Why do we cheat???

After doing sooo good this all this week, I cheated tonight by eating 4 servings of Edies Sugar Free Butter Pecan Icecream. I was not hungry. I don't know why I had to eat so much. I just did--it was like if I didn't eat it, I wouldn't get any. So, I am putting the rest of it in my outside freezer so I won't see it. I am so mad at myself. I had a 2lb loss this week and was hoping for more by Saturday. It's the night time snacking that gets me once in a while. Does anyone else have this problem, and do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance.

Only thing that works for me is to not have those temptations in the house!

Same here with the evening snacking. In addition to plenty of fruits and veggies, I try to keep only low-risk junk food --  instead of 1/2 gallons of ice cream, I buy fudgsicles or popsicles. Instead of chips, I buy croutons or pretzels. I also have rice cakes, popcorn and teddy grahams. Even with the best of intentions, sometimes, you just want junk. Also, for me it's usually thirst that prompts eating not hunger, so I try to drink a little extra at night. Last resort -- brush your teeth. It makes most foods taste bad. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Stacy

this is along the same lines as the popsicle/fudgebar idea...

for things that i tend to go overboard on, i usually try and go ahead and put them in servings.  i used to eat cereal all the time and i would eat three bowls with milk before really knowing what i was doing.  those calories can really add up quickly!

it doesn't work for ice cream, probably, but its great for cereal, goldfish, chips, raisins, and other snacky foods.  just get a bunch of snack baggies and a scale/measuring cup and you're good to go!  its a lot easier to stop if you only have x amount.  

 

eta: you can chew gum, maybe?  its not the best habit, but it keeps me from mindlessly snacking a lot of the time.  

 

I just think about how I am going to have to add those calories on CC and it makes the urge go away, by the way, I am on dial-up!!!

I'm the same....if there is ice cream in the house, I will eat it and eat it and eat it.  I buy the low fat kind but really, a half carton of low fat is worse that just eating what I really want - hagen daaz.

I am trying sugar-free gum know, it does help....but mostly, I go to bed early to avoid over-indulging in the late evenings.

I find it easier to avoid over eating the sweets if i have just a bite or two.  If I try to avoid it all together i go crazy and eat the whole box.  But if I have a bite or a few M&Ms then i curb the craving and I can move on with my day. 

 

Try setting aside a couple hundred calories each day for an evening snack that you can look forward to. We all need something to look forward to! You could try having that "special treat" in the bathtub, too. Not only will it soothe and relax you, but who can get up for seconds when you're nakie in the tub? :D

Also, I eat large breakfasts, so if I get hungrier at night, I just think "I have an awesome breakfast waiting for me tomorrow." Sounds lame, but it works. Not only does it keep me from over snacking, but it gets me going to bed earlier and getting more sleep.

I have a set of small "nested prep/measuring bowls" like they use on the cooking shows.  Every night i fill one to the 1/2 cup line with Breyers Double Churn Light Vanilla Bean ice cream.  The small bowl helps to control portion size.  Sometimes I'll add a dozen dark chocolate M&M's.  I eat it slowly while sitting at the computer, savoring each bite.  I've found that it satisfies my cravings for ice cream and chocolate for less than 150 calories.

"why do we cheat?"  Because we think of it as cheating... we want what we can't have...that sort of thing. 

" I don't know why I had to eat so much. I just did--it was like if I didn't eat it, I wouldn't get any." 

If you allow more treats, and set aside an appropriate amount of calories to do it... that mentality might just change :)  Its worked for me anyway.  I hope that helps.

question:  were you sitting in front of the tv?

I had my snack with me, a lady in the waiting room across the hall turned on the tv and I could see it (i didn't even like what she was watching) but I started watching it, and before i knew it i was reaching for my snack...  I thought to myself, Why am I reaching for this snack? I'm not hungrey, I'm not thirsty...  It must completly be the tv.  My husband says I must be conditioned just like Pavlov's dog, (Pavlov rings a bell then gives his dog a treat, he did that until when he rung the bell the dog would salivate and get hungry, he stopped giving the dog the treat but when he would ring the bell the dog would still salivate and be hungry)

Well thats my vice,  I'm trying not to eat on the couch or in front of the tv at all, I guess you can say I'm reconditioning myself.

Original Post by muttlover:

You could try having that "special treat" in the bathtub, too. Not only will it soothe and relax you, but who can get up for seconds when you're nakie in the tub? :D

 

What a fabulous idea!  I don't know why that never occurred to me...  I do find that if it's somehow difficult to get seconds, I am far less likely to.

Also, sounds a little simplistic (and I think I read about it on CC but can't remember where), but what's worked for me these past few days is when I get cravings or think I'm hungry, I take a few seconds to breathe and explain to myself (in my head) that it's my brain that wants X, not my body...and I will be making my body happy if I eat/do Z instead...surprisingly, I usually end up wanting to make my body happy (which is what my brain confused in the first place, if that makes sense) and not my brain.

i find it funny how we want to eat something only when we no we shouldnt.