Dealing with family meals

We don't lose weight by changing the purchasing habits of others. We lose weight by controlling what we eat.

I would work on figuring out the root cause of your binging. Are you eating enough? Do you enjoy what you are eating? Are there emotional issues you need to address?

Monna2 wrote: »

Hello
I live with my parents and brother.

They're trying to help me , but still they can't stop making cakes or buying sweet stuff. Whenever there's an occasion, there's usually a cake or something baked in the house. And I feel very week at that time. They won't stop buying or making that stuff and I can't stop binging on them. I sometimes finish the whole thing. I can stop myself from buying stuff, but what can I do with what others buy or make in the house?

Oy, I know the feeling!
So, many will tell you to have a little bit of dessert, or splurge if it's rare, but if you're like me you can be a one-person sweets disposal unit! So my method (which admittedly has only been field tested a handful of times)
1. Eat some dessert, especially if they are the food=love types
2. Grab a bottle of diet coke (I know, I know) and sip. It's sweet and calorie free plus you have the added benefit of holding something so no one hands you cake
3. And most important, start bringing your own desserts. Bring strawberries, sweet apples and honey, things that you are comfortable eating without worrying about bingeing. I bring fruit baskets to holidays now. Grapes, berries etc. they are a tidally quite popular!

Good luck, remember, you can only change yourself, but what a change that can be!

Do you have a food scale? Do you weigh your food and log it into your diary?

The obvious choice is to fit the "sweets" into your calorie count. Tough to do with homemade treats to begin with. However, if you want to lose weight you have to start logging your calories.

If I have a little, I want it all. I know it is hard but I just say NO. Get up from table and do dishes or leave the room. Once u do this a few times, they will leave u alone. One thought, r they really trying to sabotage u beacuse they r jealous of your goal to lose?

Monna2 wrote: »

Hello
I live with my parents and brother.

They're trying to help me , but still they can't stop making cakes or buying sweet stuff. Whenever there's an occasion, there's usually a cake or something baked in the house. And I feel very week at that time. They won't stop buying or making that stuff and I can't stop binging on them. I sometimes finish the whole thing. I can stop myself from buying stuff, but what can I do with what others buy or make in the house?

1. Leave enough calories in your day to accomadate a serving of cake or something sweet every day. Eat it slowly and really enjoy it. Drink a glass of water while you eat. Always put your serving on a small plate or bowl and take it to the table.
2. Exercise more so you can eat more.
3. Can you get the items divided into portions for each person? Put your share in a container with your name. You eat that and don't touch anyone else's.
4. Don't eat any of it. You can exercise control because you manage to stop yourself from buying these foods all the time. Stop telling yourself that you are weak and can't stop binging. Remind yourself of how strong you can be.
5. Move out.

This is tough. Even though I'm in charge of most food purchases in my house, food shows up in my house that I didn't bring into it! My husband is always bringing home gifts from students, etc. or my parents give my kids sweets that they can't finish etc.) I have dealt with it by asking my family how much of it they really to eat. If no one really wants it, I toss it without any guilt because, like you said, in a weak moment it might look good to me and the gift giver did not intend for their gift to hurt anyone so why should I let it hurt me?

Personally, I think there's no point in taxing your willpower 10 or 20 times a day. That is hard work and will make you feel like you failed even if 19 out of 20 times you didn't succumb to the temptation. What I have found that works is that as long as it's out of my sight I can usually do okay. (I realize this is why Easter candy got me this past week. The kids left their baskets front and center and I kept walking by them!) It seems reasonable to me that you ask your parents and brother if they don't mind if you can at least the sweets somewhere you won't be as tempted. I find that putting it in a cupboard or up high somewhere makes me less likely to want to eat it. The other day my kids made cupcakes and all it took was some tin foil to cover them up to keep me from taking one every time I passed by them in the kitchen.

Another strategy I use is to tell myself is that I deserve to eat my favorite dessert or sweet and not just some random, half stale thing that just happened to walk into my house. This is where MFP is a lifesaver. If I know I'm going to write it down, it had better be worth it!

Good luck!

Phentermine/Topirmate. You won't care what other people are eating.

Totally agree with previous poster about having to make your own choices. I live with my two stepsons and husband that have never had a weight problem and eat junk food and crap way more than anything else. I control the groceries but I can't just buy them veggies and health food or they would revolt. I make sure to plan my meals and snacks and I always have healthy stuff on hand. It definitely takes willpower not to eat a handful of their cheetos or a Reese's cup especially when I am stressed or starving but it's worth it. The more you say no to the bad and opt for the good, it becomes much easier. It starts to be a habit and soon seeing all those treats won't be quite as hard to resist. Good luck!

As others have said, what they do is not part your plan. I try hard not to limit anything from my family. Just make sure you have an alternative desert for when they're having cake. I'll admit that sometimes it's awkward to bring fruit to the table when there's a large crowd eating cake. In cases like that, I'll go to the kitchen and sneak in some fruit before heading back to the table.