Can't keep food in the house.. (frustrated)
 

So I've been losing weight for about 3.5 months with reasonable success. I'm happy with my weight loss and some days I go off plan (typically for social events) but nothing insane.

What bugs me is in order to do this, I can't keep any kind of snacks or regular food in the house. All I have at home is frozen foods (typically meals). Things I am not tempted to snack on or even prepare unless I'm actually hungry. I also eat out a fair bit at places where I can count calories.

So today I went to Trader Joe's, picked up some brie (been craving it for a while, knew I would be a bit over calories today, but nothing crazy) as well as some other healthy snacks. Raspberries, blueberries, "skinny" fries.

So I get home. I eat 500 calories of Brie (planned). I then sit around for about 2 hours and end up eating all 8 oz of raspberries, all 8 oz of blueberries, and half the bag of skinny fries (and to be honest, if I liked them very much, I'd have eaten more). I then went back and ate another 200 calories of brie, and the entire package of wasabi-dried-seaweed (60 calories).

None of this is diet-ending. I added it up and I'm around 1900 calories for the day. Not great, but I'm not dying with guilt. But I'm frustrated that I still clearly have no control. God help me if I get a pint of ice cream to keep in the freezer. Am I NEVER going to be able to have any kind of regular food in the house?

Blah.

Ah well. Back on plan tomorrow.

I'm exactly the same. I wish I had some advice, but all I can say is you're not alone. If I like a specific food too much, I eat all of it. Therefore, I only keep food that I like "enough" but that I won't overindulge on. I realized this week I even have to go so far as to buy protein bars one at a time because I like them "too much" and if there is more than one in the house at a time, I'll eat more than one.

The upside is, I've found a system that works. The downside is, I know when I walk into a grocery store that 80% of the food they have is a no-go for me. I simply can't have it in the house.

Originally Posted by LovesBassets:
If I like a specific food too much, I eat all of it. Therefore, I only keep food that I like "enough" but that I won't overindulge on

Ditto on this. In truth, I can eat many more foods in moderation now than I used to be able to, but there are still some exceptions. I, too, was at Trader Joe's a couple weeks back, and I thought I would be able to buy this big bag of whole roasted cashews (my favorite nuts) and portion them out in 1 oz. servings. Well, that didn't happen. I found myself eating a few here and a few there and . . . well before I knew it, I was eating 3-4 oz. of cashews a day. Since the highest I allow myself on my plan is 1700 calories per day (and that's not really full-blown losing mode), eating 500 - 700 calories per day in nuts wasn't a good idea. So, I ended up making cashew butter out of the rest . . . which I still wasn't able to resist, so I threw it out. Wasteful? Definitely. But it was better off in the garbage than on my hips, and I learned a lesson.

My big test will be during the holidays. Pecan pie is my all-time favorite dessert, and even though I freeze individual slices, I've learned that frozen pecan pie tastes pretty darn good. So, usually, I'll find myself munching on pecan pie while standing in front of my freezer, throwing portions of the crust away so that I won't feel so guilty. Arrgh!

So, you are definitely not alone. I think most people who have struggled with their weight for a long time have this problem with at least some foods. The good news is that it is possible to get better with at least some foods. I've gotten better with many, many sweet treats, and I love sweets.

Certain foods just CANNOT be in my house. I talked to my nutritionist about this and she said that if it's a food I struggle with I can have it once a week but ONLY go out and buy a single serving portion and nothing more (because it will be eaten). So my biggest issue is chocolate. I just buy the small single serving portion and then I'm done with it. It's actually worked wonders for me (and has saved me a lot of money too!).

The other thing, I just don't keep any snacks in the house that I can just grab and go (beyond fresh fruit like an apple or banana). My snacks are pretty much always cottage cheese+fruit so there is a bit of prep work (cutting up the fruit) and that cuts down on the binging too.

Like you, I love cheese so I don't keep it in the house either (beyond cream cheese and cottage cheese because I don't go nuts with those too).

There are some things that I'm better about but these things take TIME. It's frustrating that you can't change your mindset overnight but eventually it WILL change. However, in the meantime you need a plan that you can stick (and it sounds like all the snacks from Trader Joe's isn't helping too much*).

* I'm actually happy we don't live by Trader Joe's anymore because, man, they DO have some good stuff!

For me, it varies. Sometimes there will be months at a time that I can't even be in the same house as food without eating it. Right now, I'm having a better time where I can keep treats and snacks around without consuming them all at once.

I don't know what causes this cycle, though.

My issue is that when I CAN'T have food around, it's around because I have roommates and I can't ask them to not keep food in the place.

So, I have to figure out a way around it. Haven't been successful so far...

i relate, for a loong time i couldn't have peanut butter in my house, i would eat the whole jar! i also have a hard time keeping things like cereal, popsicles, candy, string cheese, granola bars, pringles, pretzels etc., you name it i've binged on it. i've even binged on lean cuisines before...wd heat up 3 or 4 in a row late at night.. i tried going to the store everyday but then at night when i wanted something to binge on and didnt have it the next day i'd eat even worse cuz i felt sad i had "missed out", it's a viscious, viscious cycle. right now i miraculously do have hersheys kisses and popcorn that i have in my house that have been unopened for a whole week, very proud of myself!

I'm the same way with pizza bites and ritz crackers. I don't buy the pizza bites anymore, and I haven't since May. But my DF brings home Ritz sometimes and I have no control. I can eat 1-2 sleeves by myself in one night. Or more if I have garlic cloves. One of my old favorite binges was baking a 8x8 dish full of garlic cloves and then spreading the garlic on crackers.

Originally Posted by Larry H:
I struggle with this also. I have some of my favorite snacks in the house all the time. One such example is Reese's peanut butter cups. It is extremely difficult not to indulge and some times I lose and I pig out. You are probably wondering why on earth keep them in the house? Simple my DW loves them and I have no right to tell her she can't have her favorite snacks because of my diet.

Anyone else have to keep snacks around because of thier significant other or for their children? I can't believe that I am the only one that has to live with snacks and try not to eat them.

Larry,

Um, me! I am eating lower carb - so how funny is it that I decorate cakes for a hobby that sometimes pays and I bake all our bread? So, there's always homemade bread and too often cake. AND, I have two kids, so there is always chocolate, cookies, ice cream, etc. This weekend I made pancakes - but don't eat them.

Getting rid of cravings helped a lot - you don't eat sugar, you don't crave it.

There is just NO WAY I could deal with the "can't have food in the house" as I live in a house with 3 generations - 5 people. I just have to eat food I enjoy (and I do) and to keep away from sugars and to exercise which keeps away the cravings.

(And, btw, I love Peanut butter cups too). If I'm dying for it, I eat an Atkins Peanut butter cup for less damage.

Originally Posted by bellastarr:
i relate, for a loong time i couldn't have peanut butter in my house, i would eat the whole jar!

OMG peanut butter...

My #1 trigger food. I was delusional once and bought a jar "for the birds" last winter (I'm a birdwatching fanatic and read somewhere that peanut butter gives birds good protein in winter). What a joke THAT was. The birds didn't get a single ounce because I ate the whole jar within 12 hours.

I saw a commercial last night for Jif singles and thought "There's a solution!" But then I realized that Jif "singles" probably come in a pack of 12. It would be the same scenario, just more packaging.

I agree with the idea of tossing the excess sometimes. It sounds wasteful, but if you're having a major craving it might help. I've done that with Power Bar protein bites. I'll eat half the package and then chuck the rest. That could be a plan the next time you want some brie.

Originally Posted by LovesBassets:

I agree with the idea of tossing the excess sometimes. It sounds wasteful, but if you're having a major craving it might help. I've done that with Power Bar protein bites. I'll eat half the package and then chuck the rest. That could be a plan the next time you want some brie.

Since I'm only supposed to by single servings of chocolate once per week, DH has declared that if he finds ANY chocolate (and it's not that single serving) he'll throw it out! It definitely keeps me accountable. ;)

Originally Posted by Larry H:
Anyone else have to keep snacks around because of thier significant other or for their children? I can't believe that I am the only one that has to live with snacks and try not to eat them.

Nope, you're not alone. My husband has never had a weight problem and eats whatever he wants (although he eats only two meals a day and rarely snacks). However, I'm fortunate in the fact that I don't like the few junk food items he likes. For example, he likes to have a couple of Oreos sometimes after dinner. Oreos are just "okay" to me, and I can definitely pass them up.

My eating conflict with my spouse is jut having to prepare two separate meals. For example, if I fry chicken for him, I broil mine. He's sweet and tells me to prepare his the same way, but I can definitely tell he doesn't like it as much, so I try to prepare the two separate meals. Also, my husband is a great cook, so when I work late, he cooks. Even when he tries to cook "low fat" for me, he doesn't have a clue. I cannot trust his version of "low fat." To him that means half a stick of butter rather than 3/4 of a stick.

Originally Posted by LovesBassets:
I saw a commercial last night for Jif singles and thought "There's a solution!" But then I realized that Jif "singles" probably come in a pack of 12. It would be the same scenario, just more packaging.

My health food store sells single packs of various types of nut butters. Also, I've seen the same thing at Target (it's Justin's brand--an all natural or organic brand). I think it costs 1.29 per pack, so it's a rip-off, but it might be your solution.

I'll look into that, Lin. I've really gotten into purchasing one serving at a time. Either that, or buying a regular package of something and then immediately dividing it up into single servings in Ziploc bags.

Low/zero carb eating is the only way I have ever maintained control. I used to do most of the above, and don't even mention Nutella and peanut butter! I was also a closet eater from about 10 years old. Now we keep some "regular" food in the house for DH and 5yo DS, but I can leave it alone because I kicked the carb addiction and I know how crappy it will make me feel.