How did you learn to have more self discipline/control?

TubbsMcGee

By holding myself accountable for everything I do.
Ask yourself "do you NEED to eat it or do you just WANT it?"

ElizabethRoad

"Don't keep it in the house" is a great idea but it only goes so far. If you ever leave the house you will see it somewhere.

I stopped eating sweets/sodas/candy for a while until I got out of that cycle of craving them constantly. I don't recommend cutting something you love out of your life forever, but I cut it out temporarily and it worked for me.

Logging all my food helped me so much. I would always think "an occasional piece of candy is not going to hurt me" but then I didn't realize how frequently I was eating it. Once I started logging everything it instantly made me aware of what I was eating.

Another thing I find helpful is to remind myself: I am an adult. If I decide I want candy, I will go out and buy some. Turning down this particular piece of candy does not deprive me of anything.

And someone suggested hypnosis, which I think is a great idea too!

BrownEyedBetty

Out of sight ... out of mind... I don’t buy the things I know I will overeat. I just came across this realization a couple weeks ago. I was OBSESSED with cheese. I though well if I buy low fat cheese it would be okay... NOPE! I stop buying it and now I don't eat it.

For me it’s all about planning meals. I cook a lot more now than I have in the past. I try to plan out every meal. I work in the operating room and there are always reps bringing food for the staff (and it isn’t healthy food)… I literally have to stop and think “I bought my lunch from home and I don’t need any of the reps food.” It really has become mental for me. I have to stop and think "YES I want it but I don’t NEED it' But don’t get me wrong... I do slip up but I am more aware of my choices now. Hope it helps.

AdAstra47

Another thing I find helpful is to remind myself: I am an adult. If I decide I want candy, I will go out and buy some. Turning down this particular piece of candy does not deprive me of anything.

Oooh, I like this! Great way to think about it!

I think a lot of us get into this mindset: when I was in college, and later when I was unemployed, rule #1 of living on a tight budget was "never turn down anything that's free." Whether that's the cookies they offer you after you sell your blood plasma, or a box of half-stale donuts from the unemployment office break room, or whatever... accepting food automatically whenever it's offered gets to be a habit. But "I'm an adult, I have money now, I can buy my own food, turning down food does not deprive me of anything." I'll have to remember that.

Gutz333

"A moment on the lips, is a life-time on the hips" famous quote, my Khloe Kardashian! LOL

significance

I find it sometimes helps to get myself in the headspace where I can look at things like confectionery and think "that's not food." In a fairly real way, it's true: it has almost zero nutritional value. When I convince myself of that, I can walk past the confectionary and soft drink/chip aisles in the supermarket because - rather than being full of food that I want but can't have, I see them as being empty of food, but full of brightly coloured artificial stuff that is useless to me.