I lasted all of three days.. help anyone?

[Hippolyte]

I started out strong for like three days.. but i have little to no self control when it comes to food. cake? yes please. Ice cream? how about three scoops. don't even get me started on french fries

 

I know that it isn't bad to indulge every once in a while but for me it's all or nothing.  once i allow myself to eat junk that's all i want. plus i have a dairy sensitivity so it makes me sick and i have bad acid reflux so fried food needs to be out of the picture. I just have no idea how to keep myself on the wagon because i've fallen off of it every single time. and the only person i have to keep myself accountable is me and that doesn't work so well..

 

if anyone has any suggestions i'd love to hear them

[Elastigirl]

some suggestions that have helped me

 

make goals of what to eat instead of what not to eat: Ie , eat a salad every day

just focus on one thing to eliminate; I'd suggest dairy since it makes you sick, you can still have fries and cake but no dairy, then in a few months you can work on cutting back or eliminating the other things

write down your motivation for why you want to eat healthier and put it some place you can see it

keep the junk food out of your house, or if there are people who make that impossible have them put it where it is hard for you to access

give yourself an award for each week you succeed in your goal

[TMedina]

I started out strong for like three days.. but i have little to no self control when it comes to food. cake? yes please. Ice cream? how about three scoops. don't even get me started on french fries

 

I know that it isn't bad to indulge every once in a while but for me it's all or nothing.  once i allow myself to eat junk that's all i want. plus i have a dairy sensitivity so it makes me sick and i have bad acid reflux so fried food needs to be out of the picture. I just have no idea how to keep myself on the wagon because i've fallen off of it every single time. and the only person i have to keep myself accountable is me and that doesn't work so well..

 

if anyone has any suggestions i'd love to hear them

 

Have you tried re-framing the context of the food?  Saying "I don't eat ice cream" versus "I can't eat ice cream".

 

Do you have eating triggers?  Emotional eating?  Or impulse?

[Hippolyte]

some suggestions that have helped me

 

make goals of what to eat instead of what not to eat: Ie , eat a salad every day

just focus on one thing to eliminate; I'd suggest dairy since it makes you sick, you can still have fries and cake but no dairy, then in a few months you can work on cutting back or eliminating the other things

write down your motivation for why you want to eat healthier and put it some place you can see it

keep the junk food out of your house, or if there are people who make that impossible have them put it where it is hard for you to access

give yourself an award for each week you succeed in your goal

 

those are all great ideas!  maybe i'll plan out my meals before hand to eliminate the extra variables.  setting rewards for myself should help, unfortunately i'm more extrinsically motivated than intrinsically 

 

thank you so much for the suggestions, i really appreciate it!

[Hippolyte]

Have you tried re-framing the context of the food?  Saying "I don't eat ice cream" versus "I can't eat ice cream".

 

Do you have eating triggers?  Emotional eating?  Or impulse?

 

i like the idea of phrasing it as "I don't" rather than "i can't". it makes it feel like it's more my decision rather than something forced upon me. 

 

I am definitely an emotional eater whether i'm upset, angry, or even just frustrated with myself or lack of progress (which of course is counter intuitive) I am also kind of impulsive like if i'm walking past a bakery or at the store i'll just crave it and need to get it. but mostly emotional

[FuddleDuddle]

While I can't say what will work for you, I can share something that has worked for me. I have a pretty big sweet tooth and while exercise was a challenge to get started, I am now working out (resistance and cardio) around 5 days a week; I have, however, struggled immensely with diet. Stopping treats and junk cold turkey would only result in binges, so recently I've tried something new that has seemed to help me out and that is baby steps. I started out by telling myself I could not have any junk before around noon, and I have the exact same breakfast and snack every day (oatmeal and fruit) and that's it. I don't have to think about what I'm going to eat in the morning because it's always the same thing, and I'm not eating crap in the mornings anymore. Recently I extended my streak to lunch and afternoon snack as well, though I vary it up a bit at lunch. Though I have had some slip ups in the afternoon I generally only have junk in the evenings and am working on reducing that as well. TLDR: Start small by treat "fasting", build on your successes and don't beat yourself up if you slip up. Consistency always = results.

[DocKnight]

Place a frog in boiling water, it'll jump right out.

 

Place a frog in room temp water and slowly heat the water, the frog will not perceive danger and will cook to death.

 

 

POINT: Slow gradual steps will lead to better success....

[Noname123]

You've gotten some great advice. 

 

What really worked for me (I'm a HUGE snacker, I just don't like eating whole meals and love munching on food as I read forums or do work). I started replacing my horrendous snack and meal choices with slightly better versions until it became healthy. 

 

I went from eating chips to pop chips to raw nuts/granola. I went from eating ice cream to greek yogurt (or Halo Top ice cream now- it's a lot lighter than ice cream but gets the edge off if I HAVE to have it). I replaced ordering pizza out with making my own at home, to then making french fries, to sweet potato fries to butternut squash. I also portion my snacks because it's really really easy to eat 900 calories in 'healthy' snacks before you realize what happened. I keep measuring cups in my containers of raw nuts and granola so when I scoop it into a bowl (and I ONLY eat it from a bowl, no container snacking!) I know I got myself a single portion thanks to my scooper! 

 

And then for drinking I give myself cheat days. I don't do it every week because I don't want it to be a habit to binge on the weekend, but I give myself 3 days over 8 weeks where I can drink all I want. For every day I have left over at the end of the 8 weeks I get a prize (shirt, head phones, workout gear, nerd stuff). So I have to decide if I really want to 1. use up one of my 3 days for a certain event/drink. 2. If drinking for that day is worth giving up my desired nerd prize.