Pizza and the other bad things that we love

Whether or not you should give them up entirely depends on you. If you're going to binge on something that you're depriving yourself of, then that's not very sustainable.

If you find that moderation is a problem once you've got the pizza (or whatever) in front of you, then plan for it. Go over your goal by 1000 calories that meal and go under your goal by 250 for the next 4 days, for example.

I have a birthday coming up this weekend and I have a 3 day weekend off work, and I'm planning on indulging. I am not going to worry too much about going overboard. I'll log everything I eat this weekend and next week will be right back on track at 1200 or under.

So I'm sure all of us have things we like to eat, that are not the healthiest options for us, so how do you work those things into your diet without going overboard? I know balance is key, but sometimes even when I plan for those higher calorie indulges, once I'm there, I tend to eat more of it than I should. Should I give up the trigger foods all together? Any advice or tools you use for these situations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

For me, I'm not giving up __________ (insert trigger food) forever. So I am working on lifestyle changes now.

I used to go sugar free before the start of a diet.....and that helped me stay on a diet. Notice I said before the start of a diet.....like it was a regular habit of mine and not something that was sustainable. So, do what you need to do to stay on your diet....but eventually you need to develop tools to deal with trigger foods.

Pizza is not "bad".....I eat pizza all the time. But adding a salad with every pizza meal, getting only 1 meat topping, selecting thin crust.....these are permanent changes I can make to keep pizza calories under control. Logging helps you see the "price" of pizza.

I vote yes for giving up trigger foods altogether, at least for a while. Maybe forever. Even if you do occasionally give in and binge, it's better than bingeing regularly.

But I think some favorite high calorie foods are worth going over on calories now and then. Baby rack ribs are the one that springs to mind for me. These are just so high calorie that they will never fit into a balanced day for me. But I still eat them occasionally. Not as often as I'd like because I'd rather have none than only eat a tiny portion.

Pizza I eat more often, but I prefer pizza without a lot of greasy toppings so my pizza usually isn't crazy high calories. I can often make a 10 in pizza fit in my day

I ONLY buy my trigger foods in small packages. For example, I buy a piece of pizza by the slice, or a single serving mini cupcake, or a small McDonalds fry. If something only comes in a larger package, I buy the smallest size available and immediately throw away all but a reasonable amount (unhealthy food is typically cheap food, so you shouldn't feel too bad about this).

So, YES, I think you can have pizza. But don't order a whole pizza. Go to Green Mill and order a slice (they deliver, too). This way you can indulge without having to have a ridiculous amount of self control. Even a single-serving slice at Sbarro is better than ordering and devouring an entire delivery pizza. You may be enticed by a good deal-- but it is not worth the extra calories.

Also, certain places list the calories on the menu by item. This makes it much easier to work in your treat without just throwing your hands up and giving up. I usually don't indulge if I can't find the nutrition facts and portion sizes. You'd be surprised how much a little research will help-- for example, cheese sticks at Toppers Pizza have way less calories than Papa Johns. It is worth looking up and making an educated choice.

I tend to shop meal to meal, and only buy as much food as I can fit in my calories. For example, tonight I've planned pizza. I prelogged it, and it will be 845 calories in my 1800 calorie budget. I'm making my own this time, with a premade crust, black olives, capers, grilled lamb, and muenster cheese. I'll get to the eat the whole thing, and won't have to worry about "binging". Once it's gone, it's all gone, no more to sneak, and no more ingredients to make another one.

Who told you pizza was bad??

I love pizza so much. If I eat it, which is probably once a week, I try to make it as healthy as possible. For instance, I buy the pizza dough mix from a box and prepare it at home, use pizza sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Then I can add on veggies! Veggies when cooked have amazinnng benefits especially tomatoes. They release something called Lycopene which actually is a really powerful antioxidant that can help reduce chances of getting cancer, especially breast cancer!
Making a pizza home-made always helps me know exactly what I'm eating without a bunch of preservatives from being in the freezer isle. Additionally, pizza that is bought from a take-out place is usually much higher in fat for some reason (not sure why) and the portion sizes are out of control which makes me want to over eat.


Hope this helps and I hope you try making your own home-made pizza!! I use jiffy pizza crust mix and it is about one dollar.

Cheers

I ONLY buy my trigger foods in small packages. For example, I buy a piece of pizza by the slice, or a single serving mini cupcake, or a small McDonalds fry. If something only comes in a larger package, I buy the smallest size available and immediately throw away all but a reasonable amount (unhealthy food is typically cheap food, so you shouldn't feel too bad about this).

I do this sometimes too. I normally HATE the idea of wasting anything at all but I have to admit, I recently bought a six pack of delicious apple soda from an Asian market and it's almost 150 cal per can. I pour out 1/2 before I drink it every time and feel no regret.

Pizza isn't bad...

Pizza

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love it! However one needs a strategy. You can ask for a box, cut your pizza in half, and eat the other half on a day you exercise alot. Put it in the freezer as soon as you get home, so you won't be tempted to finish it off. My husband orders pizza every week when we go out. He can never finish it and expects me to, so I order myself a salad and eat 1/3 of his pizza, plus we split a desert. I used to agonize over going out, and fight with him, trying to refuse to eat his pizza. Now I fit it in, log it all, and relax and enjoy. :drinker:

Unless it's poisoned, or expired, there are no bad foods.

I make room for things in my day and use practice moderation. Cutting foods out of my life isn't an option, so I taught myself to control portions.

I like IIFYM, but there are some things I have eliminated because I don't have good boundaries about them, or they are COMPLETELY empty calories (like sour candy, I LOVE sour candy). We make naan bread or pita pizza semi-regularly and it has proven delicious. We also splurge on whatever we want (for me, usually pasta from my favourite restaurant) once in awhile, with planning, and we order pizza once in awhile and break it up into meals (i.e. we take two slices, pack the rest for lunches before we eat, etc). Whatever works for you, take the advice you need and if it doesn't work for you, let it go.

Another option is to make up for the overage in advance - that's my preferred method. Know I'm going to go over somewhat on the weekends, and either eat a little less every day of the week or throw in some extra exercise. Motivates me to get my butt working, too, if I know that it means I can have a nice dessert, or try that new restaurant without even thinking about feeling guilty.

If I don't do that (I didn't last week because the gym's air conditioner was down for repairs all week), then I try to eat less after the fact. Rarely, I'll just let it go, because any overeating I do usually just erases a day's deficit and that's acceptable to me on occasion. Like this past Sunday. Had yummy pizza, managed to keep dinner and dessert in check, but stayed up late and didn't want to go to bed hungry and the snack put me over. Oh, well. This week I'll be back on track.

I think once in a while is fine with those bad foods, but the problem is most people can't control themselves. And once in a while becomes once every other day, then every day and you've wasted any progress you've made. Though, I honestly believe that setting a goal of when you'll get to cheat, helps alot. Say I go Saturday to Thursday, exercise and maintain my calories, I get to cheat on Friday. If I dont then I dont get to cheat.

However, what works for me, might not work for others, it's all in what you can hande.