I have a pretty big sweet tooth so I am allowing myself one cheat per week if I'm really craving something. I don't look at it as a reward because I'm aware that it's not always healthy to look at food as rewards (how I probably got into this situation in the first place). Instead, I look it at as a lesson in moderation.
If I'm not craving anything in particular, I pass.
But even with the cheat, I have rules because of my tendency to have one cookie and then end up eating the whole box & crying on the bathroom floor as I get nauseous from eating too much.
-It has to be reasonable in terms of calories (nothing ridiculously crazy).
-I can't buy it when I buy regular groceries since that would involve it looking out at me from my pantry for days on end, tempting me
I try not to keep any junk in the house anymore so that way if I just have to have some ice cream, I have to actually get in my car and drive to the ice cream shop and usually by then, I don't want it anymore.
-It has to be just one serving of it.
Even with the low-fat/non-fat/100 calorie treats, I tend to go overboard. I remember when I was on Jenny Craig a couple years ago, they made this triple chocolate cheesecake piece that I found to be absolutely delicious. I was only allotted one of that particular kind for the week and I knew it was time to get a grip when I almost cut my tongue licking the plastic container it was in, in the privacy of my own home where no one could see me.
And yes, I've done the throwing away junk food and drenching it with dish-washing liquid in the trash can like Miranda from Sex and the City many times before.
I've had such an unhealthy relationship with food for so long, I'm trying to reprogram my brain when it comes to craving unhealthy food and self-control.
Like tonight, I had a late night craving so bad for something absolutely orgasmic to eat (despite having a substantially filling dinner), I thought I was gonna snap and eat the whole house.
I'm on a 1500 daily calorie allowance and I've been doing so great these past couple of days (1500 calories exactly last night and a little over 1400 today), I didn't want to end up feeling guilty. There were a package of Oreos in the pantry that my husband had bought and been snacking on today when I wasn't around and I must've stared at them for a good five minutes before I stopped and said to myself, "Why are you letting cookies control your life? Something so insignificant as a cookie has got you acting all crazy.."
So I made myself some green tea. Drank it. Drank a full glass of ice water, waited about 30 minutes and was still kind of hungry. Instead, I grabbed a piece of light string cheese and two dill spear pickles and that curbed it.