How do you stay disciplined?

[cuttnback]

I am totally an over indulger, I dont do things by halves, I find it very hard to do anything in moderation. Drinking booze and eating junk I am so greedy and my eyes are insanely bigger than my stomach.

I am eating a clean diet full of vegetables mainly for the health reasons, and I feel much better this way. But after a certain while I get bored and I crave some foods, like hamburgers, hot dogs, beer, pizza. So I try to incorporate some of these foods as a cheat every second week for a night, but I always end up having a binge for a few days until I wake up to myself and my glutenous ways. Most of the time I feel like I am missing out when other people drink or have a burger for dinner etc.

So basically I have no self control and I would like to get some advice on discipline. Go easy please, keep in my mind im being honest about my imperfection ;-)

[titan3585]

I know you said that you have problems with self control but moderation really the key thing. Imo you need to incorporate those things that you like and crave in your diet in moderation and don't over restrict yourself. Also what are your current calories, are you eating enough.

[Kahldris]

why does it have to be a cheat? just fit them into your macros when you get a craving for them.

dont go overboard though

[cuttnback]

well i do that actually but i consider it a cheat in the sense of a break from the strict diet. the diet im on currently is 100% about improving health issues not muscle gains.

yeah im getting enough calories.

the problem is simply i dont have discipline/focus when it comes to moderation.

perhaps there isnt any great science behind it and its simply some people are better at moderation than others.

[anonymous]

this is just my opinion..


but you either gotta work this stuff into your macros.....

OR

pick one day every week or two where you just say feck it and eat what you want and drink as much as you want without getting ot the point of physical sickness.

[cuttnback]

i guess the thing is if i have a weekend binge, is not to get to down about it because if i do that im more likely to get on a downward spiral. so ill try to stick to healthy versions of stuff and if i have a binge i will try to right it off and start again.

beer is really hard to moderate and whats worse is i feel like im missing out when i dont drink. i can go without it for 4 weeks and then cave into a big massive bender that screws not just with my diet but also my mood and mental state. i have considered trying some of those NA beers just for the taste and thirst quench. because often once ive had a few full strengths i find it hard to stop at the few.

i sometimes lose sight of why im trying to better my health and body, i guess i need some kind of easy motivation thats always in my face.

[chevro1et]

Set realistic goals and restrictions or you are simply setting yourself up for failure. Sounds like its definitely more of a psychological issue than anything else. Acquire and read Lyle MacDonald's A Guide to Flexible Dieting. And, HTFU (Harden The F@ck Up).

[SimonThePieman]

The trick I find helps the most is logging. Make a commitment to logging every single thing you eat on myfitnesspal.

1) you get a real time update of your macros
2) you make a strong action /reward connection with your food.
3) you stop eating little things like passed around food in the office because you can't be ****ed to look up a new food

after a while you will start to do the above subconsciously out of habit

[chevro1et]

The trick I find helps the most is logging. Make a commitment to logging every single thing you eat on myfitnesspal.

1) you get a real time update of your macros
2) you make a strong action /reward connection with your food.
3) you stop eating little things like passed around food in the office because you can't be ****ed to look up a new food

after a while you will start to do the above subconsciously out of habit

Read something somewhere about photo logging everything you eat as well, take a picture of everything that goes down your gullet for like 2 weeks, see how that affects your perspective.

[bonkerzzz]

If I eat anything thats junk/dairy I break out in acne, so it's easy staying on track because most of what I eat is bro food appart from a few things now and then. It's kinda useful, but it still sucks.

The easiest thing to do I find is eat a lot of meat and veg or other filling food and then eat whatever else you want. Once you get full it's hard eating even the things you crave most. Eating 500g of chicken breast is more filling than a large pizza IMO, lol.

[ParsonBrown]

The trick I find helps the most is logging. Make a commitment to logging every single thing you eat on myfitnesspal.

1) you get a real time update of your macros
2) you make a strong action /reward connection with your food.
3) you stop eating little things like passed around food in the office because you can't be ****ed to look up a new food

after a while you will start to do the above subconsciously out of habit

Awesome advice...this is what I do as well. I am less than 100 days away from a full year of logging into MFP everyday. It's a habit now and I am not inconvenienced at all with it. Repped!

[HILMAN76]

How I have been staying disciplined:

I look at all the success threads here, especially the ^^Former 300+lb Crew^^ thread in the Losing fat section.
I'm on a cardio and calorie deficit diet at the moment, I will be hitting the weights after soon as I'm gathering all the info I can and inspiration lurking on this forum.

There Is a lot of inspirational and motivating folks here, I thank all you for the moral boost.

[370zzzz]

if you have no self control the key is to never indulge in the first place. sounds too strict right? it's gotta be that way if you want to change; some people do not do well with cheat days because of their inability to restrain themselves from going overboard. i recommend not buying bad foods in the first place. i used to buy a pack of oreos for my "scheduled cheat". I'd plan to eat like 3 of them but guess what happened? I'd eat the entire pack! My body would crave them like it was crack and I couldn't stop.

so now i don't ever buy oreos and when i do cheat, I fit foods I know I'm not going to over-indulge on into my macros.

also, i know you say you are doing your diet for health reasons, but consider trying to transform your body. i cutting diet that gets you a shredded beach body or adding mass in the gym will motivate you. seeing your body change and grow is extremely motivating and the next time you are contemplating eating crap, it will be harder to do knowing it will set back the progress you've worked so hard for.

[FenderElectrics]

At the end of the day it's up to you to just do it. Convince yourself that your goals long term are much much more important than a short term indulgence. Your long term goals are accomplished one day at a time, keep them in mind as you go through each day and it will make it easier to make the right decisions.

Also like others have said - fit things you love into your diet every day. Don't tempt yourself by making a whole frozen pizza and then trying to eat one slice. If you want to fit in a slice of pizza - buy one slice from the grocery store and it eat elsewhere.

[FitnessCPA]

You are trying to be 100% strict. If you do that, you're bound to blow it.

Fit the burger into your macros once or twice a week.

If you want to have higher calories once or twice a week (I do this), then eat slightly lower calories the other days.

I shoot for 2,900-3,000 per day, but on the weekends I eat about 4,000 per day with fewer fruits and vegetables, so on the five weekdays, I eat around 2,500-2,600 per day, with a lot of fruits and vegetables. This way I don't have to feel bad on the weekends when I eat 2,000 calories of pizza in one sitting or a burger, fries, and some ice cream in another, because I still have a couple thousand calories to play with to fill out the rest of the day. I also don't have to be the guy who eats salad and chicken at the family party when everyone else is eating fried chicken, beef sandwiches, and lasagna.

Just my method. Do whatever allows you to hit your micros and stay within your macros.

[BicycleRider192]

I always use 'stimulants' when I'm drinking.

Calories out> calories in. Nomsaying.

[cuttnback]

thanks all. ive decided to keep the bad stuff out of the pantry and just visit the burger shop which is so far away its painful to get to but will pass it once a week for a fix. actually the burger isnt so bad as its easy to fit into my macros. its that darn beer. ive tried low carb beer. it makes no difference as the problem is its too easy to go overboard once ive have had a few, its the alcohol buzz. then the junk of top of it once i get that empty gut feeling at the end of the night.

im just going to have to suck it up try as hard as i can to leave it alone.

[ziesha001]

i m fully determined towards my goals and motives.

[RCdelta62]

I have been cutting for 2 weeks and have stuck to my plan everyday. I think it helps that I have a friend cutting too so that keeps me motivated.