I live in a terrible environment for weight loss
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britishswenglish
Posts: 23 Member
(This post is really about mental tricks to avoid snacking/to eat healthier, so if you don't want to read a huge background story just skip to the bottom of my post.)
EDIT: I've gotten lots of helpful responses on this already so I'm editing out my life story before I got to bed. TL;DR: Because I'm not the only person living in my house there's a ton of food around that doesn't fit into my dietary goals. Also I'm a huge chocolate addict.
I don't have much self-control when it comes to food, so I have an incredibly difficult time walking past all these different temptations in my house. I put a lot of effort into cooking my own meals and measuring and portioning everything, but when these unhealthy things are sitting in front of me all the time I can't help but pick at them in addition to my carefully chosen meal.
I know it doesn't matter what kinds of Calories I eat as long as I stay under my goal, but I really want to get mentally tougher so I can learn to say no to these kinds of temptations and instead occasionally reward myself with unhealthy things I actually want to eat, not just things that are convenient. So I was hoping for any tips you have that help curb your snacking.
I've tried a few things already:
1. For a while I made a rule that I could only eat chocolate every second day. This actually worked really well for two months, because when I had sweet cravings on my off-days I had to get creative with healthy snacks. Unfortunately my chocolate cravings started getting too strong and eventually I found myself binging on my on-days because I knew I wouldn't get any chocolate the next day.
2. I've tried some of the 7-Day Challenges posted on Skinny Ms. which usually suggest cutting out refined sugar for the week, but I can't even make it seven days without a major sweets craving and it's just too easy to cheat when I'm surrounded by all this junk food.
3. If I start getting cravings for food in the evening I brush my teeth. For me brushing my teeth means it's almost time for bed so there is no way I can eat something afterwards.
4. This week I started writing daily rules on my whiteboard. When I found myself dipping into the peanut butter jar too often, I wrote "NO PEANUT BUTTER" in red marker and resisted the temptation to eat any, even in smoothies, for two days until I made a new rule. Today I wrote "3 pieces of chocolate" but then I got caught up in how much constitutes a "piece" of chocolate and if it should be measured by Calories instead, so I think tomorrow the rule will need a little bit of work.
Any other mental tricks you can recommend?
EDIT: I've gotten lots of helpful responses on this already so I'm editing out my life story before I got to bed. TL;DR: Because I'm not the only person living in my house there's a ton of food around that doesn't fit into my dietary goals. Also I'm a huge chocolate addict.
I don't have much self-control when it comes to food, so I have an incredibly difficult time walking past all these different temptations in my house. I put a lot of effort into cooking my own meals and measuring and portioning everything, but when these unhealthy things are sitting in front of me all the time I can't help but pick at them in addition to my carefully chosen meal.
I know it doesn't matter what kinds of Calories I eat as long as I stay under my goal, but I really want to get mentally tougher so I can learn to say no to these kinds of temptations and instead occasionally reward myself with unhealthy things I actually want to eat, not just things that are convenient. So I was hoping for any tips you have that help curb your snacking.
I've tried a few things already:
1. For a while I made a rule that I could only eat chocolate every second day. This actually worked really well for two months, because when I had sweet cravings on my off-days I had to get creative with healthy snacks. Unfortunately my chocolate cravings started getting too strong and eventually I found myself binging on my on-days because I knew I wouldn't get any chocolate the next day.
2. I've tried some of the 7-Day Challenges posted on Skinny Ms. which usually suggest cutting out refined sugar for the week, but I can't even make it seven days without a major sweets craving and it's just too easy to cheat when I'm surrounded by all this junk food.
3. If I start getting cravings for food in the evening I brush my teeth. For me brushing my teeth means it's almost time for bed so there is no way I can eat something afterwards.
4. This week I started writing daily rules on my whiteboard. When I found myself dipping into the peanut butter jar too often, I wrote "NO PEANUT BUTTER" in red marker and resisted the temptation to eat any, even in smoothies, for two days until I made a new rule. Today I wrote "3 pieces of chocolate" but then I got caught up in how much constitutes a "piece" of chocolate and if it should be measured by Calories instead, so I think tomorrow the rule will need a little bit of work.
Any other mental tricks you can recommend?
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Replies
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TL;DR
Let me ask you a question... what is the point of a 7 day challenge? What do you do after the 7 days are up?
If you have the will power and motivation... you'll just get it done. If you're craving something... have a little bit of it. You said that you know its CICO... yet it seems that you are still depriving yourself of foods you enjoy when you get a craving?
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Well, if the fridge actually has room, you could always put the leftovers away yourself instead of waiting for someone else to do it and eating it every time you walk by in the meantime. When you get hit with a craving, try taking a walk or getting out of the house (leave all your money behind so you can't give in to temptation).
If you want to eat some of the food your grandmother cooks, you could ask for a few minor changes (put salad dressing on by yourself, etc.) try to put cakes and such away, out of sight, and ask for help. Your family could be more understanding if you give them a heads up. Offer to cook meals for everyone.
But ultimately, it does come down to willpower and that's something you have to develop yourself. You can ask for help, though. Not sure if you tried that already. Good luck!0 -
Can you chew gum? Nobody wants to grab a "quick bite" of anything while they chew gum. Also, are you eating things that you really like as opposed to just "steamed plain vegetables" and plain chicken breast (for example).
Once I started really experimenting with flavors and recipes that I loved, keeping to the appropriate calories wasn't really an issue. Do you need more volumetric meals?0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »TL;DR
Let me ask you a question... what is the point of a 7 day challenge? What do you do after the 7 days are up?
If you have the will power and motivation... you'll just get it done. If you're craving something... have a little bit of it. You said that you know its CICO... yet it seems that you are still depriving yourself of foods you enjoy when you get a craving?
They're actually 7-day fitness challenges, so for example one I started was a 7-day summer legs challenge. It's nice to have a set schedule of what exercises to do each day when I'm starting to feel like my workouts are getting repetitive. They just advise cutting out junk food for the week so you can actually see results. I didn't finish the challenge because it got to be 40 degrees Celsius and I was just too exhausted to keep up, but I at least got a bunch of new moves to incorporate into my regular workouts.
I do still eat chocolate and such every day, actually my "snacks" portion is usually the highest Calorie count in my diary and I often go over the recommended sugar amount. But it's gotten to the point where I don't really feel satisfied by it anymore. I'd rather give up chocolate and reincorporate pasta or more cheese into my diet, but the chocolate is always there, tempting me.
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Blueseraphchaos wrote: »Well, if the fridge actually has room, you could always put the leftovers away yourself instead of waiting for someone else to do it and eating it every time you walk by in the meantime. When you get hit with a craving, try taking a walk or getting out of the house (leave all your money behind so you can't give in to temptation).
If you want to eat some of the food your grandmother cooks, you could ask for a few minor changes (put salad dressing on by yourself, etc.) try to put cakes and such away, out of sight, and ask for help. Your family could be more understanding if you give them a heads up. Offer to cook meals for everyone.
But ultimately, it does come down to willpower and that's something you have to develop yourself. You can ask for help, though. Not sure if you tried that already. Good luck!
Sadly we have two really tiny fridges, one is full of meats and cheeses and condiments and such for sandwiches at dinner, and the other is full of all of my health food stuff, haha. I have noticed that as time goes on and I keep seeing the same things on the table that they're not as intriguing anymore.
Definitely going to try going for a walk more often though! Seems like a great way to clear my head and burn some Calories in case I end up caving later in the day.0 -
Willpower is like a muscle - you can make it stronger by exercising it. If you work toward small goals and achieve them it will help you stick to your large goals. You can do it!.
Have you tried framing your rules in positive terms instead of negative ones? Such as, I will drink a glass of water before I eat a meal or snack, or I will wait five minutes (set a timer) to see if the craving passes before I eat another piece of chocolate, or I will eat 5 servings of vegetables today...
Can you write down some of your reasons for wanting to eat healthier or a motivational picture or quote and paste it up near the counter your grandma puts leftovers on so you see it before you grab the food? If you're focusing on doing something (positive!) rather than not doing something (and obsessing about the thing you're not doing) it might help!0 -
My struggle is similar at the moment. Presently there is two tubs of gourmet ice cream and multiple boxes of ice cream ice blocks in the freezer, a double batch of mars bar slice in the fridge, chocolate blocks, yummy biscuits and chips in the cupboard.
My way of dealing with it is to pre log everything the day before so I know how much I have to play with in snacks. If it doesn't fit in the calories, I don't eat it! (Most of the time
) 0 -
Queenmunchy wrote: »Can you chew gum? Nobody wants to grab a "quick bite" of anything while they chew gum. Also, are you eating things that you really like as opposed to just "steamed plain vegetables" and plain chicken breast (for example).
Once I started really experimenting with flavors and recipes that I loved, keeping to the appropriate calories wasn't really an issue. Do you need more volumetric meals?
Ooh, I love that idea actually. I used to chew gum all the time but gave it up when I bought work-appropriate mints, but I might take it up again.
I'm a Pinterest addict so thankfully I've found a ton of healthy and delicious recipes that I actually look forward to eating, otherwise I doubt I would ever have lost the weight I have so far. It's more that I'm eating on top of what I've already made for myself. I'm moving out in a couple of months though so I'm very curious to see if this bad habit sticks with me or if I'll stop craving unhealthy things when they're out of sight.0 -
meghrose17 wrote: »Willpower is like a muscle - you can make it stronger by exercising it. If you work toward small goals and achieve them it will help you stick to your large goals. You can do it!.
Have you tried framing your rules in positive terms instead of negative ones? Such as, I will drink a glass of water before I eat a meal or snack, or I will wait five minutes (set a timer) to see if the craving passes before I eat another piece of chocolate, or I will eat 5 servings of vegetables today...
Can you write down some of your reasons for wanting to eat healthier or a motivational picture or quote and paste it up near the counter your grandma puts leftovers on so you see it before you grab the food? If you're focusing on doing something (positive!) rather than not doing something (and obsessing about the thing you're not doing) it might help!
Love these ideas! Definitely going to try them out tomorrow. Thanks for the motivation!0 -
I have kids, there are always sweets around for them. Cookies for after lunch treats, ice cream for dessert.
I had to go cold turkey off processed sugary items. No cookies, candy, chocolate, that sort of thing. I still ate fruit and anything with natural sugar.
It took a few days but the cravings passed. I continued to eat that way for around a year, before slowly starting to add things back. Now things taste super sweet to me and I often find that I don't even want them. I have little ice cream cones in the freezer that are perfect size for my kids and really aren't that many calories and wouldn't do too much harm to my diet, but I really don't even want them.0 -
My struggle is similar at the moment. Presently there is two tubs of gourmet ice cream and multiple boxes of ice cream ice blocks in the freezer, a double batch of mars bar slice in the fridge, chocolate blocks, yummy biscuits and chips in the cupboard.
My way of dealing with it is to pre log everything the day before so I know how much I have to play with in snacks. If it doesn't fit in the calories, I don't eat it! (Most of the time )
Glad I'm not the only one! Pre-logging is a great idea too. I did it a couple times this week and it actually resulted in me cutting one of my lunches in half because the number was higher than I would have liked.0 -
Try chewing ice or gum it helps and drink lots of water before meals. Drink green tea in the morning to boost Ur metabolism and hot water/herbal tea after eating oily food to break down the oils hope this helps x0
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lmjohnson110 wrote: »I have kids, there are always sweets around for them. Cookies for after lunch treats, ice cream for dessert.
I had to go cold turkey off processed sugary items. No cookies, candy, chocolate, that sort of thing. I still ate fruit and anything with natural sugar.
It took a few days but the cravings passed. I continued to eat that way for around a year, before slowly starting to add things back. Now things taste super sweet to me and I often find that I don't even want them. I have little ice cream cones in the freezer that are perfect size for my kids and really aren't that many calories and wouldn't do too much harm to my diet, but I really don't even want them.
Congratulations on resisting the temptation! Nice to hear a success story. All summer long I've been buying fresh local berries which has helped somewhat. I realised it's just as easy, but much better for me, to shove a few berries in my mouth rather than a sliver of cake. I did start getting an aversion to sugar as well to the point where I mostly only eat dark chocolate now, except for when the Snickers craving hits...0 -
Willpower is like strength. You only have so much of it. So avoid the kitchen. Think of awful things like maggots being in the food. Chew minty or cinnamnon gum that makes the less appetizing. Floss and brush your teeth so that you don't want to dirty them with treats. Exercise. Go out with a friend. Read a book. Also, I make yummy healthy food that calls me to it so i avoid the siren call of the burgers at Union Station.0
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If your environment is the problem, change your environment. You are an adult. Act like one. Blaming other people for your own choices doesn't fly.0
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Since you're a fellow chocolate addict - one of my tricks to eat less chocolate is to buy the 85% pure cocoa by Lindt. It's got some protein, and way less sugar than milk chocolate, and 4 squares (really big squares) are 230 cals, 5gms of proteins and 6 gms of dietary fiber. If you have to watch your sat fat intake, you'll need to be careful, but 2 squares is usually enough to satisfy my chocolate craving; it only has a hint of sweetness so you won't want a lot of it and the protein and fiber help fill you.0
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JulesAtkinson1 wrote: »Since you're a fellow chocolate addict - one of my tricks to eat less chocolate is to buy the 85% pure cocoa by Lindt. It's got some protein, and way less sugar than milk chocolate, and 4 squares (really big squares) are 230 cals, 5gms of proteins and 6 gms of dietary fiber. If you have to watch your sat fat intake, you'll need to be careful, but 2 squares is usually enough to satisfy my chocolate craving; it only has a hint of sweetness so you won't want a lot of it and the protein and fiber help fill you.
Ha, I just had a bar of 85% chocolate in my hand when I was grocery shopping earlier but I put it back...should have bought it! Thanks for the tip, I'll keep it in mind next time!0
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