Snacks available in your home

Josh_lol

I still live at home with my parents and one of my brothers (one has moved out with his girlfriend). Since I don't get to control the weekly shopping, there's always tons of junk food littering the cupboards of the kitchen which I see every day. Things like potato chips, biscuits, cookies, mini apple pies etc.

Originally, this was one of the problems with me when I was putting on the weight; since there was food there, I'd rather eat it rather than let it go to waste. I've tried addressing the problem with my family but to no avail.

So in order to lose weight and avoid eating the wrong sorts of foods, I have to summon up a lot of willpower every time I go to eat something from the kitchen. It's been hard to teach myself to just not bother with junk food that's available for me but Ive been doing pretty well for the first 2 weeks of my diet so far.

So here's the point of my post; do/have any of you suffer(ed) from a similar problem? How did you overcome it? Did you just stop eating junk food cold turkey or did you get your family to hide the junk food from plain sight?

Athena53

DH and I have very different food needs. He's on meds that depress his appetite so I want to make sure there are goodies around that he likes but that I can pass up easily. Fortunately, I've gotten VERY picky about sweets and other not-good-for-you foods since I changed my eating habits. It just doesn't tempt me because I know it's generally not going to taste as good as it looks, it won't be very satisfying and it will probably have a chemical aftertaste. I'm also aware that there are some foods that are hard to stop eating once I start, mostly those with sugar. The last couple of weeks I've stayed away form the candy jar at work (even though 3 or 4 Hershey's kisses during the day aren't going to kill me) because I'm going in for a blood test and last time my glucose was a little high and I want to see if stopping candy for 2 weeks changes that. It's been surprisingly easy.

So, that's my long-winded experience. A few thoughts:

1. Do NOT worry about food going to waste. I hate that, too, and am careful to use leftovers and freeze excess food that can be frozen, but in the end it's a thousand times better to throw it out than to eat something that's going to sabotage your diet. And if some gets thrown out, maybe your parents will buy less.

2. Know your trigger foods. If there are some things you can't stop eating once you start, don't start.

3. Have your own "go-to" snacks. I keep baby carrots around and I dip them in salsa. I'll also have 6 saltine crackers (72 calories) if I need starch. I eat sunflower seeds, but I get them in the shell so I have to work to get anything edible out of them!

4. If you do eat something junky, choose it carefully (my weakness is anything with frosting), sit down and thoroughly enjoy it. Much more satisfying than mindlessly munching potato chips while watching TV. Then go back to lean meat and baby carrots. If you're like me, you may lose your taste for the foods that are around your house.

5. For me, it does help if the food is out of sight.

Good luck, and I hope your parents are supportive. You're doing a good thing.

Lizzy622

Help clean up and organize the kitchen. Find a spot out of sight to put all the not so good for you stuff. Make sure the good for you stuff is easier to get. Helping to keep a neat organized kitchen and even cooking for the family will show your commitment to a better lifestyle. Actions speak MUCH LOUDER than words.

Josh_lol

DH and I have very different food needs. He's on meds that depress his appetite so I want to make sure there are goodies around that he likes but that I can pass up easily. Fortunately, I've gotten VERY picky about sweets and other not-good-for-you foods since I changed my eating habits. It just doesn't tempt me because I know it's generally not going to taste as good as it looks, it won't be very satisfying and it will probably have a chemical aftertaste. I'm also aware that there are some foods that are hard to stop eating once I start, mostly those with sugar. The last couple of weeks I've stayed away form the candy jar at work (even though 3 or 4 Hershey's kisses during the day aren't going to kill me) because I'm going in for a blood test and last time my glucose was a little high and I want to see if stopping candy for 2 weeks changes that. It's been surprisingly easy.

So, that's my long-winded experience. A few thoughts:

1. Do NOT worry about food going to waste. I hate that, too, and am careful to use leftovers and freeze excess food that can be frozen, but in the end it's a thousand times better to throw it out than to eat something that's going to sabotage your diet. And if some gets thrown out, maybe your parents will buy less.

2. Know your trigger foods. If there are some things you can't stop eating once you start, don't start.

3. Have your own "go-to" snacks. I keep baby carrots around and I dip them in salsa. I'll also have 6 saltine crackers (72 calories) if I need starch. I eat sunflower seeds, but I get them in the shell so I have to work to get anything edible out of them!

4. If you do eat something junky, choose it carefully (my weakness is anything with frosting), sit down and thoroughly enjoy it. Much more satisfying than mindlessly munching potato chips while watching TV. Then go back to lean meat and baby carrots. If you're like me, you may lose your taste for the foods that are around your house.

5. For me, it does help if the food is out of sight.

Good luck, and I hope your parents are supportive. You're doing a good thing.

Thanks! I generally just munch on some sort of fruit if I feel peckish in the middle of the day. Just yesterday, I realised I'd lost a stone and treated myself to a subway and some ice cream when i got home. I opted for a light option; turkey and ham loaded with salad. And kept it to 100ml of ice cream which was much more satisfying to eat even with the little amount there.

I've started going to the gym 3-5 times a week now as well which helps me stay away from the junk food in my house and it also makes me feel better and more energetic.

tomaspetro

Hi, we share the same goal weight but not quite the same experience. I'm the one who brings home the junk food for my wife who binges on chips and twizzlers, but, she isn't overweight and she doesn't graze like I have. Whether at home, the grocery store or a restaurant, the junk food will always be there. Part of dealing with it is saying no to junk but the bigger part is saying yes to yourself and your health. I had a dark chocolate bar yesterday but stayed under my calorie goal. Logging in everything that passes my lips is exceedingly important. Knowlege is power and if I know what"s going in, I'm motivated to change and control it. Ignored problems just don't get solved. I've ignored my problem for longer than you've been alive and nothing changed except my weght. Perhaps your folks don't really understand that this is important to you and it might be difficult for you to talk to them but talk and find out. Don't dismiss their possible contribution to your situation without at least talking to them about it. Make this more than a diet.

Josh_lol

Help clean up and organize the kitchen. Find a spot out of sight to put all the not so good for you stuff. Make sure the good for you stuff is easier to get. Helping to keep a neat organized kitchen and even cooking for the family will show your commitment to a better lifestyle. Actions speak MUCH LOUDER than words.

There's not a lot of free space in the kitchen so it might be difficult to find somewhere to move everything or re-arrange the food. But I've always cooked for the family at least once a week. Spaghetti bolognaise is one of my favourite dishes to make. I watch the portions to make sure there's not too much, I use lean ground beef and the rest of the ingredients are vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, garlic) and oregano for flavour instead of salt.

hazleyes81

Decide what you're going to eat before you even go to the kitchen or pantry. Don't browse! You can also buy some healthy snacks that don't need refrigeration and keep them in a Tupperware in your room.

louisegibbs85

First of all you sound like you are doing really well ... well done, your willpower is obviously doing you justice. When I first started healthy eating being around naughty food was hard work but I found that with time my want for them has decreased because I'm just not used to having them on a daily basis anymore, instead I snack on fruit, nuts and dried fruit, yoghurts, protein drink and cereal bars .... far from the 8 donuts I used to eat in one sitting haha I used to have a 'treat cupboard' were everything was out of sight but I find it easy to just ignore rubbish now because my want to succeed on my weight loss journey far exceeds my want to eat crap. I do have treats still, ill have somethinh if I really fancy it not simply because its just there

Chezzie84

I live with my boyfriend and because he has a manual job, he is one of these disgusting people who can eat whatever he wants and does not put on a pound.
There are always tons of biscuits, sweets and chocolate in my house but it is in a cupboard of its own. This way during the normal course of a day, I don't have to go in it. So therefore the temptation has been taken away.

shano25

Ask whoever is doing the shopping to buy what you want for snacks. Then when it comes home, get it all prepared (washed and cut up, divide into servings) and put in plastic baggies. That way, whenever you want something to eat, it is all ready for you to just grab it and go. I know that if I go into the kitchen knowing I have to take the time to prepare my snack, I'd rather just reach for the chips instead.

knra_grl

It's difficult to have lots of snack foods in the house - my weakness is salty snacks like potato chips so I don't really buy them unless my son asks me to pick them up for him (which he rarely does - if he wants it he buys it).

Maybe you could offer to help out your mom or whoever does the grocery shopping so that you could explain what your issue is one on one and show her what you would like to eat as an alternative to the junk food. I quit buying soda all together if my son wants it he has to buy it himself. That being said if he tells me we need some fruit in the house I will go out and get some.

Sorry OP it's hard to control what comes in the house when you aren't the one buying it but maybe this could work.

Athena53

I've started going to the gym 3-5 times a week now as well which helps me stay away from the junk food in my house and it also makes me feel better and more energetic.

That should help a lot. I'm 61 and I do cardio every day unless I'm deathly ill. It's not just the calorie burn, although that helps- it's the overall effects.

Josh_lol

First of all you sound like you are doing really well ... well done, your willpower is obviously doing you justice. When I first started healthy eating being around naughty food was hard work but I found that with time my want for them has decreased because I'm just not used to having them on a daily basis anymore, instead I snack on fruit, nuts and dried fruit, yoghurts, protein drink and cereal bars .... far from the 8 donuts I used to eat in one sitting haha I used to have a 'treat cupboard' were everything was out of sight but I find it easy to just ignore rubbish now because my want to succeed on my weight loss journey far exceeds my want to eat crap. I do have treats still, ill have somethinh if I really fancy it not simply because its just there

Thanks I do go out of my way to try and get myself some healthier snacks. Fat-free yoghurts, fresh and tinned fruit (I freaking love apples) and they make for a great replacement from the usual stuff I'd eat. I'm not too bothered about the junk food being there in the cupboard as long as i have an alternative to snack on.

bluetuesday5

Find something healthier that you like and have it ready for a snack. My favourite is chicken. I will chuck a couple of seasoned breasts in with dinner so I have a healthy snack for later and don't have to eat junk.

MinMin97

Ask your parents how you can help with grocery shopping? Think in terms of asking how you can be of help. You could offer to make dinner once per week (and thus leftovers). Eating well is a habit that can get knocked out of practice because life's dynamics get hard to manage. See how you can help.

970Mikaela1

We have four kids. Every snack imaginable is here. I bake cookies routinely. I just dont eat them. I know how to achieve my goals and right now they don't fit in my calories. Good Luck and stay strong!

FromHereOnOut

Yes, I have a similar problem.

Sometimes I do okay, sometimes not.


The best thing that I've done, that helps, is to go ahead and decide to have the cheetos, and to log them into MFP ***BEFORE*** I eat them. OFTEN, I'll see how they totally blow my macros and I'll start experimenting with other ideas (protein shake? yogurt? toast? egg?) in MFP to see how they shuffle my macros, and eventually I settle on something (sometimes it's the cheetohs and sometimes it's not, but at least it was a conscious decision and not just a cupboard raid).

Good luck!

LJ210993

Hello! I had/still have that problem. I live with my parents and my dad is tall and skinny, but he loves his chocolate and biscuits. So our weekly shopping does include a lot of junk food, but the way that I handle it is by getting my own 'junk food'.

For snacks, I've been buying myself packs of Freddos (Poundshop all the way for these), any Weight Watchers snacks I can find, mini Galaxy Ripples and pretty much any chocolate snacks that I can find under 100cals. I make sure to buy enough for the week, so that I can sort them out and make sure I only have one or two a day, so that they last as I know I won't be going out and buying more in until the next shop. This makes my junk food cravings pretty much disappear, which makes me want to leave the junk food alone. So, just find your favourite chocolate, but get the smaller version and enjoy it.

You can do it

NuggetLovesEdie

"Decide what you're going to eat before you even go to the kitchen or pantry. Don't browse!"

Seconding this.

There is a whole bunch of research from cognitive psychology that argues in favor of pre-deciding a course of action so you don't get "willpower fatigue".

If you have to decide EVERY time you go into the kitchen which snack to choose, you will more often choose a snack that isn't in alignment with your ultimate goals, just because you have to decide every time.

If you have pre-set rules about which foods or areas of the kitchen you will snack from, that might help immensely.

It sounds like you are doing a great job in spite of living with people who don't share your goals.

katorihanzo

Besides deciding what you crave and trying to stay away from it, it helps to put as much time into what DOES satisfy you that you can grab and eat that will get rid of the craving. I have recently come upon two foods that have both been lifesavers to me: frozen yogurt and popcorn seasoning. Neither are particularly healthy but they both work beautifully to satisfy my cravings, make me feel like I'm treating myself and keep my calorie intake low. When I want something sweet, I eat a cup of chocolate frozen yogurt (190 calories) and honestly, nothing works better to let me know I'm done eating for the day. When I eat frozen yogurt after supper, it's like I don't want to consume anything for the rest of the night except maybe some tea.

But mostly I'm a salt gal. When I get a craving for a treat, it's a salt craving - chips, crackers, cheese, etc. So now, I make 4 tbsp of popcorn (160 calories) and sprinkle over a few teaspoons of popcorn seasoning - I love the white cheddar stuff (30 cal for 2 tsp). It's a big bowl of popcorn and it's so low in calories. I'll sometimes put .5tbsp of melted butter overtop if I have calories to spare.

ANYWAY, my point is that you can have treats as long as they're the right ones for you. But if you find eating these things makes you crave more, maybe don't bother. I've been at this for about a year and I'm happy to tell you that it gets so, so, so much easier to control cravings. You'll soon learn to value the lost pounds and pride much more than the quick satisfaction of eating a mini-cake (if you haven't already!)