One of the big problems in my eating has been the conflict between what I think is healthy for me and cutting calories. Everything I read tells me that people who eat nuts live 3-5 years longer and have a healthier life. But nuts are high calorie. I've tried putting them in bags, freezing them, buying them chopped and just sprinkling them on food, buying peanut butter, EVERYTHING I can think of. I guess it's like a heroin addict having the drug sitting on the counter. I will eat an entire large jar of unsalted peanuts in three days. So, I guess this question is answering itself. I can't have nuts and I have to make a choice between nuts and being obese and having high BP and diabetes. I can give up other things. I wish they had the essence ofnuts in a bottle, then I could sooth the guilt I feel not eating them. I could give them up if I didn't think they were so necessary to overall health.
Has anyone else been able to come to terms with a food that gives them problems and eat it in moderation?
I am 100% addicted to pop, coke mainly, sometimes ginger ale. I try to cut it completely out of my life, and then I always go off that plan and basically binge on it. My solution? 100 calorie mini cans! Actually 100 calorie packages are the solution to many of my cravings! Including nuts! I buy the 100 calorie packages of almonds, they save my butt a lot - almonds with some fruit has become an easy snack for days when I'm rushed.
Personally, I pre-pack things that come in multiple servings and never eat things from the container or the packet. Like for example I've opened a large bag of tortilla chips and made serving sandwich bags of 15 chips each which I label with the calorie value. I'm not allowed to put any food in my mouth before subtracting it from my planned daily intake and for me there's nothing more of a reality check than seeing how much damage my snack intake might do to my day plan. It definitely takes the mindlessness out of the eating.
For things I feel I'm out of control around (e.g. Snickers bars), I simply don't buy them to keep in my home. Or I might plan them into one day occasionally as a treat and buy just 1 bar (no fun-size bags or multiple bars "for later"). This might work better for you. Occasionally you can buy a single serving small bag but it's obviously not something you should keep in your house if its causing you such a problem.
As for the benefits to health, I think they're definitely there but probably in moderation. I don't think the benefits of eating nuts outweigh the downsides of consuming large quantities (multiple servings) of them i.e. weight gain and the inevitable problems associated with that. Peanuts are particularly high caloric and yes though they're rich in nutrients and good fats, you could get similar benefits from eating other foods that are not as fraught psychologically for you.
If you can't STOP eating them, don't START. Problem solved. If a food is healthy in moderation, but for some reason you refuse to do so, then it becomes UNhealthy. Period.
They are NOT so necessary for health. Think of all the kijillions of people who are allergic to nuts and can't eat them. Many of them live to a ripe old age. So for people with conditions, it wouldn't be so healthy for them to eat them, now would it? You are one of those people with a "nut" condition. Sure they're healthy, but at this moment, FOR YOU - they're not. Thee most important thing you can do for you and your health right this minute - is to get to a healthy WEIGHT. You've got to deal with that first and foremost. Much further down the road, when you've gained control and are able to limit portions, then you can bring them back into your life. Maybe. . But for right now, they are detrimental to your health. Doing you waaaay more harm then good. You'll test out the waters - later.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 09-18-2009 at 07:10 AM.
Because I have problems with binging I don't really buy multipacks of anything except these low calorie ice lollies (30cals each), if I want a chocolate bar I'll fit it into my day and calculate the damage lol . If I can eat it without it preventing me from eating proper meals then I have no problem with having one. It's more detrimental for me to eradicate those foods from my eating plan because I'd just go and buy so much one day and binge... fall off plan and sabotage my own efforts.
Nuts are a troublesome food for me as well. Sometimes I can restrain myself and stay with a 1-ounce serving--other times, well, I get carried away. If I'm in one of those times where I'll just keep eating them, I don't even start--like rockinrobin suggests. They are always in the house because my partner eats them--in moderation. So, I just have to strategize. For awhile, back when I was first losing, I asked that they be hidden out of sight. That seemed to work.
First I had to break the "addiction." Only much later could I add back certain foods, and only in a limited way. Any problem food gets divided up into serving-size baggies, even now. Some foods, like ice cream, just are no longer bought. If I want some ice cream, I go out for it.
this is certainly a hot-button topic! I love nuts too, and wow can I eat a lot of them! I know they're healthy for me -- but it's waaaaaaayyyy healthier for me to NOT weigh 325 pounds! I don't buy peanuts anymore, I buy plain unsalted almonds and spoon them into teeny tiny zip bags (80 tiny bags for $1 yay!) and throw a pack in with my lunch bag.
For me, ice cream or frozen yogurt was my downfall. I still have it but ONLY if i go out for it with people. I don't buy it, don't have it at home. I always thought that was a cop out but ALL my skinny friends do that with something! cereal, pop, chips, ice cream, whatever - they don't buy it cuz they'll eat it!
I have several RED LIGHT foods...like brownies...I know if I make them, I'll eat the whole pan by myself within 24-48 hours. So I don't make them. If I want one, I'll buy one at a restaurant or deli or whatever. But usually those have frosting on them, and I DON'T like that...so I just pass on it all together. Same with ice cream...I can't stop eating it if it's in the carton, so I either buy the Skinny Cows or other diet popsicle type ice cream...or I go out for a scoop occasionally. Luckily my DH can take or leave most sweets. And the sweets he does like, I can pass on.
As for nuts, I love most kinds, but know I can't stop once I start. So I ONLY eat walnuts - which I eat solely for the health benefit because I'm not all that fond of them...so limiting my intake is not a problem.
I love nuts and fortunately they are not a trigger food for me. We buy them from the bulk bins and store them in air tight containers and eat them moderately. Cashews are a little dangerous for me but not trigger foody.
For me, it is - desserts - especially cakes!! I have a terrible sweet tooth. I no longer buy cakes and similar stuff. If I do feel the urge (sometimes more often than I like), I'll get the single serving from the store which I either split with hubby or freeze the other half before I begin to eat my share. I do make sure to allocate enough calories for it though. In the beginning, I completely stopped buying them. I didn't even get single servings cuz it was toooo tempting. We also decided to bake our own healthy low calorie versions of cakes and freeze it in single serving sizes. Mostly, I don't buy cakes often anymore.
Oddly enough, ice creams are not trigger food for me.
The biggest demon I've had to battle is peanut butter. I had to stop buying it at one point because I'd find a reason to put it on EVERYTHING or I would just sit there and eat it out of the jar. But then I came across the peanut butter that Smart Balance puts out there. It doesn't have any hygrogenated oil and no added sugars. Because of this it's not as sweet as the Skippy and JIF brands and I don't feel compelled to slather it on everything or even eat it out of my jar. It's been in my cabinet for 2 weeks now and I've enjoyed making peanut butter and jelly with it or adding a tablespoon of it to my oatmeal. So I think I've solved my problem...but I wll never keep cookies or chips in the apt. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat those in moderation not to mention there's no nutritional value or benefit to eating them in the first place!! Best of luck to you
Being an ex-SUPER morbidly obese person, a drunk and a smoker I have come to terms with the fact that there are some foods that *I* can never eat in moderation. Oh sure I have tried to have only 2 cookies, or a single dip of ice cream...one 2 inch square brownie...but all it has EVER done for *me* was to rear the ugly beast within me. You know some people say if you totally give up your favorite foods, you're bound and determined to binge on it at some point...well, the opposite is true for me. I'm fine as long as my trigger foods are out of my life, I have only binged on them once I think I can have just one. I can't have just one of many things...sugary carbs, an alcoholic drink, a cigarette just to name a few of my most unhealthy addictions.
I guess you just have to decide if the struggle to have just one is worth it to you.
I guess it's too soon for me to tell, but I think I'm like Lori Bell.
Oddly enough, I seem to be able to keep the bad stuff in my house with no problem as long as I don't even taste it.
But a portion-sized serving of a binge-food... well, I feel very strongly that I'd rather not have it AT ALL.
For me, that's candy, baked goods and ice cream definitely and probably chips, french fries and other salty snack food type items.
Not eating it allows to me to turn down the volume on the craving almost to zero, but I'm afraid that eating a little would turn up the volume until it was unbearable.
One of the big problems in my eating has been the conflict between what I think is healthy for me and cutting calories. Everything I read tells me that people who eat nuts live 3-5 years longer and have a healthier life.
All of these studies can drive a person mad. They get people all wound up and focused on tiny arbitrary details that they get distracted away from the big picture.
Yes drinking water is healthy, nuts are healthy, eat salmon 3 days a week, etc.
All this information is fine and dandy but the most important health benefit will come with taking the actual weight off. Through trial and error you will find the plan that works for you. Not many people head right out the gate with the perfect plan. But you WILL learn what works for your body.
Your objective is to lose weight, if that objective doesn't include nuts, so be it.
How to eat foods that you love in moderation
That could be taken the wrong way 
"No, I am *NOT* a nut job, I have a nut condition. It's a medical condition. Really!"
