My " behavioral" therapy for carbs...

I thought I write this post because I think everyone's experience can help others... I was inspired by what Joel said about starting to eat normal food.

I am a grazer, and was a big sugar eater. I was unable to resist dessert or chocolate...I baked a lot, I was also known to be a very good cake decorator and chocolate maker, so I " practice often" and ate my "trials"...

During my active weight lost phase, I restrain on sugar, never baked ( even bought store made cakes for my sons birthdays, what a shame for me!) And never bought cookies, chocolate, etc...
That helped me a lot lose that sugar taste, but I realized I was only avoiding the problem, especially when my husband bought some donuts holes, and let them on the counter...I was taking "only one", ...but everytime I went in the kitchen, I took only one... But, boy, how often was I in the kitchen LOL...
So I try hiding them in the cupboards, that worked a little better but was still avoidance...

Now I am baking again, thinking it will be better to have healthy home made dessert than store bought "don't know what crap they put in those" kind of things... I try to make single portion dessert, so I am not tempted to eat more... For example, those mini- muffins... I ate one, was happy, then came back in the kitchen, they were there, so another one, and here it goes... So I decided to froze them right away... The freezer is in the garage, so more difficult to get there...

This week, I am trying to resist and eat only one per day, even if they are on the counter ( mini crumble apple pies are the temptation now...) I baked them yesterday and haven't tasted one yet Yeah! The more I resist, the easier it become. I know I will eat one today, but I will really enjoyed it, because I will be hungry, and feel empowered over those little pies!

I am trying to "think" if I really want to eat it, instead of just passing by and eating  mindlessly.

So the " behavioral" steps I took were:

1. not having any temptation food in the house
2. having temptation food, but hiding it
3.Changing temptation food for better ones, but still hiding it
4.  "expose" myself to tempting food and tryin to resist it.
5. eating tempting food but limit quantities...this is the hardest for me, because when I eat carbs and sugary food, I feel compulsion to eat more, like a drug... So homemade, good carbs and low sugar are more filling and easier to limit than high sugar ones ( didn't try chocolate yet!!)

I am still working hard on those steps, and think I will have to do all my life, but finding my trigger foods and having a plan to work on it helped me a lot.

This is only one way to do it, and it seems to work for me...Hope everyone will find his or her own way to deal with their own " devil" foods LOL

Diane

It's not something we can stop doing. It's who we are but we can change our habits. I think the limited quantities approach is by far the best approach you can take. I know I'll have trouble with some things but for now I just want to get ready for when I do get that call and worry about the rest afterwards. It may come back to haunt me but for now that's what works for me.

Like you said, we can't stop just like that...These are the steps I took to change my habits, and everyone is different, and it depends on where you are on your journey. We have to take it one day at a time, and learn as we go...

I thought about the "behavioral" analogy because I feel like I am afraid of my trigger food, afraid of indulging again in them...and gaining weight back. Like if I was afraid of dogs, the therapy will be to expose myself to dogs a little bit at a time, til I am not afraid anymore, or at least can control my fears...That's what I want to do with those foods, expose myself a little at a time, until I can control the way I eat them...Hope it makes sense LOL

 I still have my snack items that drive me crazy!  I can't still eat all veggies and whole proteins like meats are still a challenge to get and keep down, but if I slowly snack on Cheetos, I am fine!  GRRR.  I have found that ziplock baggies are my friend.

If I have a craving for cheetos, I count out about 15 of them.  It looks like a small ammount, but I find after about 3 or 4 I am almost full!!!  This helps me to visualize and often I wont even eat past 10 for the whole day.  We dont keep them in the house all the time, but when I do have a craving, I usually will give in.  My serving sizes are still incredibly small, but actually seeing that, instead of my hand just repeatedly going into a bag is helpful!!

I also freeze extra portions of things.  

Not sure if everyone knows this, but the Oasis 100% juice boxes are my special treat for when I want something sweet but I dont want to feel guilty about what I am eating.  I keep them in the freezer and have several different juice options.  I cut the top of the box off and eat it like a popsicle!!  It makes me feel like I am eating a cold treat, when it is just pure fruit juice!!

Another of my things I can't resist are whippets.  THANK GOODNESS I can only eat one, I also eat things in ways that would probably gross out most people.  I take a lot of time in eating thigns now, for example with my one whippet that I allow myself.  I eat all the choclate off first, then the marshmallow, then the cookie bottom... the thing looks absolutely grotesque when I am working on it... but it slows down my eating to where only that one will make me more than satisfied.

Sometimes I wish I still didn't have these cravings, but I think that considering the massive change in the other habits, a whippet every few days wont hurt!!

-Sarah

Sarah, you made me laugh when I read your description of eating a whippet...isn't it the best way to eat them!!! I remember when I was young, whippets were a favorite snacks, and I always ate them like this... being very careful trying to eat the chocolate in one bite, not touching the marshmallow in the first step LOL 
Like you, I think that dividing portions in singles helps us visualize and limit our quantities... And we have so many habits to change, we have to let us adapt to each new change... Congrats on your good work!

Diane