I’ve struggled with my eating habits all my life. I like junk food and fast food and cookies and cakes etc. What I’ve come to realize is there’s nothing wrong with any of those foods in moderation but the way I was eating them was an everyday, sometimes every meal occurrence. That is not good. I’ve attributed my inability to lose weight in the past to a lack of self-control, lack of motivation, and laziness. All of those have been true at times and still can be.
Over the years my knowledge of the right foods to eat, the self-control to actually eat those right foods on a regular basis, and good habits to ensure that my routines are healthy but not overly restrictive. I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist but I’ve read, studied, and experimented with my own body that I mostly know how my body will react to what I eat. I’ve been able to continuously lose weight (1-2lbs a week) by choosing the right foods that still satisfy me but also fuel me in a way that I don’t crave junk food without excessive amounts of exercise, or without any exercise at all.
Most recently I can feel a craving for say, fast food but then consciously weigh the pleasure of that fast food with my other health goals. Sometimes it’s worth eating it and sometimes it isn’t. But now I feel like I’m in control of those decisions whereas before I’d have a craving and it would be all-consuming until I gave in and got whatever it was that I was craving. It felt like one day I was caving in to cravings and the next day I was able to consciously determine if whatever it was I was craving was worth giving into or could it be pushed off to another day and planned for better. It really was like a mental switch flipped.
I wish I had a blueprint I could share but the only advice I can offer is to learn, experiment, and be kind to yourself when you cave to a craving. Keep a journal about how you were feeling leading up to getting whatever it was you were craving and find some things that you can do in the future to break that train of thought for the craving. I will drink a glass of water((Something I’ve read is that hunger can trigger the same sensations as dehydration))((https://www.health.com/weight-loss/11-reasons-youre-always-hungry?slide=a18b6575-afc7-4504-8f19-f44ad4ad8297#a18b6575-afc7-4504-8f19-f44ad4ad8297)) and/or take the dog for a walk if I feel a sudden craving. Usually 10-15 min after that the craving has passed but if not then I weigh getting whatever it is with how I feel afterward. I have a few other thought processes I go through and if I still want whatever it is I’ll have a slice of bread with peanut butter which usually makes the craving go away completely. But after all that if I still want that craving, I have it!