How to prevent weak moments?

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incomingtrouble
incomingtrouble Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Heya folks. My family and I have a thing that I started where I make sure everyone sits down and eats breakfast together, every Saturday, to make sure people get up and do things. Today was no different; I got up, went downstairs, and went to prepare a breakfast for everyone. Today was french bread day, but we didn't have any bread so I went to make my way to Wal-Mart.

While there, I picked up what I needed, but unfortunately, the dollar 3-pack of cookies caught my eye. Without really thinking, I bought it and made my way back home.

The breakfast itself was a lot of calories but filling, but as soon as I saw the cookies I had bought I had a weak moment and just attacked them. By the time they were gone, I only realized how sick I felt after having them.

So...My question is, how do you guys keep yourself from losing control around sugar, empty-caloried foods? Or do you have any recommendations for what I could have done?

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Replies

  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    Practice....no real way to stop those mindless urges. Id of said keep yourself from being hungry, But you werent. Just keep winning more thn you lose and eventually it will be easier :p
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Analyse each incident for potential root cause, brainstorm a solution, then try it. If it didn't work, try something else.

    Weaknesses are highly individual so there is not a one size fits all solution. Personally, cookies and Wal-Mart tempt shelves never do it for me. My highest energy and willpower moments are in the morning.

    I'd blog about the after effects so I'd remember the feeling next time I am tempted.

    If weekends are a problem book some structured time on Saturday mornings. If you have a class to go to you won't have the free time to devour a box of cookies.

    Keep a box of swizzle sticks to chew on in the kitchen for when you are tempted.

    Banish all cookies from the house for six months.

    Banish Saturday morning runs to Wal Mart.

    Have one slice of bacon with your French bread for satiety.

    Have a rule to drink a full glass of water before desserts or snacks of any kind.

    Those are a few ideas.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    I find that my will power is best at the store so I try not to buy those things unless I can work it in before I buy it. That way when I have a weak moment I have to actively go out and find whatever it is that I want and buy a single serving.
  • kkress92
    kkress92 Posts: 118 Member
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    I find that the simple act of logging has really helped me to say no to empty calories. I only have a limited amount to "spend" for the day and I don't want to waste them on things that will not fill me up. That being said, I do budget for a small amount of treats per day as that is how I plan to eat forever. ;)
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    Oh yeah, I also keep sugar free pudding and dark chocolate in the house to satisfy cravings without breaking the calorie bank.
  • incomingtrouble
    incomingtrouble Posts: 3 Member
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    Thanks everyone, I think next time around I'll just have to be more careful and mentally tell myself I don't want it, though I plan to go on a nice long run later to make up for it lol!
  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
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    All this is good advice. One of the most important things is not to get too down about this stuff. Just keep making progress. Log that cookie and carry on.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    * Write a list. Stick to it...especially at Wal-Mart. That store works especially hard to encourage impulse buying. And even more than your average grocery store it is just filled with unhealthy choices.
    * If you are out of something, is it really an emergency? Avoid "popping out to buy something" if it's not really a staple.
    * Plan treats. Do you want the crappy store cookies, or make homemade hot cookies at home? Same calories, much different eating experience.
    *Log your food. When you see how the calories impacted your plan you can get a reality check on what that 5 minutes of eating did for your plan.
    *Tomorrow's another day. OK, so you gave in. Oh well, try again tomorrow. It's OK. :)
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Yeah, I agree with others - just practice. And try to exercise control earlier. Practice sticking to a list when shopping and over time impulse purchases like that become less likely. But equally, once it's in the house, with enough practice you'll be able to refrain more often when it doesn't meet your goals.

    Also, if you want a wee treat, log it before you eat it, not afterwards, allowing you to weigh the consequences. Whether you eat it or whether you don't, whether you meet your goals or not, when it becomes an informed choice rather than a weak moment, you will be more in control and better able to decide against it in cases where you really don't want to have eaten it.

    I also find it helpful to consciously enjoy the thing, whether I "should" be eating it or not. Again, it all feeds into the sense of being in control.

    And minimise drama and guilt after the fact, it just feeds into a cycle of heightened emotion and feeling bad about yourself which makes it harder to be in control.

    And then, have specific places in the house that you keep tricky foods and cultivate the habit of not eating them without good reason. For me, if I put something in the baking cupboard I will think of it as an ingredient and leave it alone. If I find myself eating the raisins or chocolate out of the baking cupboard, I know it's a bad day and I need some TLC!

    It takes time and practice. Don't expect perfection but be as consistent as you can, and as forgiving as you can, and the habits will come.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    And I wonder a little bit about the big breakfast thing with your family. Just some thoughts here:

    While there's nothing wrong with a filling big breakfast, I certainly would have a difficult time fitting French bread into my diet plan...lots of calories and carbs and so on. While you certainly can on MFP, I would have a very difficult time making that for my family and enduring the heavenly smell and limit myself to just a piece. (Goodness I love French bread...) So that's setting you up for some difficulties there. I know for me, all those very low fiber, low protein, and high carb would make me hungry again in about 2 hours.

    When I make a big breakfast for my family, I have the power to make a decent delicious breakfast that fits in my plan: whole wheat pancakes, eggs, more eggs, bacon (really surprisingly doable) and really good oatmeal. Hey if I'm cooking I choose, it's better for my family, and we can save those cinnamon buns for birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and Tuesdays (just kidding!)

  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    ogtmama wrote: »
    Oh yeah, I also keep sugar free pudding and dark chocolate in the house to satisfy cravings without breaking the calorie bank.

    I've been going through a lot of sugar free jello. Don't know why it helps so much but it does.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    kenyonhaff wrote: »
    ogtmama wrote: »
    Oh yeah, I also keep sugar free pudding and dark chocolate in the house to satisfy cravings without breaking the calorie bank.

    I've been going through a lot of sugar free jello. Don't know why it helps so much but it does.

    Sadly I've never met an artificial sweetener I can stand the taste of, so it doesn't work for me, but I can see why it would - not just the sweetness, but set gelatine is surprisingly filling. Something about that gelled texture. Yoghurt is similar.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    Now i really want jello....
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    @incomingtrouble You're still new at this and the self-aware mindfulness of shopping and dwelling among food is a skill that you will learn if you act like you are learning it. The next time you walk by the discounted bakery, remember, "Nobody else wants that stuff, why should I?" The answer is, "I shouldn't." Get back to purchasing from your list. You do shop with a list, don't you? That's another skill.
  • Madwife2009
    Madwife2009 Posts: 1,369 Member
    edited March 2017
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    My methods for getting through these moments are:

    1) Consider just how rubbish I'm going to feel in the minutes/hours after consumption. These foods do bad things to me these days.

    2) Think about what I'm trying to achieve and how far I've already come towards that goal. Not just the weight side of things but what else I've accomplished, such as fitness/strength/life improvements. How many miles I've walked/cycled. Other achievements, like throwing out those clothes that I've shrunk out of. Then I ask whether that cookie/cake/pudding/whatever - which lasts just seconds after all - worth it? The answer is usually "no".

    3) When all else fails, I go and weigh myself. This is the best deterrent I've found so far. It's an obvious and very physical reminder.

    Usually, by the time I've been through these, the urge to eat something unplanned has gone :)
  • mom22dogs
    mom22dogs Posts: 470 Member
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    I generally just don't buy that kind of thing. If I do put it in my cart, before I leave I ask myself "do I really need this" or "I don't need this" and 99% of the time I put it back. Very occasionally I will buy something like a package of Oreos, and I just accept that they will be eaten over the next day or two and move on.
  • vanmep
    vanmep Posts: 406 Member
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    The thing that changed my problem for the most part - No impulse buying of junk food. If I buy it I want it to be a planned thing. If I do give in and buy it impulsively at the moment I realize I am gorging, I throw it in the garbage, or make it inedible. I used to have a mental block about throwing food away and then I realized there is no virtue in eating a full bag of cookies. I don't know why I ever thought it was worse to throw it out than to eat the whole damn thing. Honestly, the most interesting part of this whole journey has been watching the strange little things that go on in my brain lol
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I try planning in the treats on days when I have room in my calories. Last night I had an almond snickers. It was great and totally for in my day. No guilt or shame. It just takes practice and effort.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I meal plan, and when I do that, I plan meals I want to eat. Then I write a shopping list based on those choices. When I'm in the grocery store, I know that if I just buy what's on the list, I get everything I need, and I can trust the list to get what I want.

    I don't buy anything I have trouble moderating in larger amounts than I can easily fit in. If I'm going to overeat it, it's not a good buy no matter how cheap it is, and it won't make me feel good either.

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