It's getting to be that time of year again...

Veronnie87

Some people stress about winter holiday weight gain (am I allowed to say "Christmas"?...maybe better stick to "winter holiday). I am not one of those people. I bake like crazy because I love to bake but I actually enjoy giving my goodies away much more than I like eating them, so CHRISTMAS (there, I said it! :P) is actually an easy time for me. Where I struggle is in the next couple of months...the upcoming Halloween candy time.

Ugh.

Go figure, I can say no to - or at least be very reasonable with - delicious homemade treats and candy canes and buttered rum and eggnog and...well, you get it. But nasty little mass-produced balls of artificial chocolate wrapped in gaudy orange foil? Forget about it. Halloween candy is EVERYWHERE and it's CHEAP. It is my weakness (Easter is the other weak spot) and it's hard to avoid. I go to the grocery store and it's there. Ditto Walmart, the dollar store and the pharmacy, all places I need to go on at least a weekly basis.

Aside from temporarily locking myself in the house, can anyone suggest some good strategies to avoid being tempted to justify why I should buy a jumbo bag of mini Mars bars? I do this every year...I lose weight during the summer, sabotage myself in the fall, stay heavy all winter, start making really good progress in the early spring and then screw it up with the Cadbury Creme Eggs. I haven't been able, even after a few months of working with a psychologist, to figure out why I always let all of my hard work go to waste. I have flawed thinking in that I still haven't fully accepted that this (weight loss/getting healthier) is not just something that I can accomplish, get my MFP badge for and then never have to do again. This is going to be a lifelong effort and I am just going to have to change how I perceive my success. I try to enjoy a non-food treat when I meet goals but there's still this part of me that goes, "Ok, you broke the 165lb barrier you've been fighting to break for months. Doughnut time!" Except it isn't just one doughnut. I have read so many posts from lots of other MFPers that I know that I am certainly not alone in this thinking.

What did you do to help break that food-reward cycle and to stop any self-sabotage?

And in all seriousness, if you're going to be rude or offer the succinct but ultimately unhelpful "just don't eat crap" comment, please refrain and go annoy someone else. I'm looking for support, not trite phrases. And so help me God if anyone quotes me the "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels". Just don't. Please don't.

auddii

I try to find a way to make one or two things fit into my daily calories (like two mini candy bars or a serving of ice cream). It may not be every day, but usually it's at least once or twice a week if not more often. (Of course, I also indulge on beer too.) I found that if I don't deny myself and eat it in small portions that fit in my goals, I don't binge as often.

However, to get to a point that I could have 5 pints of ice cream in my freezer without eating them all in one sitting, I had to have some intermediate steps. At first, I'd pay more for a single serving of something. So, I'd go out for a small ice cream cone instead of buying many servings from the grocery store. It can be more expensive, but I wouldn't binge. And then once I got used to an appropriate serving, it was easier.

That does not mean that I don't still mess up sometimes and way overindulge. But, I realize it's one day, and I move on treating the next day as if the last did not happen. It's not a reason to continue to binge or just eat whatever. A great metaphor: When you forget to brush your teeth, how many months did it take you to go back to brushing them again?

LoneWolfRunner

I don't know if I can help you.... I love chocolate and when those "chocolate" holidays come around, I pound the crap out of everything I can get my hands on.... then I feel guilt...I don't know how to stop it, so I just make sure I run longer and harder during those weeks.... an unsatisfactory solution to be sure, but I usually cant walk away from it if its around....

krmsotherhalf68

Okay, here's my two cents worth: I'm a carb-a-holic, but my favorites are those baked treats that you are fortunate enough to be able to resist. What I've been doing (and I'm a newbie, so it hasn't been that long) is not putting any foods on the NEVER AGAIN CAN YOU EAT THIS LIST. I think that if I really want to make permanent life changes, I've got to come up with a way that I can never feel deprived. Plan ahead and allow yourself a serving or two of those chocolates during the Halloween or Easter season. Just don't make it an everyday habit and don't go overboard so that you go over your allotted daily calories and eat less healthy than you should.

I think that this is the only method to ever truly change. No one wants to feel like they're going to be deprived of something that they enjoy. So, a little treat (not an entire bag of chocolates) fit into your daily foods once in awhile will keep you satisfied and keep you motivated to continue on with a healthier regimen in the long run.

seltzermint555

I try to find a way to make one or two things fit into my daily calories (like two mini candy bars or a serving of ice cream). It may not be every day, but usually it's at least once or twice a week if not more often. (Of course, I also indulge on beer too.) I found that if I don't deny myself and eat it in small portions that fit in my goals, I don't binge as often.

However, to get to a point that I could have 5 pints of ice cream in my freezer without eating them all in one sitting, I had to have some intermediate steps. At first, I'd pay more for a single serving of something. So, I'd go out for a small ice cream cone instead of buying many servings from the grocery store. It can be more expensive, but I wouldn't binge. And then once I got used to an appropriate serving, it was easier.

That does not mean that I don't still mess up sometimes and way overindulge. But, I realize it's one day, and I move on treating the next day as if the last did not happen. It's not a reason to continue to binge or just eat whatever. A great metaphor: When you forget to brush your teeth, how many months did it take you to go back to brushing them again?

I love this post.

I feel very similarly. Halloween candy is one of the MOST difficult things for me to avoid eating and one of the few things that I truly can't control myself...if I had a big bowl of mini Twix, Snickers, etc, in my house, I would very likely "binge", I say that in quotes because I don't have a binge eating disorder but I do feel that one mini chocolate bar is not satisfying and 10 is still not that satisfying and leaves me wanting more.

Like the person posted above ^ I settle for buying single serve items or sticking with things that I can leave alone. My husband and I can buy a couple of containers of ice cream, gelato, etc, and measure out single servings. We can eat 77% cacao dark chocolate or even things like Ghirardelli Cabernet Matinee over a two week period having just a little bit each day. So we stick to those for our "treats". It works out well.

Also OP...I think you are doing well to remember that this is a lifetime thing and not something you achieve and then leave behind. Make it work for you, and don't make it harder on yourself.

FWIW I have had several Halloweens with no lights on at my house, or buying fun size Skittles and Starburst to give out because I dislike them, or bags of Doritos or York peppermint patties because I want like ONE and I'm good for a year.