I *honestly* do NOT understand...

I went on an emotional eating roller coaster of a ride which culimanated in my finishing ALL chips in the house last night (not logged - too ashamed) and polishing off a bottle of wine (logged.) So, how do YOU manage to not totally inhale your trigger foods? I would LOVE suggestions/ideas/advice! My waist begs you!

Log the damned chips and live with the shame. Be honest with yourself. This is about measuring what goes in and what goes out; if you don't have accurate information, it won't work.

How I manage not to eat ALL THE FOODz is by measuring out a portion on a food scale and entering it into my log, and NEVER eating the junk foods all by themselves. If I want potato chips, they accompany a sandwich. If I want crackers, they accompany a small meat/fruit/cheese plate. They're a small side addition to a healthy meal that includes actual nutrients which will satisfy my hunger. Also, since one of my old favorite combinations of junk was (insert crunchy/starchy/salty/empty food here) with a Diet Coke, I don't keep Diet Coke in the house. When it's not handy, I just won't touch the junk foods because they're not the same without it.

This is GREAT advice. Log the chips. Once I was able to finally start being honest with myself and maintain accountability was when I started seeing results...and was able to pass up my trigger foods even when I was home alone with them. For me, I had to ask myself what was really important in my life. Once I was able to answer that questions, I had the power to not let food control me. And that feels really damn good. It's not easy, but with a lot or hard work you'll get there!

What works for me if I'm thinking about eating something that doesn't really fit my day (my boss keeps a bowl of peanut M&Ms on the counter, for example) is to prelog it. So if I'm sitting there thinking "I could have a handful of M&Ms, no big deal" then I make myself log it first. Once I see how much it effects my calorie bottom line more times than not I hold out for the ice cream I know I'll want at the end of the day.

When I think of it, I do this, too and it usually stops me.

Also, (others may have said this) that when you are feeling hungry sometimes you are just thirsty -- go get a glass of water.

Finally, I believe in out of sight, out of mind. If the cookies are on the counter when I get home, I'll eat them, if they are in the pantry, then they may go stale.

I don't regard certain things worthy of 'portioning'.

If I want pizza, I have pizza. Not one-fifth pizza. No, no. Pizza. So I save up the calories or exercise rather than rage at my pathetic piece of what should be a lovely treat.

I can stop, but having cookies in the house is torture. I'm seriously tempted all the time.

I find that my boredom-munching can be overcome by my overwhelming laziness--if I didn't buy it at the grocery store when I went grocery shopping, I'm surely not going out now to go get it. That would take effort :P

I agree, let the laziness work *for* you!

If I really, really gotta have something, it's usually sweet. I try not to buy them anymore, so that helps. If it comes pre-portioned, and I can buy just one, that's okay if I can fit it into my calorie count. If it's something I have to measure out myself, 75% of the time I'm just like "screw it, I don't feel like getting out the scale."

And if I *do* get out the scale, I measure out one serving, then put it away, because I know if I overcame my laziness once, I'm damn sure not going to do it twice.

My husband, for example, will eat just 4 or 5 chips and that's enough for him - I sit and look at him with awe. I generally don't have my "trigger" foods in the house but last week was a bad week and I went on an emotional eating roller coaster of a ride

He doesn't have any emotional problems - or expresses his addictive personality in other ways. Not "judging" (as people call it). It's my training. Often, it's not food that is the problem but something deeper.

You're welcome to disagree.

This is the second of two health chnaging diets I've been on and in all fairness I wouldn't have needed this one if it hadn't been for the pregnancy throwing everything out. No it's not an excuse, I'm IR and I could ONLY keep down bread/pasta/potato due to extreme sickness, even with the medication, and I had a whole host of doctors saying I HAD to eat for the baby and they could sort my IR out later and I was hospitalised for most of my pregnancy.

Once I've started eating my trigger foods (carbs) I find it horribly difficult to stop and I comfort ate through breastfeeding (which I dreaded every second of) too, there is no excuse for that! Once my eating was thrown out I had a really emotional battle to get it back. Once I've got it back under control, just as the first time I went on the IR diet, I'm totally fine. I've got a load of home made garlic bread in the freezer which I'm able to acknowledge is there and not want to eat it. I'm also able to cook it for guests (reason for making in the first place) and not even feel slightly tempted.

I find giving up things terribly hard, but 2-4 weeks later I can just walk away even when it's wafted under my nose. I think for me food isn't an emotional trigger unless I make it a trigger. And I'm still sure that my IR sways my tendancy towards what type of foods I've latched onto as wel. I just gave up chocolate and never looked back, tea/coffee/alcohol/fizzy drinks - never missed them. Cakes - not interested, who cares about cakes. Super carby hits like white bread, white pasta and chips and I struggle.

Will let you know when I find out. Been at this for 3 years now, still haven't found the answer.

Easiest way to avoid the binge is definitely to just not buy them in the first place. I can demolish a full-size bag of chips before I know what I've done. So I just make myself walk past that isle in the grocery store now. Helps too that with the Sodastream I don't have to buy pop, which is always in the same spot as the chips.

I'm trying to find ways to make them more emotionally unappealing, such as thinking about how much sodium it would be if I snarfed it down and how bloated and awful I'll feel. The potato chip hangover avoidance theory.

You know, I disagree. You have to teach yourself new habits.

OP - I recommend portioning out the chips, stop at one bag, and if you find yourself tempted to go after another bag, distract yourself.

Moderation isn't hard once you make the concious effort to make a habit of it.

While I think the second commenter is quite right, it's also a lot to ask from a person, who is on their first weeks of proper logging in a diary. For me it is a huge thing to even stay honest in my diary (not leave certain foods unlogged because it's "uncomfortable") and to wrap my head around regular exercise, so if this means I won't buy certain trigger foods for a while then so be it.

What I personally manage is to make a good decision in the store, but if I'm at home and didn't make good decisions but brought home a large bag or huge carton of something, then it's gone sooner than I can say bye bye.

"New habits" for me right now is to log as faithfully as I can and then deal with the aftermath, all the other new habits later. All or nothing is a harsh thing to ask from oneself - log perfectly and learn new habits in a week or don't do this at all aka be a failure. It doesn't work that way.

"Moderation isn't hard"? Well, for many trigger food is an addiction of a sort, so moderation won't work. Alcohol or various drugs in moderation don't seem to work so well for addicts either. If someone deems themselves not to be trusted around certain foods, what's the harm in avoiding them? I don't believe it's helpful to insinuate they should do something entirely different from what they feel comfortable doing.

I ike that!!! Well put!

I agree with the others who suggest just taking out one serving and putting the rest away. My "chip" of choice is now any of the Pringles varieties. It is easy to count out a serving of them and I have them with my lunches on the weekends.

And now that you have mentioned bugles...before I started on MFP, someone had mentioned the chocolate peanut butter ones! I haven't gotten them in more than a year. Before I would have eaten the whole bag in 5 minutes, but now I am sure I could portion it out and be happy. Maybe I will get some this weekend...

I'm honestly the same way, it's either no chips or the whole bag, or chocolate or ice cream....

I used to have a really poor diet since I was so skinny I could eat whatever I wanted, but eventually it caught up to me

now what I do is that I refuse to have that type of food in my house, I eat healthy but I don't eat totally clean because thats when you deprive yourself of the food you really love and then go on a huge binge and hate yourself later. The reason why you can't quit at just one is because when you eat food high in fat or sugar is releases seritonin and dopamine, so you get that feel good feeling and want more. What you need to do if find other activities that give off the same feeling, hobbies, working out, or finding other foods you really enjoy. It's all about moderate, 6 days a week I'll log my food and make sure I eat my macro's, then one day a week I'll take to treat myself... eat whatever I want because you need this to re-boot your metabolism but then usually by that day, I'll be so proud of how good all week I'll treat myself but only in moderate.

...how someone (not me) is able to STOP eating chips or bugles or cookies (insert trigger food here.) My trigger food: potato chips - or anything salty really. If there is a bag or box of something salty in the house I cannot NOT finish the entire bag or box. I am baffled by people that can eat just a few. My husband, for example, will eat just 4 or 5 chips and that's enough for him - I sit and look at him with awe. I generally don't have my "trigger" foods in the house but last week was a bad week and I went on an emotional eating roller coaster of a ride which culimanated in my finishing ALL chips in the house last night (not logged - too ashamed) and polishing off a bottle of wine (logged.) So, how do YOU manage to not totally inhale your trigger foods? I would LOVE suggestions/ideas/advice! My waist begs you!

Usually because of habitual reasons, people gorge till the bag is empty. Thinking has to change before habit does. If someone handed you a bag and said "eat more than 20 chips and your husband will drop dead of a heart attack" (extreme, but I'm trying to make a point) you wouldn't finish the bag. Why? Because you value your husband's life, more than that 21st chip. And that's the mentality you have to make about yourself. Sounds simple, but most don't actually grasp it, especially those who put others first.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Well, generally, I just measure out a serving or two and put the bag of *blank* back in the cupboard. I know I can't control myself if I had the bag sitting in front of me. Might sounds silly since I could just go back to the cupboard and get more but portioning it out seems to work for me.