Self-Soothing Dieting Coping Mechanisms
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davidylin
Posts: 228 Member
So, there's a couple of odd behaviors I find that I do to help me stick to my calorie counts and I was wondering what everyone else's might be, if they have any at all. This is the weird stuff I do to make myself feel better about dieting:
What do you do to soothe yourself while trying to lose weight?
- I like to add a couple ounces of regular Coke into my Coke Zero.
- I reuse my take-out soda cups to drink ice water.
- I go to McDonald's or Subway or something else like it five times a week just to feel like a normal person, even though I'm ordering the healthier stuff when I get there.
- I buy butter croissants, bakery goods, and bread that pretty frequently just goes into the trash just because I like to see them on my counter (I don't get it either and it is hella wasteful).
What do you do to soothe yourself while trying to lose weight?
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Replies
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Watch cooking and baking shows, and do a lot more baking. I have no idea how that helps except maybe the whole “you eat with your eyes first” thing.8
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I've been watching the Great British Baking show and it has me hooked. Every season I pick a wife and am always disappointed when they don't ultimately winmaggibailey wrote: »Watch cooking and baking shows, and do a lot more baking. I have no idea how that helps except maybe the whole “you eat with your eyes first” thing.
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- I go to McDonald's or Subway or something else like it five times a week just to feel like a normal person, even though I'm ordering the healthier stuff when I get there.
- I buy butter croissants, bakery goods, and bread that pretty frequently just goes into the trash just because I like to see them on my counter (I don't get it either and it is hella wasteful).
Man oh man, those sound like some expensive habits!
As for me... I drink A LOT of tea. I have about 20 canisters of different flavours at my work desk. It keeps me from snacking.
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The tea sounds expensive! When I do hit McDonald's, I usually get a cheeseburger happy meal ($3) with milk and apple slices. My local Subways offer a daily 6" sandwich for $3.50. Yes, this adds up to something around $20 a week, but it really has helped me feel better about dieting.- I go to McDonald's or Subway or something else like it five times a week just to feel like a normal person, even though I'm ordering the healthier stuff when I get there.
- I buy butter croissants, bakery goods, and bread that pretty frequently just goes into the trash just because I like to see them on my counter (I don't get it either and it is hella wasteful).
Man oh man, those sound like some expensive habits!
As for me... I drink A LOT of tea. I have about 20 canisters of different flavours at my work desk. It keeps me from snacking.
As for the bakery goods, the Lidl near me has these items for between $0.99 and $0.49, so it's basically three or four bucks in the trash every other week or so.
But yeah, I'm hoping to find less expensive self-soothing habits, which is why I'm asking about all of yours!5 -
I buy good cheese and eat it one ounce at a time. Good cheese and cheap cheese are basically the same calorie wise but with the good cheese you are satisfied with less of it eaten slowly. My current obsession is San Simón Smoked Cow's Milk Cheese from www.tienda.com. On ounce of that microwave-scrambled in two eggs is to die for!10
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I do find that one of my coping mechanisms is to eat higher quality food. If I'm eating less of it, it all seems to work out anyway.HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »I buy good cheese and eat it one ounce at a time. Good cheese and cheap cheese are basically the same calorie wise but with the good cheese you are satisfied with less of it eaten slowly. My current obsession is San Simón Smoked Cow's Milk Cheese from www.tienda.com. On ounce of that microwave-scrambled in two eggs is to die for!4 -
Cooking and baking for others! I also love watching cooking shows3
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So, there's a couple of odd behaviors I find that I do to help me stick to my calorie counts and I was wondering what everyone else's might be, if they have any at all. This is the weird stuff I do to make myself feel better about dieting:
- I like to add a couple ounces of regular Coke into my Coke Zero.
- I reuse my take-out soda cups to drink ice water.
- I go to McDonald's or Subway or something else like it five times a week just to feel like a normal person, even though I'm ordering the healthier stuff when I get there.
- I buy butter croissants, bakery goods, and bread that pretty frequently just goes into the trash just because I like to see them on my counter (I don't get it either and it is hella wasteful).
What do you do to soothe yourself while trying to lose weight?
Buy all the seasonal flavors of healthy stuff - like protein bars and popcorn LOL. Nothing makes me happier.3 -
I shuddered when I thought about a pumpkin spice protein bar. To each their ownpeaceout_aly wrote: »So, there's a couple of odd behaviors I find that I do to help me stick to my calorie counts and I was wondering what everyone else's might be, if they have any at all. This is the weird stuff I do to make myself feel better about dieting:- I like to add a couple ounces of regular Coke into my Coke Zero.
- I reuse my take-out soda cups to drink ice water.
- I go to McDonald's or Subway or something else like it five times a week just to feel like a normal person, even though I'm ordering the healthier stuff when I get there.
- I buy butter croissants, bakery goods, and bread that pretty frequently just goes into the trash just because I like to see them on my counter (I don't get it either and it is hella wasteful).
What do you do to soothe yourself while trying to lose weight?
Buy all the seasonal flavors of healthy stuff - like protein bars and popcorn LOL. Nothing makes me happier.
0 -
I shuddered when I thought about a pumpkin spice protein bar. To each their ownpeaceout_aly wrote: »So, there's a couple of odd behaviors I find that I do to help me stick to my calorie counts and I was wondering what everyone else's might be, if they have any at all. This is the weird stuff I do to make myself feel better about dieting:- I like to add a couple ounces of regular Coke into my Coke Zero.
- I reuse my take-out soda cups to drink ice water.
- I go to McDonald's or Subway or something else like it five times a week just to feel like a normal person, even though I'm ordering the healthier stuff when I get there.
- I buy butter croissants, bakery goods, and bread that pretty frequently just goes into the trash just because I like to see them on my counter (I don't get it either and it is hella wasteful).
What do you do to soothe yourself while trying to lose weight?
Buy all the seasonal flavors of healthy stuff - like protein bars and popcorn LOL. Nothing makes me happier.
I would try that! I was hoping to find a pumpkin pie quest bar, but have not seen one (don't know if they exist or not). I've been living on the apple pie bars... so I was hopeful. Ha ha.
I drink a lot of club soda. I really like pop/soda, but the diet stuff upsets my stomach. This lets me have that fuzzy feel without calories. Sometimes I'll put an ounce of orange juice in it when I'm feeling really wild.
Pre-logging all my meals (except dinner) a week at a time helps me feel in control, which helps me not feel hungry. I know what my next meal is. I know when it's coming. I don't feel panicked about whether or not it will be good or satiating, I already know all these things.2 -
I get a big box of fudgesicles from the grocery store. If I ever want a snack, I can easily have 1 or 2 fudgesicles (2=80 calories) and by that point I feel pretty good. That and string cheese. It covers salty and sweet cravings. I guess I need my food to be individually wrapped.5
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I've been watching the Great British Baking show and it has me hooked. Every season I pick a wife and am always disappointed when they don't ultimately winmaggibailey wrote: »Watch cooking and baking shows, and do a lot more baking. I have no idea how that helps except maybe the whole “you eat with your eyes first” thing.
This is hilarious!
I don't know that I have any quirks. I'll sometimes buy things like pre-cooked cocktail sausages and grab a couple if I fancy a snack. I'm more likely to get up and harass the cats if I'm trying to distract myself.0 -
It's a bit of a guilty pleasure: I spend way too much time planning my extremely simple and humble meals, which makes all of them delicious and something I look forward to.7
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I find that drinking tea helps me as well instead of eating something I shouldn't be. But absolutely no fast food for me I will ask my friends n family what they ate nnwhat desserts they had n enjoy thinking bout1
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I do find that one of my coping mechanisms is to eat higher quality food. If I'm eating less of it, it all seems to work out anyway.HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »I buy good cheese and eat it one ounce at a time. Good cheese and cheap cheese are basically the same calorie wise but with the good cheese you are satisfied with less of it eaten slowly. My current obsession is San Simón Smoked Cow's Milk Cheese from www.tienda.com. On ounce of that microwave-scrambled in two eggs is to die for!
Yeah, that one, on the food front. Also, trying new and sometimes exotic things that are nutritious and reputed to be tasty (exotic varies by locale, but for me the new things have included mamey sapote, guavas, red amaranth leaves, . . . .).
Also: Shifting as often as possible to non-food self-soothing: Stretching, things that smell nice, fresh flowers for the house, a break in the sauna at my Y, self-massage or relaxation tecniques, fresh air, new tools or supplies for my hobbies, etc.2 -
Haha, portion control is so much easier when your food is pre-portioned.I get a big box of fudgesicles from the grocery store. If I ever want a snack, I can easily have 1 or 2 fudgesicles (2=80 calories) and by that point I feel pretty good. That and string cheese. It covers salty and sweet cravings. I guess I need my food to be individually wrapped.1 -
Actually, I think I might give this a try. Part of what makes restaurant meals so exciting for me is that it's rarely a spur-of-the-moment thing. I always want it for hours before I actually go. I think that if I spent more time thinking about what I was going to eat that it would be more satisfying. Thanks for the tip!kommodevaran wrote: »It's a bit of a guilty pleasure: I spend way too much time planning my extremely simple and humble meals, which makes all of them delicious and something I look forward to.4 -
This is probably the most true, but, for me, it'll never happen. Live to eat. Eat to live. I have in the past successfully replaced food with bedroom activities, but that's a special chemistry that I don't have anywhere near as much control over as what I eat.Also: Shifting as often as possible to non-food self-soothing: Stretching, things that smell nice, fresh flowers for the house, a break in the sauna at my Y, self-massage or relaxation tecniques, fresh air, new tools or supplies for my hobbies, etc.2 -
I eat ALL. DAY. LONG.
It's always low calorie stuff like carrots and string cheese, but my snacks are easily double the calories of any meal.
I chew a LOT of gum.
I've also realized that individually wrapped "guilt" foods like chocolate don't stop me. Now, if I want chocolate, I have to go to the store, pick out the one thing I want, and buy it one serving at a time. I just got back from Walgreens with a small kitkat. The other day I bought ONE Ghirardeli square at the gas station.4 -
Katiebear_81 wrote: »
I would try that! I was hoping to find a pumpkin pie quest bar, but have not seen one (don't know if they exist or not.
Last year someone brought a box of these to share in the break room at work. Imagine pumpkin spice flavored wet sand. No one liked them.1
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