How to eat just one cookie
Replies
-
I find that I've changed a lot since living alone for the past year. When I eat with other people, whether at home or out in social settings, I'm much more mindful and savour my food. I even consistently got comments about being the last to finish her food! But since I've started living alone I've been having problems with bingeing eating and portion control. I no longer have the social pressure to look nice and dainty while eating so I've started eating mindlessly and thus ravenously lol! I'll be moving back home soon so I'll likely regain some of my self control but it's something quite significant about my past weight gain that I've realized recently.0
-
yummypotroast wrote: »I find that I've changed a lot since living alone for the past year. When I eat with other people, whether at home or out in social settings, I'm much more mindful and savour my food. I even consistently got comments about being the last to finish her food! But since I've started living alone I've been having problems with bingeing eating and portion control. I no longer have the social pressure to look nice and dainty while eating so I've started eating mindlessly and thus ravenously lol! I'll be moving back home soon so I'll likely regain some of my self control but it's something quite significant about my past weight gain that I've realized recently.
I know exactly what you mean. I am the same way. And i think we arent the only ones, it is much easier to over eat when you are by yourself and no one is watching. Plus i think when you eating with others you are enjoying the conversation and company which allows you to eat slower.
0 -
The article makes sense to me, but I guess I'm not a binge eater. I gained about 60 lbs. over the course of 10 years by eating a little too much, just a little too often and being less active than I needed to be.
:
I especially liked her tip to only eat a cookie that is really, really delicious. I work really hard not eat anything that isn't wonderful or worth the calories it will cost me. MFP has really helped me see all cookies are not created equal! Right now my favorites are those frozen chocolate chip cookie balls because I can bake up one or two and have a warm, perfectly portion controlled cookie and not feel one little bit guilty over this indulgence.
If it doesn't meet my high standards I will pass on it. I'm not proud of it (okay, maybe I am a little) but once I even spit out a cookie that was so dry and terrible that I almost choked on it. I was not going to use any of my precious calories on that terrible thing. I feel the same way with doughnuts. A fresh doughnut from my favorite place is worth the calories once in a while. A stale, supermarket doughnut is usually not! Now, if I could only develop higher standards for pizza and chocolate!
This is a good way to look at it. Save your calories for something really worth it. I try to save sweets and gluten calories only for when I go out to eat.0 -
I'm with those folks who are better off with no cookie than to try and eat just one cookie. There's lots of great comments here with interesting thoughts on training one's mind to think along a different track. I have to say, since the original post on this article, that the idea of "mindful eating" has finally begun to stick in my head. What a concept: I can choose not to give a cookie power over myself. What I have begun to notice, in the last year or so, is that dessert of any kind in a restaurant is a true treat now because we don't keep sweets in the house. We've become far choosier about when and where we eat out, too.0
-
LastingChanges wrote: »The article makes sense to me, but I guess I'm not a binge eater. I gained about 60 lbs. over the course of 10 years by eating a little too much, just a little too often and being less active than I needed to be.
:
I especially liked her tip to only eat a cookie that is really, really delicious. I work really hard not eat anything that isn't wonderful or worth the calories it will cost me. MFP has really helped me see all cookies are not created equal! Right now my favorites are those frozen chocolate chip cookie balls because I can bake up one or two and have a warm, perfectly portion controlled cookie and not feel one little bit guilty over this indulgence.
If it doesn't meet my high standards I will pass on it. I'm not proud of it (okay, maybe I am a little) but once I even spit out a cookie that was so dry and terrible that I almost choked on it. I was not going to use any of my precious calories on that terrible thing. I feel the same way with doughnuts. A fresh doughnut from my favorite place is worth the calories once in a while. A stale, supermarket doughnut is usually not! Now, if I could only develop higher standards for pizza and chocolate!
This is a good way to look at it. Save your calories for something really worth it. I try to save sweets and gluten calories only for when I go out to eat.
Well said!0 -
It is far easier for me to not have the first sweet or cookie than it is to stop eating them. I recently discovered mini tennis biscuits and I think they are a god send because it is a single serving.0
-
kshama2001 wrote: »
As Dirty Harry once said, "a man's got to know his limitations".LastingChanges wrote: »
I am pretty mindful that I lack discipline. I can totally be aware of my goals, respect myself, and understand that I should not overindulge but I will still eat the 2nd cookie because the cravings are strong, But I know there are people like you who are lucky enough to control it. Whether you are calling it mindfulness or discipline in the end it is all about control and you guys are able to do it.47Jacqueline wrote: »I thought that was a very thoughtful article. Right from the beginning the statment was I am not more disciplined than the next person. What the article was about was mindfulness. When we are mindful, we are strong. And that is because mindfulness means being conscious of who I am and what I do to myself to treat myself with respect.
Some people can handle having sweets in the house, some can't. For those who can't, keeping them out of the house isn't called weakness, it's called being smart. Nobody with a lick of sense would tell a recovering alcoholic to keep a fully stocked bar in their house and 'be mindful', so why should it be any different with food?
Ya, I was with her until the "Surround Yourself With "Cheat" Foods" section. I can have some treats in moderation, but constantly seeing them and therefore constantly needing to make a decision about whether or not to eat them? No thanks.
What I've been doing is putting all our treats in one cabinet that we don't normally go into/is harder to get to. That way for the most part, it's out of sight, out of mind. I can go in and get my treat once I've thought about it and planned for it. Otherwise I may be inclined to eat some each time I see it, when I wasn't even thinking about it until it was staring me in the face.0 -
-
My advice if you struggle with discipline is to not buy multi-packs of things which set you off. Try and find a single serving pack if at all possible.0
-
I think it is all a matter on how we are raised AND how our brain is wired. I bake treats almost every weekend, thanks to two growing teenage boys in the house. And except of a little piece of something each day I allow myself and make room in my calories for, it doesn't bother me to have it in the house. I don't feel compelled to have to eat it and I can also tell myself to hold back, especially if MFP and Fitbit has me maxed out on calories for the day. It took a long time to re-train my brain and change my habits to get this far ... and still, I do give in on occasion so I will just make it up with exercise and eating lighter for the next few days.0
-
Cookies I do well with. Now, if I could stop at just one glass of wine...1
-
Didn't read the article, but the easiest thing is to just not keep cookies in the house. Then you don't even need a strategy of how to eat just one, because there's not even one available to you.0
-
-
LastingChanges wrote: »This article doesnt apply to everyone. 1 cookie for me sets off intense cravings for more, which would require discipline which I suck at. So no cookies for me. I have the same response with bread if I eat a sandwich 1 day, I end up craving it the next day and the next along with other carbs and junk. If I cut all these things out of my diet I stop craving them and start craving healthy things like fruits. If i would have a pack of cookies sitting in my kitchen and I decided to eat it 1 day because it fit into my goal it restarts the cravings.
This. All of this.
Also, have a package of cookies in the kitchen and only eat one a day? Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha! Chinese water torture would be easier. (Side note: I don't think the Chinese ever actually used water torture. But it's a funny idea.)0 -
Buy just one cookie. Problem solved.0
-
I certainly agree. I can have cookies, chocolate, etc. in the house and easily just have one cookie or one piece of chocolate for dessert after dinner, then put the rest away and think nothing more of it. My wife absolutely can't do it - if the cookies or chocolate or whatever is there, they occupy her every waking thought until she gives in and devours the whole package. She can easily do without them and doesn't miss them if they're not in the house - but if they're here, she can't control her cravings.LastingChanges wrote: »This article doesnt apply to everyone...
Similarly, I wish restaurants would offer desserts in very small portions. I like something sweet after dinner, but just a bite or two will do fine - I don't need a 2,500-calorie slice of Seven-layer Ultimate Triple Chocolate Lava Cake the size of a small continent, and I'm not paying $7.99 for it just to take two bites and toss the rest. Offer me a tiny little chunk (a couple bites worth) of that cake for $1.99 and you've got a deal.I JUST WISH supermarkets would make single serve packets - packets of ONE cookie, ONE chocolate...so I only allow myself when the cookies/bread are reduced and I can buy one and throw away the rest.
There is a restaurant chain called Seasons 52 that provides calorie counts for all items on their menu. There are a decent number of entree items in the 450-600 calorie range for the plate. Deserts are smaller sized, usually 200-300 calories, and they are $3.0 -
Last chance syndrome is definitely something I go through
Like last night and pizza
0 -
I certainly agree. I can have cookies, chocolate, etc. in the house and easily just have one cookie or one piece of chocolate for dessert after dinner, then put the rest away and think nothing more of it. My wife absolutely can't do it - if the cookies or chocolate or whatever is there, they occupy her every waking thought until she gives in and devours the whole package. She can easily do without them and doesn't miss them if they're not in the house - but if they're here, she can't control her cravings.LastingChanges wrote: »This article doesnt apply to everyone...
Similarly, I wish restaurants would offer desserts in very small portions. I like something sweet after dinner, but just a bite or two will do fine - I don't need a 2,500-calorie slice of Seven-layer Ultimate Triple Chocolate Lava Cake the size of a small continent, and I'm not paying $7.99 for it just to take two bites and toss the rest. Offer me a tiny little chunk (a couple bites worth) of that cake for $1.99 and you've got a deal.I JUST WISH supermarkets would make single serve packets - packets of ONE cookie, ONE chocolate...so I only allow myself when the cookies/bread are reduced and I can buy one and throw away the rest.
There is a restaurant chain called Seasons 52 that provides calorie counts for all items on their menu. There are a decent number of entree items in the 450-600 calorie range for the plate. Deserts are smaller sized, usually 200-300 calories, and they are $3.
Love that place! Desserts are very rich, but served in a shot glass. You get the intense flavor, and just enough to satisfy.0 -
Didn't read the article, but the easiest thing is to just not keep cookies in the house. Then you don't even need a strategy of how to eat just one, because there's not even one available to you.
Weird. I never buy cookies for my home (never did when I was fat either, I'm not home that much). There's tons of high cal foods at work, and I have no control over that.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 387 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 901 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.2K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions