Changing Old Habits is NOT easy!!

andeeinevansville
andeeinevansville Posts: 98
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Well, here I am, proud of myself for getting thru the night with no snacking..Instead I browsed around on here and got motivation and wrote to a couple people to keep my mind busy! Our mind is a funny thing. I am so used to doing things a certain way and I'm stubborn to change! I KNOW what I need to do to lose this weight, so why do I fight MYSELF?? Trying to change my thought pattern and make this a lifestyle change and not a diet! I want to raise my 3 little ones that are still at home in a healthy home with good habits so they don't have to grow up struggling with their weight...
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but what about an old lady??? LOL Here's hoping!!!!!!!!

Replies

  • ebert5150
    ebert5150 Posts: 135 Member
    Welcome to the boards. I really like to snack after dinner!!! Here's a few things I did to help myself.

    1. I adjust my meals so I have some calories left for the evening.
    2. Exercise a little more so I have some extra calories.
    3. I changed my evening snacks. I used to eat a ton of heavy food at night, now I eat greek yogurt with fruit and a little honey...or maybe light popcorn or really any snack you have the calories for.

    I think that sometimes instead of denying yourself the evening snack its better to adjust for it. :smile:

    Good luck!!!
  • DebraThompson
    DebraThompson Posts: 7
    Keep up the good work !!! I struggled with that on myself last night getting off my bartending shift late. So I drank 2 glasses of water and exercised. Seems to of worked !!
  • christinafpdx
    christinafpdx Posts: 27
    Fruit is definitely a great suggestion for evening snacking. Sometimes I can't get to bed if I'm too hungry. Fruit is mostly water and fills me up just enough. It gets easier, especially with the motivation & everyone's support. Keep it up!
  • crc822001
    crc822001 Posts: 19 Member
    I think you should be fine as long as you are under your calorie count. Good job occupying your mind b/c one of the major causes for snacking is boredom. I also enjoy snacking. I try to avoid doing it after dinner, but in the event that I can't get rid of the cravings I do the following:

    1. Take a walk with my husband before I snack
    2. Cut the snack portion in half so the caloric intake isn't so bad
    3. Drink a glass of water
  • AnnaPixie
    AnnaPixie Posts: 7,439 Member
    I eat most of my calories at night. Don't think you need to change that. You just need to account for them. I think saving calories for snacks is perfectly acceptable. The only thing that would make life less tempting is to try and snack on healthy things, like fruit and nuts. But if you can just have a 100 calorie sweet snack then I think that's ok too :bigsmile:

    kit kat 2 finger = 106 cals

    Fab ice lolly = 90 cals

    apple = 50 cals

    handful of grapes = 60 cals

    nimble bread with tsp spread = 100 cals

    And like the lady said, you exercise more, you eat more. Seems like a good trade off to me :wink:

    I think my road to success is not feeling too deprived. Yes, we all have to make some sacrifices to change our lifestyles, but you can work it so you're happy :bigsmile:

    Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
    Since we are creatures of habit change can be difficult. I struggled and yoyo'ed for a few years, knowing what to do but sabataging myself because . . . well change IS hard. It is so easy to "take the path of least resistance" and slip back into your old ways.
    I realized throughout this journey that I mindlessly eat when Im alone, it is something that started when I was a kid and just continued through out my adulthood. Once I realized this pattern I started to find other things to occupy my hands when I was alone . . . and considering the last of our kids just moved out this spring I have a lot more alone time now. I started logging onto MFP whenever I was alone. Reading other peoples motivating messages, struggles, and successes made me feel connected to others who were on the exact same journey as I was.
    It was only once I became really dedicated to this journey that I saw steady results week after week, which has definately lit a fire under me to stay the course and Im 100% confident that I will reach my goal and stay there because I've completely changed my life for my health . . . and since my husband has been on board with this also I can look foward to us both having many more healthy years together.
    I guess that one day I just had my "ah ha" moment and realized that I was only cheating myself when I strayed so I haven't cheated since.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    It takes 21 days, they say, of doing something new to make it a habit. You just have to keep at it.

    A former coworker of mine quit smoking. He had a habit of smoking after every meal, so he felt he needed to do SOMETHING and instead started going for a walk after every meal. You just need to find something to do in place of what you used to do.
  • suzikelley
    suzikelley Posts: 210 Member
    I'm so proud of you!! It's hard to break habits! And it's REALLY HARD to not munch when you have the munchies! Yesterday and today have been super challenging for me to stay on track all of a sudden... getting through the night is a victory!! :-)
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