No really, how do you say NO to foods and habits you've had your whole life?
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You don't say "no" to your habits. You replace them with new ones.0
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Lots of good advice. I try to distract myself and if that doesn't work, I have to do 50 jumping jacks, 30 crunches and 10 lunges on each leg, then drink a big glass of water. If it still sounds good, I'll go for it. As for not wasting food, I have no problems putting 2 tablespoons of some left over in the fridge. Sometimes when I'm legitimately hungry at the end of the day, it's nice to have just a couple bites of something that's usually at least kinda healthy.0
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I log everything before I eat it so I can see the damage in big letters.
And I don't really waste food anyway. Leftovers go in the fridge (I've put back 2oz of chicken in the fridge - perfect to use in a taco!), cookies go back in the box (typically I only have 1-2 at a time anyway, so it's perfect for next time). I only put on my plate what I'm going to eat, and it's measured.
My kids leftovers are never tempting to me because I don't trust their hygiene and I'm not touching their food... ever.
I agree with finding something I want more. This morning I'm making the kids cinnamon rolls, and there'll be extras... but I want not to be hungry today more.
I still fail at buffets though but I just make up for it the rest of the week, typically.0 -
1- practice being mindful...you practice...practice...practice.
2 - I don't waste food...i make food in appropriate amounts and put appropriate amounts of food on my plate.0 -
I come from a clean-your-plate background. Then years ago a (thin) little old lady told me her secret: Never eat anything that isn't delicious. Your kid's slobbery, cold mac and cheese isn't delicious! A homemade cookie probably is, but store-bought cookies (to me) are not. Last week we went to a BBQ. I love a big, juicy cheeseburger, but they served those frozen pucks that are super thin and they overlooked them, so I just picked at it to make it look like I ate more than I did and saved my calories for later.
I do still struggle, because wine is delicious and the bottle is big.0 -
thanks! I'm glad it helps. I perfectly understand you, I too come from a family of not throwing food and finish all that is in your plate.
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I've started to think that the food is wasted if I eat it and don't need it, so same difference if I just throw it out. My body is not a garbage can, so throw it in the real garbage can.0 -
Instead of saying no, say yes to something else. Look at that cookie* and say yes, I am going to stick to today's calorie goal. Yes, I am going to meet my weight loss goal for the week/month. Yes, I am going to prove to myself that I do have willpower. Yes, I will be a positive example of responsible eating to those who look up to me (if there are kids in the house). Yes, I am going to build new habits. Yes, everything DOES count. Yes, I am going to choose fruit over cookies.
People don't have staying power when they're working against something, but they do when they work towards something they are passionate about. Change the paradigm.
When it comes down to it, you're a sentient being in a battle against a cookie. In this scenario, you really should win.
*or other temptation. For what it's worth, I do believe in treats in moderation when they fit within your goal, but only you are the judge of whether or not moderation is something you can do successfully at this stage.0 -
I tell myself: this is not the last opportunity in my life to have this food. I can get this at any time I want (in moderation of course). And if it is the only opportunity for me to have this food, well, I eat it!0
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When I started reading the ingredients on foods and started eating single ingredient foods, it was really easy for me to give up those multi-ingredient foods. My cravings for those foods went away and I haven't craved them since. I used to eat fast food twice a day and drink Starbucks upwards of 3 times a day. I don't do either of those anymore and would never even consider going back.0
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I am hypoglycemic, but that rebel in me still gets pissed if I tell it that I can't have something ever again. It helps me, when faced with a food that has no nutritional value but tastes amazing, to think about how I will feel physically after I eat it. Will my stomach be upset? Will it make me lethargic and moody afterward? Most of the time, this alone helps me decide that I don't really want/need it. But sometimes...I'll go ahead and have just a little. Only sometimes. Maybe half of it, or even just a few slowly savored bites just to pacify that reckless rebel.
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For those of us who have been brought up with 'clean your plate mentality' it can help to place leftovers in the fridge for later? Then there is a snack or meal that you don't have to cook! Its not wasted and you have listened to your body.
One lady on here used to log her food and then if she had leftovers she would pop them in the fridge for a late night snack - because it had been logged already if she ate it the next night the calories had already been accounted for. I thought that was a brilliant idea0 -
Get a bubby or borrow one. Dogs are always willing to eat the leftovers that are dog friendly foods. I also enjoy giving them the last few bites. A few calories out of my mouth. Course, I have 3 so that is 3x the calories out of my mouth. They are also amazing motivators for exercise:) This is just my funny side. I really know not everyone likes or wants dogs.0
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You just do. It takes willpower. It's about wanting that change in lifestyle.0
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Get a bubby or borrow one. Dogs are always willing to eat the leftovers that are dog friendly foods. I also enjoy giving them the last few bites. A few calories out of my mouth. Course, I have 3 so that is 3x the calories out of my mouth. They are also amazing motivators for exercise:) This is just my funny side. I really know not everyone likes or wants dogs.
I actually wish I could do that! My autistic son is deathly afraid of pups, but hey - maybe my fat cat would like the last bit of my pasta
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One lady on here used to log her food and then if she had leftovers she would pop them in the fridge for a late night snack - because it had been logged already if she ate it the next night the calories had already been accounted for. I thought that was a brilliant idea[/quote]
That IS brilliant!0 -
rockmama72 wrote: »I come from a clean-your-plate background. Then years ago a (thin) little old lady told me her secret: Never eat anything that isn't delicious. Your kid's slobbery, cold mac and cheese isn't delicious! A homemade cookie probably is, but store-bought cookies (to me) are not. Last week we went to a BBQ. I love a big, juicy cheeseburger, but they served those frozen pucks that are super thin and they overlooked them, so I just picked at it to make it look like I ate more than I did and saved my calories for later.
I do still struggle, because wine is delicious and the bottle is big.
I love the "never eat anything that isn't delicious" idea. I'm already finding that things just don't taste as good when you know you need to log them and are thinking about it.0 -
rockmama72 wrote: »I come from a clean-your-plate background. Then years ago a (thin) little old lady told me her secret: Never eat anything that isn't delicious. Your kid's slobbery, cold mac and cheese isn't delicious! A homemade cookie probably is, but store-bought cookies (to me) are not. Last week we went to a BBQ. I love a big, juicy cheeseburger, but they served those frozen pucks that are super thin and they overlooked them, so I just picked at it to make it look like I ate more than I did and saved my calories for later.
I do still struggle, because wine is delicious and the bottle is big.
I love the "never eat anything that isn't delicious" idea. I'm already finding that things just don't taste as good when you know you need to log them and are thinking about it.
This has been a major part of my approach. Helps with all the stuff I used to eat mindlessly because it was at work.
I find measuring it out and just putting a proper serving on my plate prevents any issue with not wanting to waste things. I always make double or triple servings when I can and box them up immediately for lunches/another dinner.0 -
Get a bubby or borrow one. Dogs are always willing to eat the leftovers that are dog friendly foods. I also enjoy giving them the last few bites. A few calories out of my mouth. Course, I have 3 so that is 3x the calories out of my mouth. They are also amazing motivators for exercise:) This is just my funny side. I really know not everyone likes or wants dogs.
I actually wish I could do that! My autistic son is deathly afraid of pups, but hey - maybe my fat cat would like the last bit of my pasta
Do not start feeding your cat! Dogs may whine and stare, but cats who figure out that people food is good will grab it right off your plate and run away. They are much harder to train. No matter how many time you push them away, they'll just walk over to the other side and hop back up.
Even if they don't like what you're eating, they will not stop!! You have to either keep knocking them down or hover over your food or both.
I fight with my cat every single day because she thinks she wants to eat food that she doesn't want to eat. Even if I give her some of the food she will smell it, decide she doesn't want it, but then keep trying to get more of the food she doesn't want.
It never ends.
Seriously. If you want a single peaceful meal for the rest of your life, do not feed the cat!!
(You have been warned.)0 -
If I neither buy nor make those foods in the first place, then they aren't here for me to eat. That's how I handle the situation.0
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So many good ideas! But OP, I like what you do best. It took me until kids were teens to stop scavenging their scraps.
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Get a bubby or borrow one. Dogs are always willing to eat the leftovers that are dog friendly foods. I also enjoy giving them the last few bites. A few calories out of my mouth. Course, I have 3 so that is 3x the calories out of my mouth. They are also amazing motivators for exercise:) This is just my funny side. I really know not everyone likes or wants dogs.
I actually wish I could do that! My autistic son is deathly afraid of pups, but hey - maybe my fat cat would like the last bit of my pasta
I have a cat who eats pretzels, potato chips, fruit, veggies, chocolate (he is very stupid...), ice cream, ....well, almost everything except pork.0 -
Get a bubby or borrow one. Dogs are always willing to eat the leftovers that are dog friendly foods. I also enjoy giving them the last few bites. A few calories out of my mouth. Course, I have 3 so that is 3x the calories out of my mouth. They are also amazing motivators for exercise:) This is just my funny side. I really know not everyone likes or wants dogs.
I actually wish I could do that! My autistic son is deathly afraid of pups, but hey - maybe my fat cat would like the last bit of my pasta
Do not start feeding your cat! Dogs may whine and stare, but cats who figure out that people food is good will grab it right off your plate and run away. They are much harder to train. No matter how many time you push them away, they'll just walk over to the other side and hop back up.
Even if they don't like what you're eating, they will not stop!! You have to either keep knocking them down or hover over your food or both.
I fight with my cat every single day because she thinks she wants to eat food that she doesn't want to eat. Even if I give her some of the food she will smell it, decide she doesn't want it, but then keep trying to get more of the food she doesn't want.
It never ends.
Seriously. If you want a single peaceful meal for the rest of your life, do not feed the cat!!
(You have been warned.)
I guess I'm very lucky...my cats know better than to get on the table. Now if someone is eating stuff on the couch, or if food is left on the stove for more than 5 minutes unattended, it's all fair game. Lol!0 -
And my 2 cents on wasting food: i taught my husband that it is a waste of food and therefore money if you eat food you are not hungry for. (and this is something i fight with myself all the time about... "Am i hungry? Yes? No?" lol)
When my kids don't eat all their food, it gets saved for later and that's their snack. I try not to put too much on their plates in the first place, though. I'd rather have to give them seconds. And i do the same for myself. I also often cook only enough for 4 servings at a time unless i want there to be leftovers. It just becomes a matter of replacing habits with other habits. I used to cook WAY too much food and end up with leftovers that could take up the entire fridge, and do the same thing every day that week. Now we really only have leftovers when i plan for them.0 -
Bento boxes actually helped me a lot. There are a lot of food allergies in my family, which means the food is quite expensive, so every time there's a little left, it just kills me to see it go to waste!
then I started exploring the Japanese bento boxes for lunch, and with those, the way I was taught, leftovers are a big part of it. You fill the lunch box (bento box) with foods that are little bits and pieces of previous meals plus whatever new foods you add. So a lunch might be a left over meatball or two, plus 1/4 cup leftover rice that you cook up with a few left over veggies and add soy sauce too, plus a few left over pieces of various other veggies, and so on. (this was a good site for information on bentos, recipes, and links - http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-basics)
So now, when I see that little left over piece of food and have the urge to eat it, I get out either these little tupperware containers I got, or these little snack size ziploc baggies, and I use save the little bit of food instead. It's gone beyond bento boxes, now. I might, say, use a few left over crunchy fried potatoes to garnish a salad instead of crutons later (or a few crumbled up doritos, as my son does, LOL), or take a couple pieces of fruit, blend them up and heat them, and pour them over one last piece of meat, or my kids might roll one little pancake around them.
It has helped me feel like I'm not wasting the food, and it's honestly helped me with late meals as they end up being partially made already, when I start thinking in terms of what leftovers I can combine and make things out of, you know?
Or at least...this has helped when I do it. I've been bad lately and not doing it like I should, and it shows! I've been getting back on the wagon again recently. :-)0 -
Bento boxes actually helped me a lot. There are a lot of food allergies in my family, which means the food is quite expensive, so every time there's a little left, it just kills me to see it go to waste!
then I started exploring the Japanese bento boxes for lunch, and with those, the way I was taught, leftovers are a big part of it. You fill the lunch box (bento box) with foods that are little bits and pieces of previous meals plus whatever new foods you add. So a lunch might be a left over meatball or two, plus 1/4 cup leftover rice that you cook up with a few left over veggies and add soy sauce too, plus a few left over pieces of various other veggies, and so on. (this was a good site for information on bentos, recipes, and links - http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-basics)
So now, when I see that little left over piece of food and have the urge to eat it, I get out either these little tupperware containers I got, or these little snack size ziploc baggies, and I use save the little bit of food instead. It's gone beyond bento boxes, now. I might, say, use a few left over crunchy fried potatoes to garnish a salad instead of crutons later (or a few crumbled up doritos, as my son does, LOL), or take a couple pieces of fruit, blend them up and heat them, and pour them over one last piece of meat, or my kids might roll one little pancake around them.
It has helped me feel like I'm not wasting the food, and it's honestly helped me with late meals as they end up being partially made already, when I start thinking in terms of what leftovers I can combine and make things out of, you know?
Or at least...this has helped when I do it. I've been bad lately and not doing it like I should, and it shows! I've been getting back on the wagon again recently. :-)
That's awesome! I'm going to look further into this. Thanks!0 -
It's been an interesting couple of days, filled with purposeful tossing of food (or asking my husband to toss it when I felt like I would sneak a taste on the way to the trash - Read: kids got jr. milkshakes last night as a treat) and I've felt ok about it. Tossing = scrambled eggs or half a piece of toast. Kept = the meat from the half of a hamburger that my daughter didn't eat (home grilled, 93% lean) So anyhow, good choices are a little easier today than last week. I still ate 3 cups of popcorn the other night instead of one, but it's a one-day-at-a-time game.
Thanks for all the great input! I won't feed my cat
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Mezzie1024 wrote: »Instead of saying no, say yes to something else. Look at that cookie* and say yes, I am going to stick to today's calorie goal. Yes, I am going to meet my weight loss goal for the week/month. Yes, I am going to prove to myself that I do have willpower. Yes, I will be a positive example of responsible eating to those who look up to me (if there are kids in the house). Yes, I am going to build new habits. Yes, everything DOES count. Yes, I am going to choose fruit over cookies.
People don't have staying power when they're working against something, but they do when they work towards something they are passionate about. Change the paradigm.
When it comes down to it, you're a sentient being in a battle against a cookie. In this scenario, you really should win.
*or other temptation. For what it's worth, I do believe in treats in moderation when they fit within your goal, but only you are the judge of whether or not moderation is something you can do successfully at this stage.
Yes!! Brilliant. I am using this starting NOW!!!0 -
Mezzie1024 wrote: »Instead of saying no, say yes to something else. Look at that cookie* and say yes, I am going to stick to today's calorie goal. Yes, I am going to meet my weight loss goal for the week/month. Yes, I am going to prove to myself that I do have willpower. Yes, I will be a positive example of responsible eating to those who look up to me (if there are kids in the house). Yes, I am going to build new habits. Yes, everything DOES count. Yes, I am going to choose fruit over cookies.
People don't have staying power when they're working against something, but they do when they work towards something they are passionate about. Change the paradigm.
When it comes down to it, you're a sentient being in a battle against a cookie. In this scenario, you really should win.
*or other temptation. For what it's worth, I do believe in treats in moderation when they fit within your goal, but only you are the judge of whether or not moderation is something you can do successfully at this stage.
Yes!! Brilliant. I am using this starting NOW!!!
I didn't read the entire above quote. The bold section and the sentence underneath are perfect. Thanks for showing it again, kmdowd1.0 -
Waste or Waist.
Free food still has calories.
Knowledge is power.
Choices; consequences.
Does it really taste that good?
Do I have time to enjoy it?0 -
Sometimes your first heart attack will be a good motivator
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