Out of house, out of mind?

Molly_234
Molly_234 Posts: 89 Member
edited November 16 in Health and Weight Loss
Does keeping things like cookies and chips out of the house help you with not over eating them? Once I start eating them I can never stop at the one serving. And when I have a healthier choice to eat I always think about the cookies hiding in the closet. Next thing I know I'm splurging on them! Does any one avoid keeping foods in the house that cause you to splurge? I'm not planning on cutting these out completely but I've been having a such hard time with self control and mindless eating. I think having these foods in the house is setting myself up for failure. I'll eat them out of just plain boredom or stress. Or no reason at all! I'd love to eat everything in moderation but so far I've been failing miserably trying to do so. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • Hello_its_Dan
    Hello_its_Dan Posts: 406 Member
    John Berardis first law "If it's in your house, you, or someone you love will eat it."
    This goes for any type of food/drink.

    Thing is, nothing stops me from driving to Giant to buy a taster cake cupcake.

    So my advice, get it out of the house, establish the habit, then use moderation later.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    I had to get things out of the house at first too. I also knew that I wanted to learn to moderate my intake of these items, because I don't want to give up the things I enjoy as a long-term plan. So, what I did was to not have these items in my house, and when I went shopping I would chose a single serving size of something. As the time passed, I would bring in a couple single servings to test myself. If I could take it or leave it, then I was comfortable moving on to the next item. If I ended up consuming it all at one, I would continue with the single servings. I now have no problem with muffins, ice cream, and cookies in the house. But it was a long process, with many days way over calorie!

    TL;DR: It can take some time, but you can learn to moderate. That process may begin with removing the tempting stuff from your home, for now.
  • alid8333
    alid8333 Posts: 233 Member
    Hello_its_Dan wrote: »
    John Berardis first law "If it's in your house, you, or someone you love will eat it."
    This goes for any type of food/drink.

    Thing is, nothing stops me from driving to Giant to buy a taster cake cupcake.

    So my advice, get it out of the house, establish the habit, then use moderation later.

    I agree with this 100%

  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    Yeah I don't keep any of that business in the house. I want cookies I'm going to buy a 6 pack of oreos and call it a day. Self control is fatiguing.

    In my kitchen you can find only a lean meat, vegetables, hot sauce, and a low fat cheese. I'm a bit extreme on the food environment though. I don't even keep fruit around.
  • paigele
    paigele Posts: 123 Member
    I have them around for family, but out of sight, mostly. I don't crave sweets like I once did, because for me the taste is too intense. I have this mental image when I am grocery shopping, like I have a filter in my head. Prepackaged, easy carbs -especially things I know are high in preservatives I see and instantly think in my head "diabetes, liver poison, death". I know that is pretty extreme but it helps me not desire the things I never thought I could say no to.
    My friend's son is a fitness trainer and he said this to her- an excellent point I will keep in mind - that she should choose "nutrient rich foods" in place of "nutrient poor foods" to fill her plate and the rest will come naturally. I think it is a better mindset to think what can this food do FOR me vs. what can it do AGAINST me. Ha ha.
    Anyway, my point is it has everything to do with perspective. It will come in time if it is not natural at first.
    Remember the only failure in this journey is a surrender to a defeated thought process.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    For my family I buy them snacks I don't really like. I do have to be very careful with stuff I do like. Some things I just don't buy.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I'm lucky in that i have a sweet tooth and my husband is a savoury person, so he never buys stuff that tempt me.
    I'd be screwed if my kryptonite was cheese, crackers and chips, because he always makes sure that we are fully stocked with those foods.
  • alid8333
    alid8333 Posts: 233 Member
    My weakness isn't sweets. It's prime rib. So considering that it's 800 or more calories just for a piece of it I stay away from all restaurants that sells it haha!

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    You can eat what you feel like and lose weight, if you stay within your calorie limit.

    I don't get how people can blame food for their own behaviour.

    Thinking you feel like 6 dozen oreos is just a silly thought that can be dismissed.

    Challenge your thoughts. Don't believe everything you think.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    edited February 2017
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Orphia wrote: »
    You can eat what you feel like and lose weight, if you stay within your calorie limit.

    I don't get how people can blame food for their own behaviour.

    Thinking you feel like 6 dozen oreos is just a silly thought that can be dismissed.

    Challenge your thoughts. Don't believe everything you think.

    For some it is easier to control food environment. I find your post to be very rude, judgemental, and unnecessary.

    That's very confrontational. My post was trying to be helpful, by introducing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques.

    Controlling what you buy is part of that. You challenge your thoughts when you do the shopping.

    I'm helping people do the shopping.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    Orphia wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Orphia wrote: »
    You can eat what you feel like and lose weight, if you stay within your calorie limit.

    I don't get how people can blame food for their own behaviour.

    Thinking you feel like 6 dozen oreos is just a silly thought that can be dismissed.

    Challenge your thoughts. Don't believe everything you think.

    For some it is easier to control food environment. I find your post to be very rude, judgemental, and unnecessary.

    That's very confrontational. My post was trying to be helpful, by introducing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques.

    Controlling what you buy is part of that. You challenge your thoughts when you do the shopping.

    I'm helping people do the shopping.

    You didn't mention CBT once.

    It's also fine to be in control of your food environment and choose not to bring certain foods in the house.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I agree that it's smart to keep it out of the house if you obsess and may inadvertently overeat.

    I disagree that eating it on occasion out of the house isn't moderation.
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  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    edited February 2017
    I make long posts about the benefits of moderation, I am committed to the idea that there are no 'bad foods' and I've stated multiple times that I have only one rule (log everything).

    But I have still made use of this strategy. I agree absolutely with the people who have said, in essence, reduce temptation now and learn moderation later. Moderation is the great goal, but willpower is a limited resource and there are times when having a house stuffed with treats can just be overwhelming. So this (refraining from purchase) is one tool in your arsenal. Another one is to store treats out of line of sight, which can be very effective.

    Through using both of these judiciously, along with other strategies (of which the most important was 'there are no bad foods', as that only makes them more tempting) I've now got to a place where I can generally ignore treats being in the house unless I make a conscious decision to have one, and even managed yesterday to sit all afternoon in the presence of an open tub of Celebrations chocolates and only eat 5.

    Now, I still have periods where I find the temptation to be too much (January was one of these) and I have to reintroduce some of these strategies for a while, and I generally use something similar when at work (if I packed it, I eat it, but if I have to pay for it, I don't). It's all about being aware of your limitations. And there is a big difference between "I have trouble sticking to my goals in the presence of this food" and "this is an evil bad food that I must never eat". The latter is like a red rag to the bull of human nature.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Easier to say no at the store than when it's in your house.

    But definitely not out of mind for me, it's not uncommon for me to drive 20 minutes to go get a cinnamon roll or a croissant from my favorite bakery...
  • flatlndr
    flatlndr Posts: 713 Member
    Molly_234 wrote: »
    Does keeping things like cookies and chips out of the house help you with not over eating them?

    In a word ... YUP!!!
  • ActivatedAlm0nds
    ActivatedAlm0nds Posts: 169 Member
    edited February 2017
    I put everything sweet that doesn't need to be refridgerated in a drawer that's annoying to open.

    I have some ice cream under my tubs of cooked veggies and raw cookie dough in a similar situation in the bottom half.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited February 2017
    I've lost a lot of weight, and never had a problem until recently. I could have boxes of cookies or trays of brownies and moderate just fine when I was in the middle of my weight loss.

    But something has happened to me here at the end, I don't know what, and I'm struggling with certain foods (and not others). So I don't keep them in the house. I'm fortunate in that I have celiac disease and my versions of cookies and brownies and whatnot need to be different than those my family enjoys.

    Every now and then I get myself a single serving size of something from the grocery store if I really want it, but most often I stick to whipping up things like mug cakes or single serving protein cookies or brownies. I can keep things like chocolate chips and nuts around for those without eating them just fine (and toppings like Hershey's caramel and chocolate syrups).

    When I get to maintenance, I want to employ a strategy similar to the one outlined by nutmegoreo upthread. I'm working through a CBT approach to learning to moderate right now.

  • vaman
    vaman Posts: 253 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    Yep! I'm a better abstainer than i am a moderator. There are certain foods that i love way too much which are banned from my house.

    I will still eat them, but very infrequently. For me, it is out of sight, out of mind. If i know there's a pack of peanut butter cups in my fridge i wont have just one, but i'll scarf down the whole pack! My justification for this is the sooner i eat them, the sooner they'll be out of the house and will quit tormenting me :wink:

    Peanut butter cups or just plain PB in a jar is my Kryptonite, if it's not in the house I don't have a craving for it, but if any is nearby, it calls my name and I can't resist. ;)
  • Zombella
    Zombella Posts: 491 Member
    There are certain things that we do not keep in the house. An example would be packages of chocolate chip cookies. The whole container would probably be gone in a day (between all of us, mostly myself and my husband). I used to not want to keep cans of soda in the house, but I've gotten better with that over time.
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    Molly_234 wrote: »
    Does keeping things like cookies and chips out of the house help you with not over eating them? Once I start eating them I can never stop at the one serving. And when I have a healthier choice to eat I always think about the cookies hiding in the closet. Next thing I know I'm splurging on them! Does any one avoid keeping foods in the house that cause you to splurge? I'm not planning on cutting these out completely but I've been having a such hard time with self control and mindless eating. I think having these foods in the house is setting myself up for failure. I'll eat them out of just plain boredom or stress. Or no reason at all! I'd love to eat everything in moderation but so far I've been failing miserably trying to do so. Any suggestions?

    Is there anyone who lives with you that can help, such as a husband, parent or roommate? I sometimes, for example, buy chips, portion them out in baggies and put them away or have my boyfriend put something away for me and only give me a specific amount, only when I ask or only once a day, etc.
  • Reaverie
    Reaverie Posts: 405 Member
    I've always had the rule that junk is not allowed in my home. My brother and his wife would come over, TRY to raid my pantry and fridge, then tell my mom that I had no food in the house for my kids and I to eat. They were used to the average household filled with chips and snack cakes and sodas. Or juices and packaged frozen meals in the fridge. If you wanted to eat in my house, you had to cook. I was a 100 lbs skinnier then. When they moved in, all that went to he11 in a hand basket. I know my weaknesses. I can't have it around me. Because my kids grew up from the start never getting to munch and snack, they don't. They don't feel that compulsion because they weren't raised that way. I at least accomplished that before my system was destroyed.
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