Help! Really struggling with SWEETS and MODERATION

It sounds like you need some tough love here. How much do you love your daughter? How much do you love yourself? Remember, your daughter is very impressionable and will pick up on your habits, good or bad. You need to set the BEST possible example around her concerning food choices and exercise.

You say you don't have time to go to a gym. So, that is out. How about walking? If you have any sidewalks, malls, bike paths, parks around, go for a walk...take the daughter with! What better example than to tell her that she and Mommy get to go on their special walk EVERY DAY after supper? Or lunch? Or breakfast (you pick). This is so important to start kids out young (exercise as a family activity).

And you know that you need to do the same with food choices. If in doubt, throw it out! That means all M&Ms, candies and nummies that are poison to you and your little one. If years from now she asks you why you didn't have them around, be honest with her. Tell her that you want to be there for her as she grows up and has a family of her own someday. Then you will be a fit, fabulous grandma to her little ones!

This is all about adult choices. If I ate only what I was wanting to eat, I would eat a lot of junk food. But, I want to set a good example for my darling grandkids! I take them on "special walks" all the time. We also go to the park, playgrounds and pool. Yes, I teach them it is fun to do all those things with this 54 year old grandma! We eat a lot of fun fruits and veggies with dips. I try to serve something new every time they are here. I do not want them to survive on horrible diets of mac and cheese, hot dogs, chips and pizza. They get those at home sometimes, but they love "cooking" with me and helping make nutritious foods.

Sorry this is long. Tough love. If you were my daughter, this is what you would hear.

Meal prepping may be key for you until you can begin to add in exercise. Plan a menu for the week. Start reading labels and learning portion sizes then measure everything as you portion it out for meals and snacks. I second the suggestion to put some M&M’s in a snack sized ziplock, or add some to some seeds and nuts to create a trail mix. The seeds and nuts will add protein and help fill you up more than the chocolate. Plan a specific snack time instead of mindlessly snacking all day long. It may all seem like a chore at first, but it will soon become second nature.
As for exercise, start small then work your way up. Park at the end of the parking lot each day. Take the stairs. On breaks walk or run up and down the stairs for 5 minutes. In your off time do fun but active things like bowling or bicycling. If you have to take your kids to practice then walk around the edge of the field/court/practice building while waiting on them.

amywizengamot wrote: »

And @toughmuther has a good point about keto and sweets. I’m on a ketogenic diet for medical reasons, but boy oh boy did it edit my sugar craving genome. I used to literally fantasize about pancakes and maple syrup while I was running. I couldn’t be in the same room as a peanut butter cup without tearing into it. I’m just not the same anymore.

The only thing that really ever helped me with weight loss was the ritual of logging my food into MFP. It kept me informed and honest and in control. Good luck to you, I think you’ll do very well!

I can attest to being addicted to food. I gained 30lbs. from January to May, when I weighed in at my heaviest ever of 276lbs.

Please understand that everyone is different! Those who say that this is a choice and you just have to be strong, are correct. However, in my experience it feels like I would have to have super powers to be strong enough to dig out of the hole I am in and to resist the food temptations I have had. I LOVE FOOD! Especially starchy and sugary foods, all of which get turned into sugars in our bodies.

I have learned that my intense carb and sugar cravings are most likely due to candida. Candida overgrowth in your intestines can make you feel tired, irritable and give you a foggy head and poor concentration. It can also cause intense carbohydrate cravings (carbohydrate = sugar). It's a Catch 22 – eating sugar promotes the growth of intestinal yeast and having too much yeast in your gut makes you crave sugar. If you have intense sugar cravings as well as yeast type issues either female type or athletes foot or toenail fungus, or all of the above, candida could be the source of your cravings. An overgrowth of Candida can cause conditions like athlete's foot, ringworm and toenail fungus. Best way to kill off candida? Starve it = don't eat carbs/sugar

For me, Keto has changed everything! On keto you restrict carbs to a crazy level, for me it is 25 grams of net carbs a day (you don't have to count fiber). This may seem insurmountable, look at the carbs/sugar in a single serving of those M&Ms (30 grams!). My experience has been, that after a few days of restricting carbs the cravings are gone! On keto you get the majority of your daily calories from fats and proteins. Eating this way does not leave me feeling hungry. I'm not starving + I don't have cravings = I AM A SUPER HERO or THIS IS A WAY OF EATING THAT WORKS FOR ME

If you think keto may work for you checkout r/keto on reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/keto).
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I hope you find the right solution for yourself!

When I first started, I really had a hard time giving up all the super sugary coffees and the sugar / milk in my coffee that was mainly sugar and milk. I also disliked 99% of vegetables, loved 99% of fruit, and despised anything with certain textures.

I was SUPER PICKY about food. What worked for me was cutting out sugar for a few months. Well, conscious sugar. Not things that had sugar added hidden (like ketchup). It wasn't for cravings, necessarily, but because I really wanted to open up my food options. And someone made an analogy about how taste buds are like children. Just because they WANT something all the time, doesn't mean they NEED something all the time regardless of right or wrong, that statement resonated with me. I was downing all kinds of liquid calories: from sodas to coffees to juices. I drank 90% of my calories. After years of poor choices, I'd graduated to consume probably a good 1500-2000 extra calories in drinks a day on average (some more, some less). When I cut that back, sweet things became so much more potent to me and more of a treat. I also happen to really like peanut M&Ms. I still have 'em! Just less, now.

I would experiment to find out what works for you. I still have desserts and sweet things (I just had a Luna S'Mores bar) and I love carbs. I treat food like money, in a lot of ways. Yes, sometimes I blow my budget on deliciousness that is mac'n'cheese or a double-decker PB&J. They don't last, satiation-wise, but it teaches me the value of the foods I choose. Sometimes, the food that is not so exciting is more valuable in terms of longevity that it makes it easier for me to budget for the foods I do enjoy. (Aka, delicious potatoes). So, yes, sometimes I absolutely want the super high calorie yumyums knowing that I will be hungry in the long desert that will exist between mealtimes. I reason a little hunger won't be detrimental (so long as I'm getting enough calories, etc) and/or it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Some days, I suck it up and go way over because it's worth it for me.

After going through the sugar experiment and forcing myself to try new things (previously, I would never have let some foods into the mouth!), I have been able to stretch the foods I like to eat. Granted, I am by no means a foodie. I could be perfectly happy with a food pill (as long as I could still have potatoes and cheese). XD

Find what works for you! Experiment! Find the fun in the experience of finding out what works for you. Instead of "I can't stop myself eating these M&Ms!", take ownership. Reframe your mental thoughts into ideas that return the control back to your own hands. "What can I do to ensure I only eat a serving?" "What changes can I make to see if X works for me?" "What's my plan on trying out Y?"

I regret NOTHING of them cheesy potatoes I had yesterday.

Good luck!!

A lot of great advice posted above. It’s stressful balancing work/home/children. When you’re faced with intense cravings for something sweet or just something to eat, try drinking carbonated, flavored (or unflavored) water. It may help you stay on track. I’ve tried plain water and even flavoring my water with lemons, oranges, mint, etc but the carbonation seems to trigger my body into feeling full. Hope you find what works for you.