Throwing out junk food; yay or nay?

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  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    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. :D
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
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    Personally, at home we try not to keep foods we have a hard time limiting ourselves on, getting them only for special treats. Otherwise, goodies we want, we have to want enough to go out and get them, lol. Thing's like chips and cookies, I usually separate into baggies, so I know how much I'm eating. That makes it easier to log, easier to feel satisfied without mindless munching, and means that if I do want extra, I have to go the extra step of getting a new baggie and logging it seperatly.
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
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    At times I have thrown away junk food because for me the process was twofold - 1) I would see the waste of my money and 2) seeing items I like but don't need going to waste helped me make better choices in the future. If donating works for you then that is a great option.

    My option to help manage this was to eat better junk . . . better quality, higher prices = less product :) Plus the added energy it took for me to get it, visiting the specialty candy store or bakery, etc..
  • awingo5193
    awingo5193 Posts: 14 Member
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    I didn't expect such fast responses, thank you everyone!

    Looking at certain foods as trigger foods will probably help. I already know to add chips to that list based on them taking up half my calorie goal today. :/ I think I'll start by eliminating foods I can't resist then see how I do and get rid of things as needed.

    Thanks again, guys!
  • batorkin
    batorkin Posts: 281 Member
    edited December 2017
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    alondrakayy wrote: »
    My favorite junk food is Hot Cheetos.

    Oh man you just had to remind me these exist. My hands use to be stained red in highschool because of those things.

    This is a perfect example of why I don't keep stuff in the house. If I had these in the house right now, this comment would make me go grab the bag and eat the entire thing. I don't have that option if I simply don't buy them. I even take it a step further and buy all my groceries online so I don't even see the junk food at the store.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    Yeah, it depends on the person and the food. I don't have trouble moderating sweets, but am a sucker for the salty stuff. I generally only eat chips as a special occasion thing now and don't keep them in the house. Popcorn I no longer buy the full-sized microwave bags but sometimes get single-serving bags or pre-popped. You don't have to cut out stuff entirely, but it does help to find compromises you can live with.
  • svel713
    svel713 Posts: 141 Member
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    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.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    I'd just end up overeating less satisfying stuff. No one should eat 400 calories in nuts. ever. lol
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    I won't even mention what I did to some of my kids' orange flavoured omega 3 gummies lol
  • batorkin
    batorkin Posts: 281 Member
    edited December 2017
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    mrsnattybulking wrote: »
    I'd just end up overeating less satisfying stuff. No one should eat 400 calories in nuts. ever. lol

    1-2 16oz bags of salted jumbo sunflower seeds A DAY for over 10 years (1330-2660 calories from nuts/day). I was always eating them to fill my hand-to-mouth addiction. Doctor tells me "Sunflower seeds are probably one of the healthier stacks, so don't worry about them", I don't think he realized how fast I was going through them.

    First thing I got rid of!
  • awingo5193
    awingo5193 Posts: 14 Member
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    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. :D
  • awingo5193
    awingo5193 Posts: 14 Member
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    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
    Goober1142 Posts: 219 Member
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    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
    sssgilbe Posts: 89 Member
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    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. :D

    My treat is just the reverse, CoolWhip sprinkled with chocolate PB2.
  • sssgilbe
    sssgilbe Posts: 89 Member
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    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
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    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
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    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
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    I portion a lot of things out ahead of time. That way, if I'm craving something, I can just grab one portion.
  • pogiguy05
    pogiguy05 Posts: 1,583 Member
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    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
    SeikoMonster Posts: 105 Member
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    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......

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