I'm not completely sure this thread is in the right place, but I'm new and a little oblivious for now. :P
I'm 17, so I'm still living with my family until I go to college this fall. My mom usually buys pretty healthy food for us, but my brother recently moved back in with his two sons, and he's been doing the shopping recently. He eats nothing but junk food, and that's all he buys of course. I have him pick up some of the healthier food I eat, but at the same time he buys chocolate and ice cream and (my weakness!) doritos. I've confronted him about it, and about how his oldest son is gaining weight so rapidly from it, but all he tells me is to just not eat it...
and I have the worst will power, so that's near impossible.
So what am I supposed to do? I keep slipping up because when I get hungry the junk food is so convenient. I should probably just work harder on my will power, but I wish I could convince him to just not buy it, or hide it.
And on a side note, I just had the stomach bug and I can barely find anything to eat that my stomach and actually stand. So this is especially hard right now. :/
You're not alone. My brother just moved in with me and he eats nothing but junk food all day long. If it's battered and/or fried, he eats it. Plus he buys a bunch of junky snacks like little debbie honey buns, frozen pizza, potato chips, and the like. And he's thin as a rail, so I'm also a little jealous.
Will power is a difficult thing. One of the things that has kept me sane is finding healthier foods and snacks (seafood, laughing cow cheese, sugar free fudgesicles, etc.) that keep me on plan and away from all the junk he's bringing in the house and cooking.
Good luck!
Last edited by grneyedmustang; 03-22-2009 at 06:06 PM.
I lived with my aunt/uncle for half a year, and they're just terrible about having all junk food around the house. I saved myself by staying really really busy, getting a physically active job, and only eating when I absolutely needed it.
However, though this might help you, it's not the ideal situation in the long run. A while after I moved out of their house and went back to school, I gained 100-ish pounds over the course of a year. I never got the chance to do it right, I just tried to my best to avoid it all, and now I'm in the process of losing it the right way. I think you really should just tell your parents what you want, and every time you look at some junk food and think of how good it would taste, think of how much better it would feel to be thin and happy.
I think that you should ask your mother for help with this. Your brother would probably listen to her more than he listens to you. If he would at least keep the junk out of sight!
Good luck and try to be strong. I know that it is very difficult with all the junk around.
Maybe ask your mom if you can do the shopping instead, and offer to cook a couple of nights a week. Your mom would most likely appreciate the help, it would be good practice for you with college coming up, and you would be more in control of what you eat. I'd also recommend getting a couple of things that are easy and convenient and HEALTHY for when you are hungry and need a snack. You could get some fresh fruit, raw veggies (carrots, celery etc.) and never count out the baked snacks like lays etc. You can't control what your brother brings into the house and what he chooses to feed his boys, all you can do is find a way around your current situation and set a good example.
I live with my younger brother - who eats macaroni and cheese, hotdogs and chips every day. He's seen me lose weight and he's really supportive so when I ask him to store his junk so it isnt lying around he doesnt mind.
He's got several cupboards of his own and junk food drawers. We keep our groceries pretty seperate. And I keep fruit out all the time. on the counter and on the table so it's the first time I grab instead of whatever junk he has. He's been really supportive - I'm lucky! Others have got some great ideas for you - I think being proactive is the best you can do. Set yourself up to succeed despite all the junk food.
my husband is very active and fit but loves junk food like doritos, chocolate milk, pringles, brownies. I still buy him these things because he enjoys them. I'm not tempted by any of it any more because I have SO many better ways to spend 200 calories. A treat for me is a chocolate vita muffin or some berries with fat free whipped cream. Eventually aftr eating healthfully that food just won't taste good any more.
In the mean time, offer to grocery shop for the family and stay full with healthy food, and never come home hungry (it will prime you for a junk food binge)
My boyfriend and I had a similar conversation today. He recently bought a bunch of bags of some great Hersheys minty mini chocolate bars. I said they were a tempation and he said "well, you can't eat those, those are mine." And he's right, I wouldn't want him eating my blackberries! It helps to remember those aren't mine. (he didn't say it in a mean way, I think he was trying to make it easier on me! Giving me a reason to stay out of them)
My situation is a bit different to yours, but I thought I would share in case it can help you in some way. I am a university student and I share a flat with a friend of mine, another woman of a similar age to me. My flatmate is seriously overweight. She almost always has junk food in the house, usually potato crisps, chocolate and cake. She eats a lot of it in the evenings, which is a time when we're both usually in the flat together in the living area. It's slightly different to your situation because we don't share food and have separate cupboards (I wouldn't take her food), but I do have to have her junk food in the flat, and seeing her eat it so frequently does bring it to the forefront of my mind.
However, I think my situation actually affects me positively, for two main reasons.
1. When I watch someone repeatedly eat junk food, and I can see the effects in their appearance, it actually repels me from doing the same and it really motivates me to eat healthily. This might sound unkind to be motivated from someone else's ill health, but when I see just how much junk food can make someone overweight, lethargic, with bad skin and so on, it just confirms to me that what I am doing when I try to live a healthy lifestyle is absolutely the right thing to do. I used to be a lot more like my flatmate, but since stepping away from that, I've been able to really see the effects of it. Having a "mirror" of what I used to do in terms of unhealthy snacking has really made me realise why I'm so glad I don't do it anymore.
2. I can now easily keep snacks/junk food in the house without eating it all. I never used to be able to do this, and I realise I'm really fortunate in being able to control myself in this way as I know a lot of people who are overweight have problems in this respect. It's something I've learned to do as a result of watching someone else eat really badly, and having made long-term changes to my diet that mean junk food binges are no longer appealing, and in fact, are somewhat unpleasant. For example, about two weeks ago, I bought a multipack of six packets of 25g potato crisps, and it took me about a fortnight to get through them all. Realising that I could do this felt amazing, and it made me realise I'd really turned a corner.
If the situation at home is hard to change, perhaps try and change the way you view it. I really have found that by shifting my attitude towards it, I've learned a great deal and have gained a lot of control with regards to willpower and snacking.
My nephews eat so bad I don't feel tempted much by their food But it is nice to have one or two chili cheese fries once a while without having to buy the whole thing (or was, before I became vegetarian). What would be much harder for me would be living with my sister, who is always baking such good stuff. She is on a mission to perfect various homemade breads and cookies. Sourdough yesterday, with butter, mmmmmm.
Ohhhh yes, I can certainly relate to this. I'm somewhat of a young'n, too (19) and although I'm at school for the majority of the year, I definitely face this problem when I'm home for vacations... In fact, it's funny that you should make this thread right now, because this week is actually my Spring break, and it is driving me NUTS to be home. My house is quite literally stuffed to the brim with junk, junk, junk--I don't think there was a single healthy item in the house when I came home! Just off the top of my head, I can tell you that we are currently stocking at least 3-4 bags of chips, cookies and raw cookie dough, a lemon-raspberry zinger cake, cheese doodles, peanut-butter filled pretzels, ice cream (and ice cream cookie sandwiches!?), a box of strawberry PopTarts, TONS of sugary cereals, etc etc etc! Not to mention the fact that the other day I was looking through the kitchen and randomly unearthed a grocery bag filled with partially-eaten family-sized bags of Milky Way minis, Starburst jelly beans, and fun-size Heath bars!! ARGHHH!!
Hehe, sorry for the outburst/tantrum, but basically, I completely understand how frustrating it is to have all of that junk sitting around. Some of the foods that are in the house right this second are items that I have been specifically craving for weeks and weeks (i.e. the toffee, sugary cereals, and Heath bars!), but I was able to resist them when I was at school and would have had to go out of my way to buy them... But now that they're all just sitting there with unlimited accessibility, I just feel like it's the binge to end all binges just waiting to happen! So far I have NOT given in, and I wish I could give you better advice, but it really is just a matter of willpower: mind over matter. You know that eating junk like that will not really make you feel good in the long run. It might taste good for a moment, but if you can't control the portions, you'll only make yourself sick and feel guilty about it when you finish--not to mention the adverse effects it'll have on your weight loss. Another thing that really helps me is to think of it in the way that Glory87 suggested, which is to think of the junky foods as "their" foods, rather than yours. I look at all the crap in the house and know it is there because someone else in the family chose it, and that is their poor decision, NOT mine... Then I look at all of my yummy, healthy foods that I picked out for myself while grocery shopping (which I did on like the second day of being home!!) and think, Yes, these are *my* foods; this is what *I* eat. It really helps to make that distinction!
Good luck with this, chicky... Seriously, I know exactly how challenging this is, and I really empathize. But if you can endure this, think of how amazingly strong your willpower will be! And think of how proud of yourself you'll be when you get to college and have already solidified your ability to make good choices.
Living with people that only eat junk food
But it is nice to have one or two chili cheese fries once a while without having to buy the whole thing (or was, before I became vegetarian). What would be much harder for me would be living with my sister, who is always baking such good stuff. She is on a mission to perfect various homemade breads and cookies. Sourdough yesterday, with butter, mmmmmm.
