Throwing out junk food; yay or nay?
awingo5193
Posts: 14 Member
I'm at the beginning of getting in shape again and I'm already having trouble with binge eating and snacking on junk food meaning chips, sweets, etc.
For those of you who chose to clean out your kitchen, do you think that had a noticeable effect on your weight loss? Did you stick with it or buy more? Was it worth it? If you're prone to binge eating, did you find yourself binging on other stuff instead?
For those of you who choose to live with the temptation, how do you get yourself to eat the junk food in small amounts? Or if you only have it because of others in the house, avoid it altogether?
*By throwing out, I mean donating the packaged/unopened foods. Not literally tossing it in the trash.
For those of you who chose to clean out your kitchen, do you think that had a noticeable effect on your weight loss? Did you stick with it or buy more? Was it worth it? If you're prone to binge eating, did you find yourself binging on other stuff instead?
For those of you who choose to live with the temptation, how do you get yourself to eat the junk food in small amounts? Or if you only have it because of others in the house, avoid it altogether?
*By throwing out, I mean donating the packaged/unopened foods. Not literally tossing it in the trash.
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Replies
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Repackage in small bags, put in the freezer and take out and put in the cupboard as planned and pre-logged?8
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If you're talking about actual binges, I think speaking to a professional would be the best course of action.
If by "binge," you mean it in the casual sense of "I ate more of this thing than I wanted to eat," I was able to eat smaller portions because I reached a point where my goals were more important to me than eating a larger portion of certain foods.
Important components for me were eating foods I enjoyed at each meal (when you hate your food or it's boring, it can be really hard to ignore the tasty stuff you've got in the house) and making sure that my calorie goal wasn't too low. Also, getting sufficient sleep. I always struggle with cravings when I'm tired.12 -
For food at home that is not yours, can you think of it as not yours, but for your roommate or partner or child or whatever? That's what works for me, and I don't even think about it, then (helps that we don't have identical tastes too).
For food at work, which is for everyone and I have no control over, it has helped me to not snack, but eat planned meals, then I don't think about it much.
I did not keep much junk food at home before doing this, so getting rid of it wasn't an issue, but if you think it will be for you, I'd do it. I think having the foods at home you want to be eating could make it easier at the beginning.
For foods I now buy and consume in moderation (and I consumed treat foods in moderation thru=oughout my weight loss), I chose the foods I find easiest to consume in moderation (for some reason ice cream and dark chocolate are easier for me than anything home baked), and limited the times I had it (after dinner) and ate it only within my remaining calories.
For something like chips it seems like it might work to never eat out of a bag, to measure out a serving and have one per day, so on.5 -
I never eat something without weighing out a serving first...so "junk" food doesn't bother me. If I want cookies, I go, weigh them and log them. Usually 1 to 2 servings I'm good. Now, if I take said cookie package to the couch, the whole package will be eaten. If I have to get back up to get more than I planned, I'm 99% not going to go back for more.
I gained my weight by mindless eating. Grazing. And not keeping track of how much I was eating. So any situation where there is unlimited food (aka Mexican Restaurants with free chips/salsa) I have to not start. As in, no chips/salsa for me. I only eat what I order.6 -
I binge eat. I need certain foods to be gone when I go on the losing cycle. Once I have started losing and see progress I get fixated on that goal and then it isn't as hard to be around it and not eat it. But eating just a little when a lot is available is playing with fire, at least for me. I allowed myself one Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake yesterday because I made room for it in my daily calories and because it was one of the last ones available that someone put out in the break room. Only that one was available to me. If I had bought a box of them and only had one, I would be sweating bullets looking at the box. So I would get rid of the worst triggers. I can't get rid of everything at home because of others so I make myself accountable, letting others know that I am trying to stay away from things and to not let me slide if they disappear.6
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nope, I eat it, bits at a time, then go work it off2
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I got rid of my trigger foods. The other "junk" food I repackaged into single serving bags and made them part of my meal plan.4
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Didn't throw anything out, but everything got move to a high shelf in an awkwardly positioned cabinet. We need to get out a step stool to reach the chips/chocolate/etc - so if we're going through the effort, it must be worth it! I find it easiest to just measure out a portion of whatever it is I'm wanting, and then put it back up on the shelf and put the stool away in the closet. I'm not inclined to go back in there for more, but whatever craving it is ends up satisfied.3
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I live with other people who want certain foods and have different calorie needs than me. I never got rid of food unless no one but me would eat it.
I did start buying smaller packages of some items, not buying some things very often and putting all food out of sight. I prelog my food and eat a specific times.1 -
I gave all of our processed food and junk food to neighbors that could use it. Temptation was too much for me! I'm an all or nothing type of person, especially when starting a diet. It's better now. I can keep junk in the house and not touch it. But it took a month of cold turkey, zero junk, to break the habit!4
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I cant have pizza rolls in the house, unless they are in small boxes. If I bring a bag of them in I will eat the bag. I think it may be a matter of learning true trigger foods and situations.
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I can't have it in the house. I have enough will power to not buy foods that are bad for me, but if they're in the house, I cannot resist. I eat too much of it, and when I'm counting calories to lose weight (rather than counting to maintain), that junk food isn't worth the calories to me. I can't stay within my goal and have a handful of m&ms without skipping out on something else healthier and more filling. Also, it would never be one handful of m&ms for me.
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I really just had to throw out food or donate. I also try to buy snacks for the kids that I don't like. I make kids' lunches every day and try to keep healthy options and stuff that I do not like. I've also kept cookies in our garage to keep them farther away from and less a temptation.3
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The only thing I really had issues with when I started out were potato chips and cheese. I couldn't eliminate cheese from the house, so that was just will power. I did get rid of the chips for awhile. I've never had a problem with sweets...not much of a sweet tooth.
Five years later, I only buy chips when we're going camping or tortilla chips for salsa when we have company.
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Depends on person. Some people can have it around, others cannot.
I will always eat the most tasty thing nearby and can't control myself, so I got rid of everything the day I started my diet. The other people in the house weren't happy about it, but they've come to terms with it and are happy now because they each lost about 10 pounds over the last 2 months.
So yes, I would not be 20 pounds lighter than I was 2 months ago if I didn't clean the kitchen out. I'd had kept getting fatter.4 -
Certain things I can keep around, I either buy them in single serving packages or immediately put them into single portions when I get home from shopping. I do have certain "trigger" foods that I know I cannot keep in my house, my biggest one is chocolate covered almonds, yum! I will eat the whole bag. So my point is if you can stop yourself at one serving then by all means keep it handy for when a craving strikes but if you have certain "trigger" foods like me I find it is best to not have them around.1
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I'm so glad i'm not the only one1
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There are a lot of foods that I only buy on special occasions, because I know if they're always around the house, I'll eat them ALL in one sitting.
Mainly... chips, crackers, cookies, etc. Portable tasty little carby treats are my weakness.
The only treat my fiance and I keep stocked in our house is Halo Top. Even if I eat a whole pint, I'm only looking at 250-300 calories. And I usually get sick of the flavour before I'm 1/3 through the pint, so it's not a 'danger food' for me.
If I'm having friends over, I only buy enough 'danger food' to serve to them. So that might be 1 bag of chips, or 12 freshed baked cookies (instead of a batch of 24, for example).1 -
I don't really remember what I did with the "not on my plan" foods when I started out, it's kinda blurry, but I actually don't think there was much left (I had few boundaries for the last few weeks leading up to my "lifestyle change"). At first I did't buy anymore junk food, but then I thought I should try to "train my willpower", tried and tried, but it didn't go very well. It's best for me to just buy a small amount occasionally. Dried fruit is very hard to moderate, but semi-sweet cookies and finger biscuits and jam are surprisingly easy.
I'm creative, so I can make my own "junk food", though - dulce de leche mixed with peanuts, or almond butter with honey - sometimes I eat a bit more than I think would be optimal.
But I've also made cheesecakes and pies, and it works very well, I'm not really tempted to eat more than 1/6 per day. I'm not sure what the reason is, but I think it helps that it's a bit of effort to make, and I know that if I portion it out, I will be abke to eat cake for six days, and I like that.
I don't overeat "normal" food to "compensate". I used to overeat anything out of habit, but it's easy for me to portion out appropriate portions of my everyday foods, and then I stick to that, and usually quite happy.1 -
My favorite junk food is Hot Cheetos. I found that if I have it in the house, I will eat it everyday. Yes I can make it fit, but it makes me hold water weight like no other and has other negative affects to my body. I started to not buy them and instead purchase a bag once a week which is SOO much better. I'm not sacrificing nutrient dense food for hot Cheetos everyday and my body is loving me for it.
Hot Cheetos are my true love, though. I can easily have cookies, cake, ice cream, etc. in my home and it doesn't do much for me. Half the time I forget its there.2 -
kommodevaran wrote: »I'm creative, so I can make my own "junk food", though - dulce de leche mixed with peanuts, or almond butter with honey - sometimes I eat a bit more than I think would be optimal.
My fiance has been eating a small bowl of PB2 topped with low-fat whipped cream as his evening treat lately. Clever bugger.
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Personally, at home we try not to keep foods we have a hard time limiting ourselves on, getting them only for special treats. Otherwise, goodies we want, we have to want enough to go out and get them, lol. Thing's like chips and cookies, I usually separate into baggies, so I know how much I'm eating. That makes it easier to log, easier to feel satisfied without mindless munching, and means that if I do want extra, I have to go the extra step of getting a new baggie and logging it seperatly.1
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At times I have thrown away junk food because for me the process was twofold - 1) I would see the waste of my money and 2) seeing items I like but don't need going to waste helped me make better choices in the future. If donating works for you then that is a great option.
My option to help manage this was to eat better junk . . . better quality, higher prices = less product
Plus the added energy it took for me to get it, visiting the specialty candy store or bakery, etc.. 1 -
I didn't expect such fast responses, thank you everyone!
Looking at certain foods as trigger foods will probably help. I already know to add chips to that list based on them taking up half my calorie goal today.
I think I'll start by eliminating foods I can't resist then see how I do and get rid of things as needed.
Thanks again, guys!0 -
alondrakayy wrote: »My favorite junk food is Hot Cheetos.
Oh man you just had to remind me these exist. My hands use to be stained red in highschool because of those things.
This is a perfect example of why I don't keep stuff in the house. If I had these in the house right now, this comment would make me go grab the bag and eat the entire thing. I don't have that option if I simply don't buy them. I even take it a step further and buy all my groceries online so I don't even see the junk food at the store.3 -
Yeah, it depends on the person and the food. I don't have trouble moderating sweets, but am a sucker for the salty stuff. I generally only eat chips as a special occasion thing now and don't keep them in the house. Popcorn I no longer buy the full-sized microwave bags but sometimes get single-serving bags or pre-popped. You don't have to cut out stuff entirely, but it does help to find compromises you can live with.1
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To stay within calorie goal, I avoid foods I know I go overboard with. Instead, I've replaced those foods with protein bars of similar flavors that dont have much sugar in them. You may just need to seek out replacement junk little by little.
The easiest one to find I recomment are Quest bars. Pure protein would be better if you're on a budget.1 -
I'd just end up overeating less satisfying stuff. No one should eat 400 calories in nuts. ever. lol2
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I won't even mention what I did to some of my kids' orange flavoured omega 3 gummies lol1
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mrsnattybulking wrote: »I'd just end up overeating less satisfying stuff. No one should eat 400 calories in nuts. ever. lol
1-2 16oz bags of salted jumbo sunflower seeds A DAY for over 10 years (1330-2660 calories from nuts/day). I was always eating them to fill my hand-to-mouth addiction. Doctor tells me "Sunflower seeds are probably one of the healthier stacks, so don't worry about them", I don't think he realized how fast I was going through them.
First thing I got rid of!1
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