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betterandbetter
New Member
| Joined: | 3 Sep 2011 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: 4 Sep 2011 11:31 am |
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My question is this: what do you do in the heat of the moment when you are just dying for a bite of chocolate or something that you know perfectly well is not good for you? What can you do to mentally strengthen your defense from the internal glutton?
My problem isn't that I eat garbage. I am a gourmet glutton which I think may be harder to cure. I have no interest in Cheetos or McSuicide. I love good wine, very fine cheeses, beautiful cuts of meats, fresh seasonal produce. I would rather eat nothing than eat unhealthy garbage. I think of fat people spilling out of their cheap skin tight clothes at Walmart, piling their carts full of white bread and cheese slices and canned spaghetti, and it repulses me. I don't see myself as that type of fatty.
I used to think there was nothing more I could learn about diets bc I'm not a stupid person, rather I just don't seem to put into practise what I intellectually know. Now I'm beginning to wonder if I really know anything at all.
I have an inkling my problem has to do with how I eat. I am a private chef and I am so busy preparing food for my clients, that the first time I actually eat a meal myself is about 3pm. When I am preparing food for them, I will have a bite or two of fruit to ensure it is at its optimum best, but that is about it. Or if I make my client a protein smoothie I will double the portion so I drink one too. They eat very healthily, and refuse to eat anything rich or fatty & are extremely health conscious. I am actually seeing their good behaviour and I compare it to my own habits.
The other thing is by the time I finish making whatever I make for them, the last thing I want to do is eat. I am sick of looking at whatever I have just made, and have zero inclination to eat myself. I'm just tired by that point, and then when I get home the last thing I feel like doing is cooking again. I have used my creativity and zest for what I do, almost like thete is a daily limit on it and at the end of the day the bank account says zero.
I find that I will put together a meal for my family and myself, but half an hour later I am dying for something sweet, or a bowl of cereal, or some other carby confection for an energy buzz, and I think that is where I get into more trouble.
What does a person need to do to train themselves mentally to get out of this habit? Can you give me some advice, J?
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 4 Sep 2011 12:22 pm |
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betterandbetter wrote:
what do you do in the heat of the moment when you are just dying for a bite of chocolate [..] My problem isn't that I eat garbage.
Just for the purpose of clarification, when you do get hold of this high-quality gourmet junk item that you crave (say chocolate) do you just eat a single square and are satisfied?
I used to be the kind of person who did not have a half-eaten tub of ice-cream, packet of cookies or box of chocolates. If I opened it, I'd get to the very bottom of it too. Eating the first one would make me more likely to want the next and the next.
It does not sound as though you are like that but I thought I would ask anyhow whether you are a packet-finisher, plate-cleaner etc.
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betterandbetter
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Posted: 4 Sep 2011 12:42 pm |
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No, I am not a whole package eater. There's no way I could ever do that- it's bad enough feeling like a pig for having one or two.
If I want chocolate, typically I will buy something good, and will eat it till I am satisfied. I find that buying decent chocolate means you are satisfied with less bc the quality is better. You are actually tasting the chocolate instead of just sugar and wax and chemicals put into it to bulk it up. Its pretty easy to eat a Snickers bar in one go, its harder to eat something that is like a Lindt dark chocolate bar, if that makes sense.
I will admit to having bulimia as a late teenager/early 20s. But I was never one of these bulimics who would eat pints of ice cream and cookies and 2 pizzas. I would maybe eat something like a large chinese food supper, and then feel awful and guilty and then tnrow up out of the fear of gaining weight.
I was a fat kid growing up who thinned out as I got taller and then was fine until about my mid 20's. I began to gain weight seemingly overnight with no real reason why at first. Then as 10 years went by, I am now the fattest I have ever been in my life. It kills me to admit I am 200. I am so disgusted and angry at myself and ashamed. I am letting my life pass me by, bc I feel so awful, I don't even want to be seen out in public. I dread running into anyone I might have known 10 years ago- they would not recognise me. I've got to get it together.
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betterandbetter
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Posted: 4 Sep 2011 12:45 pm |
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| (And I do get what you have just said- good chocolate or cheap chocolate... Of course it's all junk food at the end of the day. Everybody knows that.)
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 4 Sep 2011 01:11 pm |
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Can you be cured of bulimia or can you just be 'in recovery'? Certainly it shows you have the capacity for disordered eating. Now is that the same as the common-o-garden gluttony JSABD says the majority of the overweight/obese suffer from?
That is at the core here. If you're a "regular glutton" then JSABD's approach may help. If not then you may need Overeaters Anonymous or some other kind of ED intervention.
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Tankgirl
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| Joined: | 1 Jul 2011 |
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Posted: 4 Sep 2011 01:49 pm |
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You mentioned you make protein shakes...but it doesn't sound like you enjoy them very much. They could be an easy way of meeting your wish for something sweet.
I don't know what your opinion of splenda is, but if You're OK with it, you can buy syrups like Da Vinci to add in and make a protein shake more of a dessert. I have one of those every day with instant coffee added in (you would probbably use a shot of espresso but I'm usually in a hurry when I'm throwing it together) German chocolate cake flavored syrup or chocolate macadamia nut are really tasty that way.
What do I do? I remind myself that if I eat that piece of cake, I'm going to feel ill from the sugar spike and crash. I'm not used to sugar any more so it feels awful. Then I plan out what I'm going to do with my Greek yogurt. Trader Joe's sells a low-fat version that has 160 calories for a whole cup. To me it tastes better than ice cream and I feel like I've had a meal afterwards.
Almost forgot - Cocoa nibs! They have 130 calories for an ounce and I think they taste amazing. And they pack a lot better chocolate buzz since they're pure cocoa!Last edited on 4 Sep 2011 01:51 pm by Tankgirl
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JSABD
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 4 Sep 2011 01:54 pm |
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betterandbetter wrote: My question is this: what do you do in the heat of the moment when you are just dying for a bite of chocolate or something that you know perfectly well is not good for you? What can you do to mentally strengthen your defense from the internal glutton?
Great question! Hunger is an urge not a command. Keep that in mind. You are not powerless over food.
Hunger is powerful and if you are fat you are hungrier for physical and psycho-neurological reasons.
When people attempt to lose weight they fight the battle of the bulge. They decalre war on fat. Fat is not the enemy. The enemy is the behaviors, attitude and a brain that crave the pleasures of food. Changing that takes time and the right methods.
My problem isn't that I eat garbage. I am a gourmet glutton which I think may be harder to cure. I have no interest in Cheetos or McSuicide. I love good wine, very fine cheeses, beautiful cuts of meats, fresh seasonal produce. I would rather eat nothing than eat unhealthy garbage. I think of fat people spilling out of their cheap skin tight clothes at Walmart, piling their carts full of white bread and cheese slices and canned spaghetti, and it repulses me. I don't see myself as that type of fatty.
x
Great question! Hunger is an urge not a command. Keep that in mind. You are not powerless over food.
Hunger is powerful and if you are fat you are hungrier for physical and psycho-neurological reasons.
When people attempt to lose weight they fight the battle of the bulge. They decalre war on fat. Fat is not the enemy. The enemy is the behaviors, attitude and a brain that crave the pleasures of food. Changing that takes time and the right methods.
I used to think there was nothing more I could learn about diets bc I'm not a stupid person, rather I just don't seem to put into practise what I intellectually know. Now I'm beginning to wonder if I really know anything at all.
That is your fattitude sabotaging you. You are taking a simple concept of eat less/move more and getting it so twisted that you lose. Your fattitude is keeping you fat. I don't think anything I say will cause you to have an epiphany and suddenly get your head on straight. This is a process. Losing the fattitude is much tougher than losing the weight. It take time. You need to retrain your brain. Dietary reform goes a long way in retaining your brain but there is a step before that. You need to know that there are no valid reasons for why you can't do this. Try thinking for reasons for why you can't calculate your BMI, design 6 healthy meals that total your BMI and then eat them. When your rational mind sees that there is nothing that can cause failure you will be in a much stronger position to reform.
You need to tell yourself this: SHUT UP AND STAY ON YOUR DIET!
I have an inkling my problem has to do with how I eat.
I have more than inkling that's your problem. It is your problem.
I am a private chef and I am so busy preparing food for my clients, that the first time I actually eat a meal myself is about 3pm. When I am preparing food for them, I will have a bite or two of fruit to ensure it is at its optimum best, but that is about it. Or if I make my client a protein smoothie I will double the portion so I drink one too. They eat very healthily, and refuse to eat anything rich or fatty & are extremely health conscious. I am actually seeing their good behaviour and I compare it to my own habits.
One of my team members is a guy called the Chef. Perhaps he will show up here some day. The Chef will tell you many things as he has a degree in culinary nutrition from Johnson and Wales. Obesity is an occupational hazard of "cheffin". Look how fat Mario and and Emeril have gotten over the years. When people go to wine tastings they spit. You need to get educated on nutrition. Caloric poisoning is as bad as tainted meat.
The other thing is by the time I finish making whatever I make for them, the last thing I want to do is eat. I am sick of looking at whatever I have just made, and have zero inclination to eat myself. I'm just tired by that point, and then when I get home the last thing I feel like doing is cooking again. I have used my creativity and zest for what I do, almost like thete is a daily limit on it and at the end of the day the bank account says zero.
One of my team members is a guy called the Chef. Perhaps he will show up here some day. The Chef will tell you many things as he has a degree in culinary nutrition from Johnson and Wales. Obesity is an occupational hazard of "cheffin". Look how fat Mario and and Emeril have gotten over the years. When people go to wine tastings they spit. You need to get educated on nutrition. Caloric poisoning is as bad as tainted meat.
I find that I will put together a meal for my family and myself, but half an hour later I am dying for something sweet, or a bowl of cereal, or some other carby confection for an energy buzz, and I think that is where I get into more trouble.
You need to ride that out until things adjust. When you lose weight you blood sugar will stabilize. You have hypo glycemia. A teaspoon of table sugar has 16 calories. Put some in your tea or coffee after a meal.
Let's look at your language; "I am dying for something sweet". To your unconscious mind dying mean dying. The truth is you are carving something sweet and not dying.
What does a person need to do to train themselves mentally to get out of this habit? Can you give me some advice, J?
Training is a good way of putting it. I think some of my advice will help you. Cut down gradually and eat more often 6 meals a day. Plan your meals based on nutritional requirement and adhere strictly to the plan.
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Smarty
Senior Member
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Posted: 12 Sep 2011 01:34 pm |
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betterandbetter wrote: My problem isn't that I eat garbage. I am a gourmet glutton which I think may be harder to cure. I have no interest in Cheetos or McSuicide. I love good wine, very fine cheeses, beautiful cuts of meats...
That sounds like my husbands low-carb diet. He was an overeater. I read Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It" and I put him on a low carb, atkins-type diet. He loves it and has lost 30 pounds so far. He accepted it as a lifestyle and is happy with it. You may want to try it too.
He still has wine, cheese, and steaks and some vegetables.
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Tankgirl
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 1 Jul 2011 |
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| Posts: | 538 |
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Posted: 12 Sep 2011 01:52 pm |
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gourmet glutton - I like that too. But I only raised my standards as I lost the weight. Since eating high quality meats , cheeses, dairy and veg is helping the pounds come off, I'd think of it more as "caloric elitist"  Last edited on 12 Sep 2011 01:58 pm by Tankgirl
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JSABD
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 13 Sep 2011 01:44 am |
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Smarty wrote:
betterandbetter wrote: My problem isn't that I eat garbage. I am a gourmet glutton which I think may be harder to cure. I have no interest in Cheetos or McSuicide. I love good wine, very fine cheeses, beautiful cuts of meats...
?é?á
That sounds like my husbands low-carb diet.?é?á He was an overeater.?é?á I read Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It" and I put him on a low carb, atkins-type diet.?é?á He loves it and has lost 30 pounds so far.?é?á He accepted it as a lifestyle and is happy with it.?é?á You may want to try it too.
He still has wine, cheese, and steaks and some vegetables.
Humans did not evolve to eat an Atkins diet. The initial weight loss on LC diets is fast but then the digestive system adapts to digesting all that fat and protein and the kidneys and liver cry for mercy.
Low Carb has been around for nearly 50 years and it didn't work then and it doesn't work now. Atkins is a nightmare of a diet.
http://atkinsexposed.org/
Anyone thinking of trying that low carb nonsense please click the above link.
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JSABD
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 13 Sep 2011 02:41 am |
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Nir wrote:
Can you be cured of bulimia or can you just be 'in recovery'? Certainly it shows you have the capacity for disordered eating. Now is that the same as the common-o-garden gluttony JSABD says the majority of the overweight/obese suffer from?
That is at the core here. If you're a "regular glutton" then JSABD's approach may help. If not then you may need Overeaters Anonymous or some other kind of ED intervention.
IMO and based on my research EDs are rare. Anorexia Nervosa is a real ED in that it is genetic and not self-induced. Bulimia is chosen behavior until it eventually more like a habit. Some bulimics have an unresolved free floating anxiety or fear. Others are gluttons who puke so they can eat again like the decadent people in ancient Rome. There are others who really do look in a mirror and see a fat person staring back just as there are gym rats who are big and see a skinny runt when they look in the mirror. It's ego and irrationality.
I am working with a very intractable glutton who is also a heavy smoker. He's working on his 5th heart attack. In his case the smoking is as bad as the morbid obesity. Here's the problem. Fixing the smoking is easy. He has options:
Nicotine replacement: Gum of the patch.
Chantix: A prescription drug with some serious side effects
Manning up and quitting
Electronic cigarettes. They deliver the nicotine without the toxins.
This guy won't stop smoking. This is an example of how irrational, hedonistic, egoistic, selfish, thoughtless and weak fatlings can can be.
This guy is not rare. You all know some fat slob who eats like a pig and smokes like a chimney. As a rational person it can be mind boggling when you apply simple basic logic in an attempt to understand them. The only way to reform these people is to confront them with logic.
I can't confront all of you fat asses with logic and reason and work my magic but here is the next best thing. Let's get really specific. Technically speaking fatlings don't "over eat". In the most specific terms they chroniclly over fuel.
Ask yourself for a rational reason for why you over fuel and why you can't eat the correct amount of calories and obtain them from healthy sources.
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Tankgirl
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| Joined: | 1 Jul 2011 |
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Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:02 am |
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Not every low carb diet is Atkins. As much help as it provided in the beginning, it allows for too many modified versions of junk food. I'll admit I occasionally use the products in a pinch, like travel, long rides, or as emergency desk food, but it's not something to live on.
What's working for me now is Primal Blueprint.It's summer, so I'm eating a fairly massive amount a vegetables,especially since I found out how good cucumber/spinach/berry smoothies are. And by that I mean good for my skin, the change has been amazing!  Of course it helps when you have generous friends with free produce, not to mention blackberries in every vacant lot in town. 
It'ts not likely I'd ever be a vegetarian. Soy messes up my hormones if I overdo it, and I dislike convenience foods. Left to my own resources, I think I'd be a menace to the local Canada geese...just as soon as I figure out this wrist rocket.
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JSABD
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:55 am |
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Tankgirl wrote:
Not every low carb diet is Atkins. As much help as it provided in the beginning, it allows for too many modified versions of junk food. I'll admit I occasionally use the products in a pinch, like travel, long rides, or as emergency desk food, but it's not something to live on.
What's working for me now is Primal Blueprint.It's summer, so I'm eating a fairly massive amount a vegetables,especially since I found out how good cucumber/spinach/berry smoothies are. And by that I mean good for my skin, the change has been amazing! Of course it helps when you have generous friends with free produce, not to mention blackberries in every vacant lot in town.
It'ts not likely I'd ever be a vegetarian. Soy messes up my hormones if I overdo it, and I dislike convenience foods. Left to my own resources, I think I'd be a menace to the local Canada geese...just as soon as I figure out this wrist rocket.
I don't think a wrist rocket will kill s goose unless you hit it in the head. Also geese mate for life. There os nothing sadder that a goose looking for its lost mate.
Soy is some bad stuff. The only soy safe to eat is fermented soy. The other kind is poison.
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Tankgirl
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 1 Jul 2011 |
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Posted: 13 Sep 2011 04:08 am |
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| OK, goose is out but that frackin' pheasant has it coming. The thing attacked me, and then recognized me coming home later the same day. Other than that, quails are too cute to hurt, and nutria.....ewwww it would have to be post-apocalyptic to go after those things!
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JSABD
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:03 pm |
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Wild game is much healthier than corporate meat.
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Tankgirl
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 1 Jul 2011 |
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Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:11 pm |
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| Theres a quite a few grass-fed cattle/ buffalo ranches up here, so it's one thing I take advantage of when I have the money. Even domestic breeds like Texas longhorns have pretty much the same omega 3 and fat/cholesterol numbers as wild game if grass-fed, which puts it lower in the bad fats than chicken and as much omega 3 as salmon.
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JSABD
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 16 Sep 2011 01:57 am |
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Organic eggs are much better than corporate eggs.
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MichelleP
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| Joined: | 25 Mar 2009 |
| Location: | Ohio USA |
| Posts: | 717 |
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Posted: 24 Sep 2011 03:14 pm |
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Tankgirl wrote: Not every low carb diet is Atkins. As much help as it provided in the beginning, it allows for too many modified versions of junk food. I'll admit I occasionally use the products in a pinch, like travel, long rides, or as emergency desk food, but it's not something to live on.
What's working for me now is Primal Blueprint.It's summer, so I'm eating a fairly massive amount a vegetables,especially since I found out how good cucumber/spinach/berry smoothies are. And by that I mean good for my skin, the change has been amazing! Of course it helps when you have generous friends with free produce, not to mention blackberries in every vacant lot in town.
It'ts not likely I'd ever be a vegetarian. Soy messes up my hormones if I overdo it, and I dislike convenience foods. Left to my own resources, I think I'd be a menace .to the local Canada geese...just as soon as I figure out this wrist rocket.
@Tankwoman - You mentioned Primal Blueprint awhile back which prompted me to put in a reserve for the book at my local library. I just picked it up yesterday and am enjoying it as well as learning some new things. Just wanted to say thank you for bringing this to my attention as I feel it will help me. Thanks!
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Tankgirl
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Posted: 24 Sep 2011 03:34 pm |
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| No problem. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ is the author's blog and there's some lively discussion in the comments section.
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