Losing weight in a house full of snacks
Options
GlamGoals66
Posts: 8 Member
I have 2 kids (3 if you count my husband) who all have various sugary, high calorie snacks laying around the house, from fruit snacks to lunchables, cookies, poptarts, etc... How do you avoid temptation when eating healthy takes more time, more effort, and has zero flavor payoff compared to sweet treats?
I have NO self control. Any tips on restraint?
I have NO self control. Any tips on restraint?
10
Replies
-
First, in order to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. You can still eat fruit snacks, poptarts etc., as long as they fit within your calorie limit.
If they are a problem, start slowly replacing those things with better choices ... fruit snacks might be replaced with fruit. Just buy enough cookies for one each each day for the family.11 -
First off: If you think that eating healthy tastes boring, then you're eating the wrong things! There's loads of really delicious "healthy" foods out there.
2nd: Weigh loss doesn't require you to eat a certain way. You don't have to cut out a bunch of food that you used to eat. All you have to do is eat less of it. Most of us on here don't abstain from certain foods just because they're calorie dense, we just eat less of them. Some find that certain foods are "trigger foods" and those are the ones that you keep out of your house, but other than that, there is nothing wrong with eating calorie dense food in moderation.
3rd: Just because you have children, does not mean you have to have loads of sweet snacks in the house. Excuse me as I make a possibly completely unfair assumption here, but if you do the shopping/cooking in your house, you just don't buy those things that you don't want to eat. Replace them with something else or reduce the amount you buy. Try making sweet snacks an exception, not the norm.28 -
2 tricks did it for me:
1. It's not mine and I'm not a thief.
2. Pictured the dog slobbering all over it if 1 didn't cut it.
Same with the office snack. Just pictures the guy who never washed his hands after the bathroom. He also had the annoying habit of rifling through all the snacks. Not eating that :sick:23 -
Some suggestions that may help:
1. Put all the snacks in 1 location that is away from your normal activities. Maybe they get moved from the kitchen to a spare bedroom. Basically, remove the constant reminder.
2. Allow yourself to have these snacks in moderation. Pre- portion to fit into your calories.
3. Start slow, substitute one snack per day or week with a more nutritious alternative
4. Talk to your family about your goals and see if they are willing to make accommodations.
5. Keep quick sweet snacks that fit your goals ready for you when you want one. 6.Consider lower calorie ice cream or yogurt, sugar free jello, splenda sweetened desserts. Experiment to find treats you really like that better fit within your goals.10 -
First off: If you think that eating healthy tastes boring, then you're eating the wrong things! There's loads of really delicious "healthy" foods out there.
2nd: Weigh loss doesn't require you to eat a certain way. You don't have to cut out a bunch of food that you used to eat. All you have to do is eat less of it. Most of us on here don't abstain from certain foods just because they're calorie dense, we just eat less of them. Some find that certain foods are "trigger foods" and those are the ones that you keep out of your house, but other than that, there is nothing wrong with eating calorie dense food in moderation.
3rd: Just because you have children, does not mean you have to have loads of sweet snacks in the house. Excuse me as I make a possibly completely unfair assumption here, but if you do the shopping/cooking in your house, you just don't buy those things that you don't want to eat. Replace them with something else or reduce the amount you buy. Try making sweet snacks an exception, not the norm.
Any chance you can give me healthier snack ideas? I normally just munch throughout the day on whatever I got for the kids, because everyone is on a different nap/school/playtime/bedtime schedule (tried to rearrange them to match better, but the toddler and big kid have VERY different needs)
The kids end up eating super balanced and healthy meals (minus snack times) but I hardly have time to even microwave a Lean Cuisine while trying to manage everyone else. Husband helps when he can, but he often has to work from home AFTER an 8hr day already at work.
Perhaps you know something that may just keep me full longer instead of low calorie? To avoid binging?3 -
GlamGoals66 wrote: »First off: If you think that eating healthy tastes boring, then you're eating the wrong things! There's loads of really delicious "healthy" foods out there.
2nd: Weigh loss doesn't require you to eat a certain way. You don't have to cut out a bunch of food that you used to eat. All you have to do is eat less of it. Most of us on here don't abstain from certain foods just because they're calorie dense, we just eat less of them. Some find that certain foods are "trigger foods" and those are the ones that you keep out of your house, but other than that, there is nothing wrong with eating calorie dense food in moderation.
3rd: Just because you have children, does not mean you have to have loads of sweet snacks in the house. Excuse me as I make a possibly completely unfair assumption here, but if you do the shopping/cooking in your house, you just don't buy those things that you don't want to eat. Replace them with something else or reduce the amount you buy. Try making sweet snacks an exception, not the norm.
Any chance you can give me healthier snack ideas? I normally just munch throughout the day on whatever I got for the kids, because everyone is on a different nap/school/playtime/bedtime schedule (tried to rearrange them to match better, but the toddler and big kid have VERY different needs)
The kids end up eating super balanced and healthy meals (minus snack times) but I hardly have time to even microwave a Lean Cuisine while trying to manage everyone else. Husband helps when he can, but he often has to work from home AFTER an 8hr day already at work.
Perhaps you know something that may just keep me full longer instead of low calorie? To avoid binging?
I'm going to ask a question that may seem obvious, or that you may not want to answer, but you might want to think on. Do you *need* to snack? What if you had a proper lunch with your at-home kids instead? Could you say to them, "We're all going to sit and have lunchtime now?"
What would happen if you had more well-rounded meals instead, that fit your calorie deficit?15 -
Nutritious, inexpensive, quick snacks:
1. Hard boiled eggs.
2. Popcorn (we use an airpopper made by Cuisinart for the microwave that costs $12 with a little oil sprayed on and some flavored salts such as garlic salt).
3. Hummus with veggie sticks. You can make your own hummus limiting the calorific add-ins in just a few minutes. If you want, your younger kids can 'help' using a hand masher while you use a blender or food processor. Remember, having your kids help engages them in a useful learning activity and is likely to increase their interest in snacking on healthier options. (for this reason, growing herbs and vegetables helps with their eating choices as well).
4. Fruit. Here's a fun one if your bananas are a bit underripe, sprinkle with a touch of cinnamon and bake in the toaster oven for a few minutes. They'll sweeten as they soften. If they're overripe, freeze for a creamy frozen treat.
Fruit can be expensive, but it's easy to find something seasonal on sale.
Again, if you have older kids (particularly late grade school or middle school) you can engage them in researching snack and meal ideas. Great way to get them to learn about nutrition.5 -
Low cal-snacks include raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, tangerines, cucumber, celery, carrots, hard-boiled eggs, cheese sticks, small apples, cottage cheese, grape or cherry tomatoes, half an avocado, small yogurts, applesauce.
It's worth examining why you are binging. Are you eating out of boredom? Habit? Distraction? Actual hunger? If it's hunger, then get some snacks with fiber and protein (like the above). If it's boredom or habit, find something that distracts you - like looking up in MyFitnessPal how many calories that snack is and then deciding if it's worth it.
I do all the grocery shopping in my house and I don't buy high-sugar or high-cal snacks. My husband recently asked for Froot Loops, which I did as an exception (thankfully I did not have any), but I went right back to Cheerios the week after. I also package my snacks every night when I pack my lunch, weigh them all, and put them in the next day's log so I can see how many calories I'm eating. It doesn't take very long to do this, maybe 10-15 minutes at most if something is complicated.3 -
GlamGoals66 wrote: »First off: If you think that eating healthy tastes boring, then you're eating the wrong things! There's loads of really delicious "healthy" foods out there.
2nd: Weigh loss doesn't require you to eat a certain way. You don't have to cut out a bunch of food that you used to eat. All you have to do is eat less of it. Most of us on here don't abstain from certain foods just because they're calorie dense, we just eat less of them. Some find that certain foods are "trigger foods" and those are the ones that you keep out of your house, but other than that, there is nothing wrong with eating calorie dense food in moderation.
3rd: Just because you have children, does not mean you have to have loads of sweet snacks in the house. Excuse me as I make a possibly completely unfair assumption here, but if you do the shopping/cooking in your house, you just don't buy those things that you don't want to eat. Replace them with something else or reduce the amount you buy. Try making sweet snacks an exception, not the norm.
Any chance you can give me healthier snack ideas? I normally just munch throughout the day on whatever I got for the kids, because everyone is on a different nap/school/playtime/bedtime schedule (tried to rearrange them to match better, but the toddler and big kid have VERY different needs)
The kids end up eating super balanced and healthy meals (minus snack times) but I hardly have time to even microwave a Lean Cuisine while trying to manage everyone else. Husband helps when he can, but he often has to work from home AFTER an 8hr day already at work.
Perhaps you know something that may just keep me full longer instead of low calorie? To avoid binging?
Is it possible you're not eating enough at meals, so you're snacking because you're hungry? A lot of Lean Cuisines are under 300 calories which is a very small meal if you're even a little active. Maybe on the weekends (when your husband's there to keep kids occupied) you could prepare and portion out some easy breakfasts and lunches for yourself and the kids to eat during the week. There's no reason to make different meals for every age group. For me, high protein is the key to not being hungry so when I meal prep I keep that in mind. It really does make things easier when all you have to do is grab something you already made out of the fridge and heat.5 -
Just because the house is full of snacks doesn't mean you need to eat em
My motto is: out of sight, out of mind - so if seeing them means you want them, get them put out of the way.3 -
GlamGoals66 wrote: »First off: If you think that eating healthy tastes boring, then you're eating the wrong things! There's loads of really delicious "healthy" foods out there.
2nd: Weigh loss doesn't require you to eat a certain way. You don't have to cut out a bunch of food that you used to eat. All you have to do is eat less of it. Most of us on here don't abstain from certain foods just because they're calorie dense, we just eat less of them. Some find that certain foods are "trigger foods" and those are the ones that you keep out of your house, but other than that, there is nothing wrong with eating calorie dense food in moderation.
3rd: Just because you have children, does not mean you have to have loads of sweet snacks in the house. Excuse me as I make a possibly completely unfair assumption here, but if you do the shopping/cooking in your house, you just don't buy those things that you don't want to eat. Replace them with something else or reduce the amount you buy. Try making sweet snacks an exception, not the norm.
Any chance you can give me healthier snack ideas? I normally just munch throughout the day on whatever I got for the kids, because everyone is on a different nap/school/playtime/bedtime schedule (tried to rearrange them to match better, but the toddler and big kid have VERY different needs)
The kids end up eating super balanced and healthy meals (minus snack times) but I hardly have time to even microwave a Lean Cuisine while trying to manage everyone else. Husband helps when he can, but he often has to work from home AFTER an 8hr day already at work.
Perhaps you know something that may just keep me full longer instead of low calorie? To avoid binging?
If everyone else is eating healthy balanced meals, is there a reason you aren't just eating what they're eating?15 -
I know exactly what you mean! You should SEE what the table in my kitchen looks like. You walk in, and BAM, there's candy, sugary cereals, donuts, cake, chips, chocolate milk in the fridge...you name it! (no kids, I live with adult roommates). I have to walk through the kitchen to get anywhere else in the house too, darn it. But if something is particularly tempting, I have some. I learned a long time ago that saying "NO, you absolutely will not eat this", results in me eating way too much of that item. It's all about portion control. Are those poptarts calling your name? Well there's your breakfast!5
-
GlamGoals66 wrote: »I have 2 kids (3 if you count my husband) who all have various sugary, high calorie snacks laying around the house, from fruit snacks to lunchables, cookies, poptarts, etc... How do you avoid temptation when eating healthy takes more time, more effort, and has zero flavor payoff compared to sweet treats?
I have NO self control. Any tips on restraint?
Why would you feed your own kids junk food in such amounts? If something is not good for your diet, it most certainly is not good for the kids either. One thing to have a treat here and there, another to stock junkfood. Why not lead by example and teach the kids that a perfect snach can be a fruit, a yoghurt, some nuts, cheese and so on?
20 -
GlamGoals66 wrote: »First off: If you think that eating healthy tastes boring, then you're eating the wrong things! There's loads of really delicious "healthy" foods out there.
2nd: Weigh loss doesn't require you to eat a certain way. You don't have to cut out a bunch of food that you used to eat. All you have to do is eat less of it. Most of us on here don't abstain from certain foods just because they're calorie dense, we just eat less of them. Some find that certain foods are "trigger foods" and those are the ones that you keep out of your house, but other than that, there is nothing wrong with eating calorie dense food in moderation.
3rd: Just because you have children, does not mean you have to have loads of sweet snacks in the house. Excuse me as I make a possibly completely unfair assumption here, but if you do the shopping/cooking in your house, you just don't buy those things that you don't want to eat. Replace them with something else or reduce the amount you buy. Try making sweet snacks an exception, not the norm.
Any chance you can give me healthier snack ideas? I normally just munch throughout the day on whatever I got for the kids, because everyone is on a different nap/school/playtime/bedtime schedule (tried to rearrange them to match better, but the toddler and big kid have VERY different needs)
The kids end up eating super balanced and healthy meals (minus snack times) but I hardly have time to even microwave a Lean Cuisine while trying to manage everyone else. Husband helps when he can, but he often has to work from home AFTER an 8hr day already at work.
Perhaps you know something that may just keep me full longer instead of low calorie? To avoid binging?
If the kids are eating super balanced healthy meals, why aren't you eating with them? And if they get proper nutrition from healthy balanced meals, why would you keep the house full of sugary treats?11 -
Ultimately, you just have to decide not to eat them OR figure out how to make them fit into your calories if those snacks are important to you. Once I learned to prioritize food based on my calorie goal, it was a lot easier to resist those temptations.0
-
It's like this at my house: I made it clear we were getting healthier. If they wanted snacks that weren't, they had to keep them in a shoe box hidden from me. The cupboards only keep healthy foods. My philosophy is if it's not in the house, I can't eat it.3
-
GlamGoals66 wrote: »First off: If you think that eating healthy tastes boring, then you're eating the wrong things! There's loads of really delicious "healthy" foods out there.
2nd: Weigh loss doesn't require you to eat a certain way. You don't have to cut out a bunch of food that you used to eat. All you have to do is eat less of it. Most of us on here don't abstain from certain foods just because they're calorie dense, we just eat less of them. Some find that certain foods are "trigger foods" and those are the ones that you keep out of your house, but other than that, there is nothing wrong with eating calorie dense food in moderation.
3rd: Just because you have children, does not mean you have to have loads of sweet snacks in the house. Excuse me as I make a possibly completely unfair assumption here, but if you do the shopping/cooking in your house, you just don't buy those things that you don't want to eat. Replace them with something else or reduce the amount you buy. Try making sweet snacks an exception, not the norm.
Any chance you can give me healthier snack ideas? I normally just munch throughout the day on whatever I got for the kids, because everyone is on a different nap/school/playtime/bedtime schedule (tried to rearrange them to match better, but the toddler and big kid have VERY different needs)
The kids end up eating super balanced and healthy meals (minus snack times) but I hardly have time to even microwave a Lean Cuisine while trying to manage everyone else. Husband helps when he can, but he often has to work from home AFTER an 8hr day already at work.
Perhaps you know something that may just keep me full longer instead of low calorie? To avoid binging?
My go-tos are Fiber One bars, individually-wrapped ice cream treats (like frozen Greek yogurt pops. Or, just discovered mini Rollo ice cream treats), roasted chickpeas, dry cereal, string cheese, veggie dogs, and Skinny Pop popcorn. Occasionally other stuff too.1 -
Having all that junk food in the house can be hard to deal with when needing to losing weight. I had the same problem as you. My solution was to not bring most of it into the home anymore. Ice cream? Nope, not in my freezer; the kids can go with dad to DQ for a special ice cream treat. Brownies? Nope; unless someone wants it for their birthday treat, I don't buy it for home.
At first, the family balked. In the past, this is where I'd give up and give in. But this time, I really thought about what I was doing here. Junk food is not going to build up my children's bodies. It is not going to further their health. I should not feel bad for wanting the best for my children. Unhealthy eating has been linked with physical and mental degradation in children.
It's been over a month, and they're managing with healthier foods. I wish I had done this a long time ago, instead of normalizing bad eating habits.6 -
Why would you feed your own kids junk food in such amounts? If something is not good for your diet, it most certainly is not good for the kids either. One thing to have a treat here and there, another to stock junkfood. Why not lead by example and teach the kids that a perfect snach can be a fruit, a yoghurt, some nuts, cheese and so on?
My kids only get junk food at snack times. One in the morning, one in the afternoon for the toddler, and only one in the afternoon for the big kid. And it's mostly not cookies and brownies, (treats like that are more for rewards, bust still in the house) it's more goldfish crackers and cheerios with the occassional oreo. Just generally very carby/caloric foods that are fine as a snack, but not so much to fill my entire diet. (And the toddler loves cheese, but hasn't figured out the spoon just yet to manage yogurt without coating the entire kitchen in a layer, but hates me feeding her because "I'm big and can do it myself!"
I basically just can't stop once I start eating, and have no time to eat more than finger foods. Impulse control is my biggest issue. I see those crackers, tell myself one or 2 is fine, then end up eating the whole pack.4 -
I'm the issue here with my impulse eating and grazing on snack habits, so any suggestions for that instead of robbing the kids of their treats? They eat just fine, fruits, veggies, protein, I promise. Let's focus on my lack of control instead?5
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 388 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 917 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions