Where Does Self Control Come From?

All I can say is I completely understand! Damn girl scouts, damn Mr. Christie, damn chips a hoy and grocery stor bakeries, damn you all

I have the same issue with self control. My husband was trying to be nice and bought me a box of Godiva chocolate as part of my Valentine's gift. About a week after having the box I still had not opened it and one night he made that a comment something like, "really cool, guess you don't like what I got you." So of course I felt guilty and opened the box! I had the majority of the box finished in about 2 days!

I do understand what you mean. With that being said, I don't allow myself to even one of those forbidden fruits(thats my definition of them all). I stay away from them all cause I will down the entire box. I have found when I get a really bad sugar craving that the ceral honey bunches of oaks w/almonds, takes care of any craving I have. I pour 1 cup of it in a bowl and sit down and munch on it dry. With a diet dr pepper or crystal light or water and I am good for several days.. You just need to find that item that will quinch your desire for all that and use it when your in need of something sweet.. You can do it, you've been there before, You can DO IT!!!!!!!!

I had ordered a case of GS tagalongs before the diet started and then they came after I started dieting. No I didn't even open them, I sold them. My self control comes from wanting this weight loss and body reformation more than I will ever want the cookies or breads or fats. To me it's a question of how bad do I want this. If I give in that means I don't want it very bad. I don't give in!

I think that finding a mechanism to hold yourself accountable is what you need. Everything you're looking for comes from within - it is all a mindset. Now, that is much easier said than done - trust me, I know! Here are some suggestions (1) Set mini (realistic and achievable) goals for yourself; (2) having a personal support system that will hold you accountable (sometimes we need a little butt kicking to help us out - someone to remind us what we're working for; and (3) setting yourself up for success is VITAL. For example: If you don't order the cookies in the first place, you won't have the cookies there to tempt you (setting yourself up for success instead of failure). It's easier to make a good choice when there are not a bunch of bad choices "calling you on" if you will.

So instead of me telling you to forget about it and live another day, I'm going to tell you to use it as a learning tool - a 'what not to do' or a 'what situation not to put yourself into'.

I hope you don't find that harsh...I am definitely not telling you to beat yourself up over it! I mean it's done and over with you can't change it - you can only learn from it.

Good luck:)

I can take or leave girl scout cookies, but I don't know how I'm going to make it through the next 40 days without stuffing my face with Peeps.

Oh Girl Scout cookies are accountable for my last 2 lbs I gained I am sure!!

Ok here's how I did it! I have NO will power but then I changed. I said, "I am strong" I wrote, "I am strong". I repeated, "I am strong" while I worked out and it was hard. I repeated again, "I am strong" when food that looked DELICIOUS was put before me. I started to turn down food I really wanted. Before long I found repeating "I am strong" those same foods that were IMPOSSIBLE and binge foods were foods I really didn't want because I am strong.

I am not perfect at this by ANY means...please read first sentence of this whole thing!

One thing to remember - this is NOT a diet. You are making a life style change!!! There WILL be days that you go over calories. That is just the way it is. MAKE SURE TO ENTER YOUR FOOD EVERY DAY!!! In the end the only person this really matters to is you! You are accountable only to yourself and YOU already know what you ate. Don't hide it. Accept it. Entering in all the food makes it that I can look and say, "I was as strong as I could be today, tomorrow I will be stronger" then move on because you have already eaten that food...no use wasting precious time worrying and stewing over it and most likely causing yourself to stress and eat even more!!

Last - Believe in yourself! You can do this. It is hard! It can be discouraging. I still struggle daily with my food impulses! If you are maintaining at the calorie intake you are at, re-evaluate the amount you are taking in. Every 10 lbs you should re-evaluate.

You can do this! I know you can!!!!

I don't know where it comes from Kat. ...sometimes I have it sometimes I don't. Some years I can ignore the GS cookies & some years I eat the boxes of them by myself. Probably why I look like this : )
It helps when everything else is going well...job stress is low, no $ issues, but you know how often that happens.
If we knew where self control comes from (well we do know, it comes from yourself, hence the name)...if we could bottle it and sell it, we'd make a fortune. Then I would hire a personal shopper, chef, and fitness coach so I wouldn't have to think about what I'm eating.

for me, the only way to maintain self control is to budget for "treats". I usually can budget in two cookies (or one serving, whatever the case may be), and if it's on my plan for the day, I'll (for the most part) stick to it. But I have to plan in advance. That being said, there are three boxes of girl scout cookies (peanut butter patties, peanut butter sandwiches, and thin mints) hidden in my closet. Out of sight, out of mind. I don't want to even think about those boxes until I get through spring break, which - luckily - is next week for us. But when I do get out the boxes, I will plan one serving of cookies per day. I have to ration them, because I waited until they the last weekend they were being sold here to buy them! I didn't want to be tempted to polish off the box and go get more!

It's still a struggle, but I'm getting better at remembering that there will be food again tomorrow. And again the day after that. There's a primal sort of urge to eat as much as I can, but it's a false urge because food is not scarce in my life right now, and I have to stop and remember that. It's ok if I leave a couple of bites on my plate now, because I can eat again later if I get really hungry.

I think this would be more difficult if I had children though, because there's more feeling that the 'last' of something (like a thin mint) is real. There's more competition for the food in homes that have children. The thing is, thin mints will be around next year. And there are other cookies that taste even better than thin mints that I might be able to eat next week. I think self control and discipline come from awareness. When we are not aware, we sometimes make choices based on our more primal desires, even when they are not in our long-term interest. That's probably because a human's long-term interest is a relatively new concept when you consider the millennia of history behind us.