My Stats - Male, 28 y/o, 5-feet 5-inches, SW 295lbs, GW 150lbs, CW ?, LW 153lbs
I love psychology and understanding the brain and science with how we think, feel, act etc... Been reading some posts in this sub about how some of us feel "bad" about certain foods we eat and how sometimes we feel "good" when we eat x food.
My Story - I lost 150lbs since 2012 and most of it was due to how I thought about, talked about, and reacted to food. Growing up food has often been a default for me to go to when I needed engagement and mental stimulation. My mother, when I was around age 3-5, would give me Cheerios and American Cheese as a snack to keep me busy and occupied whenever I wanted attention. A decision that trained and conditioned my brain to link Boredom --> Food. That, with the combination of having my father look over my shoulder every time I was hungry to see how much I was having, then going to hide and binge eat, was a weird combination. Growing up I would find myself sneaking ice cream and rushing through the container before my father got out of the shower. Which now, I understand that his struggle with food and his inability to stop he was attempting to not pass on to me. Not to mention he is a recovering alcoholic and addict.
What Worked for Me - I've been in therapy for over 10 years and have learned a ton about how we think and how the words we use can dictate our thinking, actions, behaviors, habits and choices. Categorizing certain foods and food groups as "bad", "good" and "healthy", "unhealthy" can have some negative effects. The idea that "I am bad because I ate x food." is irrational thinking. Food doesn't have a personality or a character trait. Same can be said about all or nothing thought patterns as well. For example, "I ate one piece of cake, might as well finish it." or "Well, I blew it. I had a bagel for breakfast, the whole day is blown now. I'll just eat less tomorrow."... Black and white/all or nothing thoughts like this can cripple and hinder progress and give people a false sense of reality. It also puts us in a more reactive state and not thinking with rational or the prefrontal cortex part of our brain. Minimizing our failures and successes; thoughts like, "Oh, it was just 4 slices of pizza, that's no big deal." or "I only ran 2 miles today instead of my usual 5." can keep us stuck and in a crappy thought pattern / habit cycle that is tricky to get rid of. These are all examples of what psychologist classify as cognitive distortions. There are many more than what I've listed.
Currently - I've been trying to find alternative ways of thinking and have been working to be more aware of how I speak about myself, others and food. I really enjoy my bagel with cream cheese in the morning and a small glass of orange juice. I have always thought, or believed, that a bagel with cream cheese is "bad" for you and that it could lead to weight gain. Then I started challenging that statement. Asking myself, "Well wait, is this true?". If I were to eat more than 1, have a large cup of orange juice or over consume then sure, it could be true. But I don't go to extremes with it. I can do 1 bagel with some cream cheese and a small 6oz glass of orange juice and be fine. Could it have more veggies or protein? Sure, maybe I'll add some tomorrow or whenever I feel I would like to spruce it up a bit.
Going Forward - I'd like to find more people who also enjoy adding real cream to their meals, eating more bolder and hearty meals while STILL being healthy and losing weight. I like the whole CICO, but I also like listening to my body to tell me when it is hungry and when to stop eating. CICO works wonders for many people, and it's science and math based so it's pretty straight forward. It takes a lot of guess work out of it and you have free reign to eat anything you want, just measure and make sure it's portioned out. I really like that concept, but I feel for me, I want to not be bogged down with tracking. I feel I can get a little nutty with it and it only reinforces my "Oo, I shouldn't have that, I should have this." mentality. I also feel that it doesn't teach or condition you to pay attention to satiety and hunger cues, which are all internal. Are there other redditors in this sub that have had successful attempts at NOT tracking using MFP or CICO?
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