[Sheila53]

I was cruising for motivation and found a response to someone who was having trouble sticking with her plan. I really loved what the person who replied had to say so I thought I'd share it:


"- If the urge to eat hits, come to [a board like this] and surf the forums for a while. This is a delay tactic. I tell myself I can't eat while surfing. And I find that after reading people's posts, I usually have the motivation and determination to not snack.

- Delay tactics in general are a big helper. Find one that works for you. Tell yourself you can eat something *after* you drink 2 large glasses of water. Or after 20 minutes. After you: go for a brisk walk, do the dishes, whatever.

- Examine your food choices to see if you can find foods that will keep you satisfied longer, making you less likely to reach for something else. I find that yogurt makes me feel full longer. So do eggs, tuna, peanut butter - foods high in protein. When I eat carbs, I get hungry sooner. I still eat carbs, but try to stick to whole wheats, etc that are higher in fibre. I try to avoid processed food. Fruits and veggies are good for you, but they don't 'last' long for me. So I try to pair them up with yogurt for that full feeling. Or space out my fruits every couple hours to stretch them out.

- Find something else to do with your hands. A great idea I heard here: do your nails. You definitely can't eat while waiting for nail polish to dry. Even if it's the clear stuff (I don't like colored nail polish). If the cravings are really bad - slap on a couple coats of polish.

- Do NOT keep junk food in your house. I can't allow potato chips or chocolate into the house because if it's there I HAVE to eat it. If it's not here, I can't eat it. At the very least, it forces me to go out to buy the junk food. And part of me is lazy enough after a hard day's work that I can't be bothered to go. Surprisingly, the cravings go away after 20-30 min.

- Related to the above point, several other people have mentioned this idea: Only eat your trigger foods in public. If you want chips, chocolate bars, pizza, fries, whatever, tell yourself you can only eat that in public. Most people find this deters them from over eating. Even if people really aren't watching you eat in the restaurant, at work or on a park bench, it feels like they are. So you tend not to over eat.

- Keep only OP foods in the house. If you're going to snack, snack on an apple. Or low fat popcorn. Baked chips, carrot sticks. That way, even if you binge, it's on better choices and the damage will be less.

- Don't focus on the big picture. If you start thinking about all the stressful things in your life, including wanting to lose 28 lbs, you're going to get overwhelmed. Take things one small step at a time. For weight loss, set smaller goals - like 5lbs at a time. Heck, just focus on staying on program 1 day at a time if that'll help. Then take a look at the other stresses in your life and break them down into smaller steps too. Deal with small steps/tasks/challenges. They're much easier then getting overwhelmed by the big picture. Plus, you have to do things 1 step at a time anyway to get to the end goal. You're not going to get it all done at once, so why stress out about it?

- Really sit down and think about each of the reasons you mentioned for eating and come up with a strategy for changing or dealing with it. Boredom: why are you bored? Are you truly bored or perhaps procrastinating? What can you do about it? Loneliness: Pick one day a week to do something about that. Call up a friend. Invite someone to go for a walk, go for lunch (OP!), see a movie, whatever. It may feel hard (I'm majorly shy, so I've had to force myself to face my fears) but it's never as hard as you imagine it. Remember, small steps at a time. Something to do with your hands: nail polish! Or some other hobby, craft, etc.

If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me! Sorry this is so long, but I've learned so much from this site, and I hate to see others struggling. I know how you feel, but you CAN do it. The tools are all around you, just waiting for you to use them. You just need to believe in yourself. You ARE worth it!!!"

Back to me again--I found this post so thoughtful and full of great advice that I'm printing it out. I hope that others can find something that may help them.

[Sandi]

What a great post!! Thanks soooo much for sharing.

What I liked was, Bored...or are you really procrastinating. I am ALWAYS procrastinating!!!

[SuchAPrettyFace]

Procrastinate...NOW!!! hahahahaha

Thank you for sharing, Sheila.

[Jillegal]

Great post - lots of great ideas and lots of valid points - thanks!

I have a delay tactic also - when I feel like I want to eat and my next planned meal is still hours away, I'll get on the phone - to a friend, a relative - or even make a business or "errand" call I've been putting off. By the time I'm off the phone the urge to eat has usually passed. The telephone isn't as effective as going out for a walk or doing some other physical activity, but if it stops me from eating at the wrong times then it works for me!

[Sandi]

sometimes if I am at work and I want a doughnut that's out. I will tell my co-worker that I want to be bad, she'll tell me no (who also diets) and then once she knows, it seems kinda off limits.

[jiffypop]

everyone i know has been incredibly supportive. a few weeks ago, i announced i was ready to stress eat... and you know how there's always a bunch of people who have STASH on their desks??? well, i happened to announce this to the keeper of the M&Ms, and she knows i can have a FEW!!! without missing a beat, she and the person who was in her office at the time TOOK THE DISH OFF HER DESK and stuffed it in her drawer!!!

and they both said that they weren't going to let me do this. if i regained control later, they'd put the dish back out. wasn't that helpful?? and i DID get control later.

and just so you all know.. i have stash as well: sugar free hard candies in really good flavors!!!