Fall Binge

So it is fall.....yippee. That means I'm eating like I'm about to go into hibernation (that means I'm eating a whole h*** of a lot).

Does anyone have any tips on how to motivate myself to not want to constantly have warm delicious food in my mouth? Or does anyone have any recipes for lower fat comfort foods?

I would like to actually DROP a few pounds this holiday season.....god forbid......without going the swine flu route.

Thanks guys/gals!

Definitely lots of soups.  With plenty of beans!

Or roast winter vegetables in the oven with some olive oil...mmmmm...

I'm totally gonna second soup! Broth based soups are SO yummy in the winter months! Pureed soups with veggies too; one of my favourites is a WW recipe for butternut squash soup. Also, LOTS OF TEA! Yumyum. You can bake apples, skin on to keep more nutrients, for a warm treat. Of course they're better with fatfree caramel sauce or something, but I find them absolutely delicious on their own too (with a sprinkling of cinnamon, of course!). 

Turkey chili is one of my faves for the winter. Of course, if you are eating more, you could always exercise more to compensate? Plus I find working out makes me more conscious of what I am eating.

I totally feel you.  When it's cold outside, I just want to eat eat eat and not exercise!  What I've been trying to do is stay active for as long as I can during the day, because once I go home--it's usually over from there..sweatpants and FOOD for the rest of the night :)

What I can say has been working is to put your sweatshirt in the dryer!  I'm seriously always cold, and I'll put it in there for a few minutes, so its a way to warmup without eating!

Coffee/Tea is always a great low calorie way to stay warm too.  I bought some apple cinnamon herbal tea:   sooo good and zero calories!

As far as snacks go, soup is a great option, just be careful to look for sodium!  Amy's brand has some pretty good low sodium soups!  Oatmeal is always warm and yummy, and I'm a huge fan of slicing an apple with a little bit of cinnamon, and microwaving it for a few minutes. so good. and soooo WARM!

good luck! :)

I am having a very similar problem.  I am trying to maintain now after losing about 20 lbs so I have upped my calories a bit, but I think that has intensified my cravings and I have been giving in a lot.  Also, in the past few weeks it has gotten cold in the mornings, so I am not motivated to get out of bed and run.  By the time I get off work, it's already dark and I don't want to run in the dark.   So I tell myself I will exercise at home, but I can never seem to get motivated to do that either.  So I'm afraid this combination of more food, less exercise, and no motivation will undo all of my hard work.

I think I need a new exercise routine, so I am considering various things, like joining a gym, buying a treadmill or exercise bike, or starting weight training. 

For cravings, I have been trying things like tea, fruit, eating healthier throughout the day, eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day, and allowing myself to have small portions of things I crave, and it helps sometimes, but I think my problem is mostly emotional eating, and maybe my former eating habits for weight loss were too restrictive.  It really helps me to not keep things I will binge on in the house, or the ingredients to make things I will binge on.  I had all the ingredients on hand for Rice Krispy Treats last night, so after a stupid fight with my boyfriend I made some and finished them off all by myself.  I am trying to address the emotional issues that might be at the root of my cravings/overeating, because this will be the most effective in the long run. 

I'm excited to try a recipe I found for mashed potatoes where you substitute in cauliflower, so it's about half of each.  Add in a bit of fat free sour cream and some salt and pepper and it's got the warm, creamy goodness of mashed potatoes but greatly recuded in calories.

I'm also adding potatos and sweet potatoes to my stir fries.  A small amount really fills you up.

I can totally relate! I've been really inconsistent with CC, so I'll log one or two foods per day and if I end up bingeing I just won't log any of it, and I'll deny the fact that I binged all day. My excuse has been "Oh, it's winter... sweatpants always fit!" or "I'll get around to it in the Spring"... yeah right. I need to get my butt back in shape because I've already gained 7 pounds in college and it's been two months! Ahh! I'm at 130 and was hoping to be down to 110 by x-mas but it looks like that's not going to happen, so I'm focusing on controlling my urges to binge, and eating foods like Amy's soups (Mmm!!!) lots of coffee/tea, and working more veggies into my diet. Also, I've not been working out at all... it's so much easier to curl up in sweats in my bed with some pumpkin pie and do homework. Ugh, I wish this was easier but we'll motivate each other! :)

Original Post by alexandrajae:

I totally feel you.  When it's cold outside, I just want to eat eat eat and not exercise!  What I've been trying to do is stay active for as long as I can during the day, because once I go home--it's usually over from there..sweatpants and FOOD for the rest of the night :)

What I can say has been working is to put your sweatshirt in the dryer!  I'm seriously always cold, and I'll put it in there for a few minutes, so its a way to warmup without eating!

Coffee/Tea is always a great low calorie way to stay warm too.  I bought some apple cinnamon herbal tea:   sooo good and zero calories!

As far as snacks go, soup is a great option, just be careful to look for sodium!  Amy's brand has some pretty good low sodium soups!  Oatmeal is always warm and yummy, and I'm a huge fan of slicing an apple with a little bit of cinnamon, and microwaving it for a few minutes. so good. and soooo WARM!

good luck! :)

Woah.

I do all of that...

Haha.