Particularly hard times of day, "trigger" situatio

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JD4
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Particularly hard times of day, "trigger" situatio

Post by JD4 » Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:46 am

As we try to instill new habits, especially at the beginning, it can be hard to resist the pull of the old ones. I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds there's a certain time of day when their brain just screams for a snack or a sweet, or certain situations that seem very odd and maybe even uncomfortable without one of the Ses. What are yours, and what are your strategies for dealing with them?

As for me, I'm on week 2 of NoSing and there's something about the late-afternoon-to-just-after-dinner stretch that still makes me crave sweets like nobody's business. I'm not sure if it's particular things I usually do/see around that time (finishing school, walking home past a million places where I could purchase sweets, watching television), the biological late afternoon energy dip, or some combination of the two. But it's been HARD to get through that time of day. The last couple of days I've 'solved' the problem by sleeping through it, since I've also been having sleep issues and can fall asleep pretty much at the drop of a hat. But that's not helpful in the big picture (exacerbates my sleep problems at night). Other than that, my only strategy is to "talk" myself through it (usually silently in my head, but sometimes aloud if I'm home alone :) ), by reminding myself that nothing bad will happen if I don't act on the craving today and I can have whatever I want a few days from now.

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apple
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Post by apple » Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:03 am

From my experience, ignoring it is really the best option. You will survive without sweets.

Or alternatively:
- brush your teeth after your meal
- have a piece of chewing gum
- have a glass of water instead of a snack

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FarmerHal
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Post by FarmerHal » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:13 pm

I agree with apple.

I get stressed in the mid-afternoons after dealing with 2 wired toddlers all day and just a couple hours till dh comes home and "rescues" me LOL. I start to get anxious and wanting to snack! Our kitchen, dining, living and hallway make a circle, so a lot of times I just pace around, around, around and talk myself out of it.

I've gotten very good at ignoring the urge too. I also tell myself I won't die if I don't get a snack (sometimes you feel REALLY desperate about it!), hunger is just a feeling- it's ok to be hungry sometimes and that I'll be able to eat again in a short while at a meal.

A lot of times, it's just being strict with yourself to break away from those old habits.
{FarmerHal} ...previously Shamrockmommy...
Vanilla NoS... Making good habits.
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wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:16 pm

I agree with Apple -- ignore them.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

TingTing
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Post by TingTing » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:45 pm

I had to make yesterday an S day for me. I indulged in food because I was feeling stressed and anxious. Couldn't really pinpoint exactly what was making me so stressed, but I believe allergies have alot to do with it. I was headachy the whole day and I had to do alot of filing. I ended up eating stuff that was fattening and crunchy, something I normally don't do too often. Nighttime was the worst because I couldn't stop grazing through everything! In order to not let the guilt kill me, I've decided officially that yesterday was an S day and I was going to make it all N days for the rest of the week.

I do alot of emotional eating and I need to monitor myself and find a way of curbing these cravings. If anyone has any good ideas of how to overcome emotional eating, please share! :)

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FarmerHal
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Post by FarmerHal » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:53 pm

TingTing wrote: I do alot of emotional eating and I need to monitor myself and find a way of curbing these cravings. If anyone has any good ideas of how to overcome emotional eating, please share! :)
Well you are talking to the world's biggest emotional eater!! To be honest, I posted a LOT on the bulletin board with my questions, very similar to yours.

I had to realize that
EATING sweets (chocolate, cookie dough), snacks (usually an entire box of crackers), hitting the drive-thru (fries!) would NOT change my emotions/situation. Sure, the pleasure of eating the food stopped me thinking about my sadness, lonliness, frustration, etc. But once that last bite was gone, that emotional mess was still there staring me in the face but now I got to add GUILT for eating so much food that I didn't need.

Now I acknowledge the feeling. Sometimes I say it outloud- my teeth are in terrible shape and that's often an emotional trigger "I"M SO UPSET ABOUT MY STOOPID TEETH!!" , as is the noise and stress that my 2 very active toddlers bring "MOMMY IS GETTING GRUMPY!" I try to get outside, distract myself, call a friend or email/IM someone and just talk.

It has really helped but it's been oh, like a year and ahalf now on noS for me and I'm finally getting through to myself that eating will not solve an emotional/stress issue. Soemtimes I do have to repeat that over and over to myself.

Hang in there. Don't be afraid to be stubborn with your emotional eating- remind yourself that eating (while it feels good temporarily) only adds more emotion (guilt!) and doesn't solve the original issue anyway.

:)
{FarmerHal} ...previously Shamrockmommy...
Vanilla NoS... Making good habits.
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blueskighs
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Post by blueskighs » Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:25 pm

JD4,

i can get this too, for me i think it can be emotional... stress! the day is moving towards ending I may still have tons of stuff I think I am supposed to be doing and realizing I won't get it all done too... so sometimes I just have to acknowledge you know whatever, disappointment, frustration, and that its just a part of life ... don't want to cook dinner ... AGAIN :lol:

anyway, the pay off is realizing we don't die when we bypass those urges and then the ability to resist gets stronger ... and something we can trust,

Blueskighs
www.nosdiet.blogspot.com Where I blog daily about my No S journey

kccc
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Post by kccc » Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:26 am

Reinhart's chapter or podcast on "strictness" was very helpful to me on that. Late afternoon is still a hard time some days. I chew gum after I get home, or drink hot tea, or try to find an activity (I've learned to knit since taking up No-S).

Sometimes I journal - I have imaginary conversations between the part of me that waaaants to eat and the more rational part that knows it doesn't really help. They're usually funny, and help me listen better to the smarter part of myself.

Good luck. Re-training yourself is hard. But you can do hard things. :)

inspired
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To get you through...

Post by inspired » Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:42 am

I'm in my second week of No S'ing, and I've found it helpful to bring to work a mini-can of V8 tomato juice for just such afternoon craving emergencies. As a beverage it doesn't count as an "S", and it doesn't have sugar or other triggers so I find it satisfying by itself.

Maybe it will work for you too.

JD4
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Post by JD4 » Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:37 am

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

KCCC, I'll have to check out that podcast. I haven't listened to any of them yet, but it sounds useful.

I hope eventually I can just ignore my cravings and triggers, but right now I find they need a little more active management. There really is a part of my brain that sometimes seriously seems to think not having a snack is a matter of life and death! A lot of the alternatives people have mentioned definitely sound worth a try.

CrazyCatLady
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Post by CrazyCatLady » Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:42 am

I had trouble today with manuvering around lots of chocolate at work. By the time I got home, I was famished. And I am so used to munching as I fix dinner....so as I chopped up a fresh cabbage to make cole slaw, it was difficult to eat a few bits!

I made it through, but after dinner I was seriously craving. Having dodged it all day, I decided to have a glass of chocolate milk. Now I don't feel deprived, I feel successful!

I don't think that it is always good to give in to emotional cravings. Obviously, since I just ate dinner, I am not "hungry". But I think that for me, it is better to sometimes give in and substitute an acceptable drink for the snack craving. (I more often use hot cocoa or white milk....but really needed the small squirt of chocolate tonight!) Many times, just knowing that the option is there helps me put if off.

Hope we all can find our way past the cravings!

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