Problem With Overeating And Junk Food

[jryankennedy]

Hello all,

I'm 22, about to graduate college and have gained 50 lbs. over the past 4 years. I eat horribly, and it has become a serious problem. Not only what I eat, but how much I consume. I'm ready to make a lifestyle change.

My question for you — I crave sugar every day, I get aggravated if I haven't had some junk food, and I know it is destroying my body. How can I curb those cavings? How can I feel full, without stuffing my face with everything I get my hands on?

Also, any tips with a beginner workout program? I do have a membership to a 24hr gym.

Thanks!

[EjnarKolinkar]

It takes practice. Move in the direction of eating to your goals step by step.

Step one read the sticky topics in this forum. Those threads have a lot of good info on how to make progress on eating well.

workout program:

Stronglifts 5x5 or Bill Starr 5x5

[cls91]

^ What he said.


To add, start looking for simple substitutions in your diet. Look up the caloric content of the foods you normally consume, and look up lower calorie alternatives. Start preparing more meals yourself instead of eating out often. Whole foods > processed foods.

Fruits and veggies are great to help curb appetite and provide a nutritious something to snack on throughout the day. Find ones that you like, start eating them, and slowly start incorporating more variety into your diet. Protein tends to be satiating so things like meat, eggs, greek yogurt, etc. can help keep you full for longer. Fats as well, but you have to be careful with those because of how calorically dense they are... not that they're bad in any way, it's just easier to overdo it eating high fat foods.


If you try and create a brand new diet from scratch, it's likely that you won't adhere to it. Make small, gradual changes for the better, and soon enough you'll look and feel better.

[magician27]

eat more vegetables , more fiber, dont buy junk, dont keep any at home.

[PerthShane]

Everyone says the usual "eat healthier," but I understand, it's not that easy when you've got a problem

The thing you need to do is actually understand your body's cravings and substitute the junk with an alternative. There is a good chart available that will help you understand. Jump on google and do an images search for "stepintomygreenworld food cravings chart" and you'll find your golden ticket. It will help with your sugar cravings and such. The biggest thing you'll want to do is learn how to cook some good food. Grab some of Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals to get you going. Stick to the simple stuff. It might not be "body builder healthy" but it will be a damn sight better than a Big Mac.

And remember, eating a lot isn't a bad thing. Eating a lot of crap is.

[AFC96]

eat more vegetables , more fiber, dont buy junk, dont keep any at home.

Bolded is really important if your will power is low, like me.

If i stocked some cereals,cookies and stuff like that, i would always make an excuse to eat it. So i stopped buying cereals, and everyday i have a lot of calories to spare(around 800-1k). Usually i eat Mcdonalds or some chocolate bar, i think this way its better rather than stocking up "snacks" at home. Its better for me anyways.

[sissylau]

I have sweet tooth and used to have minor binge issue. I find Fiber One Bars (love the oat & chocolate flavor) helped me a great deal. I know it's processed and still contain sugar blah blah but I find the fiber in it, helps with satiety.

When I'm feeling full and satisfied, I wont binge and this dont require me to completely get rid of chocolate.

Other than that, I I keep my carb sources as bro as possible (sweet potatoes, beans, corn, ezekiel bread), These helps me feel full. cuz I'm on poverty carbs right now, satiety is a huge issue for me.

[tonyl96]

It takes will power, stop eating junk food, give it to your friends and throw it out asap. Do not finish it.

Get used to and you will succeed, I have a sweet tooth also man, 1 slice of cake and the sugar craving I get is ridiculous I can eat the whole thing then a pint of ice cream!

I've learned to resist it, and fit sweet things into my macros. Today I had 4 rice cakes with 1 tbsp of nutella on each!! I want more, but I've learned to curb the cravings by having the will power to get ripped.

[jryankennedy]

Thanks guys, this helps a lot!

[Domicron]

if your goal is to bench 350 pounds, are you going to just stack that weight and push until you get 350? no and the same goes for kicking a habit, or anything else worth doing: you're going to start a little bit at a time. each day, you want to eat less, each week you want to eat less, etc.

i promise as you stop eating it, you'll stop getting as irritable when you don't have it. don't feel guilty or bad when you eat sweets, savor them. a coke with a burger, a slice of cheesecake or something sweet is supposed to be eaten in moderation and enjoyed. so when you eat them, take your time, enjoy it, and then spend the rest of your time not eating them.

when i stopped drinking soda, i told myself that i had to drink a full glass of water before i'm allowed to drink soda at the restaurant (where i work it's free; dangerous). stupid little games like this can help you quit, sometimes. other times its just about you and your willpower

[Connor1226]

One thing I have learned from my own journey, watching others go through theirs, and trying to help people with theirs, is that we are all different and need to go through our own process to get where we want to be. So, I won't lecture, but just share what I have done, and you decide what to do with it.

I've gained and lost a lot over the past 10 years. I'm 23, and lost about a total of 60lbs and kept it off.
I think I've learned the most about diet weight loss in the past year, even though I've had most of that weight off for well before then.

I've basically just made incremental changes. I started with stopping all sodas (I never drank regular *ICK* but I drink a huge amount of diet every day) and I stopped snacking at night. After a couple weeks I'd go to making other changes. For example lower fat cheeses, reduced fat sour cream, low fat ice cream, brown instead of white rice, etc. Which now looking back I don't think was a good health move, but it helped me cut back on cals without sacrificing volume. Then I added 30 minutes of exercise per day. Then went to cutting back portions and so on and so fourth.
Every few weeks I'd make a new change. Took me a couple years to lose, but I did it. And actually I'm glad I took a while to lose it because I think it's necessary to take breaks from a diet after losing a good chunk of weight. Your body gets tired of constantly being in deprivation.

I started this year with the goal to cut out artificial sweeteners. I have been consuming massive amounts of them since I was probably 3-4 years old. I wanted to give em up for a bit and just see how things went. It was really to indulge a friend of mine because she dared me to.
Couldn't have made a better choice. As much as I didn't agree with claims that AS caused cravings and over eating (I lost weight consuming them) I did once I got off of them for a consistent several months.
Another thing I did was make it a point to really avoid processed foods. That change cannot happen over night and I'm still not where I want to be with it, but I make changes slowly over time. Those two things I personally think have made the largest difference in my health. Wish I did them a while ago.
It is really hard to get fat when not eating processed foods. I'm eating a TON now to try to gain muscle mass. I'm at 3,000 calories a day at 142lbs and 5'9''. It is hard to get that much whole food in. If I was eating a good volume of processed foods not only would I likely be one sick guy but I'd be consuming well around 4,000-5,000 calories per day and getting fat.

On sugar, don't stop all at once. Sugar is addictive and going cold turkey, unless you have the dedication and determination, may not be the best option. I have the commitment to stop something and make it through, not everyone does. So if you don't, don't do that lol. It just makes your miserable and you'll end up going back. You want to make changes you can maintain over time.
So I'd say, pick a couple things, or one big thing you want to change. Make that change, give it some time, then pick another thing to change. Makes things a lot easier and manageable.

You will need to treat the junk food habit for what it is, an addiction. So I wouldn't think that healthier foods like an apple is going to curb your desire for a soda. Just not going to happen. That change will take your body a lot of adjustment. I get satisfaction from an apple that others can from ice cream. That took years LOL. It isn't going to happen for you now. (Disclaimer: don't misunderstand me, I love ice cream haha)
If sugar is your problem I'd pick a one or two things that contribute mot to your sugar intake and cut them.

Also understand, this isn't easy. It never will be. And the process almost gets harder with time. Because you will see more and more of the things you enjoy going away. And your lifestyle will change. You won't find yourself going out as much and many of your favorite foods will either be no longer consumed or limited heavily. Which with time will actually become a good thing, but it takes time to feel that way.
So accept the fact that this is hard and just get over it. Nothing worth doing is easy.

I think trying to slowly get rid of the processed foods is the route I should have gone years ago, and would have made things easier. So if I could toss out any suggestion it would be that. Whole foods have way more volume and less calories. So they make weight loss easier for that reason. Plus I'd argue a potato and butter isn't going to cause addictive responses in the brain like a Doritos. Thus helping with the weight loss in that way as well.
I feel like even when consuming them in "moderation", they were effecting me mentally and physically in a way that led me to eat more calories and crave unhealthy foods. And by moderation I mean in portions that I could fit into my regular diet. I still consume those things in moderation, it is just that term has a different meaning that it used to. Moderation is consuming oreos at a party here and there. Not eating just 3 every other night because it fits my cals.

Good luck with everything.
There are tons of people on here that are willing to help or just sit and listen to your vent if you ever need it lol.

[Mrpb]

There's not wrong with "junk food" unless it contains industrial trans fats. Just make it fit your macros AND micros.

[JoeyR93]

I had the same problem. You just have to keep reminding yourself that eating crap will only make you happy short term and very unhappy in the long run. As for the cravings I found drinking more water and black coffee helped. Good luck!

[realdurtysouth]

There's not wrong with "junk food" unless it contains industrial trans fats. Just make it fit your macros AND micros.

I can't agree with you. Junk food is not very satiating per calorie, which makes it difficult to fit into a rational non-obesity leading diet in any sizeable proportions unless you want to feel hungry the whole time.

[Mrpb]

I can't agree with you. Junk food is not very satiating per calorie, which makes it difficult to fit into a rational non-obesity leading diet in any sizeable proportions unless you want to feel hungry the whole time.

Keep in mind that if you compose a diet that reaches macro AND micro nutrient sufficiency it's not going to be that much "junk food".

I have no problems staying in my calories even while cutting, even though I often eat foods that some may call junk food: ice cream, brownies, chocolate pie, pizza.

And I'm not the only one.

[Connor1226]

I can't agree with you. Junk food is not very satiating per calorie, which makes it difficult to fit into a rational non-obesity leading diet in any sizeable proportions unless you want to feel hungry the whole time.

I have to agree that I disagree.
By now I would think that many of us have learned that just because something is allowed in food, doesn't mean it is safe or healthy. The US tends to regulate on the back-end of these things. They allow a lot of things in our food without really have taken the time to thoroughly test them to ensure their safety. I mean heck the FDA even has a list of foods "generally recognized as safe".
So there are a lot of potentially harmful things in some of our foods. Trans fats are not the only harmful things. And trans fats are a perfect example of something we have allowed in our food but later find out it's pretty bad.
So I think to have this idea that we should recklessly eat just because it fits our calories is contributing to a consistent problem with poor nutritional habits and awareness.
Come on, we all really think every food dye, additive, preservative, and filler is really healthy for us?
They have proven sodium nitrates to be a carcinogen. They just cannot ban them because it's difficult to find anything else to effectively kill bacteria in certain foods. Thus it is the lesser of two evils to allow them.
So are sodium nitrates not something we should be conscious about just because foods containing them may not have trans fats?

The jury and research is still out on certain foods being 100% safe to consume. So I think it is better to exercise moderation when it comes to all these things rather than just worry about trans fats.

We should learn from past mistakes, not continue to make them. That doesn't mean we should live in fear of certain foods. It does however mean that it is silly to think we can eat what ever we want as as long as it fits our macros we will be healthy.

I also want to say that just because someone loses body fat on McDonalds and looks like a beast doesn't mean they are in good health or have proven anything about the quality of fast food. 30 days isn't enough to understand long term health ramifications of such foods (obviously).
And finally, would love to point out that Chipotle is not akin to McDonalds or many "junk foods". They buy better quality meats and produce than what most people buy for themselves at home. The only time I hear people placing that restaurant in the junk/fast food box is when they are arguing for "junk food".
If McDonalds produced the quality of Chipotle I wouldn't boycott it lol. So lets not put them in the same pool.

[SuffolkPunch]

Although you can fit sweet or highly flavoured "junk" foods in your diet, I always avoid doing so when cutting because it acts like a trigger to appetite for me. I was not that hungry before eating it but suddenly I want to eat everything in sight. Just go cold turkey if this is the case for you (cold turkey is a good source of protein BTW)