How on earth do I stop being such a greedy pig?

[Givemestrengthorvodka]

Every single day I wake up telling myself today is the day I will stop eating crap and stop drinking so much. Roll on bed time when I'm 3 (strong) g&t's deep, face down in a family sized bag of Revels berating myself once again for being such a failure.
How the hell do i stop being like this? I understand what I need to do, I have all the info I need....just apparently a complete lack of willpower. How on earth do I change my habits for longer than 3 days at a time 😬.
Send help, please!

Day 2 and haven’t bought any binge foods yet, trying to eat fruit if I am hungry, so far so good!

@Moonlightsonatas woohoo, well done! My friend said to me the hardest bit is getting started...I hope that's true!

I'm still sticking with it. The bugles were calling my name in Tesco last night but I resisted and went a walk and then had a herbal tea instead.

I’m trying to chew gum if I get the urge to snack then wait to see if it passes, this is easier said than done

I've lost 13 kilos since November last year. I've not dieted remotely on holiday x 2 and drank most nights.

What I did was cut the carbs massively. Have zero snacks, biscuits or cake in the house and if I feel like I'm needing to 'snack' I eat 4 grapes and drink a large glass of chilled water.. I also reduced my portions by around a third! I only drink 2 nights a week.

@Givemestrengthorvodka forgot to say I do keep in a few cans of non alcoholic Gordon's and slimline- bugger all calories and yet tastes very similar. I pour into a nice glass, slice of lemon etc. I think it's psychological, it feels like a treat

How you going op?

@Iwillpassthanks going okay thanks. I've not turned into a Saint overnight...Still consuming my fair share of gin and bugles but have managed to regain the balance. I've stopped the week night drinking and I'm cut out a lot of the crap I was eating. And I've joined a couch to 5k running group which has been great. We meet once a week and it's a really nice bunch. Despite my bad habits I could probably jog about 5k already but the fact was that i wasn't. So joining this group has been a great way of getting out the door and finding a running routine again. Thanks for asking!

@Givemestrengthorvodka This sounds weird but I think it works- raw baking potato.

It's 70% resistant starch but if you cook it only 1% of that remains. The resistant starch helps regulate blood sugar levels and so control appetite.

I cut one into pieces based on how many hours I have available in the day and eat a bit an hour.

Haven't had the munchies half as much. It doesn't taste as bad as you might imagine. What've you got to lose?

Also in general, treating food as 'medicinal'/functional like that. For instance trying to hit nutrient targets, and eat certain foods each day. 120g chickpeas and you can split it over the day etc etc- I have a list.

This isn't to say I don't allow myself something 'nice' if I want it.

But I'm learning to appreciate how whole foods make me feel, having that constant war with appetite reduced.

Op how’s it going?

@Paltrypam it's actually going quite well thanks! It's a bit like a flick has been switched in my head and I've managing to not eat all the crap I usually do. I am being quite strict with myself but did enjoy a glass of wine on Sunday without having a second or letting it snowball into a gluttonous evening.

That glass of wine is the only alcohol I've had in 2 weeks and I've only had a small handful of chocolate in that time too. It's definitely quite motivating in itself to stick to the new habits the longer I do it.

I haven't weighed myself though so not sure of I've lost weight but I would like to think so.

Can you just not but the stuff you don't want to eat? If it's not there you can't have it?

@Redwinestillfine that's definitely worked the last couple of weeks. I've managed to steer clear of the chocolate and booze aisles and then its much easier to not have it if its not there

Well done. That's great news. It's what works for me!

Also trying to make healthy choices when out as that can tank all the hard work. Today I talked myself into a black americano in Costa rather than a flat white for example. It's a pain but the hope is it will become second nature....

Funny you should say that as I'm in the office tomorrow and after discovering that a latte is actually quite calorific I'm planning to swap to black coffee with milk. And I hope the canteen has a decent non carby option available, and that my willpower holds!

It's definitely quite motivating in itself to stick to the new habits the longer I do it.

Exactly! You have found your dynamic!

I'm so impressed.

I'm trying to avoid buying the stuff that I know isn't good for me. We've got hardly any booze in so I'm not tempted to open a bottle of wine for an in the week fuck it moment. Tea instead....big mugs.

No crisps....no salted peanuts....and I'm not missing them.

There's fruit in the bowl and I'm eating it.

Lots of herbs and spices in meals. Wholemeal bread and rice.

Fish most nights.

I've lost a stone.

It's much easier if stuff isn't in the house.

How are you doing OP?

I gave up sugar and snacking in April and have lost 20lbs. I’m under 10 stone for the first time in a long time. I’m a size 10 again! I still have the odd glass of wine but my two rules are:

1. Absolutely no added sugar, sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate. Nothing.
2. Only eat at mealtimes, shun snacks.

I genuinely don’t fancy any of it that much anymore. We were in Aldi yesterday and even my dopamine-dependent brain thought ‘yeah…I don’t want any choceur tbh’. DH had a coffee (DSes were climbing) and I didn’t bother.

I think what helped me was telling myself that I never enjoyed any of it that much in the first place, and consciously telling my brain ‘No way, you don’t fancy that, put it down’ broke the cycle.

Still going well thanks @TheOutlaws . So well actually I'm sure it can't last but at the moment I'm not even missing the gin and the chocolate. It's very strange. I've been as gold all this week, healthy low carb dinners, exercise and herbal teas. I'm sure I'll hit some rocky roads (literally 😆) at some point but trying to keep on this good as gold path for as long as possible! Well done on your own weight loss and change of habits, that's amazing!

And well done @BarrelOfOtters on losing a stone! I'm hoping I will follow suit if I stick to these habits as I need to lose two stone.