How do you give up your biggest downfalls?

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hopefullyfitt
hopefullyfitt Posts: 25 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Mine are chocolate and soft drink.
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  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I'll stop with the chocolate when I'm dead. What I did do, though, was to give up cheap chocolate, and only go for quality which is very satisfying. I find good quality dark chocolate is satisfying in small amounts, where milk chocolate, I can just demolish.

    I wasn't a huge soft drink person, but I switched out to soda water with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. It's fizzy, it has a fruit flavour, but it isn't overly sweet and doesn't coat my mouth the way I found soda did. I do still drink diet on occasion.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    No need to give up anything. Moderation is the key. However, if restricting something in the short term helps you develop better habits, I see nothing wrong with that either.
  • mylittlerainbow
    mylittlerainbow Posts: 822 Member
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    Smaller amounts. I am a real sucker for nuts - alone (I eat up all my baking nuts and have to buy more!) or in granola or trail mix. Now I program them into my daily plan, in small measured quantities with known calorie counts.
  • j3nesis87
    j3nesis87 Posts: 18 Member
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    Trying MFP yet again after several false starts last year...! My big weaknesses are alcohol and fast food. I've cut fast food completely for January, with the instruction I'm not allowed to order a pizza/go in a KFC before 1 February. (I don't eat McD's/Burger King anyway.) That's a big difference from twice a week! I hope that when I see how much better I feel, and how much money I've saved, that will encourage me to stay away from the naughty fast food - and having a deadline (not just "never again") means it's much easier to actually do it as I can see an end date. The idea of course is that by the time I get there, I won't want to start again :)

    For booze, I'm down with smaller amounts/moderation. Him Indoors and I agreed we would stop drinking at home on school nights, so I can still have a glass of wine with the roast on a Saturday, or a beer after rehearsal on a Thursday. That's a vast improvement from drinking basically every night. We were suckers for the "well we opened the bottle to add it to the bolognese, we might as well have a glass" (then you have another glass, of course) way of thinking. So to avoid that I got a few of those little tiny single-portion bottles for cooking with!
  • cessi0909
    cessi0909 Posts: 654 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    No need to give up anything. Moderation is the key. However, if restricting something in the short term helps you develop better habits, I see nothing wrong with that either.

    This!

    That said, I'm someone that needs to give up sweets (chocolate, cookies, etc) and flavored coffee creamer to get those better habits established.

    It's hard. I looovvveee sugar but for the way I look, feel and my blood sugar levels (A1C test showed I'm getting on the higher end) I need to break that habit. I remind myself why I'm doing this, I have reminders all over the place so they are in my face, and I drink a lot more water

  • tara_means_star
    tara_means_star Posts: 957 Member
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    Moderation and figuring out how to work it into daily calorie allotment while making sure nutrition is strong enough to keep you feeling full. Generally for me that means I don't have my favorite stuff every day or all at once but I spread it out. I still get to have it, just in a more controlled fashion.
  • Madwife2009
    Madwife2009 Posts: 1,369 Member
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    My downfall was chocolate. I just stopped eating it as I knew that was the only way for it to work for me. I couldn't have had a piece now and again, it would have been the whole bar/packet. So I stopped having any. The first couple of weeks were difficult but I didn't give in and now, five months later, I have discovered that I don't like it anymore (I decided to test my willpower as I had enough calories available one day over Christmas) - I'd prefer a banana.

    My daughter had a similar thing with coca-cola. She had braces fitted and her orthodontist recommended giving up fizzy drinks. The braces came off after 21 months, she tried to drink coke and found it the most disgusting thing on earth (along with the rest of the family as none of us had any whilst she had her braces fitted). She couldn't finish her drink and asked for a glass of water!

    Good luck!
  • jennb529
    jennb529 Posts: 4 Member
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    Chocolate is my "downfall" too. Right now I'm not eating chocolate, I just don't trust myself to eat only one or two squares of dark chocolate (and milk chocolate, forget it!) I do find the a cup of sugar free hot cocoa (60 cal) each night as my evening snack is working to meet my ongoing craving.
  • AmandaHugginkiss
    AmandaHugginkiss Posts: 486 Member
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    The first thing you need to give up is the idea that you have a "biggest downfall." Anything that you use as an excuse crutch is going to hold you back. That is a mental thing, and not the fault of chocolate or soda.

    That being said, limiting yourself to once a week indulgence or to a small 28 gram weighed piece of chocolate a day is a good start. Food scales are awesome at helping with moderation.

    And switch to La Croix water if you think you're drinking too much soda. Those are tasty.
  • pstegman888
    pstegman888 Posts: 286 Member
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    I took a couple month's break from fast food. When I then indulged in a fast food meal, it tasted disgusting. Tasted like a saltburger, rancid fries, and sugar water. Blech! :s
  • jessicarobinson00
    jessicarobinson00 Posts: 414 Member
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    Alcohol was mine...by itself I could work it in...but the lack of inhibitions that followed in relation to food...I couldn't. At this point, I am nearly a non-drinker, but I definitely used it as a crutch for a long time.
  • tara_means_star
    tara_means_star Posts: 957 Member
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    AmandaHugginkiss wrote: »
    The first thing you need to give up is the idea that you have a "biggest downfall." Anything that you use as an excuse crutch is going to hold you back. That is a mental thing, and not the fault of chocolate or soda.

    That being said, limiting yourself to once a week indulgence or to a small 28 gram weighed piece of chocolate a day is a good start. Food scales are awesome at helping with moderation.

    And switch to La Croix water if you think you're drinking too much soda. Those are tasty.

    Totally second the La Croix. Those thinks rock my socks off!
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
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    The one thing I don't do well with is a family sized bag of chips. If I open it, I have to eat all of it. But at least chips aren't my everyday food item or anything...
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Rather than giving them up, I a) allow them occasionally in smaller increments fitting into my calorie allowance or b) stay away from the temptation. I think its good to acknowledge a weakness, we all have them. I drink a lot of diet soda - I don't restrict it but I do make an effort to drink more water. Which indirectly limits my soda consumption. And when it comes to certain things (chips & salsa, Twizzler Nibs) I know no limit. So I don't often allow myself to be in a situation to face those challenges. For Twizzler Nibs, I don't buy them. I will eat the whole bag even though I know I'm going to feel sick to my stomach about 15 minutes after the last bite. And I don't often go to restaurants that serve all you can eat chips & salsa!
    hopefullyfitt wrote: »
    Mine are chocolate and soft drink.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I'll stop with the chocolate when I'm dead. What I did do, though, was to give up cheap chocolate, and only go for quality which is very satisfying. I find good quality dark chocolate is satisfying in small amounts, where milk chocolate, I can just demolish.

    I did this too, and similarly I buy good cheese and eat small amounts.

    I was surprised at how easy a serving of ice cream is to fit in, and that just one serving can be extremely satisfying.

    With higher cal things like Chicago style pizza or pie or Indian food I simply eat them more rarely and fit them into my day or week. Exercise can help with that.

    It was also surprising how many calories I could save with small changes or eliminating mindless eating.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    When moderation isn't an option, you have to not buy the trigger or keep it in the house.
  • iShineBright_27
    iShineBright_27 Posts: 29 Member
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    Mine is donuts!... I'm obsessed with donuts.. but I don't give them up I make sure I allow myself ONE cheat MEAL a week after eating clean and fitting the right foods into my macros.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i switched to zero calorie sodas and dont have them often (used to drink 4-6 dr peppers a day a minimum!)

    other stuff i make work within my calorie goals. alcohol, chocolate, eating out... i do all of it all the time :)
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    I love savory fast foods. Like burgers, tacos, and pizza! I eat smaller portions, with veggies on the side to fill me up. Giving these up was never a consideration for me.

    Potato chips/crisps are hard for me to moderate, though. I do admit even after a year of maintenance, I still need to buy these by the single serving packet, else I won't stop until I hit the bottom. Such salty, greasy heaven...why do I love you so?
  • changeNeeded87
    changeNeeded87 Posts: 17 Member
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    williams969 wrote: »
    I love savory fast foods. Like burgers, tacos, and pizza! I eat smaller portions, with veggies on the side to fill me up. Giving these up was never a consideration for me.

    Potato chips/crisps are hard for me to moderate, though. I do admit even after a year of maintenance, I still need to buy these by the single serving packet, else I won't stop until I hit the bottom. Such salty, greasy heaven...why do I love you so?

    This! I'm learning I have to do the same thing as well. I switched from regular chips to Kettle chips and I'll still finish the bag of Kettle. Lately, I have been purchasing 1 individual bag at a time. It's more expensive but it keeps me honest.

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