Control
Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
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oconnor_m2000
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2008 4:27 pm
Control
I am having issues regarding control of eating sweets and snacking. Does anyone have any advice. Tomorrow I am going to leave money at home so hopefully that will give me a better start.
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oliviamanda
- Posts: 299
- Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:11 pm
- Location: South Jersey, NJ
Well, leaving your money at home is a good start! I find it easier when it is not available to me. Most of the time I will not buy a sweet or snack on an N day, but the hardest thing is when its coming at you beyond your control... and then when you say no to it, it's like a triumph! Give yourself kudos every time you pass up the temptation.
Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.--- Mark Twain
Allow yourself really big firsts until you get those "mealing" habits down.
That way you'll be less hungry between meals and you'll have incentive to hold out (because you know your next meal is going to be legitimately substantial).
Every day you successful resist snacks and sweets it will get easier. Habit will start to kick in. You'll need less self control to resist. At some point "resist" will be the wrong word -- it'll seem strange to go off habit. Kind of like you (I hope!) aren't tempted to shoplift even if you see something you really wouldn't mind having without paying for it.
When you feel you've got the snacking and sweets under control, then maybe take a look at the size of those firsts. My bet is you won't have to consciously do anything about them -- the "visual pressure" of those big plates is going to gradually and unconsciously whittle them down do size. An enormous plate just doesn't look good, and over the long haul, that's usually sufficient disincentive (particularly if you're eating with others).
Reinhard
That way you'll be less hungry between meals and you'll have incentive to hold out (because you know your next meal is going to be legitimately substantial).
Every day you successful resist snacks and sweets it will get easier. Habit will start to kick in. You'll need less self control to resist. At some point "resist" will be the wrong word -- it'll seem strange to go off habit. Kind of like you (I hope!) aren't tempted to shoplift even if you see something you really wouldn't mind having without paying for it.
When you feel you've got the snacking and sweets under control, then maybe take a look at the size of those firsts. My bet is you won't have to consciously do anything about them -- the "visual pressure" of those big plates is going to gradually and unconsciously whittle them down do size. An enormous plate just doesn't look good, and over the long haul, that's usually sufficient disincentive (particularly if you're eating with others).
Reinhard
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lelovelady
- Posts: 55
- Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:30 pm
- Location: Dallas, TX
Yeah, and hide the ones you have at home. Leaving a snack in its normal spot got me last night, as a habit I thought I'd broken snuck up on me when I was preoccupied. I'd grabbed the yogurt pretzels left over from the weekend and started munching on them before my concious mind woke up and said "Yo! Dumbhead!" I didn't wreck myself completely, as far as calories go, because I'd been really good yesterday, but I did wreck a very nice green streak.reinhard wrote:Every day you successful resist snacks and sweets it will get easier. Habit will start to kick in. You'll need less self control to resist. At some point "resist" will be the wrong word -- it'll seem strange to go off habit. Kind of like you (I hope!) aren't tempted to shoplift even if you see something you really wouldn't mind having without paying for it.
Reinhard
So, if you used to normally have certain things for snacks at certain times (like when watching TV or reading), do yourself a favor and make it just a little harder to get to them, so you have to actually think about what you're doing, and habit can't just ambush you.
Good luck!
Laura L.
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clarinetgal
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- Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 4:16 am
- Location: Western Washington State
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Too solid flesh
- Posts: 639
- Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:22 pm
- Location: England
As lelovelady says, avoiding habitual behaviour helps. Substituting new habits can be useful (I rub hand cream into my hands and nails when watching television, instead of eating).lelovelady wrote:So, if you used to normally have certain things for snacks at certain times (like when watching TV or reading), do yourself a favor and make it just a little harder to get to them, so you have to actually think about what you're doing, and habit can't just ambush you.
I've read of people altering their usual routes, eg going the long way home from work in order to avoid going past their favourite source of doughnuts. Once the habit is broken, the lure of the old habit does not even register.
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oconnor_m2000
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2008 4:27 pm
Congrats on your first day!
Strategies...
- Create an "S-friendly" environment. No candy jars or snacks sitting out...put food away in the pantry. Keep meal-foods on hand, and eliminate the junk.
- For S-days, plan ahead! Don't bother with "cheap junk that does nothing for you." Find something WONDERFUL (maybe that you used to not allow yourself?) to have. Quality will push out quantity over time.
- While you're establishing habit, be generous on your meals. Over time, they'll level out, but you need to combat those initial feelings of deprivation. (But don't be bummed if you don't lose weight during this period - the goal is first to establish habit.)
- Use the habitcal! It's inspiring to see a record of accomplishment.
- Above all, be gentle with yourself. Use encouraging language instead of "beating yourself up." If you've been used to rewarding/comforting yourself with food, look for non-food ways to do that instead. (Bubble baths? Flowers? New books or craft supplies? Whatever makes you happy.)
Best wishes!
Strategies...
- Create an "S-friendly" environment. No candy jars or snacks sitting out...put food away in the pantry. Keep meal-foods on hand, and eliminate the junk.
- For S-days, plan ahead! Don't bother with "cheap junk that does nothing for you." Find something WONDERFUL (maybe that you used to not allow yourself?) to have. Quality will push out quantity over time.
- While you're establishing habit, be generous on your meals. Over time, they'll level out, but you need to combat those initial feelings of deprivation. (But don't be bummed if you don't lose weight during this period - the goal is first to establish habit.)
- Use the habitcal! It's inspiring to see a record of accomplishment.
- Above all, be gentle with yourself. Use encouraging language instead of "beating yourself up." If you've been used to rewarding/comforting yourself with food, look for non-food ways to do that instead. (Bubble baths? Flowers? New books or craft supplies? Whatever makes you happy.)
Best wishes!
I agree with what KCCC said. I'm also going to invoke Michael Pollan's Food Rule #39: Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself..
Or, at least buy quality stuff. I found this on a blog this morning: "I've cut out snacking between meals and I also don't eat candy of any kind anymore. If I want something sweet I want it to be worth it - a decadent cookie, an ice cream cone in summer, that sort of thing. Rarely is candy ever 'worth it.'"
I have to say I disagree about the candy, but generally it does have to be the good stuff. I succumb to the call of Snicker's, Reese's Peanut Butter Cuips, Almond Joy and a couple of others now and then. But I'd much rather pay $4 for a tiny bag of some fantastic almond toffee than buy (and eat!) the cheap stuff.
This applies to other foods as well. I'd much rather go to my favorite little cafe now and then and have one of their cheeseburgers than have one from McDonald's. If I can't have something "good", I'd rather not eat it.
Go for quality over quantity.
Or, at least buy quality stuff. I found this on a blog this morning: "I've cut out snacking between meals and I also don't eat candy of any kind anymore. If I want something sweet I want it to be worth it - a decadent cookie, an ice cream cone in summer, that sort of thing. Rarely is candy ever 'worth it.'"
I have to say I disagree about the candy, but generally it does have to be the good stuff. I succumb to the call of Snicker's, Reese's Peanut Butter Cuips, Almond Joy and a couple of others now and then. But I'd much rather pay $4 for a tiny bag of some fantastic almond toffee than buy (and eat!) the cheap stuff.
This applies to other foods as well. I'd much rather go to my favorite little cafe now and then and have one of their cheeseburgers than have one from McDonald's. If I can't have something "good", I'd rather not eat it.
Go for quality over quantity.
"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."
"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."
Make sure on S-days that you allow yourself to taste some of the "good stuff". Sometimes getting used to a higher quality can help you avoid the cheap stuff easier. This has really helped me avoid eating the treats I buy for my kids, and I am actually buying those less and less (to my kids' disappointment lol).
If there is a certain place where you always find yourself grabbing those cheap sweets, change how you shop. I have associated certain treats with certain establishments, so every time I went there I automatically grabbed that item. Sometimes it was just a matter of being determined to avoid a certain aisle, but sometimes I had to change where I shopped. I know it isn't always practical to go somewhere different, but it helped me to change my routine and avoid some of the stronger temptations.
I had a hard time with some foods. What worked to some extent was substitution. I would get something but it couldn't be my "usual". It seemed to work best if I combined this with shopping somewhere different so I wasn't always familiar with the layout of the establishment. Sometimes in the quest to find a replacement, I talked myself out of buying anything.
I am still working on my own habits (I just had a really long streak of red days), but despite that I have managed to change the way I think about food. I broke my addiction to soda, I no longer eat all of my kids' snack foods, I still have candy left over from Christmas! The longer you do it the easier it gets (even if you don't do it perfectly).
Good Luck!
If there is a certain place where you always find yourself grabbing those cheap sweets, change how you shop. I have associated certain treats with certain establishments, so every time I went there I automatically grabbed that item. Sometimes it was just a matter of being determined to avoid a certain aisle, but sometimes I had to change where I shopped. I know it isn't always practical to go somewhere different, but it helped me to change my routine and avoid some of the stronger temptations.
I had a hard time with some foods. What worked to some extent was substitution. I would get something but it couldn't be my "usual". It seemed to work best if I combined this with shopping somewhere different so I wasn't always familiar with the layout of the establishment. Sometimes in the quest to find a replacement, I talked myself out of buying anything.
I am still working on my own habits (I just had a really long streak of red days), but despite that I have managed to change the way I think about food. I broke my addiction to soda, I no longer eat all of my kids' snack foods, I still have candy left over from Christmas! The longer you do it the easier it gets (even if you don't do it perfectly).
Good Luck!
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TunaFishKid
- Posts: 250
- Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:20 pm
- Location: Long Island, NY
This is absolutely true! There was a time when I would eat anything sweet or chocolately. When I started NoS I decided to follow the advice here about making S day treats special, so I started by good quality chocolate. Now I can't stand to eat the cheap stuff. I actually spit out a cheap chocolate Santa last Christmas - I tasted like sweet wax! Pre-NoS I would probably have eaten a bag of the stuff.harmony wrote:Make sure on S-days that you allow yourself to taste some of the "good stuff". Sometimes getting used to a higher quality can help you avoid the cheap stuff easier.
~ Laura ~