[Shmoops]

Hey Guys,
Just wondering if any have little toddlers and pre-schoolers. I swear, my children are responsible for over half of my binges. The minute I can't get them to calm down from a long drawn out temper tantrum, I reach for the closest bag of potato chips. Since I've started the journey, I have caught my self eating and then stopping two or three bites into it bc I am in it for good this time. Please help.... any advice? Thanks

[mirax3]

Hi Shmoops-
I do not have any kids of my own but I am a preschool teacher at a daycare. Temptations are always surrounding me but I manage to do well throughout the day with keeping on my diet.

I am a little confused, though- are you saying you are giving the potato chips to your kids and then eating some yourself or you are getting them for yourself because you are stressed?

For either situation, I say remove the chips and junk from your house. You can always find an excuse to eat the potato chips if they are in the house. Also, they are not good for the kids anyway! Find some healthier alternatives maybe? There are a lot of healthier snacks that I'm sure your kids and you will love. Another solution that I use at work is always have tasty, but healthy alternatives to whatever your kids are eating. For example, our cook always makes really high-calorie chicken patties on buns that I see and immediately want to stuff my face with! But as an alternative I buy the Morning Star patties that are a lot healthier. I'm sure you can apply this to your situation, just always be prepared with alternatives and/or keep that kind of food out of the house.

Hope this helps

[kiahna23]

I have 4 kids. And I usually make a smoothie. I will make a mango and strawberry smoothie. Yum Or grab some fruit. And as far as chips and cookies. We dont buy them. Or juice. I buy orange juice for me and they dont like juice because we never bought it. Dont buy it and you wont eat it is all I can say. Its easier to manage that way. Because I am a binge eater as well. lol. I can eat all kinds of crap lol. But I cant eat it if I dont buy it and they are use to not having it. They workout with me and have 6 packs (literally). real muscle not the "Im so skinny its unavoidable" lol.

[rubidoux]

I wouldn't say that my kids drive me to eat off plan. But I do have a lot of stuff in my house that is very tempting because of them. And I'm not talking junk food -- just FOOD. lol My plan is zero carb (I normally eat 2 or less g of carb a day), so almost anything is tempting to me. And I do like to have some yummy stuff around for them. Dh and my older son watched a movie the other night and it was nice to break out the bag of kettle corn I had here. My kids eat very healthy and I don't want them to not be able to have any treats because I can't handle treats. But there are times that it makes it a little harder for me. I will say though, that I would find having cinnamon ice cream in the freezer (not that I'm thinking too much about that cinnamon ice cream or anything) absolutely unbearable if I was on any other eating plan because I just don't have cravings eating this way like I have on every other plan I've tried. The problem is that I do still have the *habit* of eating. I like the act of it, yk? And that does derail me sometimes.

[Shmoops]

Thanks for the advice from everyon! Just wanted you to know that I was using chips as an example, but it could be anything. And yes, I eat bc I am stressed by them... you see my three kids are all four and younger, so there are a lot of streesed out trips to the mall, store and even the gym. My kids do not binge, and really have never seen me binge. But I can binge on a box of cheerios.... so it really isn't always about junk, I think thats what makes it so hard.

[ShanIAm]

I don't have kids but I feel like I work with a whole bunch! So I eat. I eat because the food tasted good and by god, I deserved it. It also put me into a trance-like state. It was my calgon. It was my drug. I might as well have been shooting heroin. Since my journey I started taking a lot of showers. Instead of eating I'll jump in shower, put my head up against the wall and relax/meditate. By the time I am done my anxiety and frustration are almost gone. If I am not in a shower mood, I play solitaire and drink a warm cup of coffee.

I recommend finding something else that will alliviate your frustrations over the kiddos. Paint your nails, read a trashy novel ( ), surf the internet for interesting stories or news articles.

Good luck!

[RJ 1980]

Oh, I relate. I literally gained 70 pounds after I had my son and became a stay at home mom. I was so stressed and food was my 'comfort'. Especially after a rough day, my son would go to bed and I'd just binge on the couch, calling it "de-stressing." This went on for three years. When I became pregnant again I knew something had to change- kids are always stressful and I couldn't keep eating to destress b/c I'd be 1000 pounds!

I make sure I eat filling meals and I try to keep tempting snacks out of the house. If I'm feeling stressed and need something to 'relax and calm down with', I make an espresso or coffee or a glass of Diet Pepsi. I view these as treats.

Sorry I'm not much help, but something had to 'click' for me. I realized my external life wasn't going to change, so I had to change my internal self. I still binge occasionally, but no where near what it was before. Good luck

[Latchkey Princess]

I hear you. I've got three kids as well (3.5 year, 19 months and 2.5 months). They drive me up the wall and used to be when I'd had a particularly stressful day (I'm a stay at home mom) as soon as they were in bed I would EAT. Anything I could get my hands on. No food in the house was safe from my rampage.
I did what you seem to be doing, I first identified WHY I was eating, then I stopped mid-binge as often as I could. Now, while I still stomp around the house and throw my hands in the air and even cry sometimes when they're being little hellions, I can identify the feeling of an oncoming stress binge before it culminates in the eating part of the binge. And I can stop it. It's just a matter of learning to stop it BEFORE the eating starts, and you're on your way to doing that by stopping after a few bites. It will come to you, stay strong!