Avoiding sweets when others bring them home?

babyblu3sedan

I live in a house of five people, and I’m the only one who follows a healthy, balanced, plant based diet. I’m usually really good at sticking to it, however I have a huge sweet tooth and lately everyone in the house has been bringing home cakes/cookies/candies, etc. and I’m having a hard time keeping myself from them! Now and then is okay but the problem is if I have one I’ll end up having six 🤦🏼‍♀️ and it’s becoming a habit. I’ve tried taking walks, brushing my teeth, drinking water, or having a healthy filling meal to beat cravings, but the craving doesn’t go away and I end up giving in. Does anyone else have a similar problem? I’m afraid they’ll get annoyed if I ask them not to bring this stuff home. Any tips for avoiding cravings when you’re not in control of whether or not they’re in the house??

LyndaBSS

That can be a tough situation. I live alone so I rule the roost. But you can't tell others not to have their treats.

I found that within two weeks of eating pescatarian, my cravings were gone. That said, I was able to get through that time without distractions.

You're taking all the right steps. Be strong.

PAPYRUS3

I actually don't think it's 'fair' that you ask this of your roommates or family (doesn't really matter the relationship w/ them) to do so.

It's your issue - not theirs.

That's what one gets when the live with other people.

Perhaps you could ask them not to have them laid out all over the counter, etc., or consume them in front of you. All the goodies could be kept in a separate cupboard, etc., that you'll know 'not to look in'.

Instead of driving yourself crazy with your 'cravings', you could start enjoying reworking some recipes that are healthier, lower calorie, etc., If you are feeling deprived, you will end up devouring junk at some point. No way to live for sure.

Good luck - time to just resolve to 'grow up' and decide what you really want in life.

JeromeBarry1

I have a similar situation in my household. All of us, whether we have a household or not, have a superabundance of tempting food. There is enough food, cheap food, for all of us that we must learn to regard food as a necessary good which we use to nourish our lives. There is no need to seize the first opportunity to eat. Another will come along.

Yes, I know that someone reading this will say, "But MY cupboard is bare!". If you're reading this on the internet, you're rich.

apullum

If a treat fits into your calories and/or macros and you want it, then eating it is not a problem. The problem sounds like it's about eating more of the treats than you intended to eat.

I generally approach treats by considering whether they're special. Are these things foods that you can get anytime you want? It sounds like there are a lot of sweets coming into your house, which means they aren't special. You therefore don't need to eat them whenever they're available. You can pass on the ones that show up all the time or don't look quite as good. You can also pass on anything that you can get whenever you want, like things that came from a local restaurant or store. On the other hand, if it's someone's special homemade dessert that I hardly ever get and it looks really appealing, I'll probably eat it.

lalalacroix

What works for me is having my own treats. I love to have a snack at night so I keep the foods that I like and that I can moderate. For me it's fruit, good chocolate and wheat thins. And no one is allowed to touch my stash.

missysippy930

Learning self control. Find a way within yourself to either moderate, or abstain. No one can do this for you. Temptations are everywhere around us, not just at home. It’s impractical, and unfair, to expect others to abstain from foods that we can’t control over consuming. It isn’t easy, but it can be done.

RelCanonical

When I lived with roommates, although I wasn't losing weight at the time, I always tried to treat their food as their food, and me eating their food would be "stealing" even if it technically wasn't. There's so much good food in the work fridge right now, but it's not my food, so I don't even have the urge for it, as eating it in this case would be stealing, lol.

quagmirequeen

I have stewed apple and evaporated milk with sweet crtavings- I do'nt find I need to eat a lot of it. Not quite the same I know, but it might at least satisafy the urge to eat something sweet. You could perhaps ask your housemates to put them in a particular cupbard you don't use etc. but you can't stop them from bringing in and eating them! Give yourself brownie points when you resist. Go and do something like make a cup of tea/go for a short walk/change rooms to divert your mind.
Work is the worst place for me- people bringing in sweets and doughnuts etc all the time! I ocasssionally have something, but it really is about exercising willpwer- see above, distract your mind with something else.

ktekc

I go with the its not mine it would be stealing thing. if i can handle the guy at work handing out doughnuts, i can handle anything.

phx92

Dark chocolate chips are a good fill-in sweet. You can ask your roommates not to offer you any or to put them away if possible instead of leaving them on the counter. I’m mostly in the “it’s theirs and I can’t take it” boat. But I wouldn’t ask them to not bring it home unless they are bringing it home jus for your sake

beckyrpl

This is a tough one. I 'get' that it's not fair to ask the other people you live to NOT bring this stuff into the house. What you could do is ask that they put their 'goodies' somewhere where you don't have to see them constantly - away in the pantry, in a cupboard, whatever. I have a 'sweet-tooth' as well, but with me, if it's out of sight, it's not as tempting. Then, as others have suggested, get some treats of your own so you don't feel left out - dark chocolate, whatever.

elitesportsdude

I tend to go with Dark Cacao when im craving something sweet and it does the trick.

ku140

That is a really tough one. When I lost weight previously, every time I came across a treat I wanted, I would ask myself "Is this worth the time it will take to burn off the calories?".

Almost always, no....it was not worth 25 elliptical minutes for a candy bar I would be finished with in 5 minutes!

girlwithcurls2

I go with the "stealing" idea too. My problem is the stuff coming into work right now in anticipation of Halloween. I know that I won't moderate with a huge box of tiny treats. Before i know it, I will walked by three times and taken three treats each time. Sometimes I will go and log them BEFORE I eat them just to see for myself, what it will do to my nutrition goal for the day. Then I jump to the "is it worth it?" question. Usually, it's not. Sadly right now, I have to totally restrict them. I'm just not eating them. I have periods of my life when I can fit them in, but apparently this is not one of those times...

rheddmobile

I would start by asking if they could put treats out of sight. Having an alternative treat for yourself also sounds like it would be helpful.

Could you manage better if you allowed yourself one treat, and then had something more filling and lower calorie afterwards? That helps me, and so does reminding myself that I can have more tomorrow. For some reason my brain thinks I have to eat ALL the food RIGHT NOW, and I have to remind myself that I can eat one cookie today and there will still be cookies tomorrow. Of course if this isn’t true in your living situation, I guess that wouldn’t help!