[mariposssa]

Well, my dinner plans were derailed tonight. DH ended up not working late and because his brother flew in we ended up having pizza at MILs for dinner. That was actually okay. I had two pieces and it was the kind of pizza that is cut into smaller squares and corner triangle pieces. So, they were two small pieces. I only ate the thin crust and they had this huge stuffed crust deep dish thing that I totally stayed away from which was good.

But, the bad is that the only thing they had besides the pizza was cookies and candy. I really needed some sort of veggie or something else. But, what are you going to do when you are not at your house and you are at the mercy of other people's planning. I decided to just try and think of dinner as a snack and to have salad when I got home. Yeah. Well. The collision of too many evils...dinner at the in-laws, unexpected last minute change of plans, not eating enough when I really was hungry, etc.

Came into the house and ate chips and dip. One good thing is that the bag was 2/3 gone before I started...it had been opened on our cheat day. The other good thing...by some miracle...IDK what, but I stopped myself. I didn't finish the bag. I wasn't specifically counting. I usually count the chips I eat, literally count them out loud. I know it sounds silly but it works for me and I do this even on my cheat day. It helps keep me focused on the actual portion size. But, I only had about 15 to 20 chips. I was on the third handful when I came to my senses, smashed the rest of the bag and tossed them into the trash can. I am definitely not beating myself up about this one...I am considering it progress that I stopped in mid binge.

So, anyway long story...but I would love to hear if any of you have any tricks to pull yourself out of a food trance and stop a binge. Or prevent it from starting.

[luckymommy]

Actually, to me, you did quite well, considering everything you encountered. Had I been in that situation, I would have had a major binge, so kudos to you!

The best defense though, si a good offense. Prevention is absolutely the key (not that I have the answers, but that's just my opinion). First, I would recommend not keeping trigger foods or foods that are typically off limits in the house. If you ever plan a "cheat" meal, then just purchase portion controlled items so a single serving bag of chips would be an example. Not as exciting, I know, but that way, you wouldn't have even had the 20 chips to begin with. Another idea is to not even bring those foods into the house at all, if possible. Have a higher calorie meal out. People who do this will have ice cream at an ice cream shop so they pay more for a serving, but they don't bring it into their home.

Hunger is another good preventative. Always have some emergency food in your bag (I need to do this more too). Keep an apple or protein bar in every purse or never leave home without one (much like an American Express card) . Even if people judge you for it or try to peer pressure you into joining in the fun of their feast, it doesn't matter because the next day, you will feel so much better for resisting and not giving into their pressure.

Gum is another one that is in my arsenal of tricks and tends to work well for me. That way, while everyone is chewing, I am too so I don't feel quite as deprived.

Hot tea or hot lemon water. Most people have this in their homes so you could ask for it and sometimes, I'll go as far as to say that I'm not feeling too hot and could I have some hot water with lemon or some herbal tea. That way, they lay off the pressure of forcing me to eat a bunch of calories and I can even whip out my protein bar and eat that. Once home, I can have my actual dinner or another snack and be done with it.

Binges to happen for me still, but some of the above has helped. Finally, I'll say the last thing that has helped me immensely lately (although this could be a honeymoon phase, which I've had before with other diet "revelations." IF or Intermittent Fasting. I stop eating at 8 pm and I don't start eating until noon the next day. Sometimes I stop earlier or start earlier so I'll have between 14-16 hours of no food. I do have lemon water and tea. This saves me lots of calories and over time, becomes easier and easier. It's not something I could have done in the beginning of my weight loss, but I'm finding it quite easy and liberating at this time. Just thought I'd throw that out there, in case that it helps anyone reading this.

Sorry this is so long! I'm so glad you didn't go too far off the path.

[mariposssa]

Thanks, luckymommy. Lots of good advice there.

I hadn't thought about buying chips in individual sized packages...that's a good idea. With our family of 5 usually a bag of chips disappears a lot quicker. We had it with burgers on the grill on Sunday and I guess since we didn't pig out on them on our cheat day, they were still in the house. I have a six foot tall 16 year old son and I have NO IDEA how they escaped his snacking. lol

The hot water and a snack in your purse or car are also a good plan. Thanks. And, the sad thing is that I actually had a snack sized little bag of cashews in my purse!! Totally forgot about them. duh.

I haven't looked into the IF, yet. But, I am intrigued by the idea. It may be the next switch up for me. I am still doing ok on carb cycling. But, when I get to a slow down or stall; IF may be the next technique on my list.

[Pepino]

I agree with the not-in-the-house thing. Sometimes I get wicked craving and go the cupboard and if there is nothing but healthy there it is so frustrating LOL but I'm FORCED not to binge.
Also, instead of chips, they have those little mini rice-crips in every chip flavour...but buy the small bags...I could eat a whole bag...lol

[Natasha22]

I think you handled the whole situation quite well. I don't think I would have been able to control myself the way you did, especially since it was pizza, I just love pizza. Whenever I crave something I'm not supposed to eat I just try and keep myself busy: I clean my desk, call a friend, organize my magazines (this also works because I get exposed to photos of skinny models).

Or I make myself a cup of low fat yogurt with some slices of kiwi in it. For some reason it tickles my senses in such a way that cravings seem to be less acute.

[Resipoo]

You did great. I definitely would not have been able to eat only 2 small slices of pizza! Pizza is my number 1 weakness. I just love it. I think this seems very tame. If we didn't have food issues, this would be kinda normal. You should feel proud that you were able to stop it right there.

[mariposssa]

Thanks, everyone. Yeah. I do that All or Nothing thinking sometimes. The pizza was not on my plan. Equals all bad. Chips were not my plan. Two servings = binge. I was actually pretty amazed that I stopped and didn't finish the bag of chips and was sort of at a loss. Like, how'd that happen?? I could have totally gorged on pizza, had the cookies/candy, and then still had chips and dip when I got home. I think eating the chips at home was only partly about being too hungry. A big part of it was emotional eating just from being around the inlaws for the night. Sad, but true.