How do you stop small treats from turning into daily bad habits?

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

It’s winter time and still cold and gray. The big holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year are over, but some of us haven’t weaned ourselves from holiday sweets and alcohol that crept into our daily and weekly menus. And now Valentine’s Day chocolates are on the horizon, not to mention Super Bowl, Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day parties.

Whether you’re slogging through your pre-op diet or you're trying to maximize your post-op weight losses or you're at goal and trying to figure out maintenance or you're a long-time WLS veteran – how do you stop occasional treats or variations from your normal eating routine from turning into daily bad habits?

Specifically, what are some victories you’ve had in cleaning up your eating act?

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Good question, especially since I am one of the few who don't track. I monitor my weight and how my clothes fit and how I feel. When I don't like any of the 3, I look for the culprits.... and either eliminate or reduce. This happened to me in the past with Protein bars of all things!

I am currently in the weight loss mode which is good because I'd like to get back under goal weight and I know it is because my appetite is way down AND I gave up wine and any non healthy food in preparation for, and during recovery of a recent surgery. I don't have too much of a problem with sweets, but I have alot of pals who enjoy wine, and I live in a town with 100 wineries (basis of the local tourism) so it's easy to get sucked into having a glass pretty frequently. Also, when I was dating, it seemed like wine with dinner happened more often. Anyway, whether it be the wine elimination, the lower appetite or the Protein powder"cakes" I have been making, I am dropping weight.

[Stevehud 1,790]

good question. Ill give you first some things that started bad for me.

1. Peanut butter- My nut recommended i use Peanut Butter, the good all natural you stir it up, made from peanuts and salt only ( or unsalted) , but i love Peanut Butter so much I found myself starting to want to put things with the peanut butter. like Cereal..did you know that a spoonful of peanut butter covered in chex Cereal is delicious? Now the chex is my wifes but I ate half a box over the course of 4 to 5 days.. not good. lol

2. Chickpea chips with salsa.

So i would make or buy nice fresh handmade salsa, tomatoes, jalapenos a little lime juice, onion, garlic etc. and i found these great chickpea chips. they are low carb high Protein and taste outstanding. So i would snack on them evey now and then..which became more and more often, so I would see myself looking forward to getting home from work so i could have some more.. Od habits, yet again.

3. Found these awesome edamame chips with rice flour at trader joes- not bad at all for numbers, and you get a whole ton of them in the serving size so i figured well ill only eat half and make em even better, id eat them with hummus, yum- then i started eating them too often yet again.

So what do I do? Well the first step is truly reaching the realization that this is a bad thing and needs to stop. The second thing is stop buying these foods. SO i did, if they arent accessible, i cant have them, simple.Now that works for me, and may not work for those with extended families etc. My wife has lost 35+ pounds just by eating more like me etc. SO it gets easier to avoid. The point im making is take whetever steps are neccessary to keep the bad things out of your reach. I love these brbq flavored Pork rinds, now they are all in all not bad, high Protein no carbs no sugar etc, not a lot of caloires, but i make sure to buy them 1 bag at a time so that way if i do eat thw whole bag im only out 300 calories and i got a ton of protein, and no carbs so oh well. i can deal with it, but then if i want more id have to go out and get it, and that makes it easier to resist.

Do whatever you need to do, to get temptation away from you , it does get a lot easier if you dont stop things all together and just limit the ability to overeat etc.

[HopeandAgony 566]

Well. I kicked the nightly Peanut Butter to the curb after seeing my own words with everyone else's on Dubs nut post. I guess for me that means acknowledging the problem, evaluating that it's not a good thing, and acting on what is right for me and my goal. So basically, awareness.

Edited February 2, 2016 by HopeandAgony

[Babbs 14,681]

Me personally? I up my excersise to compensate.

Each couple minutes I run on the treadmill, I say "That's 1 peice of chocolate, that's 2 peices of chocolate. ..."

Most of the time though, I just don't keep it in the house. If I do bring goodies in the house, it's only enough for 1 serving for me and hubby so I don't keep going back for more.

Here's how I handled Valentines Day this year so my sweet husband didn't try to buy me a heart shaped box full of chocolates. I called, scheduled a massage for myself on February 12th, and told him "You bought me a message for Valentine's Day, Thanks, honey!"

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Lovin' these tips. Pleaes keep 'em comin'.

At some point I'll summarize everyone's tips in another comment to this thread.

[JamieLogical 8,708]

For me, it's "out of sight, out of mind". Even when we have things like Cookies or candy in the house, as long as it's not sitting out on the counter or the table, I forget it exists. So we keep that stuff in the pantry, where we can get at if we really want to, but we have to me mentally aware and acknowledging it, instead of just mindlessly eating it.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I do have to echo the "out of site, out of the house, out of mind" comments.

Many years ago, i heard a story on NPR about obese people and "willpower". The researchers said that many obese people actually have quite strong willpower, they just have a bad habit of allowing the junk in the house, so they have to excercise that willpower every minute of everyday - whereas if it just isn't available, it really isn't a willpower question.

I have developed a habit of even being selective of which aisles to avoid at the grocery store. It isn't about just avoiding the candy and chips aisle, it is about building a day to day diet around more wholesome, less processed food.

It helps that I live in the country so the nearest grocery is at least 5 minutes drive away. I would not get up, get dressed and drive to the store for a cheeto, but... I might make the trip to the pantry if it was in there....and one cheeto quickly becomes 10, etc....

[BestDayEver 418]

I'm a rules person. I decided there are ten days a year when I can eat whatever I want. If I start to crave something (usually something chocolate), I remind myself there will be an opportunity to indulge in that treat at a later date and this just helps me set aside the craving. I keep my trigger foods out of the house. If I get hungry and tempted between meals/snacks, I will drink a cup of tea or chew some gum. Mint gum always kills my appetite. If I go off the rails unexpectedly, I just dust myself off and get back on track.

These behaviors are not at all what I used to do in my obese life. If I slipped, I gave up and returned to bad habits because I felt like a failure and there was just no hope of succeeding. I try not to see things in such black and white terms anymore. As Scarlet said "tomorrow is another day". We can do this!

[Kathy812 794]

I've complained on a lot of threads that I'm over a year out and STILL not at goal. I log everything in myfitness pal, work out & still can't lose! Recently, I paid attention to the carbs. I noticed I was having 100 grams of carb most days! I was so concerned about the calories but didn't pay attention to the carbs.

I had to re-evaluate what I'm eating. I am a crunch person, so I slowed down on my nuts - eat pork skins now and measure it out. I'm trying to give up my beloved Quest bars, tried the mug Protein cake last night & enjoyed it.

Basically it's about finding substitutes for my trigger food. Winter can be so difficult.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

OK, I'll quickly mention one thing I do: When I'm backing away from too many simple carb treats, I add in a lot more high-Fiber, lower-calorie, colored veggies that stick to my ribs ... like:

Green Beans, broccoli, colored (red, yellow, green) peppers, onions, crunchy Romaine, spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes, grilled zucchini, celery (chopped up in chicken salad), black Beans (in chili), frozen stirfry veggies, etc.

[julsofthenile 8]

I know as many do, that keeping stuff out of the house is a great tactic. I get sick of some of my go-to snacks; i find that i wasn't eating so much deli meat or cheese as Snacks right now as in the past, but rather pretzel crisps with some kind of dip....but now i am sick of pretzel crisps... the deli meat will suffice better in terms of protein/lower carbs...so i will be back to buying/eating those. I keep plain dark chocolate in the house, as i never overeat that...but i cannot say the same for other treats/candies, etc. We all know what we have issues with, and you just need to keep it out of the house. I store lots of popsicles in my freezer instead of ice cream. When I buy ice cream which is a rarity, i only buy enough and instead of those great sales that would allow me to buy 3 half gallons, i no longer look at that as a good thing. I am saving my life by not eating it or buying it, so i can justify not getting something on sale anymore.

I track everything in my 3.5 x 5.5 moleskine book...its a great little book and fits in my purse, I track because too many times i forget what i have eaten 5 hrs later, and its way too easy to overeat that way. I track my Vitamins and bowel movements (lol) and exercise and food i eat all on one page a day. its convenient and i just ordered another little book as mine is almost used up....but i like it, as i can always look back and see where i went wrong, or if i have been eating enough veggies or consuming enough Water. I am not a good historian and i think many people aren't. Sometimes our own reality is not really accurate... i have noticed this and have made the commitment to track my stuff in an easy manner, because i benefit from doing it and actually like it. I think re-assessing each month is a good thing. I eat what i want if i truly want it, but what i want is different now. I do not like feeling out of control like i used to...so i really do what i need to do in order for that not to happen. I track, I resist, i don't buy, i buy other healthier options, i exercise, etc....i do what it takes...and i am successful 98% of the time. I am still in the losing mode, but it has slowed considerably and maybe a few too many imbibes over the holidays have contributed to my slower loss, but if i stick to my exercise schedule and all the other changes i've made, I feel confident that i will continue to be successful, perhaps right to my goal weight. In my house, we all love sweets so i make one thing a month to indulge in and i only make just enough. that way, i'm not mindlessly eating a box of Cookies. I did buy my hubby a box of girl scout Cookies, but my daughter got into them. glad it wasn't me! But you see, I was able to buy them, and not eat them. and that is a great feat my fellow bariatric surgery pals. Its a journey...I look at it in terms of there is no end here...i'm just taking everything day by day. I do not see a goal weight as a time when i can alter what i am doing now. I am completely satisfied with what i eat now and how i eat it, and i no longer look forward to a day where i will be "over" doing any of this.. as i did in the past when i was dieting.Life right now is how i like it, and there is no end goal anymore. I just do what i can to make the process successful for me on a daily basis- that will inevitably change from time to time but i am really satisfied with the here and now.

[Healthy_life2 8,324]

@@VSGAnn2014

I have carbs and sugar as a treat once in a while. When the scale moves up I know its time to get back on track to maintain.

Carbs are a tough one for me. I keep carbs only in small amounts. Once I eat them I crave them even more. My go to for replacing my carb addiction is to eat salty alternatives.

The intensity of cravings can increase if I don't find a way to satisfy it.

(1) I eat a good healthy meal first.( Protein veggies). Eating first help me eat less of the healthy alternative craving food.

(2) after I eat the meal I pick the craving that needs to subside.

Sweet. - fruit in whipping cream. Quest Protein Peanut Butter cup - sugar free pudding with Protein powder added - I make it thick ( like a mousse) I add half the milk the rest in whipped cream.

Combinations are endless. Toppings items..Sugar free caramel or chocolate topping, Chopped nuts, Fruit, Dark chocolate chips .Its like a sundae to me. A small amount hits the craving and I'm full.

Salty - Laughing cow cheese wrapped in sliced deli meat - Jalapeno chicken bacon wraps - pizza topping stuffed mushrooms. - Jerky - Quest BBQ protein chips - Whole foods Parmesan crisps - refried Beans with cheese and salsa. - deviled eggs

[*Lexie* 1,486]

I really like this thread, thank you for starting it.

I have to hit this from a few angles. I definitely have figured out what my trigger foods are and I try not to keep them in the house. I do not have the willpower to stay away from them if they are around. Also, if I start eating sugar, it just starts a vicious cycle so I try to stay away from it as much as I can and the cravings go away.

The other thing I have been doing is trying to figure out what triggers me to want to eat when I'm not hungry. The whole emotional eating thing. For example, I developed quite an addiction to Reece's Christmas Trees over the holidays which was just a gateway drug into eating all sort of other carbs. So I started thinking about what I was feeling (which is hard because I was eating those feelings). Well, I was a little anxious and then tried to figure out why I was anxious. I was happy that I hit my weight goal which means maintenance should start soon and I have never been able to maintain my weight loss. Also, I ran a marathon in early December and that training afforded a lot of forgiveness in what I was eating so I was worried that now that I am not as active as I was, that would gain weight. So, because I was anxious about gaining, I did the logical thing and ate more (that's some sarcasm!). Once I figured this out, it was easier to break the cycle. Now when I want to eat when I'm not hungry, I remind myself that it's ludicrous to overeat because I'm afraid of gaining weight. It has helped.

I am always looking for more tools to help permanently change my eating so I'm looking forward to reading more responses.

[curlychic32 5]

I took the advice of a poster on a different thread a while back. I have hard line absolutely not foods, and soft line foods that are in very small quantities and frequency. I determine a hard line food by if it leads me to eat more, crave more etc. My hard lines are Bagels, Cookies, pastries, candy or other things like that. If I have one, it never stops at one because I crave and crave and crave. This leads to justifying it, I already had one so I failed for the day, might as well have 3 more. Especially if it is readily accessible. I tell myself I'm sorry you can't have that, but you just can't. Other people call these trigger foods, something that you just have to accept is something you cannot have.

My soft line foods are things that aren't the best for me but I won't crave them for days after like a small bit of Pasta, ice cream or a French fry or two from my sons plate. Something that is tasty and satisfying but not something that puts me over the edge.