May 18

Mrs_Hoffer
Mrs_Hoffer Posts: 5,194 Member
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
«13

Replies

  • donna25trinity
    donna25trinity Posts: 2,977 Member
    edited May 2022
    Sugar.... How do u keep your sugar intake in check? Sugar is my weakness and at one point I was able to hve a small sugar treat at night but that one treat has now turned into two and sometimes three treats a night. I am in the process of setting some boundaries around sugar so tell me how do you keep your sugar intake under control? Has this been something you have struggled with or is sugar something u find easy to manage? Let's share so we can learn team!
  • biketheworld
    biketheworld Posts: 2,237 Member
    @donna25trinity - great question, and a complicated issue, at least for me. I have a horrific sweet tooth which is mostly the cause of my weight gain over the past 30 years. I’ve read all about how addictive sugar is, how the body responds just as it would to cocaine (or maybe it’s heroin, either way……). There was a long time I thought the only way to control it was to stop cold turkey and never have sweets again, just like an addict would have to do. It broke my heart to even think about never having a cookie or ice cream again, which made me realize that yep, that’s just how an addict feels about giving up whatever it is they’re hooked on. However, we have to eat, it’s impossible to completely knock out sugar, and I am close to having that savage beast under control.

    1. We almost never have sweets in the house. I know not everyone has that luxury. Even when my grandkids are here, I rarely have cookies etc.
    2. It takes practice. The more often I say “no” to the urge to grab sweets, the easier it gets.
    3. I allow myself something once in awhile, within reason. I get myself a blizzard from DQ, but a small size, and eat it slow. Then log it. I actually had ice cream twice last week - both small sizes, both after burning a couple thousand calories biking.
    4. When I do have the urge to get something sweet, I remind myself how good it feels to wake up the next day knowing I made that good choice.

    Trust me, I am the person who could stop and buy a box of ice cream treats and eat the entire box driving home from work. Or eat 4 donuts when someone brings them to work. Or buys a bag or Oreos and eats the whole thing in one setting. And this can go on for days. So for me to say I “almost” have this under control is no small feat. I guarantee you there were days I wracked up 1000’s of calories in sugar, followed by something salty, followed by something sweet.

    I love @Mrs_Hoffer routine of a long walk on Sunday to get a pint of ice cream. Theresa, will you still be able to do that in the new house? How is your eye?
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,364 Member
    For a long time (years) while On The Way Down The Scale, and weighing / logging was Strong With This One, I didn't have trouble having a defined amount of Bark Thins (dark chocolate pieces with pretzel bits mixed in).

    Lately, the control element has slipped on ALL aspects of weighing / logging. The only saving graces at the moment are :
    • Bark Thins are hard to find these days for some reason
    • Hubby is barely pre-diabetic, so commercial sweets (cookies, chocolate bars etc) just plain don't make the cut to the grocery cart.
    • I'm not much of a baker (apart from using my Breadmaker machine) so there aren't home-made cookies around either.
  • enlightenme3
    enlightenme3 Posts: 2,421 Member
    Eagerly watching this space to see how other people deal with sugar since I'm a bit like @donna25trinity in having more than one sweet treat a night. It generally all fits in my calorie goals, but what it does take away from is my macro goals. Last night was not entirely typical, but I had a serving of ice cream with berries for my dessert. Then, feeling a bit peckish, had a serving and a half of kettle corn (sweetened popcorn). With my evening tea, hmm, a nice square of dark chocolate would go well with that. That was 536 calories in sweet treats out of the 1750 I had allotted for the day. In the before times, I think my sweet consumption would have been double those calories because I was eyeballing portions.

    I recognize that the later I eat dinner, the less dessert I have since I try to finish all of my eating by 8 pm. I also do not have any sweets during the day. I don't eat breakfast, everything I eat for lunch is homemade (so no sugar in salad dressings for example) and I try not to snack in the afternoon.
  • ashleycarole86
    ashleycarole86 Posts: 6,089 Member
    I like sweet and savory treats equally, so my old binges would be on either, and therefore my strategy to manage is more related to my food consumption overall.
    I definitely don't do well with all or nothing, so I am in the camp that builds treats in.
    My discipline comes from not exceeding my caloric budget as a general rule, so whatever I choose to eat within that I'm fine with. However, over time I have generally shifted my choices to healthier options overall so I get more satiety and nutrients out of what I consume.
  • SilverSage1
    SilverSage1 Posts: 54 Member
    Ohhh.. do I have a sweet tooth! My grandfather was a honcho with a giant sugar corporation, and my mother grew up in sugar cane country. I was raised on sugar. I’ve heard many family stories about me putting sugar on things like hamburgers. To this day, I still don’t like cottage cheese without (artificial) sugar on it. Sugar on bread was an after school snack.

    The only way I can manage it is In the grocery store. If I don’t buy it, I don’t eat it. The few times I’ve bought cookies or similar for a specific reason, all my planning goes out the window and I can eat the whole package.

    On top of that, I’m an excellent baker, so I’m always asked to make desserts for every party and gathering of family and friends. I solve that by telling everyone that I can only have a small piece (I don’t want to let others see me fail) and they must keep or take all leftover dessert him with them. If there is something left at my house, it goes to the neighbors even before the dishes are done.

    I know that most folks think we should learn to manage it, but this is a better choice for me. Diabetes runs in my mothers family (surprise!), and before I started to take off the weight, I was pre-diabetic. I REALLY don’t need extra sugar and carbs. I try to satisfy my sweet tooth with fruit.
  • Winner_in_Life
    Winner_in_Life Posts: 955 Member
    3xyes. Day 29 of Epic II + 8.7 run
  • lesdarts180
    lesdarts180 Posts: 2,667 Member
    I'm in the "don't buy it, don't have it in the house" camp. But ... I can keep a packet of biscuits in the cupboard unopened. I do buy good quality dark chocolate and eat it one square at a time, putting it out of sight. I also have mini ice creams in the freezer.
    I'm probably more tempted by savoury snacks, but the same rules apply.
    Even on holiday I'm not having many desserts or ice creams (but I did have a single scoop cornet today)
  • lesdarts180
    lesdarts180 Posts: 2,667 Member
    Today's report: long bike ride, sightseeing, and 2 short swims.
    Didn't track lunch or dinner.
  • Caramel_Apple
    Caramel_Apple Posts: 2,174 Member
    Wednesday

    yes x3
    0/3 pass days used
  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 17,932 Member
    ✅✅✅ 2️⃣ pass days left

    I’m quite determined, once I make my mind up, and I am a bit of a rebel, so having forbidden foods didn’t work for me. I decided early on in my journey that I would factor in small indulgences of my choice.

    It wasn’t long before I began replacing the ‘empty’ calories in favour of nutrient dense treats, or having small, measured portions.

    My biggest ally is my digital food scale. Everything gets weighed, closely followed by daily logging of food and keeping an eye on my macros.

    This is a far cry from my habits before MFP, but the changes happened in small, sustainable steps over time.

    And I don’t beat myself up if I have the occasional blip. I know how to redress the balance.

  • eokoro
    eokoro Posts: 626 Member

    Exercise – yes
    Tracking – yes
    Calories – Yes

    2/3 pass days
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 3,977 Member
    Such a great opener @donna25trinity and such insightful responses. Looking forward to reading more of them tonight when folks post.

    Well done @Caramel_Apple @TerriRichardson112 @Winner_in_Life on your ✅✅✅ reports 🌟🌟🌟

    Champion behaviour reporting in (and during your wonderful holiday) @lesdarts180 So wonderful that you can continue to get so much lovely activity during your vacation! 🏊🏻‍♀️💦💦💦🚲
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 3,977 Member
    @BMcC9 You should be a writer — I was in stitches when I read weighing/logging was “Strong With This One”. So great to see your post and know you are with us.

    P.S Bark Thins are everywhere here (including mega bags at Costco). Have never tried one. Provisions can be sent. 😉
  • snowshoe072
    snowshoe072 Posts: 4,456 Member
    edited May 2022
    OMG do I have a sweet tooth! I got it from my grandma, I am going to take today as a pass due to my over indulgence of mini white chocolate macadamia nut cookies I looked at them in the store but put the “large cookies” back and went around the corner and there were the mini ones just calling out to me! They were sooo good , but I will pay tomorrow.

    I usually avoid sweet sugary foods and was just starting to reduced my daily sugar gram (not today) it’s amazing where it comes from. At this point I usually don’t buy the sweets and that keeps me on the straight and narrow. Today was the second day of not feeling great but well enough to get to the grocery store. That was my downfall. I do try to allow myself one sweet a day that way I can be successful because without some of life’s pleasures it gets boring and unsustainable for me. That sweet may just be a ceral bar or a small piece a dehydrated fruit.

    My only exercise was meditation I gave up logging this afternoon.

    1/3 pass days used
  • ideas2
    ideas2 Posts: 1,221 Member
    ✅ Exercise: 10 minutes weight lifting, 20 minutes swimming
    ✅ Calories
    ✅ Tracked

    0 passdays used ( )

    I manage sweets by not having them in the house, except for plain sugar for brewing kombucha. Even with the kombucha, I have to exercise self control not to have too much, too often. I brew it releatively strong with a ¨bite¨ that keeps me willing to limit it to a few ounces. I found out that my kombucha has about 6 grams of sugar per 3.5 ounces of kombucha-- which is about 1.5 teaspoons. It does not seem to trigger me to think about any other sweets and for now I am willing to accept that as the price for the s. boullardi probiotic yeast and other probiotic bacteria in it--- I think in this case the good outweighs the bad if I keep the portions small.

    I do use allulose, monkfruit or stevia for sweetners in recipes that call for sugar or in my homemade yogurt, but I am dreading the day when they discover something really bad about them like they have about the others. I try to limit them also because of my awareness that just the sweet flavor still can have a negative effect.

    I have tried the ¨one square of dark chocolate¨ thing but just today have accepted the fact that I have not been able to stick to one square. I tried to get at least 88% dark and then I can generally hold it to 2 or 3 squares because I really do not LOVE it without the sweetness. But this week I bought a bar of 72% dark Godiva chocolate and ate half the bar yesterday and half today. What I noticed, both days, was a very intense crazing for it--- couldn´t think about anything else for at least 20 minutes after eating it and wasn´t really satisfied after half the bar. Even that little bit of sugar was enough to put my in full blown addict mode. I decided this is NOT FUN. I have decided that chocolate is something I don´t want in my house either.

    I have been thinking a lot about the relationship between habits, policies, and lifestyles. I have decided I want it to be my habit that I do not buy sweets, instead of a rule (because rules provoke that ¨little rebel¨part of me. So now I am going to work on dropping the habit of occasionally buying chocolate, as I have dropped the habit of buying all other sweets except sugar for kombucha.
  • jmu1965
    jmu1965 Posts: 971 Member
    Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes Pahla B Strength.
    Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes
    Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes

    Put cookies, cake, sweet breads in front of me I will eat them and not usually one. If I don’t take a bite then I am fine. In the past I would buy mini dark chocolate chips to satisfy my craving.
    I am attending a graduation party this weekend. The temptation will be there. I just remembered something I learned when I was on Noom. It’s to plan ahead. I am going to make a plan before I go.
  • GrandmaJackie
    GrandmaJackie Posts: 35,629 Member
    5/18
    Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? 👍🏻
    Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? 👍🏻
    Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? 👍🏻

    (Documenting consistency (if there is a P=instead of number its a Pass Day)
    UAC: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28

    May goals
    1 Miracle Morning ~ S.A.V.E.R.S
    2 Wake up EARLY for meditation
    3 Yoga (5/6 times weekly)
    4. Minimum sweets (work them in my calorie goal)
    5. 30 day squat challenge 6. No late night snacking
    7. Daily journal logging
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 3,977 Member
    Kate - sorry you are not feeling great again today and that the cookies won the battle. Hope they don’t make you feel worse tomorrow and that you start to feel better 💛 Great job on owning it and checking in. 🏆 @snowshoe072
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 3,977 Member
    Super job today @eokoro 🌷 @jmu1965 🌸 @ideas2 🌻 @GrandmaJackie 🌷