How to prevent weak moments?

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.

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.

Oh yeah, I also keep sugar free pudding and dark chocolate in the house to satisfy cravings without breaking the calorie bank.

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.

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.

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.

Now i really want jello....

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

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

I don't. They happen.

I have times where I've got the food in my mouth ready to take a bite and I put it down (no slobber). After that, I sat in my bedroom crying and angry because I didn't eat the pizza. Yes, I was angry because I talked myself out of eating a slice of pizza. When I get to that point again, I will just eat the food. The mental exhaustion and stress from fighting myself over not eating the food is not worth it.

Log it and move on. No one is perfect about their diet all the time.