I was wondering if, after all the years of restricting and resisting food has left anyone mentally drained. I find that I always feel like I need to eat if I get the slightest bit hungry, like I'm going to starve or something. Right after a very restrictive diet, if I was around a lot of food, I couldn't stop myself from concentrating on it. It was like it took over me. Has anyone else experienced that and if so, what do you think causes it?

Yes. OCD! ha! I'm the same way!!

Are you sure you don't mean "CDO"...................lol (everything MUST be in order....teehe)

So what do you do to fix the problem? I feel like sometimes I eat too much and it ruins all the working out I did in order to lose bf! Well, maybe more often than sometimes. Plus, today in the gym I saw a woman who looks like she can step onstage and win. She doesn't even want to compete and she looks perfect! It made me feel bad b/c I know I can look like that again if I try harder.

I've never found that avoiding junk food leaves me feeling drained. If this were not the case, we would see a lot of energetic junk food eaters working off their fast food and book shelves stocked with diet books touting the virtues of junk food.
Ok, thats a stretch.

Anyway, after eating clean for a long enough period, it's typical to find that you no longer require the same amount of food to feel satisfied. Also, you get to the point where you can look at "normal" food,,,,,, and not see food at all. For instance, I can't get hungry when looking at a doughnut because I simply don't see "food" when I look at one. No willpower is required when your looking at something that you don't want anyway.

Don't get me wrong,,,,, in my past I ate a lot of doughnuts, brownies, cookies,,,,,,,,,, and FUDGE!!!!!!!! If I told you how much, you wouldn't believe me,,,,,,, but it was a lot.

Thats all history.
Nothing taste as good as FIT Feels.

Lift

I hope to get to that point one day too Lift. Right now, I have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head. The only thing that keeps me from going insane is doing shows. Otherwise, I'd be a resident of the Brookhaven Obesity Clinic...

I am 100% in sync with Lift on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I kind of identify with the "mentally" drained feeling because it gets tiresome planning out so many meals and considering what I'm going to be doing that day and what kind of nutritional value I will need to put in to get the results that I want. And she did say "mentally" drained, so yea I feel (mentally) drained. But physically I feel boosted.

I understand Lifts point all too well. Looking at a pizza from just about anywhere makes me want to vomit while seeing grease and God knows what else running off of it.

Okay, well maybe it's a girl thing. I think we have a harder time losing bodyfat and our bodies crave certain foods that we tell ourselves we can't have. We crave sweets, bread, etc, and have to deny ourselves. We have more of an emotional attachment to food. Any of you women agree?

Totally!! I really wish I could say that I have no desire to eat doughnuts or cake (or I'd even kill for a natty pb and banana sandwich right now!!) but I'll honestly just be walking around without a care in the world and BAM! - a craving for a honey bun will hit me like a ton of bricks. And I haven't seen, tasted, smelled or thought about anything since December minus one blip in February on a trip where I got caught in the airport. They confiscated my chicken and protein shakes at checkpoint!!

Today, a lady brought in four kinds of pastries she had baked fresh. Cinnamon rolls, cream cheese danish, monkey bread and something else. She was telling all about it and how wonderful and tasty they were. I just left the room. She was holding a plate of them covered in tin foil. Luckily I made it out the door before I had to see or smell them!!

danabb1 wrote:

Well, I sure wish I was a male when it comes to not having any desire for cake, donuts, pastries, etc. I have to say I am right with you girls...I do crave those things IF I'm around them. I'm fine if they're not in sight (or smell) but if I'm at a social gathering or what ever and there's cake ...oh boy! I'm TROUBLE! ...unless I can get away from it.
I can be around greasy cheeseburgers, and crappy food like that but don't put cake or donuts or pastries near me! ...wine is another thing I still have problems with as far as being around anyone drinking it. Ugh! Hopefully this will get easier over time.

What is that with sweets?? I, like you Dawn, can turn down a cheese burger or potato chips like nobody's buisiness and not even bat an eye, but I'm with you on the CAKE!!! I think I might actually even dream about cake! ha!

Haven't had the wine problem, or any beverage of any kind for that matter. If I'm ever dying for something, I'll have 1 sip of my husband's Diet Mt. Dew and that will do it for me.

I feel the same way about sweets---out of sight, out of mind. But when they are around, I can't resist. I'm not like that with too much else, except maybe pizza. How come guys can give up one small thing and lose so much weight, but we have to give up everything???

When you get the answer to that, let me know. We'll all be rich!! My husband eats hardly any protein and all his carbs are too processed in my opinion, but somehow he puts on muscle and keeps a low bodyfat.

Here is what he eats daily:
Breakfast - 2 Kelloggs Multigrain Waffles with Natty PB and SF Syrup
Lunch - Deli Turkey (4 slices) on Whole Wheat Bread with cheese and Sweet Potato Chips, 1 apple
Snack - Kelloggs Protein Meal Bar
Dinner - Whatever I cook him. I try to make it healty, but he is very picky, so it's usually something like spaghetti made with lean beef, ww pasta and no sugar added sauce.
Bedtime Snack - Bowl of Kashi Cereal and Milk

If I ate that crap, I'd be floppy!! The man never touches a sweet potato or brown rice. He also drinks about 4 diet Mtn. Dews per day and not a whole lot of water. He drinks 3 or 4 beers on Fri and Sat night and Saturday is his "cheat DAY". Not meal, DAY. He eats chicken biscuits and pizza and peanut butter cup sundaes from Brusters. I chew on a tasty carrot. Yum.

I FEEL you on this one!!! How do they eat all that "junk" food and don't have to pay for it like we do.

And a big LOL at his "cheat" day! If I ate like that i'd be swollen up like the girl on Charlie and the Cocolate factory!

At least he'll eat what you cook at dinner time. It seems like we've got 2 different meals every night. Good thing that healthy food is simple to cook (not fast........brown rice takes forever to cook). And my 2 year old will eat my "health" food with me, .....the little man loves brown rice....lol