Trigger Foods and How To Avoid Them Help

JassiBear
JassiBear Posts: 268 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I need help on figuring out good substitutes for my trigger foods.
My trigger foods are usually pizza, donuts, cake/cookies/pies/baked treats, and potato chips. Does anyone know any good substitutes to these foods? What are your trigger foods and how do you derail the cravings without giving in? :/
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Replies

  • chessie1971
    chessie1971 Posts: 7
    I love all the food you mentioned and they can be very difficult to avoid. For pizza, I do like the Lean Cuisine pizzas as they can be a good subsitute when one has the cravings. I also like the Fiber One chocolate chip cookies as they can come in individual packages, which can help moderate your intake. For chips, I eat reduced fat kettle-cooked chips, reduced fat Lay's Chips, or baked chips. Be sure to monitor your serving size!

    I think it is ok to satify your cravings every once in a while, but avoid the over indulgance. Good luck!
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods in moderation so they don't become "trigger" foods
  • chasethesky125
    chasethesky125 Posts: 59
    A lot of the times I get cravings because I see the food. So I just usually avoid my kitchen like the plague. But when I have reallllly bad cravings, I go out to the supermarket and buy a single serving of whatever it is. That way, it is impossible for me to over eat it. Usually when i try to do the substitution thing, I'll eat both the substitute and the real thing. Good Luck

    ~Rose :flowerforyou:
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Pizza - make your own so you can control ingredients, size and calories. When ordering out - stick to thinner crust veggie pizza and order the smallest size. You can't eat an entire large pizza by yourself if you only have a small one.

    Baked goods - again, make your own to control content. Add oats and nuts to make them more filling and slow digestion. It's usually the fast rise and fall of blood sugar that causes the desire to eat more and more. Slower digestion means no rapid rise/fall in blood sugar.

    Potato chips - I don't know. I mostly just don't keep them in the house. I can't eat what's not there.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods for breakfast.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods in moderation so they don't become "trigger" foods

    Generally, when someone says "trigger food" they mean a food they find it nearly impossible to eat in moderation. It "triggers" them to overeat. If you can moderate your intake then it's not a trigger.
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    Why can't you fit those foods into your daily calorie allotment?

    My only "danger" food is peanut butter. I have a hard time controlling myself, so I make my fiance hide it. Other than that, IIFYM.
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods in moderation so they don't become "trigger" foods

    Generally, when someone says "trigger food" they mean a food they find it nearly impossible to eat in moderation. It "triggers" them to overeat. If you can moderate your intake then it's not a trigger.

    So you learn will power and apply it to your life and grow as a person!? Just a thought, instead of avoiding the things you love...
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
    Cauliflower. Cauliflower is an acceptable substitute for everything. Crunchy deliciousness that only KIND OF looks like a venereal disease.
  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
    I think you'll find most successful folks on MFP have found a way to eat these foods they love in moderation.
    Not that it's always easy, but it can happen.

    Generally if you make something off limits, the moment you fall off the wagon you fall hard.

    You really don't want to suffocate yourself in a life size box of cheez it.s
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Quit buying the trigger foods.

    I can't buy things like chips and ice cream because I will eat ALLL THE THINGS nom nom.

    ETA: Foods aren't the thing "triggering" you to overeat... it's yourself. Until you've made the commitment to fitting these foods into your daily calorie goal and holding YOURSELF accountable, you won't succeed.
  • _Pseudonymous_
    _Pseudonymous_ Posts: 1,671 Member
    You really don't want to suffocate yourself in a life size box of cheez it.s

    ... or do I?
  • amberj32
    amberj32 Posts: 663 Member
    You can make them fit in your macros for the day and still have them.

    Less calories:
    Pizza - You can order with the thin crust and lots of veggies. Since I'm diabetic I make pizza snacks at home using a portabello mushroom cap as the "crust" and I add pizza sauce, garlic powder, mozzarella, and a couple pepperonis.
    Donuts - I don't have a sub for those. They are just sugary and good!
    Baked Goods - You can make your own at home and sub ingredients. apple sauce for the oil, splenda instead of white sugar, etc.
    Chips - Make at home but I'm not sure if they are going to be much lower in calories than the store bought version.

    Pinterest has a lot of recipes.
    I make the regular stuff fit in my macros for the day and have still had weight loss success. Don't keep them in the house if you don't want to eat them or can't stop eating them. If you do, only buy a single serving of them so you don't overeat.
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods in moderation so they don't become "trigger" foods

    Generally, when someone says "trigger food" they mean a food they find it nearly impossible to eat in moderation. It "triggers" them to overeat. If you can moderate your intake then it's not a trigger.

    Drivel absolute drivel.


    The term "trigger food" is just another excuse to prevent someone to actually change and take control of their lives.

    Time to stop making excuses!
  • maz504
    maz504 Posts: 450
    Just eat breakfast.
  • da_bears1008
    da_bears1008 Posts: 354
    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTl_WrDGrvAt6kNxZCLLq6gX8Q6d5AupzeRSgBxoee25ZoCXA7V
  • crossfire266
    crossfire266 Posts: 25
    Why do you want alternatives just fit them into your diet..
  • StazLR
    StazLR Posts: 3
    Edemame Beans??
  • Chicgeek88
    Chicgeek88 Posts: 10
    Have one day a week where you eat one of your "trigger foods" in moderation of course. Pizza is my favorite food and I use that as my motivation meal often. It helps me get through the week knowing I can have pizza on Saturday :) and before long you will not crave those foods. I used to drink 2-3 cans of Pepsi everyday and now it taste too sweet, I don't want anything but water.
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods in moderation so they don't become "trigger" foods

    Generally, when someone says "trigger food" they mean a food they find it nearly impossible to eat in moderation. It "triggers" them to overeat. If you can moderate your intake then it's not a trigger.

    Drivel absolute drivel.


    The term "trigger food" is just another excuse to prevent someone to actually change and take control of their lives.

    Time to stop making excuses!


    QFT - hardest lesson I have learned, but so dam* glad I learned it. I had many trigger foods - now? I know how to manage my portions. Hard =/= impossible.
  • asarwe
    asarwe Posts: 73 Member
    Figure out why you crave them. Find something that satisfies the same craving.

    I love chocolate, especially dark chocolate. So I get Blanchart 95% chocolate. That way I can have a small 2g piece and it satisfies the craving. Then I don't eat a whole bar of crap chocolate.

    I like salty, crunchy stuff. So I make popcorn. Not the best sodium-wise but it is better than chips.

    And so on. Sweet -> eat a piece of fruit (my current favourite dessert is fresh strawberries with whole milk, so yum and better than ice-cream calorie wise!)
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods for breakfast.

    This. Pull the trigger first thing in the morning and your metabolism should be all fired up and ready to burn off those foods right away so they don't get stored as fat.
  • Cliffslosinit
    Cliffslosinit Posts: 5,044 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods in moderation so they don't become "trigger" foods

    Generally, when someone says "trigger food" they mean a food they find it nearly impossible to eat in moderation. It "triggers" them to overeat. If you can moderate your intake then it's not a trigger.

    Meh...anyway
    15xr1mt.jpg
  • Kitteneyes01
    Kitteneyes01 Posts: 125
    My trigger foods are chocolate and cookies. I don't keep them in my house, and when I want them, I need to go out and buy them. As a rule, I buy only single serve containers of them. ALWAYS single serve. Any more than that and the cops will throw me in jail because it's illegal. (I convince myself of it) And only ONE thing. It's either cookies, or chocolate, but not both.
    I also have two days of the week (Saturday and Sunday) where I allow myself one treat. :) that's how I keep in control but still have them in moderation.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods for breakfast.

    Buuuuurn!
    the-little-mermaid-burn.gif
  • JassiBear
    JassiBear Posts: 268 Member
    Have one day a week where you eat one of your "trigger foods" in moderation of course. Pizza is my favorite food and I use that as my motivation meal often. It helps me get through the week knowing I can have pizza on Saturday :) and before long you will not crave those foods. I used to drink 2-3 cans of Pepsi everyday and now it taste too sweet, I don't want anything but water.

    I like this idea!
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods in moderation so they don't become "trigger" foods

    Generally, when someone says "trigger food" they mean a food they find it nearly impossible to eat in moderation. It "triggers" them to overeat. If you can moderate your intake then it's not a trigger.

    Drivel absolute drivel.


    The term "trigger food" is just another excuse to prevent someone to actually change and take control of their lives.

    Time to stop making excuses!

    +1
  • runningagainstmyself
    runningagainstmyself Posts: 616 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods in moderation so they don't become "trigger" foods

    Generally, when someone says "trigger food" they mean a food they find it nearly impossible to eat in moderation. It "triggers" them to overeat. If you can moderate your intake then it's not a trigger.

    So you learn will power and apply it to your life and grow as a person!? Just a thought, instead of avoiding the things you love...

    Beautiful ideal, but in reality it nearly never works (at least for me), no matter how much willpower one attempts to exert. If I feel that I would be unable to sit down to just one serving of something, I keep it out of my house or leave it for a treat day, or I find a suitable alternative. Don't knock other people's thinking; everyone works differently, and what might work for you may not work for someone else.

    Back to the OP:

    For pizza, to fit it in, I use the McCain's ultra thin pizzas. The spinach and provolone, and the roasted mushroom and garlic are bliss, and they go on sale all the time. On a 1390cal/day diet, I can eat a whole one without guilt for dinner if I so choose. So if you want to go for gold, I would recommend these strongly.

    As for chips, Kettle makes a baked line of chips that don't taste like cardboard, and 1/2 the bag is usually about 4 WeightWatchers points (somewhere along 300-400cal). If you end up eating the whole bag you can talk yourself off the ledge a lot easier; all it takes is a nice walk somewhere and you have burned off the excess.

    Good luck!
  • Sparky1030
    Sparky1030 Posts: 163
    Great tips; if you deprive yourself completely when you crave something you're more likely to give in and gorge yourself with that food. My physician would agree when I say if you eat just a small amount and then move on to another activity it will help take the edge off.

    Love your quote about "trigger foods"; so true. My biggest craving is ice cream or cookies; that being said and my being a diabetic I know in my head it's not healthy for me so I really have to retrain my mind and it's not always easy.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I would recommend eating those foods in moderation so they don't become "trigger" foods

    Generally, when someone says "trigger food" they mean a food they find it nearly impossible to eat in moderation. It "triggers" them to overeat. If you can moderate your intake then it's not a trigger.

    So you learn will power and apply it to your life and grow as a person!? Just a thought, instead of avoiding the things you love...

    Since when does learning to eat chips or cake in moderation = growing as a person? It's just food.

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