As usual for us 30-somethings, others in my family have different food desires (and my kid is slightly underweight, so we keep lots of healthy calorie-dense food around for him).

So... How do you resist when there are treats calling your name from the kitchen?

(For context, I don't have a particular 'diet' -- that is, I don't consider any foods off limits, I just count calories. And my calories are not that low; I try to hit 1000 net, so like an ideal day is 1400 calories eaten and 400 burned which I naturally do with walking.)

I either work a tiny bit into my meals, or I tell myself I can have some later.

If I want something my boyfriend bought I just have one and let him have the rest and its worked pretty well for me.

I actually collect dark chocolate and honey from my travels. It keeps so I put the stuff in a cupboard and have a little every now and again.

Dark chocolate is my snack of choice before a run.

And then there are my other high calorie "treats" which are not really treats at all because they are good for me so I work them into my meals every day: guacamole, hummus, dates, figs, prunes, Turkish apricots, nuts, olives. I don't bother counting calories on this stuff because it is so darn good for you that I'd be robbing from Peter to pay Paul if I gave a sh!t about limiting this stuff. Besides, I never met anyone that got fat from eating dates. Or guacamole. Or hummus. Or olives.

Cake, candy, soda, fries, donuts, ice cream - not so much.

If it's there - and I really want it - I have a treat.

And I have a serious dialog with myself that it IS a treat. It isn't something I need to eat 4 servings of or eat until I feel awful physically and/or mentally.

Also, I make it special. Put it on a nice plate, carry it to another room and treat it like a true indulgence.

I struggle and will want to eat it!!! sometime I have will power other times i don't... like last night ate a chocolate bar

xxxx

Like you, I also have a child who needs plenty of calorie-dense food. I wish I could manage to only have a little bit and practice restraint and portion control, but unfortunately I've come to the conclusion that I can't with some food. Some things just seem to send me into a horrible spiral where I can't stop and suddenly all my hard earned good habits are unravelled. The only way I can overcome this at the moment is not to have any, so I often need to have my own separate food and plenty of lower calorie treats for me too.

Have a low calorie treat, or make food for everyone else in the house using the ingredient I'm craving (haha. Sneaky).

It's not mine so I don't eat it.