Tons of people have had great success doing similar things and just not overeating. Everybody, including many on this board, have admitted that the key is to do things that you are willing to do for the rest of your life. Now, do you believe that ordering things that you don't like is something you can do for the rest of your life? If not, then sooner or later you're going to have to toughen up mentally, bite the bullet, and just force yourself to have enough self control to not overeat. I'm really not trying to be truly insulting, but just think about it... doing tricks like this such as ordering things you don't like is simply delaying the inevitable. You can't do that forever, you know you can't. Success is when you can eat what you want (as long as it's healthy), eating what you need, then STOPPING, and not eating any more. I think that you ought to be spending your time trying to figure out how to do this rather than trying to figure out how to make your meals unappealing and your life more miserable as a result. ENJOY LIFE! ENJOY YOUR FOOD! Just don't overindulge.

Hi,

Corndoggie, thank you for your opinion and input.

It seems you might be knowlegeable about weight loss, nutrition and exercise. Why are you here?

Based on your posts (which I reviewed), it seems you should have no problems with weight, nutrition and exercise because you have such great self control when it comes to portion control, food selection etc.

Why are you here?

Quite honestly I just thought I'd help out. But, apparently I'm doing nothing but ticking people off and offending them. But, sometimes in life it's my opinion that you need to be offended, in a "cruel to be kind" type of way. I mean no harm... hopefully you can see past my overly-hyper demeanor and find some value in some of my advice.

I understand the point you were trying to make, sort of a "suck it up" perspective. Yes, little tricks can be helpful, but in the long run, we must all figure out a way to make the right choices and not be miserable.

However, you must look at the "audience" so to speak. Some weight loss/fitness sites are more scientifically based, focusing on the science and factual information of health/weight loss, while others (like this one) are more about the moral support and friendship aspect of weight loss than anything else.

I have been co-teaching a weight loss class at church and volunteering a good bit of my free personal time. I was in a grouchy mood because it's turned into a huge waste of my time due to it turning into social hour... way too much support and friendship and way too little actual effort. I just grew tired of seeing that go on and saw that if you weren't at least a little aggressive and matter-of-fact, people won't really listen, it'll just be more BS thrown around in social hour. Sorry for offending anybody, but hey, you know you've been thinking about stuff I've been saying.

Sometimes I make a point to eat really slowly, and then I can tell when I am full before I over eat. At the point, stuffing myself really turns me off from eating at all, so I ask for the food to take home. From there, it can go many ways. Usually I dont eat the left overs (im a food snob! lol) so I will either 'accidentially' leave it at the table, or if I know I will be walking past homeless people on the way to the car, I will just pass the leftovers along to them.
This whole scenario is really hard when there is something that i absolutely LOVE in front of me!

Now, if it were just so simple as to not overeat...many of us wouldn't be here....Just today I was listing things I eat to my personal trainer and she was very surprised. She assumed, as im sure most people do, that since I am overweight, I must not know what a healthy way of cooking and eating is. I do, in fact, we were swapping recipes at the end of it all. But it's about eating too much, and that comes from a place inside of us that needs comfort. Many people will find a quick fix for this, and these techniques may get us by for a short while, but the real success here will be to do alot of soul searching and find other ways to comfort the part of ourselves that is feeling empty.

I know I should look this up online, but do any of you have favorites at the Olive Garden restaurant that is healthy? (or somewhat healthy) I have always loved the chicken feticcini with alfredo, too, but I know that's bad. I tried a dish without alfredo, but wondered if it had tons of oil in it. I don't like tomato sauces. Also, I don't consider salad a meal. I can't seem to chew enough of it up to keep me full.
Cheryl

Cheryl,
You can probably find some good salads with a light dressing, e.g. oil and vinegar, italian. Or grilled chicken. I dont believe olive garden has any whole wheat pasta, and that is the only pasta you are going to find that is healthy. If they toss it in oil, it's probably olive oil, which is really good for you.

I just found this site:
Weight Loss - Restaurants - Fast Foods - Nutrition Facts - DietFacts.com

Very cool.
Cheryl

Or, just don't go hungry! Eat a small salad or a few pieces of fruit before you go. Or drink lots of waterbeforehand. Just don't make eating a chore, because that would mean that you're wasting your precious money. Learn to love eating but in minimized portions!

I always try and buy foods that I like at the store....I know that sounds really obvious but I am trying NOW to eat much more at home even if I am not a HUGE fan of the food....because it is no money (at the time that is), less food, and less calories

i must admit i can see where everyone is coming from with this one, admitedly its silly to waste money on food you wont like. that will just make you unhappy, but that trick can be usefull on occations too.
i have 2 children so obviously have things like crisps and sweets in the house quite a lot and i have found it very useful to only buy them things i dont like there for they dont miss out but im not tempted to eat the things. im been very offective to stop me snacking on crisps

The key to eating out, for me at least, is to inquire how the food is cooked. For example, my wife and I went to a very nice restaurant the other night. I wanted a salad. I asked what kind of dressing they put on it. Ordinarily, they mix the dressing in the salad, but they were perfectly happy putting the dressing on the side. So I had a great salad, with 1/4 the dressing they would have put on it, and saved about 300 calories.

Then came the entree. I chose the ahi. Again I asked about the preparation, and the server said the vegetables were cooked in butter, and they put a cream-based sauce on the ahi. So I asked if the veggies could be cooked with a bit of olive oil instead, and if the sauce could be brought on the side. No problem.

Whenever I go out, I order either wine or water. Mixed drinks are a total ripoff.

The result was that my total meal -- an excellent one, by the way -- was around 900 calories, instead of the 1,800 calories it would have been.

It's NOT simply a matter of portion control! You have to get a bit more aggressive in asking about and analyzing what's in the portion that you do eat. And if you do, you can still have a healthy sized portion with the same number of calories that you would have had if you ate the meal the way it's prepared by default.

I find it helps to order healthy foods that I actually like...

Like a grilled chicken breast with veggies or a tasty salad with balsamic vinegrette (with the vinegrette on the side). Instead of some huge mixed drink, wine is delicious and works the same. It has less calories than the mixed drinks and some wines have more health benefits (ex- red wines are supposed to be good for your heart). Another option is to get a shot of something rather than an entire drink and follow it with a good unsweetened coffee or tea.

If I'm in the mood for something that is more calorie intense, I order spicy. I'm less likely to eat the whole thing as spicy stuff makes a nice appetite suppressant and spicy foods are said to increase metabolism (not sure if it's true or not). I try stay away from fried things (though french fries are a big weakness of mine).

Last thing that helps me... If I'm feeling really really weak, and want to "cheat" by eating something "bad," I find it helps to split my meal in half with a fork or knife and hide part of it under a napkin, and then drink lots and lots of water before I eat.