[auctionlover]

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering how everyone here keeps themselves from snacking on junk food, such as: Chips, Chocolate, Popcorn, candy and so on...

I have a way that may sound very strange but it works wonders for me.

I always have friends over and they all have a case of the munchies
so I need to have snacks at home all the time. I have a snack cabinet at home... a big one, filled with all kinds of goodies which are horrible for you.

Everyyyone has told me and you see it on weight loss shows all the time, to lose weight, get rid of alll kinds of junk! But what I did and it really seems to work for me is this:

I didn't get rid of anything in there, I still have that snack cabinet, I see it but ignore it completely, I have taught myself at home to say no to all kinds of junk so this way when I go out somewhere and see any kind of junk, I won't be tempted and fall off the wagon... because I find a lot of people don't have the junk at home, so as soon as they go to a gathering or to a restaurant or anywhere else, they see chocolate or anything that is a NO NO and they want it right then and there...

this has worked reallllly well for me!!!

[nonDosearrany]

Being the only person in my house with 1, a weight problem and 2, a carb issue I simply never had the luxury of being able to get rid of the temptations. So I've always dealt with them. The tactic I use is to look at those foods as "not mine". The poptarts that sit right above the cans of veggies and tuna? Not my food. The crackers that sit right next to the EVOO? Not mine. The ice cream I have to reach around to get the frozen meat every morning? Not for me. The sundae syrups on the door below my salad dressings? Don't even see them anymore.

Vancity, I agree with you... you can't clear the temptations out of your life so learning to deal with them at home, on a daily basis, has certainly strengthened my resolve and given me the skills I need to choose wisely at restaurants, parties, dinners, vacations, etc. I don't get that feeling of deprivation... it feels like a choice I made, not something I "have" to do for my own good.

Do I ever get into things I shouldn't? Oh yeah. Heck, I'm human. When this happens it's usually because I'm upset or bored/lonely. And sometimes I just need to take a break and enjoy a small treat like thin people do. Then it's business as usual.

If you ever find yourself struggling to make the "right" choice, try my favorite head trick... in your mind hold up the food you want to eat in one hand and your visualization of a healthy thin you in the other. Then ask yourself... this... or THIS? This right now (the junk).... or THIS sooner? Even if you still choose the food you know you shouldn't have, it will be a conscious choice not a loss of control which, from experience I've learned, can lead to a major blow out.

[alanamosteller]

Wow, good comments, both of you!

I don't try to keep junk food out of the house either. You're right, there's no way to avoid that stuff if you live in the civilized world.

For me, it helps to equate the unhealthy foods with cigarettes or drugs. If someone offered me a cigarette or cocaine, I would not feel bad at all about saying no. I'd probably look at them like they were crazy. If I saw a pack of cigarettes laying around, I would not even consider smoking one. So I just think of myself as a person who does not smoke, or do drugs, or get drunk, or eat high carb foods.

[OlgaBorovikovva]

I have a 3 year old and I have so many nieces and nephews so I have lots of snacks in the house. Yes at first I was very tempted but once the pounds started coming off I am not tempted at all. I just remind myself if I eat it I'll gain the pounds back and thats stops me right away.

[Caliwany]

It is difficult. My siblings are 4,7 and 8 and I often prepare their food. But the reason it hard I think, is not because I want high carb food but because I'm used to taking a couple of fries here, a chicken nugget there. It's just habit. Bad habits!
Touch wood so far on this, my third, spell of induction I'm not craving anything. Except berries, and I know they are in my future so that's easier to cope with!