like me putting them in my stomach, haha. Bad things happen...

I will try the fiber idea, my main goal is to get my diet down to lean meat/protein, vegetables and fruits with a little bit of dairy in there.. (one of my biggest road blocks, to say that I love cheese is the biggest understatement I can think of... it is my favorite food on this planet!) Well, I have done really well the past 3-4 days and it is getting a tad bit easier. I guess that's a good thing.

Good luck to you to Kathy!
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Old 07-30-2012, 06:16 AM
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I have read studies that showed fat will suppress appetite. I try to get my fat intake from lean red meat, olive oil and nuts. Any fat source is calorie dense (9 calories per gram) but including healthy fats in your diet can actually reduce or eliminate your cravings. I believe this is one of the reasons so many people that buy into the fat free diet are always hungry. I will eat about 10 raw almonds if I have cravings and that is usually all it takes! Hope this helps!
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Old 07-30-2012, 06:32 AM
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Originally Posted by rpmcduff
I have read studies that showed fat will suppress appetite. I try to get my fat intake from lean red meat, olive oil and nuts. Any fat source is calorie dense (9 calories per gram) but including healthy fats in your diet can actually reduce or eliminate your cravings. I believe this is one of the reasons so many people that buy into the fat free diet are always hungry. I will eat about 10 raw almonds if I have cravings and that is usually all it takes! Hope this helps!
I totally agree, rp...I dieted unsuccessfully for years with the low fat craze, but after learning to not be afraid of good fats, it's been a much more successful and better experience.

inflames, many places do some pretty good salads in a pinch...would you be able to do that and a small order of fries or a chicken sandwich or something on the side?
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Old 07-30-2012, 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by cjohnson728
I totally agree, rp...I dieted unsuccessfully for years with the low fat craze, but after learning to not be afraid of good fats, it's been a much more successful and better experience.

inflames, many places do some pretty good salads in a pinch...would you be able to do that and a small order of fries or a chicken sandwich or something on the side?
I am trying the "good fats" route. I love salads, but I've got to watch that also because the salads I like are topped with all of the bad stuff (cheese, creamy dressing ect...) What I am doing now is a "cleanse" of sorts. It's what I did the first time I lost a lot of weight, I allow myself only 12-1400 calories a day only this time I am eating almost nothing but lean protein, vegetables and fruits and a little bit of dairy. If I reach 1400 calories, I am DONE for the day. I have done this for a week and will probably do it a few more...

I go to the gym quite a bit and if I notice that my energy is lacking (which it isn't yet..) then I may bump it up to 1600 cals. My maintenace cals are supposed to be 22-2400 but my metabolism is HORRIBLE. If I drive by a Burger King I gain 3 pounds. So calorie cuts and portion control is paramount. I really haven't felt hungry at all today and I think my body is getting used to less food.

No cheat days, no fail days. I am 1000% going to do this!

Thanks for all the tips btw... I am taking all of these into account!

Last edited by inflamesjester; 07-30-2012 at 07:11 PM.
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