Everyday Systems

I have been thinking I would like to make food choices based on what I want rather than the foods that are immediately nearby (at this time of year all the sweets and treats). The food I can see (or I know is in the cupboard) strongly influences my food choices (I think about it because it is there).

I started to think of Wegner and his white bear experiment. It has me considering that maybe I should go against all diet advice and stock up on the foods I love!

I wonder if I could practice moderation under those circumstances.

i grew up not having a stock of sweets/treats around... we had to go and get them... it was part of the pleasure... and also moderation...

even having children doesnt make it a must to have a cupboard of sweets, that is such a nonsense 1st world countries are living with for the past few decades... we have a drawer for sweets when we buy them or get them as gifts but it is never full and most of the time it is actually empty... my son "cleans" it out and then he can have sweets by going to buy them for himself or i ask him if he would like something when im going to the shop... one (max.two) sweet items...
sweets are everywhere in our society so it is rare that a day passes that he still doesnt get a sweet treat... really rare... if the sweet drawer was always full that would for sure become a problem, one way or another... or take a lot of energy to control the sweets consumption...

i always have popcorn and jam (preferably homemade) at home... but they actually have to be prepared so no impulsive open-the-bag-and-stuff-yourself situations are possible often...

Not a good idea in my opinion. Do Alcoholics Anonymous tell people on their 12-step program to stock up at the liquor store?

The main difference is alcoholics practice abstinence which is not possible with food. I want to eat the foods I enjoy.

kaalii I also grew up in a household without treats. My partner usually has ice cream in the freezer, but in our household that is usually all we have in stock. Well..... until Christmas time. Then at work we have hampers, chocolates and various sweets given to us from sales reps. I actually have not eaten much from the xmas haul in the past (we end up sharing it with our customers).

Ironic rebound is an interesting phenomenon. Would it really be harder for me to eat food I love in moderation than eating the food given to me in moderation (food which would not be my first choice for treats)?

Brian Wansink has done tons of research on this and the verdict is have as little of what you really don't want to eat around as possible. Store the items you want to eat less of inconveniently. Have the lighter foods on display- fruit on the counter, lighter foods visible in the fridge, heavier foods in opaque containers, etc.

I fell for the anti-diet theories about giving full permission for food AND having it around for decades and never mastered it. I don't want to tell you how many whole recipes of brownies got eaten out of the bowl because I was supposed to give myself permission to eat what I wanted. I finally gave myself permission NOT to stock food I don't have much room for anyway.

Even in zones that were traditionally slim and healthy, where no one ever actually dieted, when modern foods come in, people eat them, get heavier, and suffer health consequences. It happens over and over.

Just have the white bears at three meals a day...as long as they aren't sweet.

I've gotten so much better with being able to have things around SLOWLY with No S over the past 10 months, but it's because I've gotten used to no seconds. I still can't say "have as much as you want". It's a very controled, have the 1 brownie & than NO SECONDS. I haven't been perfect, there was a night with a darn oversized piece of cheesecake my darn girlfriend sent me home with after her dinner party that I failed against (: But good enough that I'm really happy with how far I have come. Before No S I couldn't bake cookies with my daughter because I didn't have control over anything homemade. It's nice to have learned some skills to make it so I can behave normally around those things now (:

My biggest problem is always food related to mood. I find it easy to resist foods in the house when I am feeling focused, busy and happy. I say resist I don't really think about it. If I hit a low, feel lonely, bored or stressed then I will eat what is available and my head/brain will seek out and just eat what ever is available, Eaten some crazy things when in these moods. I was trying to consider all the posts above and think about the foods I have in. I know when I plan meals and eat really lovely food that I enjoy then I am less likely to binge. So for me it is about planning and preparation.

Brocky wrote:My biggest problem is always food related to mood. I find it easy to resist foods in the house when I am feeling focused, busy and happy. I say resist I don't really think about it. If I hit a low, feel lonely, bored or stressed then I will eat what is available and my head/brain will seek out and just eat what ever is available, Eaten some crazy things when in these moods. I was trying to consider all the posts above and think about the foods I have in. I know when I plan meals and eat really lovely food that I enjoy then I am less likely to binge. So for me it is about planning and preparation.

Brocky that is exactly what happens with me. I had my first fail this week on Weds. I was feeling low, tired, and then had some unexpected bad news and just lost it. I didn't even care what I was stuffing in my mouth, I just needed to EAT! Well, obviously I didn't NEED to, but that was what I thought the answer was at that point in time.
However, the positive is that this is the first time in 2 months that this has happened, and that is all thanks to NoS. i have never felt this in control for so long before. And because NoS is so forgiving, I was straight back on it yesterday rather than just giving up.

I wasn't familiar with the White Bear problem and had to look it up, and I'm not sure of the application here so I can't adequately address that. I do know without a doubt that for me there are some foods I cannot keep in the house because I will eat them without stopping. It just makes sense not to have them around. Fortunately, after a year on No S, the list of foods I can't keep around is dwindling. I don't think anyone can be completely free and easy with all foods, at least not over an entire lifetime. What does help is to identify foods that are tasty and consistent with No S and keep them stocked and easily reached. Also as others have said, it helps to plan so you can look forward to delicious meals.