Anyone have tips on how to ignore temptations of junk food?

llmayle wrote: »

I am addicted to sugar. I should not have it in the house, however, I have a husband who wants his ice cream and sugary snacks. I tell him to hide it so I don't know where it is. You know what? My nose finds it! LOL!

My addiction is real. For this new year, I am working on two things. #1 For my addiction to sugar, I tell myself many times a day - when I'm tempted - that eating those treats is feeding my addiction. I need to overcome that. It's 4 days in to the new year and I'm not perfect, but getting better. I went shopping and bought fruit, veggies, protein items, and made some homemade hummus. No preservatives if I can help it. Tracking my food on MFP is helping with portion sizes. #2 2024 is for my self care. I haven't taken care of me for a long time. I used to be a runner, so I signed up for a half marathon in October. (A 5k or 10k would have been easier but what the heck! Just go for it!) It's been awhile, so now I remind myself that I'm "in training." I have something to work towards. I need to focus on how I took care of myself back in the day. So far, so good. I have exercised every day. Instead of focusing on food, I am focusing on exercise, not only by doing, but also by reading and educating myself about how this will help me to have a better quality of life. And last, but not least, Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!

Thanks to all who post. Your comments are helpful in knowing that I'm not on my own in this journey.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever had a time in your life where you didn’t punish yourself for having sugar or have you always told yourself- No! Bad! Addiction!

Have healthier versions of your favourite foods. If you like potato chips, have popcorn instead and try different low calorie seasonings. I have a salt and vinegar salt I add to mine with some cooking spray to make it stick. I was really craving a chocolate muffin a few weeks ago and I randomly found a recipe for a low calorie double chocolate microwave muffin that used dates, oats, egg, sugar free chocolate and banana instead of flour and sugar, topped with strawberries and yoghurt. It's healthy enough that I can have one everyday and it was satisfy the craving. It's great to go out and see something I want, but say no because I can go home and have something similar at home that has less calories, is good for me and potentially tastes better.

ddsb1111 wrote: »

llmayle wrote: »

I am addicted to sugar. I should not have it in the house, however, I have a husband who wants his ice cream and sugary snacks. I tell him to hide it so I don't know where it is. You know what? My nose finds it! LOL!

My addiction is real. For this new year, I am working on two things. #1 For my addiction to sugar, I tell myself many times a day - when I'm tempted - that eating those treats is feeding my addiction. I need to overcome that. It's 4 days in to the new year and I'm not perfect, but getting better. I went shopping and bought fruit, veggies, protein items, and made some homemade hummus. No preservatives if I can help it. Tracking my food on MFP is helping with portion sizes. #2 2024 is for my self care. I haven't taken care of me for a long time. I used to be a runner, so I signed up for a half marathon in October. (A 5k or 10k would have been easier but what the heck! Just go for it!) It's been awhile, so now I remind myself that I'm "in training." I have something to work towards. I need to focus on how I took care of myself back in the day. So far, so good. I have exercised every day. Instead of focusing on food, I am focusing on exercise, not only by doing, but also by reading and educating myself about how this will help me to have a better quality of life. And last, but not least, Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!

Thanks to all who post. Your comments are helpful in knowing that I'm not on my own in this journey.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever had a time in your life where you didn’t punish yourself for having sugar or have you always told yourself- No! Bad! Addiction!

The general "we" should be concerned about excess added sugar. It's contributing significantly to making us sick and fat



Full article: https://www.healthyfoodamerica.org/sugartoolkit_overview#:~:text=More than half of Americans,percent of their total calories.

Theoldguy1 wrote: »

llmayle wrote: »

I am addicted to sugar. I should not have it in the house, however, I have a husband who wants his ice cream and sugary snacks. I tell him to hide it so I don't know where it is. You know what? My nose finds it! LOL!

My addiction is real. For this new year, I am working on two things. #1 For my addiction to sugar, I tell myself many times a day - when I'm tempted - that eating those treats is feeding my addiction. I need to overcome that. It's 4 days in to the new year and I'm not perfect, but getting better. I went shopping and bought fruit, veggies, protein items, and made some homemade hummus. No preservatives if I can help it. Tracking my food on MFP is helping with portion sizes. #2 2024 is for my self care. I haven't taken care of me for a long time. I used to be a runner, so I signed up for a half marathon in October. (A 5k or 10k would have been easier but what the heck! Just go for it!) It's been awhile, so now I remind myself that I'm "in training." I have something to work towards. I need to focus on how I took care of myself back in the day. So far, so good. I have exercised every day. Instead of focusing on food, I am focusing on exercise, not only by doing, but also by reading and educating myself about how this will help me to have a better quality of life. And last, but not least, Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!

Thanks to all who post. Your comments are helpful in knowing that I'm not on my own in this journey.

Good for you for recognizing an issue an taking action. Some may challenge the idea of a sugar "addiction" since an addiction to sugar isn't an official diagnosis (at this point). Consider it a dependency as noted in the article from the Cleveland Clinic.


From the article linked below:
Plenty of people have a sweet tooth, so how do you know if you’re addicted to sugar? Is there an invisible threshold that you cross between cookie number one and cookie number two?

You can’t be diagnosed with a sugar addiction, at least not yet. But self-reflection and an honest conversation with a healthcare provider is the best way to start to get a handle on the issue.

According to Czerwony, the key features of sugar addiction are volume, frequency and feelings.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do you feel like you don’t have control over how much sugar you eat?
Do you think about sugar all day?
Are you eating sugar throughout the day, or do you feel that you’re eating more sugar than you should?
Are you eating so much sugar that you’re making yourself sick to your stomach?
Do you eat sugary foods you don’t even like, just to get a boost?
If you’re answering “yes,” chances are you are dealing with dependency.

It’s even more likely if you’re attempting to get or stay sober in other areas of your life. “People that have struggled with an addiction to alcohol, for example, will often turn to sweets to replace it,” Czerwony notes. “So, sugar addiction really is a chemical imbalance.”

Nice article from the Cleveland Clinic:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-stop-sugar-cravings

Boy oh boy oh boy was this me.

Except:

Is there an invisible threshold that you cross between cookie number one and cookie number two?

For me, it wasn’t “cookie number one”, it was package of cookies numbers one, two, three.

Per day.

Yeah, I went cold turkey. For some of us, getting it out of the house til we’re in a position to be able to control ourselves is pretty much the only route.

I can control myself now, with care. I just had a big gingersnap s’more cookie from the local coffee shop, and have scratched all remaining afternoon snacks to clear space, and accepted that my deficit won’t be as large as I’d like at the end of the day tonight.

If I had dabbled at the beginning and “permitted myself” sweets at the beginning, it would have been game over in hours after cleaning the pantry. I had to have that break from sweets to retrain my tastebuds to appreciate fruits, popcorn etc etc. Even sugar free products, which tasted horrible at the beginning, now taste better.

I’ve always had a sweet tooth…but as I’ve gotten older…it’s changed
I have had chocolate over Christmas but in moderation.Rather than have a massive bar of cadburys dairy milk I’ve had one or two heroes or celebrations here or there

I agree with the other posters, don’t buy them or avoid them aisles in the supermarkets
Obviously it’s hard when you got kids who love sweets and chocolates…and you want to buy them some.

There are however low calorie things
I love cheesecake so I went onto the internet and found some lower calorie recipes.I don’t make a habit of eating it everyday now.

I’ve had mini cornettos 57 calories they are called majestics here

I wouldn’t cut it totally out of your diet thou.We are all entitled to a treat now and then.don’t feel bad for having one if you give it up entirely…you will either feel like you can never have the stuff you like or you will end up sort of comfort eating one day and put weight back on

It’s all about moderation x

Lildarlinz wrote: »

I’ve always had a sweet tooth…but as I’ve gotten older…it’s changed
I have had chocolate over Christmas but in moderation.Rather than have a massive bar of cadburys dairy milk I’ve had one or two heroes or celebrations here or there

I agree with the other posters, don’t buy them or avoid them aisles in the supermarkets
Obviously it’s hard when you got kids who love sweets and chocolates…and you want to buy them some.

There are however low calorie things
I love cheesecake so I went onto the internet and found some lower calorie recipes.I don’t make a habit of eating it everyday now.

I’ve had mini cornettos 57 calories they are called majestics here

I wouldn’t cut it totally out of your diet thou.We are all entitled to a treat now and then.don’t feel bad for having one if you give it up entirely…you will either feel like you can never have the stuff you like or you will end up sort of comfort eating one day and put weight back on

It’s all about moderation x

To be honest most kids don't need a bunch of sugar either.

Theoldguy1 wrote: »

Lildarlinz wrote: »

I’ve always had a sweet tooth…but as I’ve gotten older…it’s changed
I have had chocolate over Christmas but in moderation.Rather than have a massive bar of cadburys dairy milk I’ve had one or two heroes or celebrations here or there

I agree with the other posters, don’t buy them or avoid them aisles in the supermarkets
Obviously it’s hard when you got kids who love sweets and chocolates…and you want to buy them some.

There are however low calorie things
I love cheesecake so I went onto the internet and found some lower calorie recipes.I don’t make a habit of eating it everyday now.

I’ve had mini cornettos 57 calories they are called majestics here

I wouldn’t cut it totally out of your diet thou.We are all entitled to a treat now and then.don’t feel bad for having one if you give it up entirely…you will either feel like you can never have the stuff you like or you will end up sort of comfort eating one day and put weight back on

It’s all about moderation x

To be honest most kids don't need a bunch of sugar either.

For sure.

Habits formed during childhood can stick into adulthood. Instead, help them learn good nutrition. Help them learn how to cook.

Chocolate as something we eat is actually a fairly recent invention - not much more than 150 years old. Cacao was used for thousands of years. Cacao beans used to be used as money. Most likely the Olmecs, and for sure the Inca, Maya, and Aztecs used cacao as a beverage. It was mostly reserved for the elite classes. Only in modern times was the process discovered to create cocoa powder or even chocolate liquor that could be processed into chocolate bars and eventually confectioneries. Chocolate didn't used to be so sweet. On its own, it's quite bitter. It is still considered a special treat. It only became a treat for children in VERY recent times. In fact, the very first chocolate Easter eggs were very special confectioneries that were created for adults, not children.

But that doesn't really have anything to do with avoiding "junk" food. Chocolate, or more specifically cacao, is by no means junk. It can be processed into a food that should be enjoyed only in moderation. The tree that we get chocolate from is called Theobroma cacao. Theobroma is Latin for "Food of the Gods." How could that be junk?

@loulee997

Salty crunchy things are my kryptonite as well. Not my addiction, but my willpower is weaker with them, especially kettle chips. There's a few others that rise near the top, but reduced-salt or even no-salt kettle cooked potato chips spin my buttons.

For the longest time, my only fix was to just not even look at them in the store. Eventually I was able to walk down the aisle, look at the bags, look at the nutrition label, and put them back on the shelf. One flavor after another. I'd still go home without any.

Eventually I got brave enough to bring some home. For a while I would weigh out two ounces. One serving is one ounce, but they're potato chips for goodness sake, and nobody can eat just one. I often would run into a problem - I would go weigh out another ounce or two. I could usually avoid eating the whole bag. I'd still eat half.

Then eventually I realized I could weigh out my 56 grams, then cut the top of the bag very straight with a scissors and reseal the bag with my vacuum sealer on gentle mode. I'd then put them back in the cupboard. The only problem was that I actually know how to reopen the bag, and I'd often go back for more anyway. I'm better sometimes than others.

I will probably buy a bag some time this month. I still like to think about them and then leave them in the store. My willpower is stronger there because the bag isn't open yet, and I don't own it. I think about all the other delicious things I could eat for the same calories. Sometimes I think about really good cheese, and I put the chips back on the shelf and get some brie and crackers. Yeah - another kryptonite, but maybe not as bad. I bought some brie with mushrooms and some crackers on Tuesday, and I still haven't opened them. I took the brie out last evening to warm to room temperature, but I ended up putting it back in the fridge. I took it back out this afternoon. It might be on the menu today. I have room for it since I took a nice hike, and I finished the cornbread I made on New Years Day yesterday.

I started dieting at 9. It wasn’t until I turned 27 that I wanted to really do things the healthy way, you know, mentally and physically. No more quick diets, pills, binging, and starving. No more words like “forbidden”, “bad”, or “cheating”.

When I started my journey to heal my relationship with food it wasn’t easy. I was still quite terrified of certain foods for a while. I had to keep trigger food out of the house for about a year so I wouldn’t binge, but I knew nothing was forbidden. I started with single servings, just to get used to the idea of eating certain things without shame or guilt. Eventually I realized I wasn’t addicted at all. I was just living under ridiculous restrictions and expectations for too long. Now those foods have absolutely no power over me.

Looking back, it reminds me of a really toxic relationship. I left the belief systems that weren’t serving me, and I found a healthy way of living for the rest of my life. We need to be careful what we tell ourselves, we just might believe it. And that belief system can make you stuck, or can set you free.

Guess I’m having cocoa-coffee in a minute. (I was already in the mood for a second cup,which I seldom do, thanks to a friend).

mtaratoot wrote: »

Habits formed during childhood can stick into adulthood. Instead, help them learn good nutrition. Help them learn how to cook.

My grandmother raised four kids by herself, and they were often forced to rely on the charity of others, so my mother grew up hungry. Sweets were an unattainable luxury for her, and when she got married she cut loose.

We always had a hall closet full of junk food in the house, and canned veggies were the rule for dinner. We ate junk food nonstop, had no room for sad little canned veggies.

I didn’t know better and did the same when I raised my kids.

My daughter is raising my granddaughter exactly opposite. She gets offered everything from fresh fruits to sauerkraut (which this child adores btw). The rare occasion she’s offered sweets, they’re offered with something else. Watching her reach for the avocado instead of a peice of candy, or a soft pretzel instead of a Christmas cookie, simply boggles my mind. Her favorite foods in the world is simple frozen banana ice cream and bao buns.

I wish wish wish I’d had the knowledge or experience or whatever it took to do that for mine when they were toddlers. It makes me sad that I disgusted both my kids so bad with my utter gluttony that they both revolt at the thought of junk food.

Or maybe it was a good thing? The same reason I don’t care to drink, by watching others do it to excess?