Hey all,
Here are mine
Looking at food pr0n tumblrs. Makes me realize that my own lonely junk food kinda sux. When I do see that pretty stuff in real life, I don't really react to it because I'm so USED to seeing it.
Watching Man V. Food or Diners Drive ins and Dives and all those other shows. Esp man V. Food when he combines certain foods to make him eat more in the challenges (makes me think, don't combine those!) and when he talks about meat sweats
Saying no thanks to junk food I am always offered as a way to exercise my will power and be less of a people-pleaser!
Feel free to share yours
Whenever I have a sugar craving I imagine (very vividly) eating tons of junk food, candy bars, sugar, chocolate, etc until I am mildly sick to my stomach. The temptation is gone and I go about my day.
I've also cut out meat, added sugars, wheat, and flour. I eat a whole foods diet of fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy, eggs, and whole grains. I don't use recipes but rather I steam/bake/boil each item separately and serve on a plate. The only condiment I use is vinegar, but I will use spices to increase palatability (no salt!). I eat to live, and have cut out pleasure eating entirely. Most people think I am crazy, but it's worked for me thus far.
-Seeing people I know with diabetes (in my family history)...watching them go through unimaginable things like amputation, gangrene, neuropathy, loss of eyesight, and other painful and hard to watch things like that. It gives me motivation.
-Writing down in Excel at what event I was what weight. Then when I see a photo from that party etc I look back and see I've lost 25 lbs. since then (for example).
Making multiple dishes of food. I'll have my big meal of meat and veggies and then I boil some veggies as another dish. I feel so full afterwards.
Sometimes I have cravings just to eat eat eat. But then I think about how I will feel 20 minutes later. The eating, unless its all night long, won't curb the cravings and I'll be at square one.
Thinking about my bread binge post when I considering trying bread again. Then I remember its the same old tricks my mind plays with me.
Chewing gum when I want something sweet. If I'm really craving at night (cause that's when it hits) I brush my teeth and hit the sack! lol I portion my food out first thing in the morning, put it in all in a bag (bottles of water included) and in the fridge so I only eat from the bag and nothing else Works great when I head into the office. If I get a craving I drink as much water as I can cause it's usually cause i'm thirsty not hungry.
1/2 a tube of crystal light in my water makes me think "oh yes, this is so tasy!...more!" and I feel full.
If I want ice cream I puree frozen fruit with a tiny bit of soy milk. It's a nice frozen treat.
I add sugar free jello (a bit less than one teaspoon) in my protien shake for the day. This morning my breakfast tasted like Terry's Chocolate Orange. Lemon and vanilla is so tasty too...like pie! It makes me crave sweets and desserts less.
Intermittent fasting. It's a fancy way of saying I don't eat breakfast.
I used to do IF. Lately I've been eating breakfast. Unsure if I'll go back to IF completely or switch it up.
Not packing away half my restaurant meals. I can't resist-the second I get home, I scarf it all down even if I am not hungry. Either I just don't order at all and sip water or I get something I don't really like and pick at it because I only go out to eat to catch up (no one I know whats to chat while doing anything else LOL) I'm still working on a strategy on what I'll do if its something like dim-sum with my family if they come to visit, but last time, I managed well by not eating very much before, drinking tons of water and going home to have my "real meal"
All my healthy food that I actually like the eat fits right in with my calorie plan, so I view restaurant food more as an obstacle cause I don't really want it. Not really an issue when I lived my old town, but I live in NYC now and its restaurant, restaurants, restaurants...and takeout LOL.
Last edited by pixelllate; 03-13-2012 at 02:20 PM.
I sometimes get really vivid dreams of me binging on food. IT's really graphic and I can literally TASTE the food. Then I wake up and I'm like OH CRAP thank god thats just a dream, cause I don't want to binge. Lol
I know you can't control wat you dream about but this has helped me haha
If I am really hungry before I should be I drink coffee or tea too. Coffee moreso helps curb the hunger...Although when I am PMSing it doesn't seem like ANYTHING works LOL.
Soups are great too for low calorie and fills you up more. I hate the salt content of soups, but if you were to choose between healthy choice frozen dinner and a can of soup =200 cals..go with the soup!
I've been eating fruit when I crave sweets or desert. Also, I've started to mix what goes into our hamburger, for example I started using TVP and ground turkey instead of all hamburger. Quit using salt completely (hardest thing I've done).
Mostly my choices have been swapping items. Swapping O Cal Powerade for Soda, baked broccoli for baked potato, italian dressing instead of ranch, rice bran oil instead of olive oil, turkey sausage/bacon instead of pork.