Remove or not to remove triggering foods

LindaEmrys

I've been wondering about this for a while; should or should one not remove trigger-foods from their house?

I'm in two minds about it.

A) On one hand, it would make controlling the diet a little easier. There's no food around to binge on or get tempted by.
Something a friend of mine said, which actually makes a lot of sense; you are and will be faced with triggering foods all your life. You can't not go out to dinner with friends just because you might be faced with triggering foods. You'll have to learn and live with it, it's not as if you can avoid them forever, so why not try and deal with it now?

I'm confused and eager for another opinion on this!

klnor88

When I first started my "diet" I did remove temptations from my house but over time I've learned to resist even when these things sneak back into my kitchen. Once I started seeing the results of clean healthy eating I had no desire to eat junk food.

FindingMyself24

I honestly used to think about this a lot.....when i first started trying to lose weight i had the mentality that out of sight out of mind was good....but i have 2 babies (14 months and almost 3) and a hubby that likes junk....i was starting to realize that it would be almost impossible for me to avoid some of the foods that i used to crave so much.....i would always catch myself sneaking or eating a little of this and that...and eventually i kept telling myself eating this will not get me results.....it took me a while but i have built some will power around those foods....and they dont taste as good to me any more....i totally agree that you are always going to be faced with challenging situations....you have to have will power to make the right choices.

chels0722

Stop labeling them "trigger foods". That in itself puts it in your mind that you absolutely should not, could not, would not eat them, and humans, naturally, are rebellious.

1223345

There some who will argue that no one should ever remove anything from their diet. I look at it like this. Would I say that to an alcoholic or a crack head who have recovered? I would not tell either of those recovered addicts to just have beer or crack rock in moderation. It would derail their sobriety. My personal experience with my dietary choices is to eliminate the triggers and eliminate the binge. For me, wheat based anything would trigger a binge. I took out wheat, and now I don't binge. I still have moments of over indulgence if the time is right, but binge no more as long as the wheat is out of my diet. I say perhaps eliminate the trigger for a period of time, and see how you do if you try to have it again. It takes much more discipline to admit the problem and get rid of the trigger than it does to keep sabotaging yourself. Some of us just don't have the will power right NOW to allow the stuff in the house, some do. You have to decide if it is worth it to keep going back to square one. I also don't think that denying that they are indeed triggers will help. It is important to be able to identify and admit the problem with certain foods. I find that after a period of time, I was able to have certain things in small amounts, however other things still send me off track.

PeauxPeaux

I don't keep them in the house. But if I go out, I will plan for it and have things that I LOVE but that I would ALL OF IT if I was at home. (Chips and guac! ICE CREAM!!!)

It is a nice compromise: I don't have to fight myself every second when I am at home, relaxing, but I DO practice eating ALL things in moderation.

AT least once a week, for example, I go out and get a single scoop cone, and once I eat it, it is all eaten. I go home, relax, no worries I will eat the bulk of a half gallon later.

RawCarrots

When I first started my "diet" I did remove temptations from my house but over time I've learned to resist even when these things sneak back into my kitchen. Once I started seeing the results of clean healthy eating I had no desire to eat junk food.

Exactly this! I did have to remove all treats from the house at the start or I couldn't resist, I used to pack everything in a plastic bag and keep it in the boot of the car (DH wanted to have some so couldn't throw them out)

Now couple of months later I'm not bothered about it, so we have a lot of biscuits and cakes, I even started baking with the kids. I would have occasional blip and eat some, but most days it's planned and under calorie limit.

vim_n_vigor

I like a phased approach to this. At first, it is probably easier to get rid of the foods that trigger. I usually do that for about 4-6 weeks and then start bringing them back in. I don't believe that any food as part of an overall healthy plan should be banned if it is something you really enjoy (unless you have allergies, sensitivities, or illness that make that food a bad idea).

Mads1997

There are just some things that I can't say no to, while its ok to say everything in moderation and you should keep them around there is no stopping me when it comes to a jar of nutella. I can't even buy this anymore because I know it's my biggest weakness. To remove or not is completely up to you.

1223345

I don't keep them in the house. But if I go out, I will plan for it and have things that I LOVE but that I would ALL OF IT if I was at home. (Chips and guac! ICE CREAM!!!)

It is a nice compromise: I don't have to fight myself every second when I am at home, relaxing, but I DO practice eating ALL things in moderation.

AT least once a week, for example, I go out and get a single scoop cone, and once I eat it, it is all eaten. I go home, relax, no worries I will eat the bulk of a half gallon later.

I lOVE this idea. It is better to go out like that and have a nice treat than it is to be caught in a show down at mid night with a half gallon of moose tracks.

Shr3dded

If you're trying to stay healthy and stick to a clean, healthy lifestyle you have to make the changes. Or else you'll be back here next week complaining about over-eating on junk that you made the choice the purchase.

I just don't understand what you people are thinking when you make these threads.

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

rml_16

I don't keep them in my house. If they are in my house, I will eat and eat. I can handle having treats when I'm at a party or something. That isn't every day. If it's in my house, it's every day.

I'm not a binger or emotional eater or anything, but if food tastes especially good, I want to eat it. There are certain cookies and ice cream flavors I can't have in front of me every day, so I don't. It works fine for me.

chels0722

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

Bazinga :flowerforyou:

Bonny619

Absolutely remove.

And NO, you are not faced with them all of your life. It's very different having a package of cookies sitting in your cupboard than knowing they are at the store.

cuterbee

I think it depends on how "triggering" those foods are.

I used to date someone who, when I met him, had 10 years of sobriety (we didn't date long, but we remained friends). He asked me nicely not to keep liquour in my house and to please not drink alcohol when we were out together. I've known him now for more than 10 years, and that has gradually relaxed so that now he can be around people who are drinking and not feel a need to indulge himself...but it took time, and he had to be sure about himself before he could do that.

You know whether or not you can control your urges. If you can't, or are not sure, then at least for now, keep those foods out of your house. Once you're well into this, you can experiment with those things.

rml_16

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

You do realize, don't you, that not all trigger foods are ****ty foods, right? Some people binge on avocados, FFS.

Shr3dded

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

You do realize, don't you, that not all trigger foods are ****ty foods, right? Some people binge on avocados, FFS.

And you do realise it's a matter of making a choice for yourself. Thinking before you act and force another piece of food down your throat.

No matter what it comes down to the desire to actually get healthy. If you know you shouldn't binge on any food, why are you doing it?

Because you have no self-control. Learn it.

Real easy.

rml_16

It is better to go out like that and have a nice treat than it is to be caught in a show down at mid night with a half gallon of moose tracks.

That and Oreo Fudgees are my biggest weaknesses!

But I also would have trouble with guac and even carrots and hummus. It just tastes so yummy!

chels0722

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

You do realize, don't you, that not all trigger foods are ****ty foods, right? Some people binge on avocados, FFS.

If it causes you to binge, I would say it is a ****ty choice in foods.

Mmmmona

If you're not going to eat them, why keep them around to collect dust?

To me, keeping those foods around just enables you to cheat.

nikilis

I've been wondering about this for a while; should or should one not remove trigger-foods from their house?

I'm in two minds about it.

A) On one hand, it would make controlling the diet a little easier. There's no food around to binge on or get tempted by.
Something a friend of mine said, which actually makes a lot of sense; you are and will be faced with triggering foods all your life. You can't not go out to dinner with friends just because you might be faced with triggering foods. You'll have to learn and live with it, it's not as if you can avoid them forever, so why not try and deal with it now?

I'm confused and eager for another opinion on this!

if you are not able to eat it as part of your healthy diet, don't have it in the house.

if you cant eat it right now, don't buy it.

break the habit. don't have it around. eventually it wont even factor into your life much anymore.

theres enough temptation, you don't need to have it in your fridge.

rml_16

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

You do realize, don't you, that not all trigger foods are ****ty foods, right? Some people binge on avocados, FFS.

And you do realise it's a matter of making a choice for yourself. Thinking before you act and force another piece of food down your throat.

No matter what it comes down to the desire to actually get healthy. If you know you shouldn't binge on any food, why are you doing it?

Because you have no self-control. Learn it.

Real easy.

Why do you feel the need to be so very rude? Did you get sand kicked in your face a lot as a child?

Shr3dded

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

You do realize, don't you, that not all trigger foods are ****ty foods, right? Some people binge on avocados, FFS.

And you do realise it's a matter of making a choice for yourself. Thinking before you act and force another piece of food down your throat.

No matter what it comes down to the desire to actually get healthy. If you know you shouldn't binge on any food, why are you doing it?

Because you have no self-control. Learn it.

Real easy.

Why do you feel the need to be so very rude? Did you get sand kicked in your face a lot as a child?

I'm not being rude at all, I'm giving you a clear, honest answer. It comes down to making the right choices.
If you can't make good decisions for yourself, you aren't even trying.

btw, my face is gorgeous.

Francl27

I removed the first couple months and substituted what I could. Now I have no problem with just one serving.

rml_16

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

You do realize, don't you, that not all trigger foods are ****ty foods, right? Some people binge on avocados, FFS.

And you do realise it's a matter of making a choice for yourself. Thinking before you act and force another piece of food down your throat.

No matter what it comes down to the desire to actually get healthy. If you know you shouldn't binge on any food, why are you doing it?

Because you have no self-control. Learn it.

Real easy.

Why do you feel the need to be so very rude? Did you get sand kicked in your face a lot as a child?

I'm not being rude at all, I'm giving you a clear, honest answer. It comes down to making the right choices.
If you can't make good decisions for yourself, you aren't even trying.

btw, my face is gorgeous.

Ah ha. Looked at the profile. Got it now. :-)

This is why even when I was 22, I didn't date men younger than 30.

nikilis

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

You do realize, don't you, that not all trigger foods are ****ty foods, right? Some people binge on avocados, FFS.

And you do realise it's a matter of making a choice for yourself. Thinking before you act and force another piece of food down your throat.

No matter what it comes down to the desire to actually get healthy. If you know you shouldn't binge on any food, why are you doing it?

Because you have no self-control. Learn it.

Real easy.

Why do you feel the need to be so very rude? Did you get sand kicked in your face a lot as a child?

I'm not being rude at all, I'm giving you a clear, honest answer. It comes down to making the right choices.
If you can't make good decisions for yourself, you aren't even trying.

btw, my face is gorgeous.

ok, you've had your little lovers quarrel, now let people actually comment on the op.

thanks for your cooperation!

Shr3dded

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

You do realize, don't you, that not all trigger foods are ****ty foods, right? Some people binge on avocados, FFS.

And you do realise it's a matter of making a choice for yourself. Thinking before you act and force another piece of food down your throat.

No matter what it comes down to the desire to actually get healthy. If you know you shouldn't binge on any food, why are you doing it?

Because you have no self-control. Learn it.

Real easy.

Why do you feel the need to be so very rude? Did you get sand kicked in your face a lot as a child?

I'm not being rude at all, I'm giving you a clear, honest answer. It comes down to making the right choices.
If you can't make good decisions for yourself, you aren't even trying.

btw, my face is gorgeous.

Ah ha. Looked at the profile. Got it now. :-)

This is why even when I was 22, I didn't date men younger than 30.

So are we changing the subject now?

Willpower, get some.

1two3four

I absolutely believe in removing foods and adding them back in.

I find it a lot harder to binge (or drink my calories) at 90+ lbs lost then I did at 9 lbs lost. It's not impossible, just a lot harder.

For me I wouldn't be at this point in my loss without removing "trigger foods".

JesterMFP

Common sense says, If you want to eat well, don't buy ****ty food.

You do realize, don't you, that not all trigger foods are ****ty foods, right? Some people binge on avocados, FFS.

And you do realise it's a matter of making a choice for yourself. Thinking before you act and force another piece of food down your throat.

No matter what it comes down to the desire to actually get healthy. If you know you shouldn't binge on any food, why are you doing it?

Because you have no self-control. Learn it.

Real easy.

Why do you feel the need to be so very rude? Did you get sand kicked in your face a lot as a child?

I'm not being rude at all, I'm giving you a clear, honest answer. It comes down to making the right choices.
If you can't make good decisions for yourself, you aren't even trying.

btw, my face is gorgeous.

The OP is asking for advice and suggestions to help her make the right choices. Your lack of empathy isn't very helpful.

OP - I haven't exactly been in your position as I never had particular trigger foods. I have heard several people say that they had success by initially getting rid of all trigger foods so the temptation just wasn't there, but that they were able to reintroduce them at a later date after having created some new habits etc.

krlong6

I would keep it in the house. Exercise control through the week and keep other healthy foods to choose over that trigger food. I allow myself one day out of the week to eat whatever I want as long as it's not going overboard with quantity. I believe that if you cut something that you really desire 100%, that'll be the thing that makes the diet fall apart. No need to let that happen and feel guilty afterwards!

rml_16

ok, you've had your little lovers quarrel, now let people actually comment on the op.

I did comment on the OP. I gave her sound advice. She didn't need someone coming in a berating her for, heaven forbid, being human. This particular poster has a habit of such behavior and needs to cut it out. It doesn't help anyone.