Does 'No more chocolate cake, ever again' get you down?

[erebus]

I'm working on Gillian Riley's psychological method to regain control of my eating.

The OP is a bit inflammatory, cos of course the reality is I can't never eat chocolate cake again but it is true to say I will never be able to 'safely' eat a normal slice of it again, maybe just a bite.

Have you also had that experience that, with steely discipline, you gradually lose weight, but the second you ease off, UP goes your weight again?! I was rather alarmed at how little 'extra' I needed to eat for my weight loss to not only stop, but reverse! Which is what has brought me to that sad conclusion!

I take the view that I'd rather save my "naughty" calories now for something I really, really want to savour... and enjoy savouring foods that are delicious and good for me. Having adapted to much healthier eating over the years, there are now few things I crave for... my taste has changed.

So, I'd rather have a fabulous piece of expensive cheese now and again than wolf down some cheap plastic-tasting stuff, or buy some lovely Belgian chocolate and look forward to it rather than eat a Mars bar.

When you analyse it, there's a hell of a lot of crap very readily available, but if you really think about what you're eating and take time to savour it, you realise that a lot of high-calorie stuff isn't that appetising.

I'm not familiar with Gillian Riley, but ime the biggest thing to conquer in order to lose weight is to work out why you have over-eaten to get to a stage of being overweight.

And it's almost always associated with emotion - e.g. eating a big slice of cheap chocolate cake because you're stressed or bored rather than because you really would enjoy the taste. If you can break that link, then you'll be in control of the emotion/overeating issue. Easier said than done I know.

You don't have to give anything up completely, but you do need to eat healthily 80% of the time, and spend no more than 20% of your diet on stuff that isn't so good for you.

Yes, you're right flower. I know that now, when I choose less healthy options, I make sure it's quality as I can't have very much of it!

But on those occasions when you find yourself out with friends and they have a starter, a main and a dessert, yet are size 8, it can be demoralising whilst you do mental maths to work out whether you can allow yourself that diet coke!!

erebus I think you can't have chocolate cake every day (at target) but you can have it, even a couple of slices once a week as long as you don't also eat several biscuits, ice cream etc etc on that same day.

I have just eaten loads in the last couple of days, it was a jewish festival with a tradition of eating cheesecake. Thats ok, I'm at goal weight, and I'll have a few days now of being back on my diet to ensure I don't do any "damage".