My battle with food...please help

[RainFantasy]

Hi, everybody! I'm new here to the forum. I've been losing and regaining weight for years and I came here to hopefully get some help with my biggest weight loss issue...my relationship with food. I go through spells where I eat fairly healthy and I even crave healthy foods. I feel like I've turned a corner and maybe I've finally begun a healthy lifestyle I can stick to. I start losing weight and I feel really good about myself. Everything seems to be going well...until I get burned out on what I've been eating and I'm so bored with food that I don't want to eat at all. When this happens, the only foods that appeal to me are the ones I "shouldn't" eat. But I need to eat, so I eat those things anyway and part of me just doesn't care about losing weight for a while because I'm so bored with food and tired of the struggle. So I go through periods (like right now) where those are the only things that really appeal to me and I gain all the weight back, plus some. I feel terrible about myself, hate the way I look, and want to change, but I'm stuck in a vicious cycle that I don't know how to break. Even when I try to vary what I eat, this still happens. My mom has a similar issue and she and I are constantly venting to each other about how frustrated we are.

This issue is my biggest impediment to losing weight and keeping it off. Diets just backfire and aren't sustainable. Reaching out here feels like a long shot, but I don't know what else to do. Can someone please help me figure out how to solve this?

Gratitude in advance. Thanks for reading.

[suzie]

I completely understand what you mean. That's been my main struggle for years. For the last couple of months, I've been working on building a new relationship with food. I've stopped thinking of food in terms of what I should or shouldn't have. Nothing is banned. So what I've started doing is focusing on trying to switch up my portions. I still have lasagna (one of my favorite meals), but I eat a massive salad first to fill me up. I have a huge appetite, so it really has to be a big salad. Then, I have a square of lasagna, not a piece the size of a noodle and a half. It's just over a third of a noodle. A square that size. And I savor it. I pay attention to what I'm eating. Since I ate what I loved and I took the chance to enjoy it, I don't feel deprived. If I'm still hungry, I have more salad or I have a dessert of a bunch of fruit (which is so good now that the weather is getting warmer. I don't think of lasagna as something banned, bad or not allowed. I think of it as the treat part of a larger meal. Same goes for pizza.

Every now and again, like on special holidays or my birthday etc, I just let loose and eat whatever I want in whatever portions. After all, life is worth celebrating. But I know it won't do much harm because the rest of the time, I'm focused on eating nutritious meals within a reasonable calorie limit, still enjoying all my favorites. It's a gradual thing for me. There are times when I still fall back into old habits. But like building a relationship with a person, I'm building a relationship with food. It takes time.

I hope this helps and I wish you (and your mom!) lots of luck. Oh, and I don't just eat salad all the time. I'm just using that as an example. I've learned lots of great recipes (that are easy and fast thank goodness) that I can make as the bulk of my meal so I can add my smaller-portion favorites to my plate.

[legendarytroy]

You're doing good just by knowing what your main problem is, RainFantasy I'd say look at it gradually. Start finding replacement foods, especially for cravings. Also, start each meal with a large soup or large broth-based salad. At least you can cut down on your overall hunger with low-cal, nutritious and filling food. Then you can move on to the rest of your meal but eat less of it because you already filled up. Still eating the foods you love, but with hunger forcing you to eat more less often.

[bonniekins]

Oh my gosh, RainFantasy I'm so sorry you're going through that right now. I go through those waves too. Just got over one in March and am finally back on track again. It feels awful, doesn't it? Like you do so well for a while, only to work against yourself and lose all your progress. It's like you lose all control. Like someone has taken over you no matter how hard you want to reach a goal, it's like you don't have a choice but to eat what you know you shouldn't.
I hope this wave of it gets over really fast. I don't know the solution for it other than to keep trying. I am using a diet pill right now, just a mild one that adds energy and metabolism support. I'm not going to name it because I don't want to sound like I'm selling something. I just wanted to mention that because I've found the added benefits have been really helpful in getting me past the hard parts. I'm hoping it will last. I'm not sure yet because I've only been on this good track since March. I have my fingers crossed.
I'm wishing you all the best and sending my good thoughts your way. You can do this. You'll find the way to do it. Don't give up. I know those phrases are overused, but I really mean them. Keep trying. You've got this.