Moderation shmoderation
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Log it
Consider what other food you will have to give up that day to feed your gluttony ...if you log that extra doughnut what will your next meal be like, is it worth it
There's your answer ...is it worth it0 -
See that's not the only way to moderate. Some things I can easily moderate the way you mentioned, by buying single servings of the thing. I mean you don't need to have a whole bowl of M&Ms. A pack of M&Ms mini is under 100 calories and is sometimes more than enough for my purposes. No left overs to come back for and I'm left satisfied and happy.
The other moderation technique is to save up calories for something over a week (or more) if it's worth it. If I want to go out and have a full blown high calorie dinner of whatever I want + drinks + dessert I would spend an extra 15 minutes incline walking and reduce my daily intake by 100 calories, and in a couple of weeks that's more than 3000 calories in store to blow on anything I want. That's still called moderation because I'm moderating my calories to fit in foods. It doesn't have to be done during the same day to be called moderation.
Why do some diss moderation when they do it with their other foods. I mean, you are on a diet you will automatically have less oatmeal, smaller amounts of rice, limit fruits to 2-3 times a day, moderate oil by sauteing or broiling instead of deep frying...etc, but because these foods are not "special" the willpower involved in moderating them is somehow different. Solution: try to rip off the "special" label from cadbury eggs. Easier said than done, I know, but with practice, time, and gradual mindset changes it can be done and the mastery of this skill will prove extremely valuable come maintenance.
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amusedmonkey wrote: »See that's not the only way to moderate. Some things I can easily moderate the way you mentioned, by buying single servings of the thing. I mean you don't need to have a whole bowl of M&Ms. A pack of M&Ms mini is under 100 calories and is sometimes more than enough for my purposes. No left overs to come back for and I'm left satisfied and happy.
The other moderation technique is to save up calories for something over a week (or more) if it's worth it. If I want to go out and have a full blown high calorie dinner of whatever I want + drinks + dessert I would spend an extra 15 minutes incline walking and reduce my daily intake by 100 calories, and in a couple of weeks that's more than 3000 calories in store to blow on anything I want. That's still called moderation because I'm moderating my calories to fit in foods. It doesn't have to be done during the same day to be called moderation.
Why do some diss moderation when they do it with their other foods. I mean, you are on a diet you will automatically have less oatmeal, smaller amounts of rice, limit fruits to 2-3 times a day, moderate oil by sauteing or broiling instead of deep frying...etc, but because these foods are not "special" the willpower involved in moderating them is somehow different. Solution: try to rip off the "special" label from cadbury eggs. Easier said than done, I know, but with practice, time, and gradual mindset changes it can be done and the mastery of this skill will prove extremely valuable come maintenance.
Well said.0 -
Great suggestions! I think my 1st step will be to clear my cupboards of the temptations for now. Will someone please come pick up my leftover Easter candy first thing tomorrow morning? It will break my hear to throw it away.
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Thank you friends!0
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lilaclovebird wrote: »"I punish my body outdoors to atone for my atrocities indoors."-The Oatmeal
I either can force myself to have just one or I force myself to run. I exercise to be able to treat myself to the goodies.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/running
Read it. It's funny.
Love this!0 -
KeepItSimpleGirl wrote: »Great suggestions! I think my 1st step will be to clear my cupboards of the temptations for now. Will someone please come pick up my leftover Easter candy first thing tomorrow morning? It will break my hear to throw it away.
Make someone's day and give it to them! Someone nice.0 -
Yeah send the Easter candy to work. My coworkers were slacking off this year. The left over candy batches sent to work were kinda light
Yup I buy just one single serving of pastries and the likes. Once it's gone, it's gone. Smaller servings of icecream, etc. And I have indeed gone out at 3 AM to buy icecream. I think I finally ate all the icecream I wanted because I don't do this anymore. Haagen Dazs single serve vanilla almond was my favorite
Another thing helping me is to properly stow certain food items out of sight. Rather than store the cereal in plain sight actually have it in a [covered] cupboard. Many things I used to just mindlessly eat all day because I would see them whenever I went into the kitchen. Now that certain ones of them are out of sight, they actually last for weeks in the house rather than days. Right now I'm doing this with bread, cereal and bananas. Your weaknesses may be different I have to say, it's really nice to buy 80 cent bread and cheap bananas and have it feed me for weeks, whereas I couldn't do this before 0 -
Echo the post above. Just weighing out what I want as portion and then putting it out of sight (cupboard) is enough for me. Think of it as spreading the love to another day!0
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I'm 3.5 months into this and I don't think my will power has changed much at all. I try to avoid some things, and others I will have a small serving size of. I do okay with lower calorie options, but there are some things I can't resist, like the Cadbury Cream Egg. I'm so glad that season is over! I know if I do eat too many treats that I have to exercise more, but that doesn't always deter me. I'm hoping that I strengthen my will power eventually.0
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KeepItSimpleGirl wrote: »Anyone else out there wonder how it is that people can say, "it's ok to have sweets, just so long as it's in moderation."? What?! If I have a doughnut, I want 2. If I grab an m&m from the candy bowl once, you can bet I'll be back around for a 2nd, 3rd and let's be honest, 4th, 5th and 6th. If anyone out there has struggled with this same problem and figured out a cure to this, please please enlighten me. I can't imagine depriving myself of deliciousness forever but I also don't want to go to bed hating myself for one small bite that turned into a weekend long binge. Sincerely, CadburyEgg SugarComa
Yep, that's me.
Basically I just don't start when the supply is unlimited, bowls of candy, packages of donuts, tubs of ice cream etc. I also avoid candy machines since, while they sell single servings, there's a ton in there!
If I'm wanting a treat I go out and buy a single serving ONLY. One small packet of candy, an ice cream cone etc.
Good luck!0 -
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I would much rather have and make room for chocolate, than deprive myself. I'm all in for moderation!0
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Counting calories has helped me stop some weekend long binges. Now it is only a meal or two.0
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It's easier for me to stop at one serving than it is to think I can never have chocolate, brownies, donuts, ice cream, etc. again.0
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I used to have that problem. No doubt it will rear its ugly head again and I'll have a bad day at some point. For now though I want the weight gone more than I want the extra food. Everything I eat gets logged, before I eat it. That makes me think more carefully about just how badly I want that extra pop tart.
Last night was a tougher one for me and I did indeed eat the extra pop tart....and the some Italian sausage and bread. Yeah it was one of those days. It meant dipping into my exercise calories, which I try not to eat back unless the workout is more intense than my usual. Even though that was not such a bad thing I still felt a bit disappointed that I gave in. Oh well. That's life. I logged it and today will be a different day.
meanwhile there is a half bag of chips and most of a bag of Reeses minis in my kitchen that have so far lasted several weeks. Not long ago those would have been gone in a day or two.0 -
I'm one of those people that can eat all the chocolate ever and just eat, eat, eat it. It's just so yummy!
I was eating it with/in all my meals & snacks, so when I finally dedicated myself to losing weight, I cut back the chocolate consumption to JUST desserts. No more chocolate cereal, granola bars, etc., in the beginning.
That gave me the opportunity to explore other food options. Almonds instead of a chocolate & peanut butter protein bar, eggs & sausage instead of chocolatey granola, and a whole slew of other things.
There are 3 things that I can - and will - just eat with no regard for serving sizes. Pringles, Milano cookies & Girl Scout Thin Mints.
And since I know my willpower with these things is effectively non-existent, I keep them out of the house most of the time. Girl Scout cookies are only available once a year, so I figure over-indulging once a year won't be the end of the world.
You have to find what works best for YOU and just go with it.
Good luck!
~Lyssa0 -
I have mentioned this on the boards before:
I love chocolate and never thought I'd be able to stop at one piece. I have a friend who had one piece of chocolate a day. No more. I thought she was some sort of anomaly; who can stop at once piece of chocolate?
But once I got serious about losing weight, and realized that I didn't want to give up chocolate completely, I knew I had to find a way to work it in. I bought a bag of chocolate squares and gave it to my daughter to hold. Every night after dinner she'd dole out one square. Of course in the beginning I wanted more than the one square, but over time I learned to savor it and appreciate it. The bag is no longer hidden. I'm looking at it right now.
You can do it! It'll take time and effort and maybe someone with the cojones to look at your pleading face and say, "Nope. You've already had your square". But it can be done.0 -
This may sound silly, but I practice moderation. I keep tempting foods around to practice avoiding them. I have white chocolate Reese's miniature in my pantry... and now that I mention it, I want to go eat the rest of the bag, but I will not!0
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My daughter constantly amazes me... She can open up a pack of peanut m&m's (her favorite) eat two or three of them, and then neatly fold the top to save the rest for later. She eats everything, all the time...just not all of it at one time.
While I am pretty good at portion control, and stopping when Ive had enough, I still have a long way to go. She really keeps me in check...when Im eating something I love and Im full, but dont want to stop because its sooo good, watching as she gets up to pack the rest for later because shes had enough for now makes me second guess why I HAVE to eat it all RIGHT NOW even though Im full and forcing food into my mouth, all for the sake of "but it tastes good!!!"
You said it yourself though, its about what you want..I WANT to have two, I WANT to have the whole package! But...do you need it? Its going to taste just as good later as it does now...actually, youll still have some for later if you dont eat it all now. So why not? Like I said, while Im pretty good at it, I still struggle with it. Having kiddo around to make me hyper aware of the difference between what I want to do, and what I need not do helps tremendously.
Because, there *is* a difference. Understanding that, and learning new habits / developing a healthier view towards food goes a long way towards being able to eat in moderation without it being a painful experience.
My daughter is 18 btw...not a lil tyke with a little appetite...!0
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