Need to find a SURVIVAL METHOD for my Mom's house! -NEED ADVICE!!
I'm looking for ideas ladies (and gents!)... Every weekend is my downfall! I have been doing pretty well during the week. I lose a couple pounds and then the weekend comes...
I babysit my little sister every Sunday. I can occasionally bring her back to my house; however, I live over an hour away from my Mom and so that really is not feasible very often. Gas is too expensive and it usually involves me taking a day or two off at my 2nd job so that she can just stay for the weekend instead of one day.
I just struggle at my Mom’s. She has every treat you could ever want to binge on. She likes to have it around on the occasion she wants a snack. I don’t live there so really I can’t tell her what food to stock in her cupboards. However, I struggle every single time I go there. This Sunday I lost the battle… I lost BIG TIME!
…………. An Old fashioned donut.. 12 chocolate truffles.. more than one serving of French fries.. lots of Chinese food… 4 bottle of pop… chocolate layer cake… buttered popcorn… sausage, hashbrowns, pancakes…
THAT WAS ALL IN ONE DAY! ….What’s even worse is I probably missed something… you know how you go in binge mode and it is completely mindless eating. I’m sure I ate more than that and don’t remember.
I need help.. ideas! How do I cope and resist the constant cravings while I am there. Like I said, she lives too far away to go to my house regularly and I can’t tell my Mom to stop putting junk food in her own house. Even when I lived there-- the junk was a constant battle and she refused to stop buying it just because I couldn't control myself. So what do I do?? The temptation will always be there. And most of the time I lose it.. well really, every time. Every weekend I go there.. I binge.. and in one day I gain back all the weight I lost during the week. I destroy the week worth of work in one day.
I feel so gross. It is just so easy to binge. It takes a lot for me to really feel physically full… and then I am uncomfortably full. It’s right about that time that you really just wish you could throw up cause you feel so gross. (Though I don’t think I ever could. My mom was bulimic.. and I know my sisters have dabbled in it too… so that is always in the back of my mind.)
Anyways, any advice would be greatly, GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks!
Nothing like having a supportive family. Have you tried bringing your own food and not even having to try to choose from your Mom's fridge and cupboards? It would also help your sister learn some good eating habits.
I'd get your sister and get out of the house. Go to the park, the movies, walk around the mall. Just spend as little time as possible staring at the junkfood in the house.
There's nothing worse than knowing you've thrown away days of effort in one big binge. Good luck resisting.
If it's something that you feel you can't control then maybe you can do something with your sister out of the house? Is there a park nearby where you can go for a picnic? (A picnic that YOU'VE prepared in advance so it's healthy food) or maybe you could shoot some hoops at the park or play on the playground (not sure how old your sister is). Or maybe you could go out to the library, a museum, a bike ride, etc. Good luck next sunday!
It's ok! I have this same problem with my Grandma's house, except she does it on purpose...LOL. She's the kind of grandma that hints that I need to "lose a few pounds",and then cooks me fried chicken and chocolate cake. She always has all kinds of yummy baked treats and sweets lying around, and it gets very hard to resist.
What I do is eat before I go to her house. Or gently explain to her that I can't eat the fried chicken she is planning on cooking, and ask her to make some soup or gumbo instead.
In your situation, have you considered taking your own food, and making everything else strictly off limits?
Pack your own meals and try to stick to just what you brought. I have the same problem at my parent's -- they are 3 1/2 hours away. I try to stay out of the house!! Look forward to everyone elses responses, I could use the help too!!
I have the same problem when I go to my step mother's house. She has always been thin and has all the wrong foods at her house. I know that she loves me and wants the best for me so she was not offended when I started brining my own foods.
Here comes a little tough love - you have to want to be thin more than you want to eat the junk food. Think about how you are feeling right now. Remember that feeling and use it to help you the next time you want to binge. I know its easier said than done, but I'm totally serious about deciding what you really want and come **** or high water nothing is going to stop you from your goal. It's so easy to give into that quick fix. Losing weight is hard, but it is so very worth it. You are so worth the effort. Don't let anything or anyone stop you!
Those are good ideas. I should try bringing my meals and maybe picnic at the park.
My little sister is 6 (7 in October)-- there is quite and age gap between us-- I just turned 24. I do wish to set a good example for her. Though really, I am not sure how much I can help her when I am only there one day a week.
In addition to the ideas above, how about some good-old fashioned bribery? Identify a non-food treat that you'd like to have. Don't buy it unless you make it through the weekend.
The treat doesn't have to be expensive. A new I-tune, perhaps, or a cute T you've had your eyes on at the store. A new workout bra.
You can't go through life bribing yourself, of course, but this might help you get over the hump. And once you realize that you have the strength to resist one weekend, well, the next one might not be so hard.
I know that you can't tell your mom what to have and not to have, but maybe you could ask her to confine the worst of it to one or two locked cupboards. You're coming quite a distance to do her a favor, after all, so it seems reasonable that she would be concerned about your needs as well. My worst fear is being alone (or reasonably alone) in a house filled with my favorite junk foods. I can resist buying them, but it's so hard to control that impulse long-term when you know they're right there waiting for you. I would also recommend finding some place to spend your time besides the house. Good luck with a tricky problem.
I have the SAME problem, though it's not just tied up in the lack of healthy choices at mom's -- I get very stressed out when I visit and the stress leads to comfort eating and where's the comfort food? EVERYWHERE! I only go to visit every other weekend, and for awhile, I was just doing the best I could with those 4 days a month and sticking to plan the rest of the time. Now, I figure there are emotional cues driving me to the bad choices (in other words, even with the healthy food I bring along and the somewhat healthy choices available, the stress drives me to eat the junk). It's not just WHILE I'm there, either. When I come home, I need to unwind, and I always fall off the bandwagon then, too.
I'm working on a stress/eating journal to write down what I'm feeling when I do this. It sucks to have your good work the rest of the week end up like this -- I know! I'm not saying this is the case for you, but if you're like me, bringing your own food may not be enough. For me, I've got to figure out WHAT IT IS that turns on my mindless eating (OK, binging) switch and work on turning it OFF!
Gah! I feel you... As a major binge eater myself, I have to prepare heavily before I go into situations like that. I have to refuse to let the first bite in because once I have my first taste, it's 100 mph downhill from there. I love all the suggestions here. Give yourself a serious pep talk before hand that you are NOT going to eat any of her food. Take your own food and pack some for your sister too if you need to to stay out of the kitchen completely. Just decide that you are strong enough to last one day. That you are worth lasting one day without eating junk. And remember that once you make it through, you'll feel totally empowered. You are stronger than temptation! You are stronger than junk food! And you can do it with or without your mom's help because you and only you control what you put in your mouth! (Anyone else hearing the Rocky theme? No? Just me? Okay...)
I would like to echo what everyone else has shared. I have a similiar problem when I go visit my inlaws. Of course, add to it that in the beginning they thought I was 'weird' for bringing my own food. Guess what? They got over it! Now they all look forward to the salad filled w/ all kinds of fresh veggies and the big dish of fresh fruit....not sure why they don't have that kind of stuff in the house all the time--when we get together for a family event 'my food' is the first to go!
And, even though you may only see your sister once a week, I am sure she looks up to you and she will learn by your example!
Those are good ideas. I should try bringing my meals and maybe picnic at the park.
My little sister is 6 (7 in October)-- there is quite and age gap between us-- I just turned 24. I do wish to set a good example for her. Though really, I am not sure how much I can help her when I am only there one day a week.
No matter how little you are there, I have no doubt that you are her hero. Probably even more so since you don't live there and get on her nerves. My youngest is 8, my oldest is 18. The little one does everything her sister does (within reason, somethings I won't let her get away with)
Get out of the house and have some fun with your sister. Have you talked to your mom and told her how hard weekends are for you. She probably won't get rid of all the junk, but she might be more sensitive and have some healthier stuff too. Also your sister is heading into one of those stages where kids gain weight. I know all of mine got chubby at the beginning of puberty. They are active, so they thinned out. (I'm also a closet eater, so there has never been a lot of junk in the house for them to eat. I did all of my eating out of the house.) I see a lot of kids who hit puberty and have bad eating habits at home + they are hanging out with friends at McDonald's and the weight just creeps up and won't go away. It would be nice for your sister to have some healthy choices at home, it's not just for you.
Any chance you can save up calories or whatever style you use and pack a really awesome cooler of things you love (healthy!!) that you don't normally have, so you won't feel so deprived while you are there? Maybe you and your sister could make pita pizzas together, go to a farmer's market there and do a little shopping??
Need to find a SURVIVAL METHOD for my Mom's house! -NEED ADVICE!!
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