what triggers your bad eating habits and how are you changin

I am a SNACKER. I've found the only thing that helps me eat less is to not keep snack food in the house. If it's not easily accessible, I'm not about to run out and go get some I know I shouldn't be eating in the first place. Then I'll drink some water and find something else to distract myself with until the craving subsides.

TOM!! I don't know WHY I have such cravings for chocolate at that time but I do and I am not sure what to do about it, I wish I knew!!

I know exactly what you mean and that's what I'm coming off of now and the cravings are gone but still have those 3 pounds that I picked back up. uuggh. That is when my cravings totally take me over like an addiction. It's tough being a woman at times.

Seriously,

I have a few triggers that I've tried to make note of and since I have have made measure to keep them in check:

1) Opportunism - If oreos (especially vanillia) are in the house it will be eaten. I am the same way about most of my favorite sweets. For some reason I have more self control with ice cream and soda since I can take or leave those, but most baked goods are just disasters waiting to happen.

2) Going out - Eating out is an invitation to salty greasy foods, I can rationalize anything once the menu is in my hands. So I pack my lunch, make homemade foods or eat before activities were eating out is a good flow. When I do go out to a restaraunt I cut myself some slack since it has become a rare treat, hence my attitude in the 5 guys thread.

3) Letting myself get too hungry without a plan - Coming home from work after skipping lunch is a perfect "excuse" to go to McDonalds or Wendys, (Heck, I haven't eaten all day!) so I make sure to nosch on good foods so that I don't go around with a raging appetite.

4) Giving up - Falling off the wagon used to leave me feeling discouraged and once that happens I may as well keep going. That attitude was the worst of all. Now I expect to fall off the wagon every now and then, and I have learned to reset the clock for myself. Every morning is a new opportunity to start clean.

I just realized who the heck TOM was.


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Driving by a McDonald's is my trigger and I just keep on driving.

What triggered my bad eating habits were coping with my life, trying to feel the void that I had for so many years with food. As a child at 9yrs old I was molested by my stepfather, and it went on for many yrs. I was 16yrs old when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter and it was by my stepfather...during that time period I ate and ate and ate and ate to make myself look "Unattractive" in hopes it would keep this man off of me, but it didn’t work. But eventually I found my comfort in food. I was able to take my mind off of this horrible situation that I was going thru with the help of music and food. So until a month ago, I ate and ate when I felt sad, or lonely, and it got even worse when ever I would have recurring nightmares about my child hood. I would find myself eating outrageously...until one day about a month ago I saw that my daughter now 11 was picking up on some of my bad habits...and she is a tall skinny little thing. But I refused to allow my child to do what I was doing because I knew exactly what that would lead to, and I no longer felt sorry for myself, I was mad at myself for letting things get this bad and now my child is following what she sees me doing. So, I PRAYED, I decided that I was going to make a change once and for all, and I decided to go to counseling to deal and get over the demon that was in me that was haunting me from my childhood, and take control of ME, so now I am eating so much better, I am more aware of what Im doing, I am staying active, and most importantly my daughter is following in my new foot steps, I involve her in my activities and I try to teach her how to make better choices when it comes down to eating healthy.