Hi ladies! I thought it would be cool to create a thread where we all share simple mind tricks that help us not eat bad food, and say no. I'll start!

1) Just think: if I don't eat this bowl of ice cream and bag of cheetos, I WILL have the body I want in a month!! (do that for every time you wanna pig out, and you'll feel so much closer to your goal every time you put those chips back!)

2) Everytime you want to drink pop or juice, remind yourself that if you run your butt on the tredmill and burn that first 140 calories after sweating and being tired, you ONLY would had just burned off that can of Coke! Might as well drink water!!!!



Anyone else??

I count calories, so in theory, nothing is completely off limits: it's just that you can only eat it when it "fits" into your calorie allotment for the day. So it's not that I can't eat a vanilla creme-filled doughnut (my fave), but I have to know that I have the calories available that day. When I really want something that is not going to fit that day, I tell myself, "Not today. I can have that another day. Just not today."

For some reason, this really helps. Even if I know that I won't be fitting that doughnut in any time soon -- just knowing that I can have it, somewhere, someday... it makes me feel better. :-) And helps me say "no" (with the exception of this past week -- vacation has thrown me for a loop).

I tell myself eating all this crap is what got me fat in the first place and a treat should not be once a day but once a month. My treat should be healthy eating and how good I feel and look when I stick to it.

I look at my stomach in the mirror, I'm admiring how flat it's becoming and it inspires me to think twice about that treat I'm not hungry for but just want to eat for the heck of it.

I know I keep saying this in most every post I type, but the best thing is really not to bring it inside the house, any temptations. I have a broken leg and am stuck inside, can't drive, shop, etc. I can only eat what my DH buys and I told him to not buy me junk. So the only temptation I have is to eat a ton of cream cheese on crackers.
What I do when I crave something is go brush my teeth and drink a ton of water after. It's been working so far, oh and my chewing gum, can't live without that!

When I'm at the store and looking at something high in calories, i usually talk myself out of it by saying I could have this, this and that for the same amount of calories.
When I was first changing my eating habits, I would ask myself if whatever i was looking at going to really make me happy? The ice cream, chocolate, or whatever vice is not going to solve my problems or make me any happier. It made it alot easier to just give them up. ")

wow! that's great i never thought of it like that! i'm so used to piling down food as if it's never going to be available to me ever again!


I have another tip:
in the morning if i convince myself that my stomach looks flatter, it makes me not want to eat bad that day because i'm "seeing a difference."

every time i got out, or get upset that i'm not really allowed to eat certain things (in theory) i tell myself i've had 22 yrs to eat whatever the **** i want. it's how i ended up at 222 lbs, and man did i take advantage of the eating frenzy. though i know i will one day again eat a gourmet bacon burger from this crazy restaurant, it's not really an option right now.

Someone has this really great quote about falling down stairs. I can't remember who is it and I"m sorry; I would give you credit if I could pull it up from the brain mush.

But pretty much: if you tripped down the first couple stairs of a staircase, you're not going to look and go "huh. Well, I messed that up. Might as well throw myself down the rest of these stairs". Rather, you'd be extra careful with the rest of that journey, making sure to compensate for your earlier mistake.

So you ate too many pretzels. that sucks, go for a nice long walk. Have an on-plan dinner that is fewer calories than you might have had otherwise. Maybe stick to the low-end of what you're comfortable daily with than you might otherwise. Drink some extra water to make up for the salt. Why would you want to make an issue bigger? Stop it when its little, a couple extra hundred calories, rather than when the issue is two medium pizza and a gallon of ice cream. Why would you want to have to undo even more damage?

OH MY GOD hahhahah that is AMAZING i never thought of it like that!!!

Thinking Of How Long It Takes to Burn 100 Calories......Motivates Me!

i know it takes forever it seems to burn that much!! i'm so jealous of people who exercise every day. i have no willpower.

tip: if you binge before bed, are you going to wake up and be like, "omg im so happy i ate that food!!!" ??? no. you won't remember the food or the taste or whatever, and you'll just end up binging again that night. BUT if you really force yourself to not eat after 7, lets say, you WILL wake up feeling skinny and knowing you don't have all that heavy crap inside you from last night!

I just wanted to add in a saying, I can't remember how it goes exactly but I like it: A second on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.

Short, sweet, and get's to the point. I'll never be thin if I keep cheating or eating what I'm not supposed to.

Temptation and cravings to overeat happen to me every single day. I have learned to talk back to the voice in my head. Here's my dialogue yesterday. This really happened.

Lunch (2 pm)

Devil "Mmm, yummy salad and tuna for lunch, but I don't feel satisfied. Why don't I grab a candy bar?"

Angel "Why don't you go back to work now & see how you feel?"

At convenience store: 8 pm

Devil: "I know you are here to use ATM, but why not get a little snack, like pita chips. They are only 200 calories."

Angel: "You know yourself. One bag of pita chips will not satisfy. You will be running for the Doritos and Twix bars in an hour. Besides, you haven't had dinner yet.

After eating a high protein, low carb meal at a restaurant: 10 pm

Devil: "You didn't eat any rice or bread at this meal. You will be hungry. Why don't you ask your friends to have a piece of their sushi"

Angel: "I know you love sushi, but white rice doesn't satisfy you. And I know you are unfamiliar with your meal, but give it a chance. You probably ate plenty."

Cheat moment: I ate the ginger off my friend's finished plate. It wasn't dignified to scarf down a pile of ginger, but it was low cal and tasty.

At the convenience store at 12 am. I'm there to buy a binge. Major danger time.

Devil: "Who cares? Binge. It's Friday night and weigh in isn't until Monday. Why not have a big bag of Doritos and a Twix bar? You love those."

Angel: "Obviously devil has got me beat. Why don't you look in the ice cream section and get a small dessert? I don't want you buying anything that is greater than 2 servings."

Cheat: Skinny cow ice cream sandwich for 140 calories.

In bed at 1 am.

Devil: "Hey, there are sunflower seeds in the kitchen. You know you LOVE to eat in bed. Sunflower seeds are healthy and fun to eat."

Angel: "Hey, devil will you give it a rest already. Eating in bed is a horrible habit and just read your magazine and go to bed.

I deal with this every single day. The devil chatter is better now, but it's still a daily struggle. I try hard not to give in to temptation because it usually leads to a binge spiral.

For me is, yes this looks yummy but hey I want to wear the cute clothes I got myself...