Psychological Food

[Angenii]

Hello All!

This is Angenii and I'm feeling the pains of the first week on this diet... I knew before I started this that I like food for the entertainment of it. Not, of course that I depend on food when I'm bored, but that I enjoy eating, going out to eat and criticising the food on how to make it better (I was a cook for six years and love criticising food). This is something that I love to do with my boyfriend, espeically since he loves food more than I do! At first this seemed like an innocent way to spend some of our evenings. That is until he introduced me to sushi... only to find out that a single roll of sushi is about 500-600 calories!! *YIKES* And seriously, who eats just one roll?? Needless to say, not long after this new source of entertainment, I gained another 20lbs on top of already needing to loose some weight.

Currently I'm not so much hungry, as I am craving things that I'm not allowed to have on this diet. Such as bread, chocolate, pasta, pancakes, popcorn, goldfish crackers, etc... As you can see, I'm a carb-junkie, and I've come to the realization that I'm completely psychologically dependent on food I love... GOD I HOPE THIS GETS EASIER!!!

A positive side though: my boyfriend is also doing the diet with me! I think that's made it so much easier, espeically since neither of us are allowed foods that the other isn't. The quantities are different, but I can't imagine what it would be like if when I got home, my boyfriend was cooking some delicious smelling pasta and I couldn't have any.

So here's to us newbs that need to get over our psychological attachment to food, and struggle during the first week of this diet!

[Shasha]

{hi} Angenii
A warm welcome to the 1st Personal Diet Forum! :bighug:
The first week is the HARDEST, but once your hormones come into a balance (especially your Serotonin, which controls the craving for food and starch) you should find that you are no longer craving foods like you use to.

For now I recommend that you:
1) Take a second multi-vitamin each day at lunchtime - this will help with the cravings.
2) Please avoid the yogurt and the cheese options as these are the least filling meals.
3) Please find a new hobby! A new focus. A new something to keep yourself busy with other than food...

I'm not saying that you must not think of food at all - being a cook and all, perhaps you could experiment with the diet food and come up with some nice new recipe's for everyone to try... When you do, please post those recipe's in the recipe forum under the different heading of meat, fish, sea-food etc...

But, I still want you to break away from the focus on food. You have 5 senses - taste is only one of them... as you've been focussing on this element for so long, how about focusing on other things that you may enjoy like relaxing in a bubble bath complete with lovely scent, flower petals, candles, music and all...

Going for a massage, manicure, pedicure... designing a new look for the NEW YOU... Read that book you've been meaning to read... start a new hobbie like scrapbooking, card making, birding, listening to nice music, watching nice movies... anything that can take your mind off food... it's only food and it will always be there! But now is your time to focus on becoming slimmer and healthier :)

Incidentally, you have selected the same picture as one of our Super Diet Buddies: AZKAT and when I saw your post I immediately thought of what she always says: To be thin in body; must be thin in mind... I really believe adopting this motto will greatly help you.

WELCOME!!! {grouphug1}