Ok guys,

So I have a stupid box of Sara Lee snacks in my house, I ate one, and am still under my calorie goal today (including macronutrients) on MFP, worked out for an hour today, drank lots of water.

Thing is, should I throw out the rest of the snacks? Or keep them around for when I want to eat them? I know I should throw them out, but the broke student in me is saying keep them so I don't waste money the next time I'm craving sugar.

Also, what's your take on eating processed foods like these? I know it's better to eliminate them completely, but if you're under your calorie goal is it ok? Or would it lead to water retention?? ugh I feel like I'm never going to beat my addiction to sugary things. I can manage a week, and then I just lose it, but moderation doesn't seem to work either. Help!!

P.S. sorry if I made it out to see dramatic, it's a stupid problem of mine and I just need some outside input. Thanks 3fc!

maybe make them somehow inaccessible to you? I know that poor-student feel, and I wouldn't want to throw them out if I was sure I would buy them again anyway. Maybe put them in a tupperware container, duct tape it and then throw it in the freezer? That way it will be a big hassle for you to go in get one and defrost it and maybe you'll be too lazy to do it anyway (that's me lol). kind of intense but it might work for you too.

Kaybee, you need to give me ALL your ideas sometime haha! I actually just threw them away, opened them and dumped them so I wouldn't feel tempted to look for them (pathetic I know!) I think I really need the cold turkey approach for sweets!!

Or grapes, I need to find grapes asap!!

lol, well you've made a good choice. Best to stick with your guns and do it right! I don't have a lot tips but i'll be sure to post them as i think of them/find a new one!

take care

Frozen grapes! Frozen grapes are awesome, crunchy, sweet, and cold, like popsicles! If your teeth aren't too sensitive... mine are, so it takes me a LONG time to munch through a dozen frozen grapes. Works great!

As someone who is eating pizza for breakfast right now- no, you don't have to give them away. You have to know yourself. I seem to do better when I eat junk food, but some people can't keep it in the house without bingeing on it. So only you can really know what to do.

hhm6, I have a box of chocolates that were a gift from a co-worker, I left it at the shop and forgot to throw it. so yesterday I took it and put it in my car cause I don't want to hurt her feelings when she comes in. Last night I put it under the seat of my car cause bringing it in the house would have been curtains for any "eating on plan" for me.
Its going in the dumpster outside with the dog poop just in case. LoL. I do not think you are pathetic but very smart and learned. LOL!

Haha thanks for all the replies!

I've decided I need to go cold turkey. If it comes to the point where I just NEED something. I can probably find something around the house to satisfy my sweet tooth that's not as processed/carb+sugar loaded like these snacks!

I also know myself to know one is NEVER enough lol.

Thank you all for responding!

I practice Intuitive Eating so I have a lot of these types of foods around the house at the moment. I eat them when I really want to. Lately I find that I don't want them as much. I am learning that food is not the enemy and it is not a trigger. I am a trigger. I am my own enemy. No food should be allowed to cause us this much stress. It's not the ticking time bomb, we are. I'm learning how to diffuse the bomb is all I can say. I would not throw them away, I would learn to live with them inside my house, eat it when I want it and ignore it when I don't want it. It works for me.

Hi Wannabe!

I saw you mentioned IE in a different thread, and I remember thinking "I have never heard about that before", but I think it's something I would benefit from. I know I give too much power to food so I have to put extreme limitations out there, like throwing them out. I need to have a better relationship with food, obviously since I started this (quite dramatic) post. I just wish I could be satisfied with good food, instead of this stuff. Even though I'm losing, I still feel like I want fatty stuff more than healthy. I just have to remember one day at a time!!

I think we all grapple with those issues hhm6 so I can't claim it's any easier for me. But giving so much power to food and eating ultimately puts us in a victim role. Fighting with our likes and dislikes (aka dieting) so hard puts us in a lose lose battle with ourselves. I can learn to forgive myself for the food I enjoy. But I am also learning that it takes a lot less of it now to satisfy me. No need to battle.

I'm in the same boat as Wannabe with IE. I was afraid at first to have "trigger" foods around the house as I've struggled with bulimia for years. It turns out that it wasn't the foods but my attitudes about the foods that was triggering. Now that I've given myself permission to eat whatever foods I want they no longer hold power over me.

I have a cupboard that is full of trail mix, chocolate, candies, salty snacks, and other things that I would have never allowed myself to keep in the house. This week I've opened that cupboard two times- once to eat two mini peanut butter cups and again to have a handful cheese crackers. I don't obsess about them or lose control. I know they are there if I am hungry and would like to have them. When I see people eating junk food in public I no longer get jealous- "That's not fair, I wish I could have french fries (hate hate hate myself for being who I am)" is no longer a thought/emotive process for me.

There will be people who say that this won't work for them, etc. That's fine, but I can say that I consider myself (at 375 pounds) to be one of the most food-addicted, obsessed, and hopeless cases out there.

Congrats wannabeskinny and locke on learning to look at triggers differently, that is great progress.

I've found that looking at the serving size, counting them out, logging them in and most of all enjoying them, maybe that's more mindful than intuitive, maybe they're variations of a theme.

Anyway, I agree that denial, or forbidding can lead to unhealthy behaviors, I also believe that in the long run it's cheaper to buy a single serving size of some things than buying a box that seems cheaper and then tossing them (I've done it, don't get me wrong...one New Years we had a ceremonial cordial cherry toss )

hhm6While you're learning how to eat intuitively it might be helpful to buy smaller size so less temptation is lying around until you get the hang of it, or the duct tape/freezer deal suggested by kaybee1 I was just going to suggest scotch tape... something to make you stop and think before indulging. Best of luck to you