What is your best advice for avoiding unhealthy tempting foods?
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SergeantSausage wrote: »Best advice: Eat whatever you want. There are no "unhealthy foods" for weight loss purposes. Eat all the "junk" you want, as long as you stay under your calorie quota.
This is ridiculous. Eating nothing but junk is unhealthy whether you are trying to lose weight or not. You can lose weight on nothing but junk, but to say that would not be unhealthy is just plain wrong.0 -
This is the worst advice. Not everyone can just eat some and fit it into their calories. You see that time and again on these forums. Should a person try that route first. Yes, but if they can't sustain that then other strategies such as eliminating it have to come into play.SergeantSausage wrote: »Best advice: Eat whatever you want. There are no "unhealthy foods" for weight loss purposes. Eat all the "junk" you want, as long as you stay under your calorie quota.
Everyone *CAN* eat what they want and fit it in (modulo food allergies, blood sugar issues, and the like).
One CAN ... but one *CHOOSES* not too.
Grow up and quit making excuses for your Poor Choices. It helps out with a lot more in life than just losing weight.
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I have to disagree with whoever suggested having your kids and husband hide them from you and not let you have it. That's putting it on them, not you to "police" what you eat.
I have a teenage stepson, a toddler, and my husband at home. It isn't fair to expect the whole house to diet when one person is a growing teenager who is active in sports and one is a young child. I buy snacks and things for them that don't interest me much. I have my own snacks that most in the house don't care for. I choose to eat low carb so I have cheese, boiled eggs, jerky, and veggies for snacks.0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »
This is the worst advice. Not everyone can just eat some and fit it into their calories. You see that time and again on these forums. Should a person try that route first. Yes, but if they can't sustain that then other strategies such as eliminating it have to come into play.SergeantSausage wrote: »Best advice: Eat whatever you want. There are no "unhealthy foods" for weight loss purposes. Eat all the "junk" you want, as long as you stay under your calorie quota.
Everyone *CAN* eat what they want and fit it in (modulo food allergies, blood sugar issues, and the like).
One CAN ... but one *CHOOSES* not too.
Grow up and quit making excuses for your Poor Choices. It helps out with a lot more in life than just losing weight.
Nobody is making excuses for poor choices. Somebody is asking for help coming up with strategies to deal with this long term. It is not as simple as "just stop eating" for everybody. Pretending that it is doesn't make it true, no matter how many times it is repeated. We are humans, not robots. There's more to it than saying yes or no to tempting foods.
OP, what worked for me when I was struggling with this issue was to limit myself to treats once per week. For the first several months, I only let myself have them on Sundays and even then I ate one serving and that's it. Throughout the week if I was tempted, I could tell myself that no, I wasn't going to have it but I wouldn't feel deprived because I knew *for sure* that I would have something on Sunday. After several months, I was able to transition to treating myself a couple of times a week. But even now, I try not to have my most tempting foods in the house in large quantities because I find it difficult to stop eating them once I start.0 -
Thanks everyone for all the advice. I appreciate it!
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Eat in moderation/fit into overall calories. I think of my calories as a budget. Cover my needs first, and as room allows: enjoy wants as well.0
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Eat half of what you normally would and log it. That's what I do. When I want a candy bar or a bag of whoppers I divide it into portions for days. Last week 1 bag on vending machine whoppers lasted me 3 days.
Another thing we are doing home is buying less junk and buying more healthy snacks. We like trail mix. Its got protein and is lower in calories than a bag of chips and is satisfying.0 -
Eat half of what you normally would and log it. That's what I do. When I want a candy bar or a bag of whoppers I divide it into portions for days. Last week 1 bag on vending machine whoppers lasted me 3 days.
Another thing we are doing home is buying less junk and buying more healthy snacks. We like trail mix. Its got protein and is lower in calories than a bag of chips and is satisfying.
I don't think the majority of people this thread applies to are worried about fitting in a candy bar or a vending machine bag of candy. I think we're talking an entire box of Thin Mints or something more along those lines.
But I could be wrong.0 -
I like the little red pepper (pimento?) stuffed olives. They'e so full of flavor that they just inundate the taste buds and I usually forget whatever I was craving.0
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Eat half of what you normally would and log it. That's what I do. When I want a candy bar or a bag of whoppers I divide it into portions for days. Last week 1 bag on vending machine whoppers lasted me 3 days.
Another thing we are doing home is buying less junk and buying more healthy snacks. We like trail mix. Its got protein and is lower in calories than a bag of chips and is satisfying.
I don't think the majority of people this thread applies to are worried about fitting in a candy bar or a vending machine bag of candy. I think we're talking along the lines of an entire box of Thin Mints or something more along those lines.
But I could be wrong.
Lol. I'm more half a box of thin mints, but close enough.
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I don't avoid it. I enjoy it in moderation.0
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theres tons of junk food in my house. it doesnt bother me. you have to learn how to control yourself. allow yourself a small treat every day, just make sure you log it and make it fit into your calories goals.0
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My main tactic has been to buy only fun size candy. I'm much less likely to eat a lot of it if I have to unwrap a bunch of little individual pieces. Fun size snickers are like 40 calories so I just have one or two of those and I'm pretty happy!0
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I think everyone is different. I personally am screwed if I eat one piece of candy or cookie, etc., because it opens the flood gates, and I can't stop. So I just don't. Mind over matter for me. My daughter and I were making sugar cookies the other day, and I made her taste the frosting. Because I have such a sweet tooth--that crap is like a drug to me. A lot of people talk about (and can be successful at) eating sweets in moderation, but I figure that my avoidance method has worked for four years, so wth.0
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I also have an inspirational quote collage on my fridge, which helps me avoid the garbage.0
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If I have other snacks available or other food to substitute, I'm able to avoid the tempting foods. Today we had pizza at work and I pre-planned lunch and snacks so I wouldn't be tempted.
This. ^^^^ I generally log my food the day before - then I know for certain what I am going to eat. If I stick to what I have logged I won't be hungry and much less tempted to eat something else.0 -
Keep it off the counter/out of sight.
Don't buy stuff for them that is your personal weakness. I don't buy salty chips for my kids even though they like them and they don't have a weight problem, because I have trouble keeping my hands out of them. I DO buy them packaged cookies and ice cream, because those don't happen to be a problem for me. I don't bake much, and I asked our nanny not to bake with/for the kids, or if she does, to take the leftovers home with her because I struggle with home-made baked goods.
Make sure you have treats you like in the house. I like sugarfree frozen yogurt, fresh berries, light cheese, turkey pepperoni, air-popped popcorn, diet soda, coffee, and herbal tea. If there's something good I can choose, I'm less likely to feel deprived.
I also keep a small stash of really good treats (expensive chocolate etc) on a "mommy" shelf. No one else is allowed to touch it. I'd rather eat one chocolate truffle than a whole bag of potato chips. Yum.
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Also ask your husband to support you by not keeping certain foods in the house, or keeping them out of the kitchen. If he were an alcoholic you wouldn't drink beer in front of him. He can support you in the same way.0
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What's your best advice for avoiding it?
I only eat at mealtimes, so snacky foods are mostly something I don't think about, since I don't snack much. (For me controlling when I eat works much better than having rules about the foods I eat. For meals I tend to think in terms of nutrient dense foods anyway, so although I will include some less nutrient dense foods when calories permit--finish dinner with some ice cream, for example--I don't have to worry about getting out of balance with what I eat.)What kind of snacks do you like that help you between meals?
If I decide that my meal and workout schedules are such that I would do better with something between my normal meal times (like a late afternoon snack if I workout during the day and eat late, which I've been doing lately), I schedule it in like a meal and have something prepared or available, what I don't do (since I doesn't work for me) is just go rummaging for something I might like or allow myself to decide when hungry that some treats around my office might be nice. For planned snacks I typically like something with some protein and fat, as well as carbs--yogurt + fruit is always good, but sometimes I bring a mix of nuts and dried fruit, or a protein bar. Depends on how many calories I will want.0 -
Wow such great advice!0
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I'm not interested in donuts or pastries so those can come in the house and even sit on the counter without me grabbing one.
But salty stuff is another matter. If I *know* I'm going to have some (why kid myself) I weigh out portions and place the little bagged portions in the cookie jar. Problem is, I then use up 120 or 160 calories on that stuff, or more if I eat more than one portion. I log it and see how it affects my weight loss.
Sometimes it does cause water retention. That sometimes makes me not grab a bag. It's a learning process for me still, even after a year of logging everything I eat. I'm a slow learner. But, I don't sit down with the entire bag anymore, so at least I've accomplished that!
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DH and DS like to eat junk! There is always that in the house. It's tempting. Trying not to want it. What's your best advice for avoiding it? What kind of snacks do you like that help you between meals? TIA.
Planning and pre-logging.
Eating foods I like all the time.
Portioning out foods in a dish instead of mindlessly eating from the package.
Exercising so I can eat more.
Drinking water. Getting out of the kitchen and busy with other things. Waiting an hour before eating to see if the feeling passes.
Not buying certain things that I really have a problem with. They don't have nutritional value so I am choosing to spend money elsewhere.
Wanting to lose weight more than I want to eat something that would take me way over my calorie limit.
Snacks I typically have- popcorn, granola bar, fruit, cheese, trail mix0 -
DH and DS like to eat junk! There is always that in the house. It's tempting. Trying not to want it. What's your best advice for avoiding it? What kind of snacks do you like that help you between meals? TIA.
Best advice?
Moderation.
And throwing out the notion that any food is junk.
In between meals, I eat Greek Yogurt, popcorn, candies, ice cream, bread pudding, cottage cheese, fruit, cake, and other things-just not all at once, every day, or all the time. 0 -
Love it!
And, it's so true.
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To quote someone from another thread, I practice avoidance. It's easier for me than moderation. Whichever you practice, it requires willpower. Passing all those cheap cookies and cakes in the grocery store is not always easy. I do my best never to shop hungry because of this.0
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How old are DS and DD? If they are still kids, you can just keep certain foods out of the house. I never kept junk in the house when my kids were little. Junk food was something they got as a treat at youth group, school parties, as dessert at restaurants, at birthday parties, etc. I kept healthy snack food in the house for them to eat. There's no rule that says that the home must contain junk food.0
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I agree with the poster who buys snacks she doesn't like for her family. I have 3 kids and just never buy potato chips because they are my favorite (the kids prefer Doritos anyway).
Also, are there certain times of the day that you are more susceptible to snacking? I am fine up to about 3 p.m., then I start wanting that junk, so that is the time I go up and use the treadmill. By the time I get back downstairs, the craving has passed. Usually.0 -
I eat what I want and make it fit.
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