Does lack of control around "trigger" foods ever annoy you?
I get so upset with myself because I cannot seem to have certain foods in the house without overeating them. Every time I try to have certain foods in the house, convincing myself that I won't overeat them, I end up having to waste that food by throwing out half of it because I can't control myself around it. For example, I shop at Trader's Joe's once a month, and they have this delicious cocoa almond butter spread that is addictive (it's probably akin to Nutella, but I've never liked Nutella, yet I love this stuff). Every time I've been there for the past three months, I've talked myself into buying it by vowing that I WILL control myself around it. And, for the first few days or even a week, I do----especially if it hasn't been opened yet. However, after it has been opened, on about day three, my control starts slipping big time. I mean, it's as if I cannot even have a taste of it without going back for more. Today, I was eating it straight from the jar with my fingers (yeah, that's not a pretty picture). I finally tossed half the jar in the garbage before I could polish it off.
It really bothers me that there are some foods I cannot seem to eat moderately. And believe me, it's not that I'm depriving myself either. I eat at least one goodie every day, and I eat an average of 2200 calories a day.
Does anyone have a success story for me, i.e., you used to be obsessed with certain foods but can now eat them moderately? If so, do you have an tips/tricks to share? It bothers me that I may get to the point where I can't ever have those foods in the house because I'll feel out of control.
I wish I could give you a clear success story. I can know there are some of my trigger foods in the house without eating them, BUT, only if they are well out of sight and I have, in my mind, labelled them NOT MINE.
Eg. Dh has all sorts of chocolate in his basement office. It is not mine and I am not allowed to eat it, so I don't. If it was in the kitchen or another room I had to go in frequently, or if I had not labelled it not for my consumption, then I would have a free for all 2-3 times per week. I know this because I used to do that 1) when he stored it in the kitchen and 2) before I labelled it not mine in my head.
I can also do this with things I've bought or made particularly for the kids, but I do have to hide them in the cupboard, freezer or top of the fridge (I'm short).
I cannot allow myself even one bite of these things though, because once I do, I've crossed the line and all bets are off. So I could not buy something like the cocoa almond butter spread for myself to eat moderately.
It baffles me more than annoys me because I don't know what caused me to just snap and be better at saying No, while in the past, I pretty much always surrendered...where that snap came from I don't know. Even when I have big problems in my life, I have not (yet) had a temptation to go back to old trigger foods.
I don't get too annoyed because the more I get to know people, the more I find out that many people have ways of dealing with problems that aren't so healthy-many find ways to block the pain, or are in total denial. Some just ignore the issues, some do this or that. I don't get mad at them for it (unless they take it out on me), so I don't get mad at myself.
EDIT-I don't know if I can eat the old trigger foods because I don't even want to buy them anymore-at least not recently in my life. Minus the relief they gave me, I now think that they look kinda sad in their containers.
Last edited by pixelllate; 04-13-2012 at 07:57 PM.
I'm not sure that "moderation" will ever be possible for me. I believe I will always have to avoid some foods, or at least eat them only in very controlled situations (such as buying an ice cream cone once in a while in the summer, but NOT ever buying a half-gallon of premium ice cream and expecting it to last in the freezer).
In the book, "The End of Overeating," the author, David Kessler cites research that found that cocaine-addicted rats will (at least in some situations) choose sugar over cocaine.
Virtually no one would expect a cocaine addict to learn use cocaine in moderation, and yet we expect (and almost socially demand) that people be able to use sugar in moderation.
In fact, if you try to be sugar-abstinent, you're often considered some kind of anti-social health-food extremist freak. You'ld think that turning down birthday cake was the social equivalent of kicking the birthday-child's new puppy (even if the birthday child is a middle-aged adult.
I truly believe that for the rest of my life, I will have to treat sugar like any habit-forming, emotion-altering drug.
I don't have a problem with alcohol, but I still "respect" the drug. I take precautions when using it (I don't drive, I make sure it's not going to interact with other medications I'm taking...).
Sugar in significant amounts has a lot of deleterious side effects for me. It aggravates my inflammatory conditions, causing more pain from my fibro and arthritis, it aggravates skin issues causing itchy and inflamed skin.
It has positive effects as well, mostly a euphoric feeling and sensory experience.
I have to weigh the positives and the negatives, and if I were honest with myself I'd understand that the costs almost always outweigh the benefits.
I could and should avoid processed sugar like the poison it very well may be.
Sometimes though I don't, and I don't beat myself up for it, I just remember that I have to get back to abstinence as soon as possible, because sugar does nothing good for me.
Sugar is used as a "recreational drug" in our culture, and there's a lot of peer pressure to indulge. It's pushed by and onto people of all ages from toddlers to the elderly.
I'm not saying that sugar should be made illegal, but turning down sugar shouldn't be such a radical or unacceptable choice.
Nope. Sorry. No real success story. Sometimes, I can have it in the house and sometimes I can't and I can't always tell what kind of day or week it is going to be. One thing that annoys me is that there are certain things that I can keep around (because the kids eat them more than I do) and other very similar things that I can't leave alone. Right now I am in a pretty good spot, with low carbs, staying on plan and not binging. So, most things will be fine as long as nobody starts eating it right in my face and breathing the smelly stuff into my airspace.
But, about the worse thing that could ever happen is a box of opened Cheezits left out on the table. How is it even possible that the same box, closed and in the cabinet holds no power over me, whatsover. But, let one of those dern kids leave it on the table and I could easily pick up the box and eat every last salty crumb. Doesn't even make logical sense. I mean, why am I incapable of handling it to put it away? Once I touch it, I'm pretty much toast.
i have uncontrollable ice cream urges, but instead of depriving myself i either buy lowfat mini ice cream bars (only 70 calories apiece) yoplait yogurt bites (around 150 calories per serving) or make a smoothie with frozen fruit and lowfat yogurt, it actually works to get rid of my ice cream urges. if i deny myself the things i love, i wont be successful, and i will be miserable, although i have just started, i have been replacing my fattening foods with lowfat substitutes for some time. cook yourself thin has been a huge help to me, because they simply teach you how to make the foods you love with far less calories.
btw, i am a huge sucker for nutella, but instead of buying a whole jar, i buy the nutella to go snack packs with mini breadsticks. that way i dont give myself the option to eat the whole thing!
No success story unfortunately. The worst is the fact that my trigger foods only trigger me on certain days - sometimes I can enjoy them in moderation and sometimes I just. cant. stop.
I work on the weekends and am the only one in my department who does. I used to clean out the candy dish (or maybe leave 1 token piece out of shame) by Saturday afternoon. I didn't intend to but that's what happened. Now, that candy is dead to me. I don't touch a piece at all. I just stare it down and pass it by. Actually, by now, it doesn't even register to me as something I eat. I guess that's a success story.
Cupcakes or cake of any kind is absolutley crack to me. I cannot control myself. I would try to eat a whole cake, and barf. However, I was so proud of myself, because Easter Sunday was a cookout at my mil's house. I gave myself the option to have either a scoop of macaroni salad (also a trigger food, as pasta with any mayo or creamy stuff is), or a single cupcake. I chose the cupcake. And I ate 1, and only 1. And God how I wanted more. I wanted to eat like a dozen more in secret, with the papers and the shame piling up all around. But I decided that my chair sinking into the dirt because I'm a porker was a sign not to eat any more. Success. Just wanting my waist back more than those delicious cakes helped a lot. If you gave me the same option right now, I would likely fail. But that is today, and each day is different, and I wisely don't keep cupcakes in my house!
Thank you all for the replies. It's nice to read that I'm not alone (although I logically knew that, it's still nice to be validated again).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Only Me
I can know there are some of my trigger foods in the house without eating them, BUT, only if they are well out of sight and I have, in my mind, labelled them NOT MINE.
This is an interesting concept that has worked for me in the past (unfortunately, its effectiveness has worn off). I remember a colleague of mine saying that she tells herself "That [whatever tempting food it is] doesn't belong to me" and that helped her to resist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaplods
In the book, "The End of Overeating," the author, David Kessler cites research that found that cocaine-addicted rats will (at least in some situations) choose sugar over cocaine.
This is simply amazing. This is in line with some posts I've seen on this forum where people have admitted doing hard drugs in the past and have said that quitting them was easier than resisting foods they loved. Also, I've read posts where people say that resisting tempting foods is more difficult than when they've quit smoking. That really shows the power some foods have over some people (people like me, that is). BTW, I have Kessler's book on my "to read" list.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariposssa
But, about the worse thing that could ever happen is a box of opened Cheezits left out on the table. How is it even possible that the same box, closed and in the cabinet holds no power over me, whatsover. But, let one of those dern kids leave it on the table and I could easily pick up the box and eat every last salty crumb. Doesn't even make logical sense. I mean, why am I incapable of handling it to put it away? Once I touch it, I'm pretty much toast.
Yes! Per my original post, I'm the same way. Somehow when the jar or box of goodies is opened, it's like Pandora's box, unleashing all the evil temptations !!
This is an interesting concept that has worked for me in the past (unfortunately, its effectiveness has worn off). I remember a colleague of mine saying that she tells herself "That [whatever tempting food it is] doesn't belong to me" and that helped her to resist.
I haven't had a really, really strong binge urge in the past month or so, so I don't know if I'll be able to stick to that through one. Mostly I've been getting the normal to me, smaller binge urges that I can usually overcome by distracting myself, drinking coffee or water, eating salad, going for a walk, or just telling myself no and getting grumpy.
I am like you in that I can't start a trigger food, because some is never enough.
No success story unfortunately. The worst is the fact that my trigger foods only trigger me on certain days - sometimes I can enjoy them in moderation and sometimes I just. cant. stop.
Ditto!
It is so tough to tell when it will be a problem and when it is fine, so I just err on the side of none with the occasional date or birthday as an exception on a trigger food (like peanut brittle, for example), and otherwise it is classed as an allergy for me, because it triggers all sorts of inflammatory responses. Such is life and there are enough delicious substitutes for the foods I can't eat, that don't make me a crazy, ill, craving beast... I can buck up and avoid the triggers.
I'm biased from jumping on the Intuitive Eating bandwagon, but I would say that if you really take your time to sit down and savor one small piece of whatever triggers you (for me it's anything potatoes -- mashed, boiled, baked, fried, etc.), chances are you'll either decide that it was enough, or you'll realize that the pleasure you get out of it is fleeting and somewhat imagined. A small plate of fries or mashed potatoes can be immensely satisfying if eaten the "right" way, and is usually enough for me. If I keep getting cravings, I try to make myself have some water or coffee and wait the 10 minutes for the urge to subside.
For me, the fleeting pleasure is chocolate. I gorge on chocolate when I eat mindlessly, but if I really sit down to enjoy it, I decide that 90% of the chocolate I word normally eat (apart from the really premium, expensive stuff) gives me acid reflux and doesn't taste all that great.
But if you feel like you just can't control it -- or you're not sure when you'll be able to -- remove them, if you can. I think there's no shame in admitting that some things are just like crack to you and shouldn't be consumed for risk of causing a binge spree.
I LOVE garlic bread. I could easily eat a whole box. So does my 10 yr old son. He could eat only that every day and would be perfectly happy. We have it in the house a LOT.
It's similar to what was being talked about above about labeling something "not mine". I look at the garlic bread and think, "wow he'll enjoy that so much more than I will and I don't want to take any food away from him that I obviously don't need. It would be like stealing from him."
Every now and then I'll cave and have only one, but most of the time that works.
this probably sounds a bit wierd but if i fancy somthing i imagine it with mouldy, and i mean thick green furry stinky mould. ill tell myself 'you dont want the chinese/biscuit/crisps its gone off and its mouldy and the craving just goes away.
although id say every 8-10 week i have a binge that lasts a few days then its like iv 'got it all out my system' and i carry on being healthy.
Does lack of control around "trigger" foods ever annoy you?
The worst is the fact that my trigger foods only trigger me on certain days - sometimes I can enjoy them in moderation and sometimes I just. cant. stop.
!!
