Certain foods that bring out the binge monster in me:

cereal with milk
any chocolate
anything sweet--even "sugar free" cookies, candies
fruit----so healthy, but it makes my appetite HUGE- (probably the fructose)


If I avoid these foods my appetite is greatly decreased. One bite and the urge to binge is almost overwhelming.

Does anyone else have recognized trigger foods?

Yes I most definatley do!!

~Chips (it's true - you can never eat just one!)
~Cheese!! I don't know why but it always makes me hungrier!
~ Cereal!

UGH!!!

bad carbs are my triggers....chips, cookies, donuts, cake, because they are so non filling and i can just eat and eat and eat........

Cheese and pizza. And pizza with extra cheese .

Carbs! (is that, like, everything?) Chips, cereal and bread are big ones for me.

So here's another question...do you guys eat these trigger foods still? Sweets are mine, and I can't decide if I should try and eat just a little, or nix them altogether?!

Sigh. See my weight loss tracker. Yes, I still eat the darned things.
It's all about self-control, isn't it? I mean, some people ARE able to eat their trigger foods in moderation. I'm better if I stay away from them. It's the sugar...

Hi IDGRL (and everyone else!),

I hate to say it, but I had to give up sweets (sugar-free as well as sugar-full) altogether. I found that I was eating cookies - and anything else sweet I could get my hands on - instead of food.

One of my friends decided to give up sweets for lent this year, and on a whim I decided to do it with her. I thought I'd confirm that it didn't make any difference in my weight. Ha! The joke was on me. By the end of 40 days, I'd lost about 15 pounds, exercising regularly but not making any other changes in my diet. I decided to keep going. Yesterday was 10 months for me. I've lost 44 pounds and my life has changed completely. I still have a way to go, but wouldn't go back for anything.

I plan to go a full year without sweets. Next year, I plan to have a treat every 3 months. The following year, I'm thinking it will be once a month. The goal is not to live a miserable cookie-less life , it's just to get control of my health, and to learn how to eat cookies like a normal person.

I don't mean to say that this is The Answer. The trick is just finding what works for you, and holding onto it for dear life.

Wow - this has gotten long. Sorry!

Good luck!

cheers,
paula

Paula,
Wow!! I am so impressed first with your commitment to stop eating sweets and second with the weight it helped you to lose! Congratulations!!! I have been going without sweets for about a week at a time, and in that week I feel so much better about myself and the weight goes down, and I think, I'll just have one little cookie or something and BOOM there goes the binge. I guess I'm just not quite ready to reintroduce my trigger foods, so I'm going to stay away from them, like you did, and possibly plan for a special treat every few months. I think a key for me to eating sweets in control is also to not be alone when I eat, but to go out with a friend or something to enjoy my dessert. Thanks for your story! Very inspiring.

Anything bad for you is my trigger. Cookies, chips, candy, ice cream, any fatty fired foods. I do not know how to eat these foods in moderation. I know I need to learn because I cannot avoid them forever. Right now even the smallest thing sets me off. Oh well...I am trying.

ARghhh bread. I love bread,,,married a bread man! Cookies, cakes,,,and mouth watering cinnamon buns...no control so have to have nothing like that in the house ever! Have freaked on hubby for bringing it home,,,have brought it to work so often the girls are giving me the hairy eyeballs..(ha ha ha)
But I can't be near anything like that...and hate that I don't have the control to say,,,ah no thanks.
There is a place in the mall that sells cinnamon buns,,I don't go near that side of the mall now. Is that taking it to the extreme? Avoiding areas of life to avoid a binge?
Funny thing is I don't like sugar,,,don't use it anything at home,,,don't even have any in the house...am allergic to aspertame so don't have sugar free things...may have a sugary cereal for the kids,,,but gag at the thought of eating that.
And yet give me bread,,,and its a totally different story. And peanut butter...my comfort food? Or the diving board for a binge?

HI friends,
Don't have much time but you've inspired me to give up my trigger foods. I have 15 pounds of baby weight to lose, and when I've given up these foods in the past, it really has worked.

Okay, here goes day one for me. Today is Tuesday, and I have had no sweets!
Thanks for the encouragement. My little one's crying! bye for now!
Love,
Gracegirl

Sweet things and salty things. Cookies, cake, chips. All of it. Put 'em together and it's even worse. Think chocolate covered pretzels, peanut M&M's, Reeses cups...

I still eat them but I make sure I count out one serving and put it into fitday. I guess I have more self control than I thought! For example lately for my evening snack I have 3 reduced fat oreos and 12 ounces of milk. I get the oreos from the cupboard, take out three, then but them away before I eat so I can't take "just one more."

Tortilla chips with topping, be it salsa, bean dip, artichoke dip, hummus, etc. It can get REALLY out of control. So I won't buy them anymore.

Cookies, definitely. Any sweet pastry-type thing.

I find that pasta can be triggery, too. Also, greasy stuff like fries or chicken strips.

Cheese can be, because it's so many calories in one little piece. You eat it and it's like, what, that was 100 calories? That was hardly any food, I need some more.

It's been my downfall lately and I wouldn't be surprised if I've gained a couple of pounds when I weigh in on Friday