do you find it necessary to keep unhealthy snacks out of the house to stick to eating healthy?

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undohoney
undohoney Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
can you cope with having snacks in your house and if you do, how do you have the will power? what sort of things do you say to yourself?

if you have to have unhealthy snacks out of the house, do you find it a successful way to curve cravings and stop over snacking?

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  • MarieRosekenji85
    MarieRosekenji85 Posts: 147 Member
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    I find it easier to keep certain unhealthy things out of the house. Ie. soda, chips, cookies. I'm lactose intolerant so no dairy, ice cream, milk. I can't stomach red meat or to much chocolate either. It really depends on the individual and what works best for them. I'm a carb junkie so my struggle is not over indulging on pasta and bread. I just find myself learning to portion control and fit them into my calorie needs for the day.
  • AlyssaP1987
    AlyssaP1987 Posts: 259 Member
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    I eat keto but have snacks for the kiddos (including my favorite chips and cookies) but I don't eat them. You have to want it more than your desire to binge eat.
  • Anna022119
    Anna022119 Posts: 545 Member
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    No choice as I have teenagers in the house.
    Logging my food and willpower will have to do.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I look at my diet as a whole and don't break it down to eating 100% healthy or not. My nutrition is pretty on point...I don't see anything wrong with having a cookie for desert or a candy bar here and there. I crave healthy, nutritious foods more than I do "junk" food...but I do like having a desert.
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 814 Member
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    I plan my meals and snacks the week before. Then I buy only what I am going to eat on my plan. Then I log it all. And then I only eat what my food diary says to eat. It works well for me.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    Since I live with other people (all of whom have higher calorie needs than me) it's unreasonable for me to expect them to forgo their treats. What I find works best is keeping the treats they like but I'm indifferent to, and keeping a stock of individually portioned treats I can easily fit into my day so as not to feel deprived.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
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    I don't buy junk food (or whatever term we want to use) I don't eat. I don't really snack, and I'm not a potato chip fan, so I don't have those at home. I don't buy candy (which I don't care about much) except for giving out at Halloween. I don't like packaged cookies, so don't buy them, and if I (rarely) bake some kind of dessert it's for a specific purpose (cookie exchange, dinner party, holiday meal) and I'll not make lots of leftovers since that's the kind of thing I have low self-control with.

    If someone else in my house buys the former things, I mostly think of them as not my food. There are junk food options at work all the time and I see that as a place of more temptation, but mostly avoid them by thinking that I don't snack.

    For some reason (because it's in the freezer), I seem to be okay with keeping ice cream around and will do that without a problem.

    If you have trouble controlling yourself having tempting treats around I'd limit it if you can. If you cannot, my thoughts are:

    Keep it out of sight (in the cabinet is better than seeing it all the time)

    Have a plan -- a set meal pattern and plan for what you will eat at meals. If you want, try including moderate amounts of the hard-to-control treat, but don't just grab it with the intent to have a little, that doesn't work for me at all. Some people do well just grazing, but for me it's important to eat at planned regular meals.

    If the stuff is at your house, think of it as your spouse's or kid's or mom's or roommate's food, whatever applies. Maybe buy your own more "on plan" options and think of that as yours -- at least if you can get buy in from others in the house.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    edited December 2018
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    As I have others in the house that don't eat as I do there are all sorts of things in the house but I am no longer tempted by them. I have decided that no foods are unhealthy or off limits in moderation but I do ask myself if the enjoyment of eating that particular food is worth the calories it contains. If the answer is no then I actually stop craving it. If the answer is yes I work out how to fit it into my day (or the next). This requires prelogging everything first thing in the morning and making the necessary adjustments as the food is properly weighed.
    I also have my own stash of treats, all with various calories that I can easily fit into my day.
  • Safari_Gal
    Safari_Gal Posts: 888 Member
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    If it’s not on my diet - it’s not in my house! ☺️
  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,473 Member
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    No. In a way I wish I could, but I'm not going to restrict what my husband & kiddo eat.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I keep snacks around that I can moderate. So, no to potato chips, but if I want something salty, then roasted chick peas, Simple Protein "chips", or popcorn. I buy ice cream treats that come individually wrapped instead of a tub (it's often hard to find gram weights on scoops where I am; everything's in mls) or an occasional single-serve cup from Baskin-Robbins. Fiber One bars. Dry cereal

    There are foods I find easier to moderate now than I did starting out, and I'll portion them out when I want them and have room. Stuff I don't trust myself around I don't keep around.
  • whatalazyidiot
    whatalazyidiot Posts: 343 Member
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    I used to think that would help, but it never really did. Weirdly enough, I find it easier knowing I *could* have them if i wanted, but in moderation. When I used to say NO to stuff, it messed with my head, and the cravings got worse. Once you remove "bad" and "good" labels from food, it loses a lot of its power.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    No; my partner is a gym rat, and I swear food goes through him without having any calories absorbed. There are a ton of snacks/sweets in the house for when he stays over. I used to have a lot of trouble with having snack foods in the house, but I've gotten a lot better about it. Logging my calories has helped, as has having willpower.
  • Running2Fit
    Running2Fit Posts: 702 Member
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    Not really. It is nice not to have the temptation around though. I usually just buy snack foods for my husband that he likes but I don't really care for.
  • JohnnytotheB
    JohnnytotheB Posts: 361 Member
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    I can't keep it in the house. I don't buy it unless if it's a snack size and it's for immediate consumption. If it's there I probably will eat it. I believe I have a obsession with the stuff. I'm not successful or never was keeping it in the house and having willpower.
  • anwade01
    anwade01 Posts: 35 Member
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    Stocking up on my fav treats is a no-no for me. When I’m lacking on willpower, it doesn’t help to have numerous servings of my FAVORITE treats readily available. However, having a box of snacks that I just consider “okay” doesn’t get me off track. This is because I don’t like them enough to overindulge lol.

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