Someone stop me! (Chocolate Cake)

staceywoo

Someone in the office has very kindly baked the biggest most amazing looking chocolate cake, and it's currently sat on the table next to me for everyone to share.
I don't want to eat it, and I know I'll feel terrible afterwards, but there's a little devil on my shoulder (as well as several colleagues) that's telling me to just have a slice.
Help!? Tell me why I shouldn't eat it......

milsna

Think how you will feel after you have eaten it, or pretend to yourself you have already had a slice!

(also imagine that she used salt instead of sugar or a fly got in whilst she was mixing it eughhh lol!!) hope this helps! hehe

JayneWilson1963

Don't do it, just like you said, you will feel bad afterwards. Stay focused on your goals, remember " nothing tastes as good as skinny feels". Just think about the end results, you are worth it. Stay strong, we can do this!

idahogirl71

Unless you are an exercise addict who needs an excuse to put in more exercise tomorrow then you should not eat it

CMcBryer

You should have a small manageable piece that fits into your daily caloric intake. Do not deprive yourself, just have less. It's all about portion control. People who deprive themselves tend to binge then regret, binge then regret. Have a small portion, enough to get the taste, and then stop. People who "diet" tend to fail more often than people who change their eating habits and lifestyle.

louiseei

Don't do it, I was at a work buffet last night and the cream cakes looked great, but I felt really proud of myself when I didn't have one (or two) > have some water and/or a piece of fruit and then be proud of your will power. Good luck!

staceywoo

Thanks for the advice everyone I compromised and ate 2 squares of chocolate, which I could measure and add to my daily snacks. It's helped me to get over the craving for a big wedge of cake, and hasn't hugely impacted on my daily plan. Phew! Back to carrot sticks....

Panda86

A little advice for next time- If you make it a big deal, you are going to want it more. Just say, no thanks, and leave the room. Don't sit there and stew over that cake. It's just cake. Really, that's all it is. It's not a new car or a trip to the Bahamas. It is what it is, and making a big deal will only make you crave it more. Good job compromising.

amberpaigee

Yay well done! I am just about to go home to my boyfriend's for the weekend where temptation will await me! I hope I stay as strong as you!

Luckymam

You should have a small manageable piece that fits into your daily caloric intake. Do not deprive yourself, just have less. It's all about portion control. People who deprive themselves tend to binge then regret, binge then regret. Have a small portion, enough to get the taste, and then stop. People who "diet" tend to fail more often than people who change their eating habits and lifestyle.

Absolutely agree. You have classic "black and white" thinking. Cake in small quantities is not bad. Be kind to yourself. Just don't go mad and eat it all! The more you tell yourself you can't have it and that you are "bad" if you eat it, the more you will fantisize about it. It's not a healthy way to think about food.

mutleyreid

You should have a small manageable piece that fits into your daily caloric intake. Do not deprive yourself, just have less. It's all about portion control. People who deprive themselves tend to binge then regret, binge then regret. Have a small portion, enough to get the taste, and then stop. People who "diet" tend to fail more often than people who change their eating habits and lifestyle.

Totally agree. Its all about portion control. Who can possibly not eat their favourite food for ever.

CMcBryer

You should have a small manageable piece that fits into your daily caloric intake. Do not deprive yourself, just have less. It's all about portion control. People who deprive themselves tend to binge then regret, binge then regret. Have a small portion, enough to get the taste, and then stop. People who "diet" tend to fail more often than people who change their eating habits and lifestyle.

Absolutely agree. You have classic "black and white" thinking. Cake in small quantities is not bad. Be kind to yourself. Just don't go mad and eat it all! The more you tell yourself you can't have it and that you are "bad" if you eat it, the more you will fantisize about it. It's not a healthy way to think about food.

Thanks, mutleyreid and Luckymam. I wish more people would realize this.

cerferchick

know yourself. if you truly feel like you won't stop at one small piece, then don't eat any. also remove the temptation! having to look at that cake for hours is not gonna help you NOT eat it.

BigBoneSista

I think before someone has allowances they have to be in a certain place in their new healthy way of living. Everyone one just can't have a piece and cut it off. Sometimes those small allowances can lead to bigger regrets. I just wish people will be more mindful of that before they give someone the green light. Its not about depriving yourself. Its about having self-control and we see time & time again on this site that a lot of people are lacking in that area. So please ask questions before saying yeah go ahead, have a little piece.

Just my opinion.

curleesam

controversial but I say cut yourself a small piece as a taster and tell yourself thats all you are getting because you are dedicated to your weightloss. That way, you know what it tastes like, youve hopefully satisfied a craving and you wont feel bad about it later.

mutleyreid

I think before someone has allowances they have to be in a certain place in their new healthy way of living. Everyone one just can't have a piece and cut it off. Sometimes those small allowances can lead to bigger regrets. I just wish people will be more mindful of that before they give someone the green light. Its not about depriving yourself. Its about having self-control and we see time & time again on this site that a lot of people are lacking in that area. So please ask questions before saying yeah go ahead, have a little piece.

Just my opinion.

What questions do we ask? Do you suggest a full psych assessment before we give our opinion? Look, all I know is I can only give an honest account of what I would do in that situation. Do I say no and whine to anyone who will listen how much I want to eat some cake or do I have a small piece and be happy and proud of myself for not eating a huge slice? If I had to ask others their opinion then I know I must want it badly enough. LOL.

Ya know what I mean? I do not want to go through life feeling resentful at not being able to eat something. I know everybody is not the same.

I hope this has not come across as rude as I'm really not trying to be, not always good at articulating myself properly.

lhague

If you can stop at a few bites, then you should do it. I just said that when I deny myself something, I obsess about it until I hunt it down and gorge.

jennywhitewii

i still have my daily treats just allow for them in my calorie intake and i am losing weight every week, so go for it girl and bloody enjoy it!

BigBoneSista

I think before someone has allowances they have to be in a certain place in their new healthy way of living. Everyone one just can't have a piece and cut it off. Sometimes those small allowances can lead to bigger regrets. I just wish people will be more mindful of that before they give someone the green light. Its not about depriving yourself. Its about having self-control and we see time & time again on this site that a lot of people are lacking in that area. So please ask questions before saying yeah go ahead, have a little piece.

Just my opinion.

What questions do we ask? Do you suggest a full psych assessment before we give our opinion? Look, all I know is I can only give an honest account of what I would do in that situation. Do I say no and whine to anyone who will listen how much I want to eat some cake or do I have a small piece and be happy and proud of myself for not eating a huge slice? If I had to ask others their opinion then I know I must want it badly enough. LOL.

Ya know what I mean? I do not want to go through life feeling resentful at not being able to eat something. I know everybody is not the same.

I hope this has not come across as rude as I'm really not trying to be, not always good at articulating myself properly.

No you don't come off as rude. Some questions you might ask? Are you a typical binger? When did you start trying to live healthier? Simple questions so that you can give better advice. If it feels like an assessment than so be it. Just because you have the ability to control yourself doesn't necessarily mean that others do. I'm just asking people to be mindful of that before basically giving someone permission to sabotage themselves if they aren't in the same place as you.

Maybe its just me, but I try to look at all sides before I just jump out there with my advice.

lhague

I think before someone has allowances they have to be in a certain place in their new healthy way of living. Everyone one just can't have a piece and cut it off. Sometimes those small allowances can lead to bigger regrets. I just wish people will be more mindful of that before they give someone the green light. Its not about depriving yourself. Its about having self-control and we see time & time again on this site that a lot of people are lacking in that area. So please ask questions before saying yeah go ahead, have a little piece.

Just my opinion.

What questions do we ask? Do you suggest a full psych assessment before we give our opinion? Look, all I know is I can only give an honest account of what I would do in that situation. Do I say no and whine to anyone who will listen how much I want to eat some cake or do I have a small piece and be happy and proud of myself for not eating a huge slice? If I had to ask others their opinion then I know I must want it badly enough. LOL.

Ya know what I mean? I do not want to go through life feeling resentful at not being able to eat something. I know everybody is not the same.

I hope this has not come across as rude as I'm really not trying to be, not always good at articulating myself properly.

No you don't come off as rude. Some questions you might ask? Are you a typical binger? When did you start trying to live healthier? Simple questions so that you can give better advice. If it feels like an assessment than so be it. Just because you have the ability to control yourself doesn't necessarily mean that others do. I'm just asking people to be mindful of that before basically giving someone permission to sabotage themselves if they aren't in the same place as you.

Maybe its just me, but I try to look at all sides before I just jump out there with my advice.

Two thumbs up!!!

mielikkibz

Someone in the office has very kindly baked the biggest most amazing looking chocolate cake, and it's currently sat on the table next to me for everyone to share.
I don't want to eat it, and I know I'll feel terrible afterwards, but there's a little devil on my shoulder (as well as several colleagues) that's telling me to just have a slice.
Help!? Tell me why I shouldn't eat it......

First move the cake elsewhere. .out of sight is out of mind.

Second, EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!!! I have now lsot 13.5 lbs since the beginning of the year, and it sure the heck isn't by denying myself things i like, yes, like cake Eat a small piece

And then politely remind everyone that you are trying to be good, that if they must bring in goodies, please don't set them next to you, as it makes it harder to resist.

The other day someone brought donuts in, set them on the desk across from mine, and I told her to move them LOL She apologized, she'd forgotten I was trying to be good. . and yes, I got through the day without having one

mielikkibz

You should have a small manageable piece that fits into your daily caloric intake. Do not deprive yourself, just have less. It's all about portion control. People who deprive themselves tend to binge then regret, binge then regret. Have a small portion, enough to get the taste, and then stop. People who "diet" tend to fail more often than people who change their eating habits and lifestyle.

BINGO!! Finally, someone with IMHO common sense

nk17

Whenever I want something sweet, I have a Detour Protein Bar. They sell them at Sam's and they have reasonable carbs and high protein. Try a substitute like that. Find something healthy and sweet and keep it around to combat these times. I keep prunes around too because I know I won't eat more than one or two at a time.

mutleyreid

Thanks for the advice everyone I compromised and ate 2 squares of chocolate, which I could measure and add to my daily snacks. It's helped me to get over the craving for a big wedge of cake, and hasn't hugely impacted on my daily plan. Phew! Back to carrot sticks....

Excellent! You didnt deprive yourself of anything.

CMcBryer

I think before someone has allowances they have to be in a certain place in their new healthy way of living. Everyone one just can't have a piece and cut it off. Sometimes those small allowances can lead to bigger regrets. I just wish people will be more mindful of that before they give someone the green light. Its not about depriving yourself. Its about having self-control and we see time & time again on this site that a lot of people are lacking in that area. So please ask questions before saying yeah go ahead, have a little piece.

Just my opinion.

Healthy living doesn't mean dieting. It's proven time and time again that cutting things out of your nutritional intake just because they are considered "bad" leads to binge-purge cycles. The self-control comes into play by only having a small piece and then moving the cake away to a new area. By denying yourself you are only pushing yourself further into the purge portion. By acclimating yourself to smaller portions of cake you empower yourself to have the self control to only have that portion. You can eat eat cake every day as long as you portion it correctly and take into account it's caloric value. I don't recommend it, but a study was just done by a scientist who ate nothing but sugary snack foods and maintained a caloric deficit while eating enough to keep his metabolism chugging along. Not only did he lose weight, but his blood pressure dropped, and he became healthier overall just from losing the fat.

No offense meant to anyone in this post. I've been the binge-purger most of my life but since starting MFP and researching I've been on the no denial technique. I've lost 23 pounds, and 3 inches from my waist. I just started P90X and I haven't felt this good in a long time.

staceywoo

Uh oh, I didn't mean to provoke a full scale discussion! Thanks for the support from everyone, I think just posting the message on here helped me to get over the craving
To answer questions - I'm not a binge eater, and if I could leave the office when there's treats around I would but it's an open plan office and the central table that everyone uses just happens to be 2metres away from me!

jam3114

Have a small piece & log the calories but only if you think you will still be able to complete the day within your calories otherwise you have to decide will you get exercise done today to balance out the cake - I got a box of chocolates today as a thank you & they've been calling me for the last 4 hours. So I decided have two & put them away (far away!!!) but if I try to not have any I'll eat the darn box!!!!:sick: