alfonsingm

Hello All,
I just joined FitDay last week. So I am new to the FitDay world, but I am not new to the Weight Loss world. I have managed to loose the weight I wanted to lose twice, and gain it all back twice. This second time has really made me feel very defeated, but here I am trying again. My issue is that I have a weekness for the following three things: Pizza, Pasta and Candy (like peeps candy, not chocolate so much). Once I get it in my head that I want one of those three items, I cannot get it out. It begins to take over my thoughts and it becomes this giant craving that I don't know how to snap out of. I know that I need to really just get all three of these items out of system and not really them in general and then maybe I'd be grossed out by them, but first I need to learn how to snap out of those giant cravings and then I can move on to beginning to eliminate them from my diet. Any help would be SO very much appreciated.

KristynBond

I have the same exact cravings (except that it's chocolate for me). One thing that's really helped me is to understand that it takes 3 weeks to change habits. Also, I now know that I'm addicted to food. I have the same experience that you do: once I start thinking about it I need to eat it. And if I try to eat something else instead, I end up eating WAY more because I'm going to eventually eat what I wanted anyway. It's not about being hungry for me; it's about satisying that craving. What I find helpful is to eat what I want, but plan for it. For example, I have a couple of dinners a week that have pasta in them. I just make sure I eat less throughout the day and only make enough of the pasta so that even if I pig out and eat it all I'll still be consuming less calories than I'm expending. Also, I usually reserve Friday night as pizza night. I might get thin and crispy instead of deep dish. However, I know all week that Friday I'm having pizza, so I can "bank" calories to be used for that. As for candy (chocolate in my case), I try to buy a lot of the 100 calorie snack packs with the kind of treats I like. This way I can eat it, but it's in a smaller portion. I don't know if this helps or not, but for me I know if I avoid the food altogether I will end up eating way more than if I just ate it in the first place.

alfonsingm

Kristen, that definitely helps. I often feel like I am addicted to food, but no one really seems to take me seriously. I haven't seen a doctor about it, but addiction in other forms runs in my family and I think that food is my form of addiction. Have you managed to lose weight and still keeps those favorites in the house? I've tried to not keep them in the house and just end up going out and buying them on my own. Thank you for your post, it does help and it really makes me feel like I'm not alone.

cjohnson728

Hi there,

Kristyn gave you excellent advice. I am a big believer in not depriving myself. I know if I do, I will eventually go overboard. I do the calorie cycling and that gives me a couple days a week of high calories, so I can plan to have the pizza (or whatever) on those days, but using FitDay helps me do the math to make sure that my weekly calories in and out are in balance, if not daily calories.

There is a lot of variation from person to person. For example, I have a friend who has not eaten pizza or Chinese in 6 years after losing 50 lbs. through Weight Watchers. It works great for her not to even eat the forbidden foods. However, that would never work for me. So be patient and do a little trial and error till you find the system that works for you.

Also, don't feel you have to change everything at once. Try making small changes, such as eating less of the foods you can't stay away from or substituting healthier versions, such as a pizza with wheat crust, easy on the cheese (or low fat cheese) and veggie toppings, or wheat pasta with homemade marinara sauce. I know that for me, the more small changes I made, the more I developed a taste for healthier foods and the old stuff had less and less appeal. Take advantage of these message boards and get lots of advice, and if it works for you, do it; if it doesn't work, don't do it. Good luck!

RunbikeSki

I think making small changes is the key. To wake up one morning and tell yourself that from now on you CANNOT have pizza, lazanga, candy or whatever is never going to work. Especially in our society where food is so easily gotten, and you are constantly reminded of food everywhere you turn. So focus on one small change at a time. Make the decision to say... substitute sugar free candies for your usual sweet. And then stop thinking about it. That is also the key. If you are constantly reminding yourself about what you can't have, then all you will think about is wanting that one thing. So make that 1 decision and move on.

In order to break most bad habits, you will need to substitue the old habit with a new good habit. Drinking a cup of tea in the afternoon has replaced my old habit of heading for the vending machine for a bag of chips. Instead of telling myself I couldn't have the chips, I told myself that it was simply "tea time" and that I had to take a break from work to fix a cup of tea, sip and enjoy the tea, and then get back to whatever I was doing. I know not every one can do that with their schedule, but most can come up with a similar replacement. Taking a short walk instead of a morning donut works for many people. I think you get the idea.

It is all about not depriving yourself, but substituting something else that is a little healthier instead. It will take a while for a new habit to set in. But it will.

oliviagilmore

KristynBond- I love chocolate too and I found the fiber one bars are only 140 calories and delicious. I feel very full after just one.... all those other 100 calorie snack things always left me still hungry and I always ate more then 1.

Built

I have a sugar addiction, so I can definitely relate to this topic. Everyone has shared some good advice. I've read some advice to not eat any sugar whatsoever to keep the cravings away, but I haven't been able to stick to that without feeling very deprived. I do, however, allow myself a free meal or two each week to keep my sanity. Using fitday has helped me plan for those "treats" so as not to go overboard. You'll find what works for you. Thanks for bringing up the topic!

KristynBond

alfonsingm: I definitely haven't lost all the weight I want to yet (I started in January and have lost 27 lbs so far), but it's been successful until this point. I haven't seen a doctor either about the food addiction, but I watch a lot of shows about it, and read about it, and I can definitely tell I have it. Like cjohnson said, it works for some people to keep away from the "forbidden food" altogether. But for me it works to have a little bit around. I don't go crazy, but I definitely plan for my cravings while grocery shopping, and a couple of nights a week I might eat a bad meal or order pizza or something. If I didn't allow for these things I'd go out and buy a tub of ice cream every night!
oliviagilmore: thanks for the fiber bar tip. I've been really into the 100 calorie kudos bars lately. I feel like I'm eating bad, but it's a tiny little snack.
I look forward to hearing how you're all doing, and sharing tricks that work.
Good luck everyone!

cjohnson728

The Kashi bars are good, too...not quite as sweet but a lot more natural ingredients. In fact, those are an example of getting to a healthier and more natural food from starting off with the Special K/Quaker-type bars. Your tastes will change; give it time.