Wow, you can't be sure of where the next eating trigger will come from

You're on Page 1 of 2
Go to
  • I'm a native of West Michigan (snow belt), now I currently live in North Carolina where it is a big event when snow is expected. This week, we were getting prepared for @6 inches of snow to fall overnight last night (which would have just been a normal night back home). One thing I love about living in the South is the way snow is an event. Nearly everything closes, people stock up on emergency supplies and stay home.

    So the radio station was having people call in yesterday with what they planned on doing for the snow days and if they had stocked up any special supplies. Overwhelmingly people had stocked up on alchohol and junk food/treats to munch on as they stayed in.

    Now, eating because it snowed has never been part of my life and I'm pretty disciplined about what I do eat and yet by the end of the day, I had the urge to head to the store for treats. For me, that meant cookies, which I don't think I've eaten at all since April as this is a food for me that I don't eat a reasonable serving.

    When I got to the store, I talked myself into pop tarts instead as a much smaller box then any of the cookies I was checking out and figured it would be me similar taste. I also did not eat them all, threw out the rest of the box after 720 calories consumed (so much for yesterday's calorie deficit), but was still suprised that this event even happened. I had mental plans in place for handling most eating situations, but treats for a snow day had no plan. It really shows me how my mental rehearsals for eating events has helped me in this process.

    Anyone else encounter an eating trigger they were not prepared for?
  • There's a thread over in Support about not indulging/not indulging due to the snow.

    Here's what I wrote:


    We've had a couple of blizzards here the past few years. Those are days I use to catch up on all the stuff around the house I always mean to get to but "don't have the time to". It's a great day to re-organize, throw old stuff out, update photo albums, clean out your in box, paper work, redo closets, cabinets and drawers. It's a great time to break out an exercise dvd. Make a huge pot of veggie soup. Drink some hot tea. Snuggle in bed, lounge around in PJ's. Take a hot bath. Give yourself a manicure/pedicure. Nope. No reason whatsoever to overeat.

    AND shoveling is a great workout


    Anyway, I guess there are many things that crop up that we could use as an "excuse/reason" to overeat, we don't have to dig all that hard.
  • I'm also in beautiful NC. We are currently snowed in by a big 5 inches.

    I know what you mean about triggers. Shortly after I started dieting I gave up diet dr. pepper and switched to water or very light iced tea. Yesterday I hadn't had anything to drink in hours after rushing the baby to the pediatrician (turned out to be an ear infection and very bad cold and not as serious as a thought). I got a diet dr. pepper at the drug store when I stopped on the way home for antibiotics. It gave me a craving for more diet soda and sugary snacks all night. Fortunately there were none in the house and it seems to have gone away. Sounds like you did OK too. We just gotta watch out for the unexpected "gotcha yous".
  • Yesterday was not the best day for me either. We also got pounded by some bad weather. It's really good to know that I'm not the only one who struggles.

    I guess as I collected my NSV;s, I thought I would get to the point where I was no longer struggling with triggers. I guess the best thing is to accept that I have them and draw my line in the sand.

    Thanks for sharing.
  • My entire extended family lives in Kernersville. I think they were expecting 8 inches.

    I've never connected snow with eating. How interesting. I'll have hot chocolate maybe, but not to excess and usually after sledding, which is a workout! The boys and I like to make snow cream with snow, milk, sugar and vanilla. I can make a small cup of it for about 75 calories.

    I wonder why snow and eating go hand in hand? Around here people stock up on milk, batteries and the like, which cracks me up. My parents grew up in upstate NY so this 5-6 inch stuff cracks me up!
  • Quote: There's a thread over in Support about not indulging/not indulging due to the snow.

    Here's what I wrote:


    We've had a couple of blizzards here the past few years. Those are days I use to catch up on all the stuff around the house I always mean to get to but "don't have the time to". It's a great day to re-organize, throw old stuff out, update photo albums, clean out your in box, paper work, redo closets, cabinets and drawers. It's a great time to break out an exercise dvd. Make a huge pot of veggie soup. Drink some hot tea. Snuggle in bed, lounge around in PJ's. Take a hot bath. Give yourself a manicure/pedicure. Nope. No reason whatsoever to overeat.

    AND shoveling is a great workout


    Anyway, I guess there are many things that crop up that we could use as an "excuse/reason" to overeat, we don't have to dig all that hard.
    Interesting to find out the eating because of snow event was not a local thing. It wouldn't have occurred to me to have a list of substitute activities either, as snow is ordinary event back home. That's why I was suprised I fell for the suggestion of eating from listening to a radio show!

    But yeah, will be dancing to old aerobic videos today as the Y is closed so my Saturday lap swim is out.
  • Quote: Interesting to find out the eating because of snow event was not a local thing. It wouldn't have occurred to me to have a list of substitute activities either, as snow is ordinary event back home. That's why I was suprised I fell for the suggestion of eating from listening to a radio show!

    But yeah, will be dancing to old aerobic videos today as the Y is closed so my Saturday lap swim is out.
    There is not a day that goes by that I don't plan. If I don't have a plan for the day than my eating will most likely suffer. So if there's a day where I'm unexpectedly stuck in the house, I will plan out my meals AND my activities if need be.
  • You got taken in by the event! For me I can be taken in by anything...happy, sad, birthday, emergency stress, the list goes on. But I am learning more and more and like Robin says...plan and stick to it. I REALLY gotta work on the STICK TO IT part!!
  • I'm in Arkansas. We have hardly anything going on for bad weather, just a couple inches of snow/ice/slush stuff. It still has things closed down though. It has not bothered my food intake. I looked at my written food plan and ate that with very little variance. I changed the type of veggie for a meal yesterday and today for lunch I had my kippers mixed with my veggies and some cornbread on the side instead of a kipper sandwich and veggies. No big deal. The problem I am having with this weather is that I am not used to it. I'm from Florida (no snow, but things do shut down for hurricanes sometimes) and lived in England before coming here (2 inches or less would not shut the place down). I had no plan in place for what to do for exercise in case the gym shut down, which of course it has. So now I'm having a hard time thinking of substitutes that I'd like to do since all my DVDs are just light workouts to me now and I want more than light. Not being all that used to cold weather and having lost a lot of my insulation recently I am not sure I can go out and jog on the roads, so I am at a loss.
  • Quote: You got taken in by the event!
  • I grew up northwest of Syracuse, NY, where lake effect snowstorms would make a 6" snowfall a daily event.

    I connect snow with making a big pot of home-made chicken soup, or a big pot of chili, rather than with junk food. Maybe because I think of crunchy-munchy stuff & cold soda as a summer thing, not a winter thing.

    Also I remember my parents getting out a jigsaw puzzle & laying it on the dining room table. And making sure the bird feeder stayed clear, so we could see all the beautiful winter finches coming for seeds. So yeah, we were into feeding, but it was the birds we were thinking of.

    I did my overeating at other times. Snow didn't trigger it.
  • Living in western Ky snow is common some winters and not at all other winters. We got about 8 inches and hubby and daughter wanted brownies. Its something I always made to go with the hot chocolate when my kids were little. We also made a huge pot of chicken noodle soup. I counted every bite today. I do see how its easy to get caught up in the event.
  • As far as unexpected triggers goes, right now I have a terrible cold and I can't stop thinking about grilled cheese sandwiches. I wish I were one of those people who lose their appetite when they are sick!
  • I grew up in northern calif where it snowed twice in my life, dustings gone by noon.

    I'm usually such a creature of routine and habit, so the eating has gotten to be sort of easy to just fall into. now that my schedule is different, it calls for different eating strategies. thursday I planned a full day of appointments, and dinner got squeezed out by things going overtime. I was really cold, tired, and .... well, it's like robin says, I didn't have to dig hard. I ended up getting a burger and fries at a local place (I stopped after eating half of it). sheesh, I feel embarrassed to admit that.

    but then after that I even had some of bf's slice of cheese pizza....

    the rest of the day, I stuck well on plan, but caved in the evening because I didn't plan and then totally indulged myself. stop the madness.
  • Quote: As far as unexpected triggers goes, right now I have a terrible cold and I can't stop thinking about grilled cheese sandwiches. I wish I were one of those people who lose their appetite when they are sick!
    Me Too!