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XP: How do you become un-addicted to junk food?
I freaking love junk food. I'll do really well for a week or a few
weeks eating healthy, then I'll say screw it and, like today, I'll eat
4 cupcakes. I want to train my body not to crave that crap. How do I
do that?
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Re: XP: How do you become un-addicted to junk food?
Keep it out of the house. I don't want my child to each junk food either and she doesn't need to know it exists so I just keep it out. I buy 100 calorie packs or fat free ice cream for a treat but I don't keep other junk around.
- LH
I can't keep it in the house. I make myself have to go out to get it. Chocolate is my main vice, followed by cookies. If I'm giving it up completely, after I make it a week or so, I lose the craving. Also, have on hand a lot of other options, like apples with peanut butter, graham crackers, etc. If you have to bring food to an event, try to bring something that's healthy or healthier, get others to take a little of the leftovers home with them, or just throw whats left away.
I used to be better about this, but I would have organic granola bars or nuts stashed in my bag if I got hungry while out.
Lately I've been trying to confine my sweet tooth to the weekend, but fell off the wagon the past couple of weeks.
Next time you make cupcakes, only frost/decorate the number that you want to bring. Just make 1/2 batch if possible... if not, keep the rest (unfrosted) in the freezer. Then if you want a little snack later (without bingeing on 4...) you can just pop one in the microwave.
I've pretty much stopped baking to avoid "leftovers"...
Also, I saw 100 calorie packs of almonds the other day at the grocery store. Those might curb your sweet tooth a little?
Honestly, I'm struggling with the same thing. I've been trying to track all of my food intake on daily plate, and trying to stay within a certain calorie range... which, essentially means cutting down on the junk. It's hard, though!
It's not the junk food you are craving... it's just something sweet. So *if* you are really hungry (and that's another key point, only eat if you are hungry) replace it with fruit. I am guilty of the candy-at-the-grocery store trick... and I used to always just grab a milky way or whatever at the checkout line. Now I drag myself to the "supplement/diet" aisle, where they keep all the protein bars, and find the lowest calorie one (they usually have 100 calorie bars, or kids Z-bars, which are about 120 calories). Those are GOOD, and they kill my craving for the junk. You also need to put more thought behind what you are eating... it sounds like the eating 4 cupcakes in a row was just sort of mindless. For me to give up sweets, it has to be a conscious decision that I remind myself WHY I'm giving it up, constantly. But I let myself still have a piece or two every once in a while, so that I'm not depriving myself. Candy isn't the devil.... but having it every day or multiple times a day is! Just learn to control your portions and find lower calorie replacements if you are really hungry
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keep it out of the house
when you go out, do you take healthy snacks for DD? take some for you too, so that you don't end up buying a "bad" snack, this will also save you $$
I have never figured this one out. Like PP, I don't keep junk food in the house. However, when it's offered at a party or a friend's house, I go crazy and eat way too much. I guess I just try to keep it out of my reach most of the time but I do allow myself to eat it occasionally. And I don't beat myself up if I over do it.
I agree with other posts regarding trying to keep healthy snacks around. For example, I bring a sliced apple to work most days so that when I get hungry, I don't go to the vending machine.
Bottom line - for me it's an ongoing battle and I just do the best I can.
If you know you're going to be out and get hungry, bring healthy snacks with you - string cheese, apples, a bag of mixed nuts, a protein bar (Luna bars are pretty sweet and might satisfy your craving).
You can make exceptions every so often without "reversing" your good work! But as pp mentioned, it's about portion control - one cupcake might not be a big deal; four definitely is. Planning ahead also helps - of you know you're going to be going to a party and eating junk, make sure to eat extra healthy the rest of the week. Keeping track of your calories helps keep everything in perspective,.
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
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What if you allowed yourself something smaller everyday? I always found that telling myself "NO" and not eating something felt like being punished. Eventually I would go buy a box of oreos and do some major damage. So I started getting fudge pops (generally between 40 and 100 calories), or Skinny Cow ice creams, and allowing myself one after dinner everyday. It was easier to say no to the other temptations throughout the day, because I knew it wasn't just NO, it was save it for later. Eventually, I didn't even want the ice cream everyday, but if I did, that was OK, too.
Good Luck!
Other than keeping it out of the house, i only have 2 things that work for me and both require time. One is to work out - somehow when I am exercising regularly I just don't want to ingest the extra calories. I used to always drink regular soda but cut it out when working out because it seemed like so many wasted calories when I could just get iced tea.
My second strategy worked during my first pregnancy when my initial glucose tolerance test came back borderline and our birth class instructor told me I was eating fruit too much (it was a little excessive, I totally craved fresh fruit every day and kept a big bowl of cut up fruit at my desk). I replaced the fruit with veggie bags. Once a week I would buy some peppers, baby carrots and celery, cut it all up, divide into bags for the week and take that to snack on.
PPs all have great ideas. I do have two other strategies to add to the mix for when you are out. Only eat things that are worth it. I love chocolate chip cookies and very fudgey brownies. If I am at a party where there are peanut butter cookies, pumpkin pie and fudgey brownies - I give myself a brownie and then walk away. I don't really enjoy the others the same way. I get what I want and nothing more.
The other strategy I have for work and parties is to just wait out the bad food. If I know I am not going to be able to stop munching chips or eating cheese once I start, I just don't start to much later in the event. That really minimizs the amount of damage I can do.