What's your "achilles heel?"

davemacdonald31
davemacdonald31 Posts: 196 Member
Mine is pepsi and chips. I crave the caffeine and salty snacks. I would have a big bag of chips and a pop/soda on my way to work in the morning! Yes, that was my breakfast. I would have like 3-4 pepsi's a day. The 571ml bottle. Just the cost alone was brutal. But I'm happy to say, I haven't had either for 4 days now. I am trying to quit them cold turkey. I do have some headaches from lack of caffeine, but nothing I can't handle.

What are the bad things you guys and gals are trying to give up?
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Replies

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    My original achilles heel was alcohol. When I started losing weight I cut it to about every other week but I would sneak in extra nights and while it was not completely stopping my weight loss it was definitely a negative impact. I made my decision to cut back to a 6 or so times a year so I could still have higher calorie mixed drinks but it is so seldom even if I go over my calories those days it is not a big deal. I have considered giving it up entirely but I am not sure I want to adult that much yet. :smiley:

    There were 2 items I also decided to not have in the house for quite some time. One was jerky and the other was Reeses PB cups. Neither item was something I craved but they were both things that once I started eating I found it hard to find a stopping place. I have a better sense of control now around them. I have had Halloween candy in the garage fridge and I haven't touched it since Christmas.
  • jjlewey
    jjlewey Posts: 248 Member
    Peanut m&ms, I would eat the entire package no matter the size, that and soda.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    Not so much a what but a why. I am a stress/boredom eater so if I am stressed or bored all the food is game!
  • davemacdonald31
    davemacdonald31 Posts: 196 Member
    Not so much a what but a why. I am a stress/boredom eater so if I am stressed or bored all the food is game!

    I feel your pain!
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    Not so much a what but a why. I am a stress/boredom eater so if I am stressed or bored all the food is game!

    I feel your pain!

    It's a work-in-progress! Trying to set myself daily wellbeing goals to help combat it.
  • jlucas210
    jlucas210 Posts: 43 Member
    Mine are chips, mac & cheese, chicken fingers & ranch. I still have them, but am much more careful about weighing them & staying aware of what/how much I'm eating. I no longer take the bag of chips to the couch. I weigh out one or 2 servings in a bowl & leave the bag in the kitchen. :smile:
  • jjlewey
    jjlewey Posts: 248 Member
    Good insight jlucas, moderation is the key. I find just the act of weighing stuff out and looking at the calorie amounts helps me make better decisions.
  • shrinking_amazonian
    shrinking_amazonian Posts: 26 Member
    I love chips and dip - like a big container of sour cream with french onion soup mix stirred in and salty salty chips. I would eat the whole thing of both before my hubs got home from work.

    If I am being truly honest, terrifyingly honest, my biggest problem is sneak eating. If I had a burger on the way home I'd hide the wrapper under yesterday's garbage. Those chips? Well I'd make sure I ate all of them to leave no evidence. The thing I am working on the most is being honest with myself and those I care about most about how much and what I am eating. Hiding the food I am eating out of shame isn't doing me any good and it has only made me miserable.
  • davemacdonald31
    davemacdonald31 Posts: 196 Member
    I love chips and dip - like a big container of sour cream with french onion soup mix stirred in and salty salty chips. I would eat the whole thing of both before my hubs got home from work.

    If I am being truly honest, terrifyingly honest, my biggest problem is sneak eating. If I had a burger on the way home I'd hide the wrapper under yesterday's garbage. Those chips? Well I'd make sure I ate all of them to leave no evidence. The thing I am working on the most is being honest with myself and those I care about most about how much and what I am eating. Hiding the food I am eating out of shame isn't doing me any good and it has only made me miserable.

    This is me 100%! I did the exact same thing. You are the female version of me!
  • davemacdonald31
    davemacdonald31 Posts: 196 Member
    I love chips and dip - like a big container of sour cream with french onion soup mix stirred in and salty salty chips. I would eat the whole thing of both before my hubs got home from work.

    If I am being truly honest, terrifyingly honest, my biggest problem is sneak eating. If I had a burger on the way home I'd hide the wrapper under yesterday's garbage. Those chips? Well I'd make sure I ate all of them to leave no evidence. The thing I am working on the most is being honest with myself and those I care about most about how much and what I am eating. Hiding the food I am eating out of shame isn't doing me any good and it has only made me miserable.

    Also, can you add me as a friend? I've been trying to add you, but I keep getting kicked out of the site!
  • merph518
    merph518 Posts: 702 Member
    Impatience. I get frustrated when I hit a plateau and hover around the same weight for a while. It doesn't throw me off track in terms of eating/activity, but it does get to me and bums me out.
  • shrinking_amazonian
    shrinking_amazonian Posts: 26 Member
    merph518 wrote: »
    Impatience. I get frustrated when I hit a plateau and hover around the same weight for a while. It doesn't throw me off track in terms of eating/activity, but it does get to me and bums me out.

    Yes! It can be so discouraging. Have you taken your measurements this time around? It gives another set of numbers you can check (if that is your thing) when the scale isn't moving. I find it helps me :smile:
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    merph518 wrote: »
    Impatience. I get frustrated when I hit a plateau and hover around the same weight for a while. It doesn't throw me off track in terms of eating/activity, but it does get to me and bums me out.

    Yes! It can be so discouraging. Have you taken your measurements this time around? It gives another set of numbers you can check (if that is your thing) when the scale isn't moving. I find it helps me :smile:

    Measurements are a good suggestion. Pictures can be helpful too.

    As I mentioned in the numbers thread I am in a temporary holding pattern of about 3.5 pounds. It is SO common for me to wait 3 weeks before getting a new low weight on the scale I have just had to kind of suck it up. I would have to go back and look at when it started but I am sure it has happened pretty regularly over the last 50 pounds.

    If it goes along the normal routine sometime early next week I will start dropping and by the end of the week I should be 5 pounds lighter. Some people call it a whoosh. There is a theory called "squishy fat":

    https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/

    It is only a theory though and many people think it is wrong. I wonder if it is right but just not true for everyone. It doesn't really matter though because true or not it doesn't change anything. Sometimes we just have to wait.
  • merph518
    merph518 Posts: 702 Member
    Yes! It can be so discouraging. Have you taken your measurements this time around? It gives another set of numbers you can check (if that is your thing) when the scale isn't moving. I find it helps me :smile:
    NovusDies wrote: »
    Measurements are a good suggestion. Pictures can be helpful too.

    No, I've never really taken measurements. I should. I generally see the difference in how clothes fit, and I know that things are still going well... but having more numbers to track might help.

    Definitely do the picture thing, not the half-nude ones I see all over the place, but enough to see a difference.
  • Jackie9003
    Jackie9003 Posts: 1,116 Member
    Vodka is my downfall, I do measure it out and only have it a couple of times a month but after a few measures I get the munchies and will eat everything in the house given the chance.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Jackie9003 wrote: »
    Vodka is my downfall, I do measure it out and only have it a couple of times a month but after a few measures I get the munchies and will eat everything in the house given the chance.

    Vodka is definitely my alcohol of choice. I do like a good Scotch and like all good southern boys I like Jack Daniels on occasion but vodka is my go to. I used to miss having it more but now I am thankful those days are rare. It is just so hard to have the drinking experience I want without the food that goes with it.

    At some point I may choose to handle it differently and try to do lower calorie alternatives but for now that is not an option I wish to entertain. Very likely in late October I will have my vodka and I will enjoy it and then I will put it away again.
  • Jackie9003
    Jackie9003 Posts: 1,116 Member
    I've started buying expensive ones so I'm less likely to drink in great quantity, I always mix with diet coke though so calorie wise it's not too bad.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Jackie9003 wrote: »
    I've started buying expensive ones so I'm less likely to drink in great quantity, I always mix with diet coke though so calorie wise it's not too bad.

    I am among the minority of people for whom artificial sweeteners tastes really bad. This is especially true when mixed with alcohol so all diet drinks are out for me. That was one of the reasons I have elected to just drink really rarely.
  • Jackie9003
    Jackie9003 Posts: 1,116 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    Jackie9003 wrote: »
    I've started buying expensive ones so I'm less likely to drink in great quantity, I always mix with diet coke though so calorie wise it's not too bad.

    I am among the minority of people for whom artificial sweeteners tastes really bad. This is especially true when mixed with alcohol so all diet drinks are out for me. That was one of the reasons I have elected to just drink really rarely.

    I stopped drinking cider because of the calories, I would do the same as you if I couldn't tolerate diet drinks. It must be a blessing and a curse.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Jackie9003 wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    Jackie9003 wrote: »
    I've started buying expensive ones so I'm less likely to drink in great quantity, I always mix with diet coke though so calorie wise it's not too bad.

    I am among the minority of people for whom artificial sweeteners tastes really bad. This is especially true when mixed with alcohol so all diet drinks are out for me. That was one of the reasons I have elected to just drink really rarely.

    I stopped drinking cider because of the calories, I would do the same as you if I couldn't tolerate diet drinks. It must be a blessing and a curse.

    That is funny because I often think of things in those terms. Not just drinking but many things.
  • mo8414
    mo8414 Posts: 13 Member
    The hardest thing for me to stop was drinking pepsi. I would easily drink 2 liters a day but usually more. I would get cravings for it bad. It took me 2 weeks to finally get over it with no more cravings and I had a massive headache for about 2 days from caffeine withdrawl. Now I drink only water which I absolutly could not stand at first but now I'm used to it and actually crave the water when I'm thirsty. I've tried quitting pop in the past which would last about 4 days then I'd be drinking it again. This time I'm finally over it, been over a month now.
  • Jackie9003
    Jackie9003 Posts: 1,116 Member
    I've always struggled with plain water too, I got a filter jug for the fridge and now it's what I drink the most.
  • jjlewey
    jjlewey Posts: 248 Member
    Today was my first craving since I started a couple of weeks ago, something I have eaten all my life, cereal. All day I planned on having some after work, I get home and pour the cereal into a bowl. Then I think, measure it out, so I weigh what I poured out. 6 servings worth wtf, I cant eat that much, I decided on 3. I measure out the milk and eat my little reward. Little victories, still less than 2500 calories today, before I would have eaten 6 or more servings of cereal instead if 3. Who the hell ever ate just 1 serving of cereal according to the packaging anyways? Keep up the fight!
  • wsualumohsix
    wsualumohsix Posts: 27 Member
    Pizza...all freaking day. I have gotten to the point that I allow myself to have it once every couple weeks or once a month now. Instead of eating the entire thing like I used to, I throw half of it in the trash immediately...upside down.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    jjlewey wrote: »
    Today was my first craving since I started a couple of weeks ago, something I have eaten all my life, cereal. All day I planned on having some after work, I get home and pour the cereal into a bowl. Then I think, measure it out, so I weigh what I poured out. 6 servings worth wtf, I cant eat that much, I decided on 3. I measure out the milk and eat my little reward. Little victories, still less than 2500 calories today, before I would have eaten 6 or more servings of cereal instead if 3. Who the hell ever ate just 1 serving of cereal according to the packaging anyways? Keep up the fight!

    Good job.

    Cereal is extremely disappointing on serving size unless you really just want a handful with no milk as a snack. I hesitate to think how many calories of it I would once have in a single sitting. I wasn't much of a volume eater in those days but cereal was the exception. I would make a moderately sized mixing bowl full of it and sometimes go back for another half bowl for seconds. The only good news was that I didn't want it or buy it that often. I would get a box finish it off too quickly then usually it would be a couple of months before I would do that again. I still crave Golden Grahams on occasion but I am fortunate it is not more often because even 3 servings is not really enough and it doesn't fill me for long so I am hungry again in a couple of hours.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Pizza...all freaking day. I have gotten to the point that I allow myself to have it once every couple weeks or once a month now. Instead of eating the entire thing like I used to, I throw half of it in the trash immediately...upside down.

    I dropped down to a thin crust so I could eat more of it in a sitting. I can usually make an entire medium thin crust (depending on toppings) fit in my calories once a week with no problem. Regular pizza is a requirement for me. I would not have lost weight if I had tried to cut it out of my plan entirely. I have made that mistake in the past and it always backfired.
  • dhiammarath
    dhiammarath Posts: 834 Member
    I'm not at all a big food person. I grew up super picky and now I have food allergies that limit my already (albeit slightly broadened) limited food choices.

    However, there are a few things I would love to indulge in EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. (And did. Numerous times and were a direct contributor to weight gain).

    Peanut M&Ms.
    Starbucks Frapps (which I can't have anymore, at least not in the US).
    Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches (also hard to have now, but YUM YUM).
    Mac'n'Cheese (can't have that either -- at least not easily ;.;)

    So that really leaves Peanut M&Ms and granola. I could mindlessly hork down a whole bag of them babies - and did on vacation! >.>

    So Peanut M&Ms are not allowed in the house.

    They will be eaten.

    dun, dun, dunn~
  • jjlewey
    jjlewey Posts: 248 Member
    I'm not at all a big food person. I grew up super picky and now I have food allergies that limit my already (albeit slightly broadened) limited food choices.

    However, there are a few things I would love to indulge in EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. (And did. Numerous times and were a direct contributor to weight gain).

    Peanut M&Ms.
    Starbucks Frapps (which I can't have anymore, at least not in the US).
    Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches (also hard to have now, but YUM YUM).
    Mac'n'Cheese (can't have that either -- at least not easily ;.;)

    So that really leaves Peanut M&Ms and granola. I could mindlessly hork down a whole bag of them babies - and did on vacation! >.>

    So Peanut M&Ms are not allowed in the house.

    They will be eaten.

    dun, dun, dunn~

    I am with ya on the peanut m&ms. They are the devil.
  • eastjc
    eastjc Posts: 32 Member
    Pretzels get me so I have to avoid that isle in the store.

    Vodka's been a problem before too. Haven't touched it in 3 months though so not drinking 10k calories a night works wonders for weight loss!
  • dhiammarath
    dhiammarath Posts: 834 Member
    @jjlewey But so tastyyyy...