Moderation, can I do it?

So going into surgery, Ive always thought that I would be changing my life.. my eating plan was to start living with things in moderation-- not saying "None of this or that forever"... more of a 90/10 type thing. 90% of the time on track, 10% a little leeway to eat what I want. However, moderation never worked for me before surgery--- instead of a small bar of chocolate, it would be a whole bag of chocolates, a king size bar etc... Now that its the new year and I want to get back on track Im trying to get this moderation thing working for me! I want to be able to have a little treat here and there and not go completely off the wall! Katie & Mead had a lot of snacky things in our house (chips, crackers etc)... and I couldn't control myself, I snacked on them quite a lot. I don't want to deprive myself, I want something here and there, but I need to learn how. After Katie & Mead moved out, Hubby and I had a talk-- I felt like we weren't in control and so we came up with this plan... I want ideas or opinions... he wasn't eating well either, he grew up in Arizona, LOVES his fried Mexican food, and tortilla chips-- too much. I purged the bad foods from the house. Fudge went Bye Bye.... so really I don't have anything bad. The only crackers I kept were Triscuits, because I don't lose control with them (Unlike cheeze-its etc that I would snack on constantly). We came to this agreement. - We are only allowed to eat out twice a month. Once each pay check. EJ picks one, I pick one. - No more tortilla chips, ruffles, snacky crakers constantly in the house with the exception-- Once a payckeck (Twice a month when I do the grocery shopping) we are allowed to pick one item (ie. a bag of tortilla chips). It can either be used over the two week period, a little here and there, or eaten over a few days.. either way thats ALL you get, so use it wisely, when it's gone its gone qand no more. Does that make sense? - Chocolate-- Neither of us dump, and of course we both like it. I wanted to try figure a way I can have a little, and not deprive myself, but also not over induldge... so we are allowed a small-- and I mean small chocolate bar, or bag of M&M's etc on Saturday. Other than those 2 things (The Choco on Saturday & the bag of chips, or crackers twice a month) there will be no other bad food in our home. We will be doing healthy eating. I am also thinking of changing my plan to only 1 serving of cheese a day--- I eat too much cheese and it's not necessary. Anyway.... thats what I was thinking? Does it sound crazy? I need help.... I want to stick to this.... that way I can be living my 90/10 plan.... that way Hubby dioesn't feel deprived of his tortilla chips, but he is limited, and I don't feel deprived from chocolate, but I am limited too. I don't know... is this stupid?

I can't say it sounds stupid, but I can say its something I'd never be able to do so if you can.. to you and EJ. Moderation is the key yes, but I had surgery because my mouth, stomach and mind knew nothing about that word! If I could have done things in moderation, the 60lbs I lost in 9 months wouldn't have come back on, nor would I have had to have surgery to stop eating so darn much! On the positive side of this... If you can do moderation it sounds like you guys are making a good agreement to keep things under control. Have you tried Tostitos Multi Grain tortill chips? They're really good! I've had these with some salsa on football sundays. I also made LuLu's Spinach Madeline (spinach, pepper jack cheese and a couple other ingredients) it comes out like the spinach artichoke dip served at restaurants and served it with the multi grain chips.. cheese is protein right? ;) maybe make nachos? Add beef and cheese to get your protein in at the same time as eating the tortilla chips? As far as the chocolate goes... How bout trying some sugar free chocolates? usually lower in calories and fat than regular candy and has much less carbs. Hershey's makes good sf chocolate, theres sf chocolate turtles out there, even godiva makes their own sugar free line! its all over the place now, nothing like the old days where it was hidden in a small area of the store and tasted awful. Maybe buying something small and splitting it between you both instead of buying a bag of m & m's where you might not stop until theyre gone? maybe a lindt truffle will satisfy the sweet tooth? I posted a link to nashua nutrition on the board, theres a chocolate out there that is like a nestles crunch bar and has 10grams of protein per serving. i tried the dark chocolate one and its good! another option is power crunch bars, i've heard a lot of people talk about those on the main message boards, but I've never tried them... Quaker makes mini rice cakes and they have some sweet flavors (I think the ones I have are apple cinnamon). I like them because it seems to get rid of my sweet and crunchy craving at the same time! low in calories, sugar and fat! good luck with your decisions

I haven't tried the multi-grain Tostito's, but I try to get EJ to eat the Light Tostito's... they are about 50 calories lower per serving. He loves tortilla chips... Im not such a huge fan, well I like them but can live without them. I know that tortilla chips is something he needs in his world of eating, Im just trying to help him control it.... I need to make moderation work for me... otherwise I'll end up like every other time Ive dieted.. I'll do well for a few months then go completely off the wall eating crap. Ive compared SF chocolate with regular... and honestly, there is little to no calorie difference. I don't dump.... so SF vs regular makes no difference to me. Have you looked at the calories on the SF stuff? Its horrible! LOL My chocolate of choice is a small bar of Dove milk chocolate (190 calories I beleive--- I can live with an extra 760 calories spread over the whole month). I need this in control now, because we are trying to get pregnant, and I know once I am pregnant that cravings are going to try throw me really out of whack, not to mention the ability to eat more that comes along with pregnancy after RNY.

not sure what the calorie count on whole grain tortill chips, the nutritionist tells us eat multi grain instead of white so thats why I go with them. they're lighter than regular tortillas and less salt (they put so much on regular ones). give them a try on your next "allowance weekend" as far as candy goes I looked up the godiva sf chocolate and its the same as the dove milk chocolate bar. The difference for me is the actual sugar. We were always taught the longer you wait for sugar the better off you'll be... I haven't tried sugar because of 2 reasons, 1. because I'm afraid I wont dump and 2 (which go hand and hand) if I don't dump I wont be able to stop and one bite of chocolate will turn into a bar, bite of cake will turn into a piece, etc etc. I just dont have the willpower and seeing that I put my body through surgery to make myself lose weight, I have to remain hard on myself so I dont start eating sugar and regain what I've lost. thats exciting that you're trying to get pregnant! perfect time to get yourself back on track so you stay firm when pregnant. good luck

Stylz, Could you post Lulu's Spinach recipe? It sounds great. I am a big fan of spinach artichoke dip and with the multigrain chips, I wouldn't feel too guilty. Thanks. Scott

I love spinach artichoke dip, but havent made it because the one i make has alfredo sauce and oil and cheeses I think I'd dump because of too much fat. this is great with multigrain chips. I made it with bread crumbs on top because I have it as a side dish too, I think if I made it as a dip, I wouldnt put the breadcrumbs on top, but its good Spinach Madeline. 2 pkgs. Frozen Chopped Spinach 4 Tbsp. Butter (I used smart balance) 2 Tbsp. Flour 2 Tbsp. Onion (chopped very fine) 1/2 Cup Evaporated Milk (I used fat free) 1/2 Cup Spinach Liquid 1/2 tsp. Pepper 3/4 tsp. Garlic Salt (I used garlic powder because I didnt want it too salty) 3/4 tsp. Celery Salt 1/2 tsp. Salt (omitted that) 1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce 8 oz. Pepper Jack Cheese(shredded works best) Breadcrumbs Cook spinach according to package; Drain well and reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and onions; coo****il clear and tender. Add flour; do NOT brown. Add milk, stirring constantly. Add spinach liquid; coo****il smooth and thick. Add all seasonings and cheese; stirring until melted. Remove from heat and add spinach. Mix well. Pour into a casserole dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until mixture is all bubbling. Serve with club crackers, tortilla chips, bread pieces or as a side dish! It's best if you refrigerate overnight and re-heat to allow all the flavors to blend together, but you can serve it right out of the oven and it still tastes great!

That's just about how I make it except I use real garlic (and saute it with the onions) instead of the garlic salt, celery seed instead of celery salt and Velveeta with added red pepper flake (from a jar) instead of pepper jack cheese. I'm so excited you made it!! It's also good if you saute some sliced mushrooms on the side and then add them to the mix when you stir the cheese and spinach together. If you cook them with everything else they stay too wet and make it runny. I don't know why they make the recipe with so much salt in it!

I looked it up when I saw your post around thanksgiving and saved a recipe in my favorites. I had some spinach in the freezer then realized I had pepper jack cheese in the freezer too so I said, why not and made it. glad I did!! I made it again tonight and used real garlic plus a little garlic powder (LOVE garlic)! not a big fan of velveeta but imagine it would make it creamy like a nacho cheese? sounds yummy! thanks for the mushroom tip, never thought about that one, but love mushrooms too so I'll try it that way next time. I had the spinach dish with beef the other day, what a great combination. never heard of spinach madeline before, glad you mentioned it!

No way! You made it?! Excellent.. I'm surprised you remembered!

Darlene, I think you can do it! I believe in you. What is it important is that you have set rules, instead of just saying "ocassionally I deserve a treat". If you don't have set rules 'ocassionally' quickly becomes 'often' (in my personal experience)! I think that in order to keep the weight off for the rest of our lives, we have to make our eating plans doable. They have to fit our lifestyles and our preferences. For example, I could never ever give up strawberries...so I make room for them (when they are affordable). Pehraps you can try it on a trial basis. Keep track of what you eat, including the treats, for one month. I would also journal how you are feeling each day (hungry, full, deprived, etc.). When you review the journal at the end of the month you may find that the day after you have allowed yourself chocolate you eat more calories, etc. Then you can decide if you want to change the 'rules' and make adjustments as needed. Good luck! Please let us know how it is going. Laura