WILL POWER?

[MandyJ 21]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if you can relate to my constant struggle with will power & how you find will power & stick to it when you have never known it your whole life!? I have trouble daily with food choices! I have lost approx 27pounds in 9months!!! Help.....suggestions please, I weak!

[MandaMom23 684]

I'll be honest and say I struggle with willpower nearly everyday...somedays more than others. The one thing that has really helped me is recording my food, and keeping myself accountable. Following the Protein first rule helps a TON as well! During meals, it's always Protein first!! Protein will keep you feeling satisfied. Also, always having healthy Snacks on hand is a must for me!! I keep lots of cheese, little turkey links, almonds, greek yogurt, sugar free pudding for chocolate cravings, etc. Just to give you some ideas.

Wishing you the best of luck! Congrats on the 27lbs loss! You're not weak, you're much stronger than you realize! You just have to believe in yourself, and you can accomplish anything!

You CAN do this!!

[gowalking 10,790]

Gee Mandy...I wish I could give you something specific to do or follow to change your perception but I can't. What I can do is tell you that when I had the surgery, I was not in the right place psychologically. I loved to eat and didn't want to stop. I had to because I was risking my mobility...I was heading to being wheelchair bound because of my joint disease. I needed knee and hip replacement surgery and the doctor said without losing weight, the surgery would not be successful.

So...I had no idea if this would work or not since my head was not where it needed to be. What clicked for me was some success. Really...that's all it was. I lost almost 20 lbs. fairly quickly and that helped me to see that I might actually be able to do this. I made sure to keep trigger foods out of the house, and focused on how good it felt to eat less and eat better. The sense of control for me is so much better than the fleeting good feeling of eating that piece of cake, or bowl of spaghetti.

It doesn't mean I don't struggle just as hard as you. I do and have to battle every day to maintain the successes. Also...try to change up your routine. Don't sit and watch TV. It makes you want to eat. Read a book, or take a bath, or do a puzzle, or knit. Join a gym or go for a walk...just get out of the house. There's really no magic here..it's just like they say AA is about....one day at a time...one good choice at a time. Good luck and come here as often as you need to for support.

Oh and by the way, I got the hip surgery in October and am more mobile than I've been in years. Alot less pain as well...so much so that I'm able to put off the knee replacement for now....which is such a relief. So when people say the lapband surgery changed their lives...they're not kidding and I'm a perfect example of that.

[Kitt3000 757]

Go walking... I like that answer..twice!!

[Leepers 1,195]

I have been very disciplined since my surgery. I'm lucky that I lost 70 pounds once before and I know I have the power to lose, I just worry about the power to keep it off.

One big truth I have found this time around is that you really NEED/HAVE to cleanse your body of the addictive foods. The sugar. The carbs. The fatty and delicious convenient foods. The processed ed foods. The longer you stay away from those foods, the less you want them and the easier it is to pass them up.

I found that since then, when I do eat healthy food, it tastes so delicious.

I'm not perfect. I crave sweets. Especially once a month. One night, I ate a banana with 2 tablespoons of Peanut Butter and then dumped a Sugar Free Chocolate Jello pudding on top. Was it the healthiest choice? Probably not. But it quenched my desire and the next day, I was back on track. And, I put it all in My Fitness Pal app.

My Fitness Pal is a good way to open your eyes about what you're really putting in your body. But you have to be honest with your entries.

Eat Protein first, but it really all boils down to calories in vs calories out.

Be proud of your weight loss so far. It's better than gaining 27 pounds. Maybe you're just gonna be someone who loses slowly. That's Ok. But think of what you could do with a little more effort!

Change is hard, but you CAN do it!

[Lady VS 1,147]

Don't feel bad dear, in the beginning of this journey I too struggled with will power. We are so used to eating whatever we want, how much we want, when we want, that trying to teach yourself something different is hard, challenging, and takes a lot of patience and discipline. You have to just tell yourself every second that you're not hungry and when you are you will eat healthy. It is a constant struggle and will take time to getting used to. Good luck

[cheryl2586 3,053]

No one can give you will power you have to want it more then anything and then when you go to put something in your mouth ask yourself is this going to get me where I am and its not then throw it out. If you are not willing to change your eating habits for the good health you will get, no one can do that for you.

[B-52 7,113]

Every diet I have ever been on...and there were many over the last 30 years or so.....I started out good, was determined to make it work...then eventually leveled out, then ultimately failed....gaining all the weight back, and then some....even my 6 month pre surgery diet was the same...started put good, then started to gain it back.....which only showed the insurance co., for the record, my experiences with dieting....

Let's face it, I just do not have the will power needed to see any of these weight loss programs though, and stay there...

And the longer I stayed with a diet...the bigger the struggle became....first with little cheating here and there, until finally throwing the towel in altogether....

It was for that reason, and that reason alone that my PCP suggested Lap Band Surgery.....to do what I was unable to do on my own....

If I could have done it, no way would I go for surgery....but history had proved I could not...and my health was suffering because of it....

But I am not regretting my decision one bit.....and love every new day....

Edited February 8, 2014 by B-52

[EggWithLegs 23]

I'm reading a book called "The end to overeating", by David Kessler. He was the head of the food and drug association in the United States and really explains the science of cravings and food addiction. It's a great read.

[rosettag 122]

Mine isn't lack of will power, but addiction.

I agree with what people in Overeaters Anonymous say

Avoiding my trigger foos, that is my drug, is the first step.

There is also a sentence they used to say, which I think of when I want to eat the "wrong" food:

"Whenever you give up, you 'll make it easier for the next time"

The idea that cravings will be shorter and less frequent helps me.

[EggWithLegs 23]

Is there an addiction thread on here.

[alicesandra 98]

You know, I always feel like the odd one out when it comes to eating & these kinds of threads here. My problem never was overeating/being addicted to food or anything like that. Growing up, I was around a mom who barely ate, an older sister & younger brother who depended on fast food (they are sticks and can eat a houses worth of food daily) and a dad who was always gone at work. I ended up picking up my moms eating habits, because fast food always has completely grossed me out in every way possible, and I was too young to really make my own food when it started.

It took my doctors a good 5 years of constantly running blood tests and me pretty much living in my hospitals lab work area to figure out what was wrong with me. But as soon as they realized that my weight came on from massively under eating, they were constantly trying to push me into nutritionists and getting me to eat what I should be. My biggest issues with nutritionists is that the amount of food they want me to eat, is way too much for me. I could not keep up with her meal plans without physically getting sick, by the amount of it.

My weight gain came from the fact that I never ate enough. It didn't matter how active I was growing up, because anything I did eat, my body grabbed on to. It wasn't until I was 18 that I fully understood that myself, when my doctors started telling me how worried they were because it was seemingly impossible for me to lose weight until I started eating more. I have always eaten healthy, always. I can't stand sugar, candy, cake, ice cream, most Desserts, or anything like that. I don't do chips, or excessive amounts of cheese. I was the healthiest person in my family in terms of eating, and yet I was the only one with the weight issue.

Early 2012 I continued with my healthy eating, but added more vegetables/etc to my meals, and then by the time my lap band surgery came around, I was eating enough for the weight to start coming off with my exercising schedules. I've been slower than most here with the weight loss (two years - 112 pounds), but my doctors are constantly reminding me that it's harder for me to lose weight because mine didn't come from overeating.

TL;DR: I've been programmed to eat healthy, so I've had no will power issues at all. My main thing is just making sure I do get my three meals a day in, just to continue with the weight loss.

[goalseeker 695]

I struggle with will power in the afternoons after I get home from work. Its like the Snacks in the cabinet are calling my name. This week, I tried to enter all three meals and snacks into my fitness pal at the beginning of the day. This REALLY helped me to have a game plan and know what I am going eat and snack on. It worked too, lost 3.4 this week. Give it a try. I know that everytime I loose pre-planning is a main component of that success.

[MandyJ 21]

Thank you so much for all your replies! I have taken all on board and will also pick up that book as well for a read!! it's so helpful to have a forum like this at times when you feel down & alone and to know there are others out there with similar struggles! I'll start tracking again & go back to Protein first.....Thanks again!!! All info is so helpful! I'm back on the wagon today! :-D

[Bandista 7,466]

Hi Mandy, just thought I'd mention that some people have trouble with artificial sweeteners triggering hunger. There is research that the brain gets the message that food is on the way. Good luck to you!