tricks and tips

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 4:09 pm

For some reason, when a craving hits really hard and I bring the offending temptation to the kitchen counter and plop it down to add to my next meal, the craving goes away instantly! It's like I am promising myself that I can have some in a little bit. Like the mom in me telling the kid in me "yes, but you'll have to wait a little while". I may have a pile of junk when my next meal time comes, but I usually just choose one to add to my plate.

Oh, the mental games we play. Whatever works!

What I'm wondering is, does anyone else have any tricks or tips to avoid snacking, seconds, sweets, or anything?

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 4:11 pm

Oh! And my favorite for sweets is to put a serving in a container and hide it in the freezer for the weekend. What I think will drive me absolutely crazy is sometimes forgotten when the time actually comes!

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 2:00 pm

Tea, tea, and tea.

In the evenings when I really want something sweet I use unsweetened Yogi Choco Tea (made with cocoa but no sugar or sweetener) with a little bit of milk.

During the day: green tea

For me the biggest temptation of the three S is sweets so Tea helps a lot.

GraceW · Post by **GraceW** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 3:24 pm

I agree on the tea trick, My favorite is Stash Licorice Spice Tea. It has a sweet aftertaste, perfect for curbing a sweets craving.

jw · Post by jw » Wed Oct 02, 2013 5:56 pm

The easiest thing for me is just not to have the stuff around during the week. I buy single serving treats and have them finished by Sunday night. Now, four months in, I can buy a treat and keep it for an S day, but in the first weeks, I would wake up in the middle of the night knowing it was there
. . . but if it's not there to tempt me, I don't even think about it. (This is harder to do with snackers in the house, of course -- I really admired somebody who posted that she had a snack cupboard in her house that was off limits to her -- her kids and husband could fill it with anything they liked, but she treated it as forbidden ground!)

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 7:11 pm

In the beginning, being sure that I planned to have some starch I really liked at the upcoming meal often helped me stave off between-meal eating or even bingeing. Knowing I had that biscuit waiting at home could keep me from stopping for a burrito or bag of chocolate. It's similar to the "later" tactic. Funny, because now I don't have even those starches as often.

And I always planned a fat at the meal, too.

The second "trick" was just constantly reminding myself that I had eaten before and would again. I kept telling myself that a grown human should be able to go for a few hours without food without dire consequences. I was very calm about it, though. Not shaking my finger at myself.

The third was reminding myself what I wanted more of in the future. Did I want more giving in to binge foods or less on N days? Whatever I did in the present was likely to be repeated. (Though this didn't work quite like that on S days. I gave in plenty but desire escalated until it became too tiresome! Then I was able to implement some mods.)

Zoid · Post by **Zoid** » Tue Oct 08, 2013 12:46 pm

Tea and water helps me. If I feel "full" from liquids, I don't want to eat.

Also, I really focus on just getting to the next meal. Sometimes thinking about the whole day/whole week gets me too overwhelmed and causes me to cave more easily.

I'm starting to like the feeling of not being overstuffed. Who knew?