I've been doing pretty well with the healthy eating thing and the no pop. Yet recently I've been eating a ton of junk food and it feels kind of like a binge, as if I where trying to suppress my body from it's needs. Last night, I went to the store to get halls, lemon juice and some tea for my cold and I ended up buying junk and for the first time in 3 weeks, pop. It was like this snap decision "Well, one pop won't hurt" and looking back it was like I just didn't care if I gained any more weight. Instead of buying a can like I should've, I foolishly bought a bottle. I didn't drink it all but I can't help but wonder why I can't stop myself from doing these things. I really do want to lose weight. I've been working really hard in my sports and I'm planning on walking around my neighborhood during the spring/summer/fall just to stay in shape. I just wish I could stop 1. Eating so much and 2. Eating junk food.
I read that on a psychological level, being overweight is related to fear or/and hidden anger and resistance to forgive; the layer of fat works as some kind of a protection.
First, you need to figure out why you're craving food. Are you an emotional eater? That is, do you eat to hide your feelings or make yourself feel better? Do you eat because you're genuinely hungry, but end up binging when you start? Do you eat because you're bored? I've done all of these at various times in my life. Soda and junk food was my favorite way to make myself feel better when I was an emotional eater. If that's the reason, resolving your issues will make that go away, but that's something that takes time and possibly a therapist. In the short term, while working on my issues, I personally kept myself in check by counting calories and giving myself one day a week where I'm allowed to eat whatever I want. I still count the calories, but I'm allowed to go way beyond what my body burns. That both functions to keep me interested in eating healthy, because I don't feel restricted, and keeps my metabolism from becoming slower from having to do less work. I still eat like this despite having resolved my issues, it just kind of stuck. Today is my yummy day and I'm going to have pizza! Calorie counting isn't for everyone, it will take a year or so before it becomes second nature, and it's more complicated than just calories in, calories out. If you're looking for something slightly simpler you could look up Intuitive Eating. Food cravings are very complicated, and aren't easy to just stop. One thing that might work if your food cravings are more boredom related is green tea. Drink a cup of green tea when you feel like having something. Another is to always keep apples (or another fruit you like, but isn't chock-full of sugar) around the house and ask yourself whether you would like to have an apple when you start feeling yourself craving food. If you don't want the apple, chances are you're not truly hungry and you're wanting to eat for another reason. This won't stop the cravings, but it will alert you to when you're not really hungry. OK, so that was #1, eating too much; #2, eating junk food is also related to the above, but it also deserves some attention of its own. Junk food is very tempting to me, because it temporarily makes me feel good, but it's not very different from any other unhealthy habit that makes you feel good but really hurts you. It's also equally difficult to stop. You really need to resolve the emotional issues here again, if that's the reason you eat it (to feel better). If you're eating junk food because you hate cooking, you could try setting one day a week where you cook for the entire week and freeze the food you've made. You can even cook much more in a day if you really want to. I happen to like cooking so this wasn't an issue for me, but I still sometimes make a lot of servings of some recipes if I really like them. If you're eating junk food because it's less expensive and you can't afford healthy food, then that's a problem I don't really have an answer for. It is unfortunately the case for some people who are very poor. I hope at least some of this was useful, and feel free to message me on my wall if you want to talk about eating healthy (or anything else really). You'll find something that works for you eventually, but you might have to try a few different things first. I just about tried them all before finding out what worked for me. :lol: ETA: paris, that's an extreme oversimplification of the reason people are overweight. It is definitely one potential reason, but then there's everything else ranging from side-effects from medication to sugar addiction.
I totally agree with the post above and I could be psychological but it also could your body attempting to get its need. From what I understand you are on a diet, and have recently fallin ill. It could be your body trying to get you eat something that will get the nutrient it most desires in the food it commonly comsumes that has it. If you find yourself craving stuff like potato chips or candy it's after carbs ( sugar ) so eat an apple or something healthy with carbs for example. Same with protein, sodium, fat, etc. Just watch you are craving and match it with something healthy. When I started my diet to give up soda years ago every time i would crave it I would drink water because I knew it was my body wanting some liquid.
Whenever I get those cravings, I drink a cup or two of water. That really fills me up. Fruit is a great idea, but mix it with peanut butter(protein). Fiber, protein, and water really fills you up. Plus, if your craving something sweet and salty, there's your solution! Lol I never seem to know which I'm craving. Psychologically, I tell myself that I "Don't eat that"(object of my temptation) instead of "I can't eat that". The latter sounds like an excuse, the former is more empowering and reinforces the food as being out of bounds. Or do anything that distracts you. I'll jog in place.
