I cannot be left alone with chocolate

gabbyo23

How pathetic. I'm a grown *kitten* woman. I am an adult. I can manage to stick to my calories allowance perfectly fine and make sensible choices but leave me alone with chocolate in the house and I just seem to become completely unable to just not eat it!!!!

At least this time I weighed it first. I'm going to have to relocate work my whole days calories now to fit in that massive load of junk....it wasn't even that nice and I've eaten it before 9am!! So I managed like..2 hours alone in the house before I gave in.

For this reason i dont usually keep certain fooda in the house. Chocolate, crisps, mayonnaise, cake, takeaway menu. With the festive season approaching however we have already had several gifts of chocolate.

I tried to get my husband to take it all to work with him but he didn't want to take a big box of fancy chocolates with him....fair enough...honestly I just can't wait for January when all the food madness stops and I can focus without having "distractions" everywhere!!! It's bad enough all the ads on TV and on every Street corner for yummy Xmas food and drink

kommodevaran

I am the same way. I have stopped thinking I'm a failure and just accepted that I need to protect myself. So I don't buy anything I don't intend to eat, and I'm happy with that. No reason to taunt oneself unnecessarily.

Maybe you can choose other kinds of gifts next year?

kristikitter

Gabby, I completely sympathise. I am like this too. I have to actively work not to eat the chocolate that's in the house (I didn't buy it and it's not for me, but I KNOW it is there!).

Can your husband hide it from you? Out of sight, out of mind, etc. Or can you leave the boxes unopened and re-gift them for Secret Santas, etc.?

zyxst

Have you tried keeping it in the freezer/fridge? My husband tends to forget about foods if they're not within line-of-sight. Me, I just can't chew cold chocolate due to bad teeth.

LivingtheLeanDream

I love chocolate, a lot of us do... I will have a few squares of good chocolate every day and savour the taste. Some people find they just have to stay away from it as they can't eat it in moderation. If that's the case with you then don't buy it/bring it into the house.

If you have to have some, log it and eat it. But only if it fits into your calories. Alot of the craving is just a notion, practise mind over matter because that thinking eventually pays off.

Once upon a time I wasn't able to say no to scoffing lots of it but habits change. You have to want to lose weight badly enough I guess.

joeykittel13

Hey Gabby,

Your struggle is real. It is really a matter of willpower. Hear me out... (please do not get offended, I am coming from a purely objective standpoint and mean in no way to criticize or condemn you, just want to offer my advice or help, hope you take away one gold nugget or some value).

"Like a muscle, willpower can be developed and exercised - and get fatigued. Exercising willpower is largely a matter of deciding how badly you want what you are after, and focusing on the emotional consequences of the choice in front of you.

People persevere longer not only when they want the reward more, but when they take pride in their determination, or feel shame for quitting. Developing willpower is partly a matter of strengthening those emotional associations."

With that being said... What is your "Why?"

What is your vision? What is your goal? Why do you want to lose weight? (I'm assuming you're feeling guilty about eating chocolate cause you're going off your diet). It has to be a very strong vision and goal that you cannot waver from for anything. It's mentally very taxing and challenging. But if you can pull it off, the rewards are higher self-esteem, confidence (that's real, not fake), and hard-won wisdom.

So it's really going to come down to why do you want this so badly that no "temporary pleasure" can de-rail you from the long term. It's going to have to be something so strong emotionally that you just can't give in. Your goal is too important to your overall happiness for you to give into any temporary pleasure.

It will take incredible mental strength and the fact that you're on here shows that you do want more for yourself.

And just about your comment about "Can't wait for January when all the food madness stops and you can focus without having distractions." Just a couple of things to consider.

1.) There will always be "something," an obstacle of some sort tempting you.
2.) If you're waiting for January to be come then you're settling to living a mediocre life in December.

Practical tips:

Whenever you're in a situation where you need to exercise willpower ask yourself these questions:
1.) How am I going to feel if I win this fight through?
2.) How am I going to feel if I lose this fight through?
3.) How am I going to feel if consistently I win this fight through?
4.) How am I going to feel if i consistently lose this fight through?

Remember, every time you make a good decision, it strengthens another good decision. Just like a bad decision strengthens a bad one.

"Good habits are hard to form, but easy to live with.
Bad habits are easy to form, but hard to live with."

I hope this helps and again, please do not take any of this personally or think that anything is wrong with you, this is just objective advice given from an outside perspective in the hopes that you can come out of this comment with newfound strength.

At the end of the day, it's all on you.

You can definitely do this... Whatever it is you want out of your goal.

Best,

Joey K.

MsAmandaNJ

Would you eat something that was specifically for your husband? If will power doesn't work, maybe respect will. Look at the chocolate and tell yourself that it's his and you cannot eat it. Eventually, you'll find your will power kicking in and you won't have to use a "trick".

Or take a piece or two, weigh it, and don't go back for more. It takes time, but eventually it gets easier. Most days I'm fine and can look at a food and not obsess over more...others are a struggle.

CattOfTheGarage

I'm quite short and have had surprisingly good results putting treats on a high shelf where they're out of my line of sight. Out of sight, out of mind! Over time, this has become less necessary, but it really helped.

benevempress

If you are getting gifts of food and looking for ways to get it out of the house, you can donate (unopened) boxes to local churches or food banks or you can gift them to neighbors, teachers, the fire/police departments, etc.

lemurcat12

gabbyo23 wrote: »

it wasn't even that nice

It often isn't. Realizing that -- that I was eating stupid stuff at work just because it was there and seemed like a good thing I should take advantage of, when I didn't even like it that much -- really helped me. Maybe you can use this as a learning experience?

Also, if you know it's not that great, instead of beating yourself up think about WHY you ate it. Did you convince yourself it would be amazing? Now you know better. Did you think you had to quickly eat it when alone, so others wouldn't see it? Or think that you'd eat it eventually so had to get it over with? Or once you had some that you'd blown it, so might as well overdo? Or were you comforting yourself for something else or thinking Christmas requires chocolate or I dunno, lots of possibilities?

Thinking through what happened is, IMO, really valuable and can help you think through a temptation and prevent it next time.

(I also agree with avoiding temptation when possible, but for me that's really not that possible this time of year.)

GottaBurnEmAll

This is a time of year I am very thankful I have celiac disease. There are many things I simply can't have and it makes it easy to avoid them.

I've been able to moderate treats in the past, but for some reason, I'm going through a phase where I can't right now.

So I feel you, OP. I've tried a lot of the tricks other people have mentioned in this thread, and they are all solid suggestions. I hope one works for you. My personal favorite is putting things in the freezer.

ninerbuff

Like anything else, if you apply yourself and create a NEW habit, it can be done. It usually starts with the mindset. Most people that overeat a certain food usually do so because in their head they think it's a limited supply. Reality is that it isn't, but just having the thought that someone else can have it before you do may lead to scarfing down as much as you can. I had this problem with my brothers and dad. When it came to seconds, no one was allowed until they finished what was initially on their plate. So we're racing to eat our first portions to get seconds. This habit carried on with me WELL after I had left home. I still today am a very fast eater. But I've learned to slow down now so not only can I enjoy my food, but I get full faster.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

vingogly

I'm a good cook -- so office "treats" are often store bought or not as good as something I'd make myself. I think through it; imagine how it would taste; and ask myself -- when I'm done will I more likely say, "Damn, I'm glad I ate that!" or "That was a real waste of calories!"

We had a Hallowe'en party here at work and people brought in treats. I made a first-rate pan of gingerbread with a lemon glaze, had one piece and took none of it home. I was satisfied with the piece I had, and frankly none of the things others brought were worth the calories to me.

I don't keep certain things around the house: candy or ice cream or cake. If I really want one of these things, I'll make a special trip to the store and get a serving -- but it has to be really good quality. No ice milk or waxy cheap chocolate bars. However, I'm single so I don't have to worry about a spouse's eating habits. It might sound silly, but you might want to get an inexpensive "candy safe" for your husband that he has the key or combination to, so you can't access it.

Here are some holiday tips from Beck Diet Solutions; the second link describes what Response Cards are (they're a technique used in cognitive behavioral therapy).

https://beckdietsolution.wordpress.com/2015/11/19/top-10-holiday-diet-tips/
https://beckdietsolution.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/how-to-write-response-cards/

jennypapage

buy a padlock, lock them in a cupboard,give your husband the key. problem solved, until you are able to be around it again.

icemom011

I'm a chocoholic as well. What works for me, is i save treat time for after dinner, so it's not treats all day, cause once you start, gosh... Also keeping things like that off the counters, either the fridge, freezer, cupboard, anything of that nature helps me. Last, but not least, if all fails and i keep on going for more, brush up for the night. That gets all the taste out of my mouth, and I'm not interested to do all the work again, so snacking stops.

krazy1sbk

I had this problem after Halloween - we had so much leftover candy! It was horrible, and I had to work it into my calories until it was all gone. It does help to have it out of sight (not sitting in a bowl on the table), but I just can't have it in my house at all if I don't want to eat it.

JeromeBarry1

The candy bowl in the room next door has Reese's, Kisses, 3Musketeers, Milky Way and Kit-Kats. When I started this journey I knew it was going to be a problem so I deliberately included 1 of them in my plan each work day. The Kisses are 25 calories and the Mini sizes of Snickers, Milky Way and 3Musketeers are all about 45 calories.
After 30 days of dutifully trudging to the candy bowl to get one Kiss, a day came in which I said, "Screw it, I don't wanna." And I didn't . And I haven't cared since.

daj150

I don't call this is a problem. I call it making myself happy. I just make sure I eat all other things during those days with the absurd amount of calories I had consumed and also make sure to get in some exercise, especially weight training to get that all-day-burn. I am hopeful one day I will learn self control and limit the quantity I consume in a given sitting...but I'll just make more reasonable adjustments for now until that happens...b/c hey...you can't always avoid stuff...and I don't know anyone with iron will power 100% of the time.

issa2101

gabbyo23 wrote: »

How pathetic. I'm a grown *kitten* woman. I am an adult. I can manage to stick to my calories allowance perfectly fine and make sensible choices but leave me alone with chocolate in the house and I just seem to become completely unable to just not eat it!!!!

At least this time I weighed it first. I'm going to have to relocate work my whole days calories now to fit in that massive load of junk....it wasn't even that nice and I've eaten it before 9am!! So I managed like..2 hours alone in the house before I gave in.

For this reason i dont usually keep certain fooda in the house. Chocolate, crisps, mayonnaise, cake, takeaway menu. With the festive season approaching however we have already had several gifts of chocolate.

I tried to get my husband to take it all to work with him but he didn't want to take a big box of fancy chocolates with him....fair enough...honestly I just can't wait for January when all the food madness stops and I can focus without having "distractions" everywhere!!! It's bad enough all the ads on TV and on every Street corner for yummy Xmas food and drink

I can totally relate!!! Try doing something that distracts you from the junk food. For example, today I did my nails. It usually works for me (even though I have like zero self control).

gma38059

@gabbyo23 - I struggle with chocolate as well... really struggle at those emotionally stressful times... and I've found that denying that craving can lead to overdoing it when I get around chocolate... so, I quit eating the candy bars & packaged chocolates completely. What I do for my chocolate fix is to keep semi-sweet baking chips in a lidded container & measure out one serving when I "need a chocolate fix". By eating one at a time and letting them melt (not chewing), I get past the "need" to a "want" that is easier to resist. Not sure if this makes any sense, but I'm down 30 pounds in the last year - don't want to lose faster since it stays off better if lost slowly... and this is one of the tricks I've started to help on that journey!

leanjogreen18

I buy or I should say my hubby buys the small pack of kisses. Sometimes I eat one or two and sometimes the whole pack (220 cal). But that's pretty much all the chocolate l have at home.

Individual servings or single serving of sweets and chips in my home so I have better control without restriction.

As the months tick by of watching my calories I've noticed more and more control.

Hang in there.

leejoyce31

I used to eat Kashi bars daily. So, I kept a stash. 8 weeks ago, I started 16:8 IF and I stopped eating the bars but I still have lots left over. Since menses is this week the cravings hit like a ton of bricks, and I had a huge splurge on Saturday of bars. I just couldn't contain myself. After I ate so many, I realized, I'm going to throw the rest of the boxes away. Since I don't eat these daily and haven't had a desire for any in 8 weeks, there's no reason to keep them in the house for the my next hormonal time.

I wish I had thought to throw them away before I got to my 10th bar.

It wasn't a big deal. I was up 3 pounds the next day. 1/2 is gone already and that urge to eat sweets won't return for another 6-8 weeks. I used to freak out, but I accept it now and move on.

I eat at a slight deficit most times just to prepare for such occasions. Unless it's hormonal, I no longer have an urge to eat sweets, and I am a "junk food" junkie. I know technically no food is junk, but that is the societal terminology for less healthy treats.

My kryptonite is chocolate candy, cookies, donuts and most other sweet treats. I could walk past a table full of deliciously prepared gourmet dishes and go for the sweets.

Over the past 18 months, I have no daily desire for it. Only certain times of the month every 6-8 weeks or so. But when those times come, man do I go for it! Then the next day, I'm back to my normal eating.