Quote:
Originally Posted by Tnerped
Anyone else with a terrible food addiction? My issue is I love food and even drinking 2 gallons of water a day does nothing to curb my want for food/sweets. Going to the gym 5 days a week and obviously it won't do me a bit of good if I can't stop eating.
Any suggestions?
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It's a tough habit to break. I love sweets too so I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask or maybe I am.
I think the first step is removing temptation. Get this shit out of your house. Sweets, cokes, candy, and chips. Yeah it sucks to throw away money, but you KNOW you are going to pig out on this stuff and then buy more. It will cost you a lot more in the long run.
Like I said, I love sweets. No matter how much I've eaten there is always room for something sugary. Hell, there are some times when I'd rather eat sweets than an actual meal.
Here's the thing - I don't think sweets are the hardest habit to break. I found that if I can avoid them for just a few days nearly all of my cravings will go away. IMO, the more of this stuff you eat the more of it you will want. It's a never ending cycle. And it leads you to eating a lot of other stuff that you don't want because the sugar seems to make you feel even hungrier.
1) Ditch all of the unhealthiest foods in your house.
2) Find something to occupy your mind. Anything. I don't care if it's sitting on your ass playing video games, it's still better than snacking yourself to death. If you can do this for a few days I think most of your worst cravings will pass.
3) Starvation diets work. But, for me, they always boomerang on me. I'll starve myself till I lose the weight but I have been hungry for so long that food is all that I can think about. Of course I eventually gain all the weight back.
4) Make a list of all the healthy things you like to eat. Vegetables, lean meats etc. You don't have to cut out everything you like - you just need to change portion sizes and find healthier ways of preparing your meals. Sides are also very important. Cutting out fries, chips, and various other high calorie filler foods will be a big step.
5) Variety is key. Eating the same 2 or 3 low cal meals every day leads to burn out. Don't be afraid to buy new healthier foods that you've never tried before. Some of them will suck and be a waste of money, but I guarantee you will save a lot of money in the long run.
6) Exercise. I don't think this is essential, but it will help. Not everybody is a gym rat. I sure as hell ain't. If you really think you will make use of a gym or expensive equipment that's great. I think a lot of overweight people set themselves up for failure by buying expensive equipment that they will quite using in a week or by joining gym memberships and getting discouraged because Zeus is pumping iron next to them. Go for walks. Do some yardwork. If you like playing any kind of sports, do them. Join a gym if you really think you want to. The bottom line is that you need to get off your ass.
7) Portion control. Remember what I said about getting rid of all the snacks and shit in your house? This is where it comes in handy. Cook reasonable amounts of food and don't supplement your meals with a lot of high calorie filler. Eat a portion of something that you really like, but accompany it with a salad and some low calorie side dishes. You will get full and feel better too - I promise.
8) Know what you're eating. Look at the nutritional info on the packages of food you buy. You will be surprised at how many calories you are actually eating.
9) Guilt. One of the joys of being fat is that it also makes you feel guilty. You feel like a chump for being hungry, you feel even worse after you eat. So you eat some more because at least you feel good while you're stuffing your face. Getting out of this cycle is one of the very best reason to change your lifestyle imo.
REMEMBER THIS: YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A REASON TO QUITE DIETING.
You may not lose fast enough - so you give up.
You may lose a lot of weight - so you decide you can cheat.
You may break down and pig out one day and decide that you've blown it so you might as well eat.
You may (foolishly and needlessly) starve yourself to the point that you decide that dieting just isn't worth the misery.
You may over eat to celebrate the holidays, or because you are depressed or for a million other reasons, but in the end
you are just making up excuses. because you are addicted to eating.
You know that even if you lose the weight you will regain it if you go back to your old habits. You need to make a conscious decision to change your lifestyle. Eat in moderation, get a little exercise, and realize that there is really no logical reason why a person need to pig out on sweets and junk food. You didn't get fat over night and it will take some time for the weight to come off. You need to come to terms with that. Realize that you aren't on a diet - you are changing your eating habits for the better for the rest of your life.