We trashed the sodas, chips, cookies

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  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
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    We are all doing this lifestyle change for our own reasons, some people may feel tossing all the "bad" food in the garbage and starting over new is a good start. I try not to eat sugary empty calories because that is exactly what I was addicted to and also what ultimately game me type 2 diabetes. I quit smoking February 2012, I don’t like being around smokers now, it’s not because I am depriving myself of it, it’s because I enjoy fresh air after 20 years of inhaling poison. My home has no cookies, no ice cream, no pizza, and no other food that a year ago was a staple in my bad diet. I surround myself to feel nourished and set myself up to succeed. Have I had a cookie or a pizza or an ice cream in 9 months? You bet. Do I have them daily? No way.

    To the OP:
    If purging all this food from your home is going to set you up to succeed then all the power to you.

    To all the people putting the OP down:
    Just try and remember everyone is different, just because you have willpower of steel and can set boundaries doesn't mean everyone else can.
  • Minnie2361
    Minnie2361 Posts: 281 Member
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    It isn't about control. I think the OP's poster of comparing processed foods and sugars to cigarettes is an accurate assessment.

    They have done brain imaging with the MRI and have shown a difference between people who are obese and those who are not.
    The obese person will react to an image of food, parts of their brain will be stimulated. So you can see their body chemistry has changed. They have done studies on animals that confirm this.

    Think of putting out celery and carrots on the coffee table, are these as likely to be consumed at the same rate of lets say a bowl of chocolates?
    I would not leave cigarettes laying all around a home if a person or member of the family is quitting the use of them.


    I believe common sense applies, it is better to remove food that is not healthy or creates problems and change to new ones. The idea of moderation or they can lose weight eating what they want for many people is not possible. I think for people like the OP it is path to defeat. They are taking the right step and making the right choices that work for them.

    If they want to reinforce the idea that the food they are giving up is not good by trashing it , so be it.
  • MissJanet55
    MissJanet55 Posts: 457 Member
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    There are so many different reasons people are heavy. Some aren't aware that the food they are eating is so calorie dense, and I expect (but don't know) this applies to many who come to a place like MFP for the first time. Some people are on medications that make them chronically hungry. Some are chronically sleep deprived and eat their way through the day to boost their energy. Some are emotional eaters. Some are compulsive overeaters, which is a disorder as dangerous and insidious as anorexia. Some fall into more than one of these categories, and I am sure there are more,.

    Without knowing what circumstance brought the OP to the decision to lose weight, I'm not sure we can tell him that all he needs is will power. It's not that simple for everyone.

    Never mind that a steady diet of the foods he tossed out will make him more hungry when his blood sugar crashes after eating all that sugar, and foods like chips and cheetos has been engineered to not make us full, even after downing thousands of calories worth.

    Although we're all here for the same reason, we didn't all get here the same way, and there is more than one path out.
  • marniesworld
    marniesworld Posts: 74 Member
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    Many of us keep saying it comes down to lack of self control. The debate is its not but the explanation given is exactly that, lack of self control. Then people say if it was easy to practice self control then this site wouldn't exist. However, I think the difference is before most of us didn't care about self control. We just ate whatever, whenever and however much we wanted. Then we got big and decided enough was enough. Not caring about having self control and not being able to practice it are 2 totally different things.

    I think that's probably something the OP needs to figure out on his own though. It's sort of like when someone is dating everyone that their friend's hate. They can tell them over and over but until that person has had enough and makes the decision for themselves, it's just going to fall on deaf ears. So many people here have said "I thought I had to cut everything out too, but it caused me to fail. Only then did I realize it was okay to have it in moderation." That could well be the path that the OP takes as well, but it's something he has to figure out by himself and make that decision based on his own successes and failures, and not those of others.

    It's one thing to give friendly advice and explain what happened in your own case, so others can reference it when making their own decisions, but that is only a small part of what's going on here. The majority were basically calling the OP an idiot for not following it their way, telling him he'll be sorry for not listening, etc. And maybe that's true, but why not wait and see?

    In this case, he and his friend have lost 12 and 14 lbs so far, so it seems to be working for them.

    If they fail in the future, everyone can get their jollies saying, "I told you so" but in the meantime, why not just congratulate them on their success so far, wish them luck, and hope they don't suffer those obstacles moving forward?
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I think what the OP is doing is great way to kick-start a lifestyle change, especially if you're addicted to junk food.

    Having it in the house just increases the chance you're going to eat it, especially if you're tired or stressed. Most people don't have iron will power. Best just not to bring it in the house.

    I'm sure the OP will eventually be able to add 'treats' back into their diets.

    Well you leave it in the house because you *will* eat it,. If you let yourself have a little every day, you won't freak out next time someone puts a bowl of it in front of you. You won't get anxiety about going to a friend's party where there will be snacks. You won't give in and buy a bag one day, feel guilty, and - knowing you won't buy a bag again - eat the whole thing in one sitting.
    I don't keep it in the house. And I don't get anxiety about going to a friend's party.
    I just don't eat most of it. Ever. And for me the first step was getting it out of the house.
    I'm not "deprived". I dont want it. The thought of doritos, oreos, twinkies etc is NOT appealing any more.
    For some of us, calorie counting is the way to sustained weight loss. For some of us, going on a low CRAP lifestyle is. I'm in the latter category. You're apparently in the former. Both are fine. As long as they work for us in the long term.


    Most folks here are PROS at losing weight. As we know, keeping it off is the real battle. Again: it's about calories in/calories out BUT we each need to find an approach to eating that works for us.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    It isn't about control. I think the OP's poster of comparing processed foods and sugars to cigarettes is an accurate assessment.

    They have done brain imaging with the MRI and have shown a difference between people who are obese and those who are not.
    The obese person will react to an image of food, parts of their brain will be stimulated. So you can see their body chemistry has changed. They have done studies on animals that confirm this.

    Think of putting out celery and carrots on the coffee table, are these as likely to be consumed at the same rate of lets say a bowl of chocolates?
    I would not leave cigarettes laying all around a home if a person or member of the family is quitting the use of them.


    I believe common sense applies, it is better to remove food that is not healthy or creates problems and change to new ones. The idea of moderation or they can lose weight eating what they want for many people is not possible. I think for people like the OP it is path to defeat. They are taking the right step and making the right choices that work for them.

    If they want to reinforce the idea that the food they are giving up is not good by trashing it , so be it.

    Honestly minnie, you and your studies. You still have not answered the question from the other day. Other than citing studies what have you accomplished health wise so far.

    You think many of the fit people hear weren't obese? I was obese. How does the OP know moderation is the path to defeat, he hasn't even tried it.
    And how does SHE know not eating crap is? Has she tried that before?
    Why must everyone be the same in their approach to food?
  • QueenWino
    QueenWino Posts: 106
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    A study came out this year regarding weight loss and keeping it off - the gist of it was that willpower is not a crutch that can be relied on; the best results came from actively removing temptation from the environment. No, I'm not taking the time to find the thread here to be heckled and thrashed about, but I read the study, felt a truth from it and perhaps a bit of relief that I wasn't a weak fool that my willpower was so faulty. There are people who can be successful by relying on willpower but these people are not among the majority.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    A study came out this year regarding weight loss and keeping it off - the gist of it was that willpower is not a crutch that can be relied on; the best results came from actively removing temptation from the environment. No, I'm not taking the time to find the thread here to be heckled and thrashed about, but I read the study, felt a truth from it and perhaps a bit of relief that I wasn't a weak fool that my willpower was so faulty. There are people who can be successful by relying on willpower but these people are not among the majority.

    You are vastly overgeneralizing the results of that study.
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
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    The problem is that willpower is a finite resource. You are better off not forcing yourself to use it constantly. If something like processed foods is part of the problem for you, getting it out of the house is a great first step. Then you can resist it when you run into it at a party or in the supermarket, or choose to buy something to have it in moderation.

    People are different. I can buy ice cream and it can sit in the freezer until it is completely iced over because I just have very little desire to eat it, but chips go right away. So I mostly don't buy chips (or ice cream, unless I get a cone out because it's a waste of money).
  • chelseascounter
    chelseascounter Posts: 1,283 Member
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    I had to to the same thing. Only because I would binge on those junk foods or eat them instead of my planned meals. I still can't have certain foods in the house ;-)
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
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    Those poor cookies:(.

    i made 4 dozen chocolate and caramel chip cookies last night. I might even bake a few before i eat them all.
  • liftingheavy1
    liftingheavy1 Posts: 112
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    good for you, do what works for you and don't listen to these self righteous people who act like they care about what you did with your food if they want they can go donate some food, you do what you want you paid for it just remember everything in moderation see what works for you.
  • NavyKnightAh13
    NavyKnightAh13 Posts: 1,394 Member
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    bumping to read later.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Then you can resist it when you run into it at a party or in the supermarket, or choose to buy something to have it in moderation.

    That's the exact opposite of how it works in real life.

    When something becomes a "just this once, then not again" you don't have it in moderation. That's when binges occur. That's how binging works.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    A study came out this year regarding weight loss and keeping it off - the gist of it was that willpower is not a crutch that can be relied on; the best results came from actively removing temptation from the environment. No, I'm not taking the time to find the thread here to be heckled and thrashed about, but I read the study, felt a truth from it and perhaps a bit of relief that I wasn't a weak fool that my willpower was so faulty. There are people who can be successful by relying on willpower but these people are not among the majority.

    Now this is about lack of willpower? If you truly want something, you will make it happen. I wanted to be in shape, made it happen. I wanted to quit smoking after 17 years of two packs a day, made it happen.

    To say you can't rely on willpower is absolute folly. That is not a valid excuse, in general life. Call it harsh, fine. No one is accountable for yourself other than yourself. Example: IF there are others in your environment that may like a food, say Oreos, why should they not be able to have them around? It's your burden not theirs, take responsibility for yourself.
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
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    A study came out this year regarding weight loss and keeping it off - the gist of it was that willpower is not a crutch that can be relied on; the best results came from actively removing temptation from the environment. No, I'm not taking the time to find the thread here to be heckled and thrashed about, but I read the study, felt a truth from it and perhaps a bit of relief that I wasn't a weak fool that my willpower was so faulty. There are people who can be successful by relying on willpower but these people are not among the majority.

    So basically the results were ........we are not responsible for getting fat. Amirite? No personal responsibility.

    Oh, christ, that old saw.

    Do what makes things easy for you. Get rid of triggers if that works for you, period, it does for me & has for 3 years.

    As above: you would be an a******** to throw a drinker trying to quit into a bar, and ask him to 'take responsibility' based on some idiotic ideological commitment. This man needs to *not drink* & *not die of cirrhosis*.

    There's lots to support the idea of limited willpower (see R Baumeister on ego depletion) and much more on tweaking environments to support making healthy choices (e.g, smoking bans, raising the driving age)... Man. I get worked up about this so am going to stay away from this thread.

    But good luck OP and others.

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