A trick for dealing with those treat-filled events

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  • Hi folks. With the summer cookout season fully upon us (at least where I am, in North America), I see a lot of posts where people are worried about how to stay on plan through all of that temptation.

    Here's a trick I used last winter during the interminable holiday-party season. I hope some of you find it helpful.

    If your plan is to have a small amount of your favorite treats - say, one cookie, or one scoop of Aunt Matilda's famous potato salad, or whatever it is - try not having ANY of it until you are just about to leave the party. Then, when you are minutes away from going, enjoy your one taste of whatever it was you were pining for.

    This works for me for two reasons. First, it's a LOT easier for me to eat none of something wonderful than to have a little of it. Once I get the taste in my mouth, it's very hard to resist tasting a little more and a little more. By saving that first taste until I'm just about to leave the party, by the time I'm ready for more I am physically removing myself from the temptation. Can't have more if I'm not there!

    The second reason is that if you wait, the treats might be completely gone by the time you step up to the table - eaten by others. That may not sound great but it really is a good thing, to keep in mind that you can have a good time at a party even if you don't get a taste of Aunt Matilda's famous potato salad. For so many of us, eating treats is accompanied by an almost compulsive feeling that to forgo them is to miss an opportunity - and part of the process of getting trim is learning that "oh well, not today" is a perfectly acceptable way to approach treats.

    So. It's worked for me in the past, and I thought I'd throw it out there to think about. I hope it works for you, as well.
  • Quote:
    If your plan is to have a small amount of your favorite treats - say, one cookie, or one scoop of Aunt Matilda's famous potato salad, or whatever it is - try not having ANY of it until you are just about to leave the party. Then, when you are minutes away from going, enjoy your one taste of whatever it was you were pining for.
    Unfortunately this doesn't work out well for me. What happens *to me* is I get home, and feel all sorry for myself. Since I already have the trigger in place, I'll proceed to snack/binge on junk that really isn't that good...like weird concoctions of crap just to feed the newly set craving. Though, that is only me, some people can do moderation.

    I remember RockinRobin used to say that she never regretted NOT eating the cheesecake. (Or whatever the bait was at the time.) That is so true for me as well. If I end up eating something carby/sugary I ALWAYS regret it...sooner or later, but not once have I ever felt regret NOT eating it.
  • Yeah, I try not to eat those type of things at all for now.
    Because when I do, even if its just a nibble, I always feel guilty about it.
    And although its silly, I blame any slowing of weight loss or even the tiniest weight gain on that nibble of cake or that spoonful of potato salad.

    So for the time being, I'm steering clear of those "bad" foods.
    Replacing them with veggies and whole grains and lots of fiber and protein!
    I just remind myself why I'm eating well, and I will treat myself later when I'm maintaining. ^_^
  • I'm good at staying away from treats. My issue is more that people don't take no for an answer and nag at me to eat unhealthy food.
    Thus, I use a little white lie. I only eat candy on Saturday. Or another one is: I have a bet with my friend that I can last a month without treats.
    Takes away the worst of the nagging.
  • Quote: ...The second reason is that if you wait, the treats might be completely gone by the time you step up to the table - eaten by others. That may not sound great but it really is a good thing...
    I am glad this works for I am way too obsessive for this. I would obsess about that one thing the entire party (secretly), which is OK really, as it would be my demon. BUT if it were to be gone before I left, no one would want to be around me for the rest if the evening as I would be crabby and irritable until bed and my hubby would be clueless as to why.

    ...just ask him about the Thanksgiving Dinner we took his Mum to at his sisters where they decided to eat an hour early and most of the food was GONE when we got there, with Mum, in her wheelchair up a flight of stairs, ON TIME. ...The kicker was I dropped off $35 in Turkey two days before because his sister INSISTED on cooking it herself. hey she did give me the bones from the turkey though so I could make soup, but she gave them to me in an open dollar store container no lid and refused to give me a plastic bag.... and you guessed it, the greasy container slipped out of hubby's hands while I was putting Mum back in her wheelchair at the nursing home and the turkey bones fell all over our mini van floor.
  • i could probably do the trick of grabbing the bite just as i'm headed out the door...i do tend to obsess over what i want though, like staring at the birthday cake the whole party or something...but if the treat is removed from me, like when i walk out the door, i can usually get right back on track...i will have to try that idea!
  • Quote: Unfortunately this doesn't work out well for me. What happens *to me* is I get home, and feel all sorry for myself. Since I already have the trigger in place, I'll proceed to snack/binge on junk that really isn't that good...like weird concoctions of crap just to feed the newly set craving. Though, that is only me, some people can do moderation.

    I remember RockinRobin used to say that she never regretted NOT eating the cheesecake. (Or whatever the bait was at the time.) That is so true for me as well. If I end up eating something carby/sugary I ALWAYS regret it...sooner or later, but not once have I ever felt regret NOT eating it.
    Well, I don't limit this to carby treats, but really any kind of food I don't want to overeat. And when I succeed at not overeating, I feel anything but sorry for myself when I get home - I feel proud and empowered.

    I do agree with the rest of what you have said, and my last paragraph was meant to get at that ... it's really not the end of the world if the whole party goes by and you don't get your taste of whatever it is you had a hankering for.

    Anyway, to everyone else's comments, I'm sorry that (so far) it's universally panned as unhelpful. I really can't imagine obsessing over a piece of food to the extent that it ruins a party! I guess I'm lucky. That sounds like a terrible barrier to have to fight against.
  • Quote:
    Anyway, to everyone else's comments, I'm sorry that (so far) it's universally panned as unhelpful. I really can't imagine obsessing over a piece of food to the extent that it ruins a party! I guess I'm lucky. That sounds like a terrible barrier to have to fight against.
    Oh, I'm sure this is not useless information to the person who has self control. Like I said, it wouldn't work *for me* because I'm a carb junkie....(sugar, potatoes, bread, pasta salad...etc ) But yeah, you are right, for those of us who are addicts to these types of food, it is a hard road to travel.
  • Yeah, it's good advice! But we are just all so different that things that work for me won't work for half the people on this site!

    I think pringles stole my line when it comes to me eating snack food...Once you pop, you can't stop!"
  • Thanks for this! I was having that problem yesterday and probably will today too. It's been four days of back to back parties, and all I want to do now is get back on track.
  • Thanks to the OP for the great advice. I suppose I'm in the minority here in saying that I definitely would want to have that extra special dish that I may only get to try once a year (or even more infrequently). I suppose my reasoning is that I'm trying to make changes that I know I can live with a lifetime, and I've already decided that I will not give up all my favorite, rare foods for a lifetime. So far, I've been able to eat some treats in moderation. If I find that I go overboard and can't, though, I'll try stragegy B and refrain.

    Sometimes, what I'll do at a special event is actually just skip or have tiny portions of food that I know I can have any day of the week---e.g., a hamburger, pasta salad, etc. I'll focus on those items that I can only have once a year or less.
  • I have actually done that before - usually waiting until there's only a little left if I can... sometimes it does disappear before I have any, and I'm usually okay with that!
  • I'm going to try that Carter. For me it's small munchy things...so maybe I'll let myself have a handful of (whatever) in the last 30 minutes of the party/gathering. We are going to a bday party next Saturday, so I'll see how I do with this...great place to test it out.
  • This is my method for dealing with treats at work (almost a daily occurrence). If it's something I can't resist entirely, I tell myself that I can take home 1 cookie/small slice of whatever, if there's any left at the end of the day. There rarely is! But it's trained me to take food more in stride (the "I can take it or leave it" mentality), which is my real goal more than weight loss.
  • This just might work for me...although I do have a hollow leg (or two) and the biggest sweet tooth! I'm training my body to want better things, and given my cheesecake fiasco yesterday I think this would be the perfect method to try.

    Thanks for the idea, I guess we will have to see if I have the will power!