Throwing out junk food; yay or nay?

awingo5193 · December 2017

svel713 wrote: »

To stay within calorie goal, I avoid foods I know I go overboard with. Instead, I've replaced those foods with protein bars of similar flavors that dont have much sugar in them. You may just need to seek out replacement junk little by little.

The easiest one to find I recomment are Quest bars. Pure protein would be better if you're on a budget.

That's a good idea! I actually really like Quest bars. I always forget to buy them when I'm out.

awingo5193 · December 2017

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

I'd just end up overeating less satisfying stuff. No one should eat 400 calories in nuts. ever. lol

I've done this before with cashews and peanuts on different occasions. Lmao.

Goober1142 · December 2017

Someone gave me a piece of birthday cake. I cut it in seven pieces and put each piece in a baggie in the freezer. If I buy junk food I'll eat it. Think 8 servings of chips or a pint of Ben and Jerry's. Best not to have it in the house. I replace it with single serving bags of skinny pop or Yasso frozen yogurt bars or 40 cal fudge pops. I have dark chocolate kisses in the freezer. It's hard to eat too many when they're frozen solid!

sssgilbe · December 2017

toxikon wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

I'm creative, so I can make my own "junk food", though - dulce de leche mixed with peanuts, or almond butter with honey - sometimes I eat a bit more than I think would be optimal.

My fiance has been eating a small bowl of PB2 topped with low-fat whipped cream as his evening treat lately. Clever bugger.

My treat is just the reverse, CoolWhip sprinkled with chocolate PB2.

sssgilbe · December 2017

A few things that helped me:

Redefine treats. Instead of plowing through a bag of mediocre chocolate candy, I buy Green & Black's dark chocolate (Kroger, health food section), break off 9 squares and let each one melt in my mouth. Same for Christmas candy. I get individual chocolate covered Santas and have one every day or so instead of cramming a pound of waxy chocolate drops in my mouth on the way home from the grocery store. I have chocolate candy every day, but only the good stuff.

If I have something in the house that becomes an obsession (hello, pistachio nuts), the thought of it keeps me awake at night. In the morning, I have the strength to empty it into the trash but that trash bag has to go to the outdoor bin and be buried under dirty cat litter or I might just try to dig it out later in the day.

I keep 2 treats in the house, car, purse at all times--coffee hard candy and Sweetarts. When I have a sweet craving that doesn't stop after 20 minutes, 1-4 of those keeps me out of the Dairy Queen drive-through.

jemhh · December 2017

I'm similar to @CarvedTones. I am absolutely terrible about moderating sweets, even after nearly four years. I don't really think about them when I don't have them on hand but once they are in the house I obsess over them. I will wake up thinking about them, think about them all day, and they will be the last thing I think about when I go to bed that night. For the most part I try to keep the stuff I really like out of the house and instead have a slice of cake at a restaurant or an ice cream cone when I'm out and about so that I get the one serving and then don't have access to more.

CarvedTones · December 2017

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

I'd just end up overeating less satisfying stuff. No one should eat 400 calories in nuts. ever. lol

Pecans are my favorite nut. 400 calories? That's just 2 ounces if they are plain; less if they are candied. Another food that I cannot possess is pralines.

jennifer_417 · December 2017

I portion a lot of things out ahead of time. That way, if I'm craving something, I can just grab one portion.

pogiguy05 · December 2017

For me I cannot just get rid of everything bad. My wife and I care for elderly people in our home and she always buys stuff that is unhealthy to say the least. Since I have started with cleaner eating I find myself when out shopping looking at ALL the processed crap in the stores and it blows my mind at how much there is really. I guess I never SEEN it when I was just an uncontrolled munching machine.

For the most part I find I can stay away from all that surrounds me. I do have my moments, but thats another reason for going to the gym and getting them eat back calories.

SeikoMonster · December 2017

In the beginning it was very easy to have junk still sitting around and just ignore it. But now almost a year into my journey I am finding it harder to ignore the stuff. I guess it's just a matter of being so close and saying "ohhh what will one small handful of chips hurt?"

Trashed all junk the other day that had been in the fridge and freezer since January. Makes life simpler. I do find myself looking at calories of candy bars in the checkout line......

maybe1pe · December 2017

I think I reached a point where my goals were much more important to me than eating some of those foods. I do still buy things like chips and sweets (stocked up on candy after Halloween) but at this point in my journey (2.5 years) I know I can be responsible to only eat it sometimes. We also keep a ton of ice cream in the house... I haven't had any of it in going on 2 months. Not because I can't but because I haven't wanted any.

Initially it did help me to keep less junk in the house and the junk I did keep I would pre-portion into serving sizes in little ziplocs and if I wanted it I would only eat one.

awingo5193 · December 2017

maybe1pe wrote: »

I think I reached a point where my goals were much more important to me than eating some of those foods. I do still buy things like chips and sweets (stocked up on candy after Halloween) but at this point in my journey (2.5 years) I know I can be responsible to only eat it sometimes. We also keep a ton of ice cream in the house... I haven't had any of it in going on 2 months. Not because I can't but because I haven't wanted any.

Initially it did help me to keep less junk in the house and the junk I did keep I would pre-portion into serving sizes in little ziplocs and if I wanted it I would only eat one.

2.5 years is an awesome amount of time to stay dedicated!

maybe1pe · December 2017

awingo5193 wrote: »

maybe1pe wrote: »

I think I reached a point where my goals were much more important to me than eating some of those foods. I do still buy things like chips and sweets (stocked up on candy after Halloween) but at this point in my journey (2.5 years) I know I can be responsible to only eat it sometimes. We also keep a ton of ice cream in the house... I haven't had any of it in going on 2 months. Not because I can't but because I haven't wanted any.

Initially it did help me to keep less junk in the house and the junk I did keep I would pre-portion into serving sizes in little ziplocs and if I wanted it I would only eat one.

2.5 years is an awesome amount of time to stay dedicated!

Thanks! It honestly doesn't feel like it's been that long at all!

Sp1tfire · December 2017

keep the scooby doo graham sticks out of my house or i'll lose my frikkin mind

sksk1026 · December 2017

I don't keep gateway foods, like potato chips, in the house because I can't resist them. If I have a calorie deficit, I'll buy a small portion and eat it immediately. If I can't get a small portion I'll eat what I'm allowed and put the rest in the garbage. My husband is very supportive and only buys snacks that I don't like so I'm not tempted by them. I had to resort to these desperate measures because I basically have little control over my gateway foods! Someday I hope to be the kind of eater who just takes a couple of potato chips and forgets the rest of the bag in the cupboard. I suspect that is about as likely as pigs flying.

teagirlmedium · December 2017

I am a little in the middle on this one. Most snacks I was able to keep with me, but the foods or drinks I knew I would eat just because they are there had to go. Such as lasagna. If I see lasagna I am going to eat all of it. Italian ice is one of the junk foods I am going to want often or want if I see it, but I do not have a strong urge to eat all of it. Because I can put the Italian ice down I kept it in my freezer. Something else I did was to stop buying the family size of chips or cereals. For a while, chips were something I would not want often, but when I did the whole bag was going down. So I started purchasing smaller bags. Doing this helped me lose weight slowly over time and now I can't even finish a small bag of chips.