I play weird tricks with my brain. Do you?

CaliforniaRower

So today, I ate right out of a nutritionist's textbook. Until 4:30 PM when I needed to get some groceries and I was hungry. I somehow managed to buy frozen dark cherries (Trader Joe's) instead of anything in the entire store with sugar in it. Gloating over my sudden and surprising burst of willpower, I got in the car. Got out of the car and opened the trunk. Hid the olive-tomato foccacia bread in my purse. Got back in the car. Tore open the plastic before I even got out of the parking lot. Promised myself "just one serving" - 2 oz.

By the time I got home, I'd eaten 2/3 of the darn loaf.

That's when I told myself I needed to eat something healthy...so THEN I had dinner, after I was already over-full from the stupid carb inhale.

Do you do dumb brain tricks like these, too? Solutions?

LAWoman72

You mean rationalizations? I used to. I almost did the other night, in a fit of I-don't-know-what. "It's just one night, I'll get back on plan exactly tomorrow, I just can't help it because I'm feeling down right now, I just can't help it because I denied myself Food X and I'm rebounding from that, so I'll binge tonight but won't make that mistake again," etc., etc.

Then I thought: "I may be at a standstill with my weight these past three weeks, I may be feeling hurt and sad (over a private issue), BUT although there's no guarantee that I won't lose weight for yet another week, there IS a guarantee that if I overeat, well, then I've overeaten and my body won't simply ignore that fact" and I got past it.

It's the first time in a long time that's happened.

CaliforniaRower

Beautiful! I'm on the westside, in MdR. Good to know there's a fellow Angeleno out there handling this matter expertly. ; )

Alatariel75

You mean like the fact that I just ate a tuna salad roll, even though I'd just had lunch and wasn't hungry, because it was free?

LAWoman72

CaliforniaRower wrote: »

Beautiful! I'm on the westside, in MdR. Good to know there's a fellow Angeleno out there handling this matter expertly. ; )

Oh no, not expertly, LOL! I eff up on more or less a regular basis. But I'm working on it.

Shout out to the Westside. I'm actually in the suburbs...way far from LA proper. But LA County, LOL. I wasn't sure what to put in that "location" slot as my town isn't a very big town, wasn't going to name it, +1 for paranoia!

Nice to meet you and hang in there. I challenge you to meet the one person on earth who never, ever screws up. And when you meet him...I promise he's lying.

areallycoolstory

I'm in a similar boat tonight. I'm still under calories but my personal goal is to keep it under 1400. I am at 1399. There is really nothing I can eat without feeling like I have blown it. I still have a few sedentary calories and all of my exercise calories left, but know if I give in to a snack it will not be a moderate one. What I opted for was a cup of broth. I rationalized that since I don't count spices, I didn't need to count the bullion cube. I put in a bit of garlic and taco seasoning. About a half a cup was enough to make me a bit ill. I am not so hungry any more:-) My intention was not to make myself ill, but I guess it is better than feeling the need to binge. I don't feel like this that often, thankfully.

CaliforniaRower

@areallycoolstory, boy, do I know that feeling! Good for you for not indulging! Keep up the good work!

areallycoolstory

CaliforniaRower wrote: »

@areallycoolstory, boy, do I know that feeling! Good for you for not indulging! Keep up the good work!

Thanks:-) I won this time...It is hard though. You keep up the good work too. Noticing the way you operate around food is a big part of the process, I think. Good for you:-)

jgnatca

I remove temptation. I speak to my subconscious - really - and promise I will never let it starve.

areallycoolstory

jgnatca wrote: »

I remove temptation. I speak to my subconscious - really - and promise I will never let it starve.

Awesome. I agree. If you sit with it long enough. You can usually talk yourself out of a binge:-)

deannaaaaaaaaa

jgnatca wrote: »

I remove temptation. I speak to my subconscious - really - and promise I will never let it starve.

this is awesome.

Liftng4Lis

Oh how pre-logging the day helps to avoid this.

leggup

CaliforniaRower wrote: »

So today, I ate right out of a nutritionist's textbook. Until 4:30 PM when I needed to get some groceries and I was hungry. I somehow managed to buy frozen dark cherries (Trader Joe's) instead of anything in the entire store with sugar in it. Gloating over my sudden and surprising burst of willpower, I got in the car. Got out of the car and opened the trunk. Hid the olive-tomato foccacia bread in my purse. Got back in the car. Tore open the plastic before I even got out of the parking lot. Promised myself "just one serving" - 2 oz.

By the time I got home, I'd eaten 2/3 of the darn loaf.

That's when I told myself I needed to eat something healthy...so THEN I had dinner, after I was already over-full from the stupid carb inhale.

Do you do dumb brain tricks like these, too? Solutions?

I don't understand the bolded above. You took the bread from your trunk and hid it in your purse? Hid it from who? Yourself? Your spouse?

If you're having a problem with secret eating (I.. can't tell if you are?), you may want to consider more pre-meal prep. Never go to a grocery store hungry. Go after dinner. Only eat when you're sitting down at a table with a napkin on your lap.

Also, unless you have a medical reason to abstain from sugar, why are you doing that? Everything in moderation. Abstaining from sugar may have contributed to your binge.

CaliforniaRower

@BritishBroccoli, I don't know why I hid it in my purse! I live alone, quite happily enjoying my empty nest.

@jgnatca, what an insightful comment! Thank you.