Oh my gosh - I can't give up my Peanut Butter

Oh and homemade Macaroni and Cheese - I don't make it because I'll eat th whole thing! ;)

Sandy

myblog = mygritsconfessions.com

I can't keep any of the foods mentioned around the house, I have very little willpower when it comes to food.... but what workes for me is the forced portion control so when I want a treat I have to want it bad enough to go out of my way to get it and only get one serving. My friends always get annoyed when they come over cause "all I have is healthy crap" hehe

ice cream (even the skinny cow ones i eat too much), brownies, pizza (especially papa john's)

Doritos! (or any chips, but mostly doritos)

I picked up two bags at the store the other day because they were buy one get one free. I put them back though - whew:) - that was hard. I just knew that if I brought them home they would be gone in 3 days. and I would feel like crap. I cant just eat a couple. :(

I'm pretty new at dieting (well counting calories really) and I swore to myself I would make heathy choices and eat food that is closer to nature.

In other words if I can't shoot it or grow it I don't want it. I had to go through my whole kitchen and get rid of a lot of stuff, I gave it all away to family.

I do cheat sometimes but I eat it out I don't bring anything home. I can't I am still too weak. I have a LOT of fresh produce and lean meats and hardly any processed foods.

My one no no is I guess any kind of cake or pie. I wouldn't be able to resist. I wouldn't eat just one piece or I would go downstairs late at night and eat it when I got the night muchies.

Honey buns, bagels, twinkies, oatmeal creme pies, ice cream, pretzels, pb&j&white bread (I can have peanut butter as long as jelly & white bread aren't around), skittles smoothie mix, cap'n crunch cereal and most cereals, fresh baked cookies or even stale cookies... any kind of cookies... i love cookies...

My resistance has gotten much better. There was a time that brownies could not be in the house but now I can resist them. However, if I take one bite, I know I would consume the whole pan.

I still can not resist M&Ms or other chocolate candy, plain potato chips, or Cheetos. My family knows my list. They can have other items at the house but not these things!

Plain unadulterated potato chips are my absolute gotta have, gotta eat the whole bag without dip favorite "no-no" food (if you can really call them food). I have other foods like homemade macaroni and cheese, baked goods, French fries and ice cream that call and beckon to me in the most beguiling way and I will eat them but I can for the most part keep the portions under control. But those potato chips are my nemesis. I've made a complete pig of myself at parties, basically eating the whole bowl that was set out for everyone to eat. :o And at home I've been known to lick out the bag after I've demolished every chip in the bag including any that fell on the floor. So I just don't keep them in the house. I do buy them for other family members but usually in small bags for them to eat without sharing. But even then I'll manage to beg a few. Yeah, it's potato chips for me.

I'm happy that you've found a way to live with your disease. Are you at peace with it? It sounds like you still struggle. I know this stuggle well, I know what it's like for food to have such a hold on you.

I also know that without food that I love, my life might be longer, but it wouldn't be more enjoyable. I might never hit my goal of losing the last 10 lbs because I love food so much. I love being able to occasionally throw good sense to the wind and eat without thinking about calories, fat grams or the impact it will have on my body. To me, this is enjoyable. I don't take joy in worrying, obessing, counting. I do it because I am a single mom and I need to be alive and well for my chilld. I do it because my job as a nurse is intensely physical and I need to be on my A-game. I do it because I'm painfully vain.

For me, I can maintain these obsessions and rigidity because I know that once per week or so, I will have an opportunity to eat with reckless abandon and feel stuffed and warm. When I die, I hope people say, "Kat, she lived. She loved. She was passionate and full of life." Not, "Kat had washboard abs for a couple years in her 20's." (Which I will NEVER have, because of a traumatic c-section that mangled my lower abdomen.)

But, I dunno what the point of all that is, other than trying to show you another view, with greatest respect.

ice cream, ice cream bars, ice cream sandwiches, popsicles, fudgesicles, creamsicles...get my drift.

Kataclismic, I for sure know that there is more then one *correct* way to do this. I was just pointing out *my* way. And *my* was has proven pretty successful thus far, for *me*. . Still got a loooong way to go mind you. But so far, I think I'm on to something - for *me*, that is.

Also no disrespect meant to you. I'm not sure if you were ever heavier then your current stats, which states that your high weight was 135 lbs, but you see, I was 287 lbs, at only 5 feet tall. Soooo, I'm pretty much thinking that my eating was a tad more, shall we say out of control or at least different then yours was. Again, no disrespect, so please, please forgvie me if I've offended you in any way.

Yes, I've most definitely made peace with it. And yes, I still struggle at times. But that's okay. Most of the time I'm incredibly happy with my eating "arrangement". I LOVE my life now. LOVE it and wouldn't go back to eating whatever I wanted when I wanted for any money in the world.

That's the thing, I HAVE found OTHER foods that I love. I thoroughly enjoy each and every healthy, nutritious thing that goes down my throat. My tastes have changed. Of course, that's not to say that the ice cream didn't/doesn't taste good, because, well it does. But eating it often and in large quantities doesn't bring me deep down joy like being slender does.

As far as my life being enjoyable because I don't keep ice cream in my house. Hmm. Where to begin? I was a miserable, anxiety ridden, unhappy, unproductive, unenergetic, underutilized person when I was eating whatever I wanted. Not so enjoyable, I gotta say. And the food never, ever made me happy. It just didn't. NOW, I am a happy, highly productive, energetic, person who gets pleasure and enjoyment from DIFFERENT things. I no longer have to solely rely on - food - for my pleasure.

As far as living longer, I would like to do whatever *I* can to live as long a life as possible. There are no guarantees in life, but I believe being a healthy weight will increase my odds. I've got three beautiful daughters and I want to be around for them as long as possible.

I'm also not sure if you understood the ORIGINAL question. I believe it was what one food can't you keep in your HOUSE? And my answer was ice cream. It's not in my house. They still have plenty of it at the ice cream store and if I want it occassionally - I have it. In a controlled setting - not in my HOME. Yeah, I've MORE than made peace with it. It's really, REALLY not a big deal.

For the first time in my life I don't lay awake at night planning my funeral. Yeah, I've made peace with it. For the first time in my life I don't sit and wonder who will be there for my children at their weddings. Yeah, I've made peace with it, for the first time I can shop wherever I want and not be TORTURED beyond belief clothes shopping. Yeah, I've made peace with it - for the first time I can fly up a flight of stairs without fear of dropping dead. Yeah, I've made peace with it - socializing is an absolute joy now. I am light hearted instead of heavy hearted. I've made peace with it -
I can spend the whole night dancing now instead of sitting on the sidelines. I've made peace with it - Oh I could go on and on and on. But I gotta go cut up a salad ;) It's just about my lunchtime now. :smug:

I'm more along Robin's line of thinking and I have to say for me, I wasn't just using food for enjoyment- I was abusing certain foods and eating in general. Some foods are are truly like a drug for me- high inducing, almost. When I alleviate the anxiety that follows consuming them by not consuming them, I'm more happy, centered, balanced. Abusing food was making me unhappy, off-centered and unbalanced and abstinence of certain foods is my happy medium.

I know that sounds militant and rigid and I think I'm making it sound more so than it really is, but the concept is true enough. I know you are really into working out. I do enjoy exercise and find stress relief from it (where before I found stress relief in smoking, drinking, eating...), but I consider myself a "light" exerciser compared to some folks on here. So, I've found a balance with being light exerciser and forgoing certain foods most people eat on a daily basis.

My No list
 

Chocolate chips, m and m's, oreo cookies, potatoe chips (especially sour cream and chive or sour cream and cheddar), chocolate cake, beer, wine. And my no list for out of the house, I can't start with fast food or I just can't stop. I can go to McD's for lunch and then crave it again that afternoon on the way home. If I don't eat it at all, I don't crave it.

Funny, the beer and wine issue is more likely more related to substance abuse type issues in my past (used to be a BIG drinker :dizzy: but quit overdoing it 19 years ago and never drank again as much as I used to).....but they really mess with my staying OP, too. I can have a beer or two and then eat the entire house. It's best for me to not have any of the above in the house.

I can't have cookies, chocolate, cake, chips and ice cream in my house. Well since I have 2 kids we still have cookies and ice cream but its always peanut butter type flavours since I can't stand it. If they complain about being sick of peanut buttercup ice cream and cookies then they won't get any lol.

I can usually say no to these or eat one portion, but I know my willpower is not infallible and sooner or later I won't say no and won't eat just one serving. I don't deny myself from having any of these things and often treat myself to them but I choose not to have them so easily accessible.

LOTS!

pizza or pizza pops
chocolate of any kind
GOOD cookies
chips, nacho chips etc.