Now I remember: THAT'S how I gained weight in the first place

I went up to my parents' house for 4 days this past weekend to take care of my dogs while my parents were away.  I invited friends over for lunch on Saturday, and one of them brought these amazing cookies and a chocolate cake.  I had very good intentions.  What I cooked was quite healthy, and I bought fruit for dessert as well, and I was going to have 1 cookie and a sliver of the cake.  Well, we were sitting around the table talking for quite awhile. 1 cookie turned into 4.  I had another piece of cake and quite a bit of fruit.  After my friends left (and thankfully I made them take the cookies with them), I put the cake in the freezer.  But there were other cookies in the house, and I ate a bunch of those.  And Sunday, I even had 2 or 3 pieces of the frozen cake, along with a lot more food than I should have eaten.  Added to that, I had every intention of excercising while I was there, and I had my excercise videos with me.  I never touched them.

So, I think most of the water weight is gone now, though the scale got shockingly high for a bit there, but I think the damage is a 1 or 2 pound gain, which is sad, because that's all the weight I lost in the last 2 months, but not a tragedy.  I didn't undo the last 7 months of progress in 2 days, but I realize I could if I were to turn those 2 days into a month.  I'm back in my own apartment now in the bubble of a comfort zone I've created for myself, and I worked out today.  I can't binge on unhealthy food because it doesn't exist in my kitchen.  But I'm going back to my parents' house this weekend, and I have to figure out how to stay in control under those conditions.

I've been wondering lately how I gained all this weight in the first place.  While I wasn't counting calories, I've been cooking and eating healthily for years and years.  I've never kept junk in my house.  Now I understand.  Days of unrestrained eating here and there left unchecked add up quickly.

I read a story last week about a man who went to a remote island to give up smoking...  Think he managed it.  But I couldn't help wondering how he would cope when back in his normal environment with all the old cues and prompts. 

So yes, it's easy to manage things when we're 100% in charge of the environment and not always that easy when faced with old situations and the habits that go with them.   Still, on the plus side, you know where it goes wrong now...   Identification is half-way to solving the problem.  Good luck

I can totally relate!  I feel like I've undone 8 months of progress in two weeks!  I reigned it in this week and the water is coming off quickly, but still.

Carbs are especially rough, at least for me, because they're partially addictive and in retrospect I think I did have a carb addiction (my favorite foods were pasta, popcorn, and fresh bread).  Eating one thing of carbs makes me hungrier for more.  It's easier to resist if you don't have any at all.

That's not to say I don't eat any carbs, obviously - you can't avoid them.  But the following guidelines work for me:

1) Less processed is better - whole grains and fruit vs. (even relatively healthy) junk food or processed bread.  More fiber in whole grains and fruits also helps keep me feeling full.

2) When I do eat processed carbs, I eat them WITH other things.  When I eat a sandwich on bread, I enjoy it but I don't immediately get hungry for more carbs.  If I eat even the small 100-calorie pack of baked cheetohs as a snack by itself, I end up wanting more, even if the same volume of veggies or nuts would satisfy me.