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Thursday Three: Pitfalls and Saves

[ 13 ] 02/25/2010 |

Just when you think you’ve got this whole healthy living thing figured out – something jumps out in front of you and trips you up.

Your vices. Pitfalls. Weaknesses. We all have them. The trick is figuring out how to own them and show them who’s boss.

My pitfalls? Oh, there are MANY. Believe me. But it’s Thursday, and I’m giving you three:

Pitfall: Late Night Snacking. So, right now, it’s 11:50 and I’m sitting here, typing, and starving. I know there are some muthertruckin’ Doritos in the kitchen. And beer. Those cookies that I totally should have thrown in the trash as it was on it’s way to the curb. Late night snacking is a HUGE temptation for me. I tend to stay up late, and the problem with eating dinner at 6 pm is that by 10 pm, you’re not just bored hungry, you’re HUNGRY hungry.

Save: There are a few tactics I employ in this situation. The first, and most obvious is, GO TO BED. If that’s not an option, I make myself a cup of tea. Or I brush my teeth. If things are looking really dicey, I find whatever food is sexily purring my name, pitch it in the trash compactor and cover it with something nasty. AND CRUSH IT. Yes, it may be a waste of food, but I am teaching myself that my health is more important than some most likely over processed crap masquerading as food that shouldn’t be in my kitchen anyhow.

***

Pitfall: Emotional Eating. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a rough day – been put through the wringer – and found myself face down in a cheesecake (okay, that is SO Golden Girls), or strapping on the old Cheeto feedbag.  Recently, I’ve noticed that when I get a stressful phone call, I’ll immediately absentmindedly walk into the kitchen and open up the fridge. Not good

Save: This is tough for so many of us. Face it – food is comforting. What is not comforting is the guilt you feel after an emotional binge. And it just snowballs. In my case, I try to identify my triggers. If I need to call someone who I know will stress me out, I take my cell phone and go for a walk while I’m calling them. Bad day? I clean the kitchen immediately after dinner and turn off the lights. And I don’t return till the morning.

***

Pitfall: Convenience foods. Who isn’t stretched for time? It seems like we’re all pulled a zillion different directions and really, the last thing you want to think about is preparing  a meal, let alone snacks. And looky there, the Golden Arches are beckoning in the distance…look at me…I’m fast…your kids LOVE me…friiiieeees…

Save: Last summer, I made a commitment to myself that I would keep the fast food to a minimum. At times,  it’s been, well, impossible. But, there are a few things you can do to make the drive through less tempting. First of all, try to keep healthy snacks, like raw nuts, dried fruit, or healthy granola bars in your car. A small snack can tide you over till you get home to prepare something healthy.  Had a crazy day and a meal is to daunting to prepare? Whenever I make spaghetti sauce, chili or any type of soup, I double the batch and freeze single serving containers for emergency meals. It takes a little planning, but if you can avoid the drive through? The payoffs are huge, both monetarily and health wise!

There you have it! My Thursday Three.

Now, I want to hear from you? What are your top three pitfalls, and how do you beat them down within an inch of their life?

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Category: Heather, Thursday Three

About heather: Thirty-three year old wife, mother, runner and wannabe renaissance woman striving to look and feel even BETTER than she did before babies. View author profile.

  • journeybeyondsurvival

    1. Cheescake when Hubbend is gone.

    Busy. Distraction. Network.

    2. SUGAR

    Lenten promises. Fresh fruit.

    3. Biggie Size meals

    Intentional eating in kitchen. Sitting down. Food on PLATE

  • BrookeF

    fast food
    stay far far away

    wheat thins
    don't buy them

    marshmallows – i could eat them forever!
    coffee with flavored creamer. sure its still got about 40 calories, but it satisfies my sweet tooth. were I to eat marshmallows it would be a hell of a lot more than the 80 for one serving.

  • stephanie

    1. Random, non stop eating while the kids nap
    do a small workout instead
    2. Neighbors and friends who deliver cookies and goodies to our house.
    Say thank you, then when they leave..toss them. RIGHT AWAY! (is that bad?!)
    3. Idle time= eating time
    Get busy! Move. Go for a walk. MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!

  • empowermephotoguy

    Life just keeps coming at us, and we can always rationalize an excuse for eating poorly. This is a great post–inspirational, motivational, and educational! Thanks!

  • http://www.littleladybugthatcould.blogspot.com ladybugs714

    1) homemade carmel popcorn….don't buy it
    2) Margaritas…..don't go to the Mexican restaurant at Happy Hour
    3) stopping to get fast food when I have nothing planned for dinner….don't carry cash

  • http://www.thezenofmotherhood.blogspot.com/ Mama Zen

    I'm a late night snacker. I try have something healthy ready to go ahead of time so that I don't automatically reach for the ice cream!

  • http://www.theskinnyfight.com/ skinnyfighter

    desserts
    don't buy them

    bread
    don't buy it

    I can only think of two. those cover a lot of ground.

  • Bari_F

    My big 3:
    1. ice cream – don't buy it, or buy skinny cows and hope the kids don't eat them all.
    2. late night snacking – I get a big glass of water to try filling me up, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I need a glass right now!
    3. portion sizes – I'm trying to measure my food and NOT take 2nds because I really don't need them.

  • http://blissfulbedlam.com/ Tracie

    1. My major pitfall is being too tired and unmotivated after a restless night with the toddler. When I'm tired I tend to bing on carbs or anything really and I tend to not exercise due to being tired.
    - Getting more sleep is the obvious answer although not always possible. The other solution is to exercise. It keeps me in the right frame of mind and gets me moving and wakes me up

    2. Not taking the time to plan my meals. This always leads to bad choices.
    - Plan what I'm eating first thing in the morning. It lets me know how many calories I have for the day for my snacks. I also like to try new things. It gets me excited and keeps me on plan.

    3. Snacks out in the open. If something is left out on the counter then I find myself grabbing just 1 or 2 every time I pass it.
    - Solution put stuff away and up on top shelf in pantry. I'm much less likely to eat it if I don't see it everytime I go into the kitchen or open the pantry. Also works great for ice cream. I keep it downstairs in the freezer. I actually have to make an effort to eat it then which means usually it is planned and accounted for.

  • http://blissfulbedlam.com/ Tracie

    1. My major pitfall is being too tired and unmotivated after a restless night with the toddler. When I'm tired I tend to bing on carbs or anything really and I tend to not exercise due to being tired.
    - Getting more sleep is the obvious answer although not always possible. The other solution is to exercise. It keeps me in the right frame of mind and gets me moving and wakes me up

    2. Not taking the time to plan my meals. This always leads to bad choices.
    - Plan what I'm eating first thing in the morning. It lets me know how many calories I have for the day for my snacks. I also like to try new things. It gets me excited and keeps me on plan.

    3. Snacks out in the open. If something is where I see it all the time I find myself grabbing just 1 or 2 every time I'm in the kitchen which leads to way more than I should be having. Snacks have to be put on the top shelf of the pantry. I keep ice cream in the downstairs freezer. Now I need a solution on where to hide cheese.

  • weightlossmama

    Pitfalls and saves….

    Instead of hitting the fast food lane especially on those days where we are busy, I often will throw meat into the crockpot so that when dinner time rolls around, the hardest part of the meal is ready.

    I can find myself mindlessly biting and licking while baking. To avoid this, I chew gum. That can often get rid of the sweet tooth (works if you are craving something sweet to eat too and baby carrots work for this too) and who wants to put anything in your mouth with gum already there.

    When I know I will be dining out, instead of going in blind and being persuaded to order something that I know I shouldn't have, I do my homework and look up their menu online. Most restaurants have them available online as well as nutritional information. I then order first (as peer pressure can make us order something more or something different if we don't order first) what I have chosen from my homework and order it the way I want it. Grilled, poached, dressing on the side etc. And I always leave with a take home container. Feel much better when I can get more than one meal out of dining out.

    I had been a huge pop addict. I had gotten really good at limiting myself to one Coke Zero a day but was finding I was drinking it instead of water. Now, I make myself drink the water I need first before I allow myself to have a pop, if I have one at all now.

    My biggest pitfall are chocolate bars. I do buy the Thinsations (when they are on sale) and instead of keeping them in the cupboard where I potentially could go into a lot, I throw them into the freezer. They are more out of mind in there as they are seen less and it takes a bit longer to eat so you can enjoy it more. Kind of do the same thing with ice cream but instead of keeping it upstairs where I could see it more, we keep it in the basement freezer where it is mostly out of mind. When I do have ice cream, I head down with a measuring cup and spoon for a proper proportion only.

    P.s. Tracie, try putting the cheese in the butter section of the fridge door. It has a door to close it and you won't see it every time you open the fridge!! We've had to hide ours there from our 3 year old and 5 year old! LOL

  • weighdownsouth

    1. Beer (mostly on weekends)
    2. Ice cream- I try to keep it out of the house if I can
    3. Sweets- mostly cake. I don't know what the deal is, but I seem to be able to control myself over just about anything else but cake.

  • weighdownsouth

    1. Beer (mostly on weekends)
    2. Ice cream- I try to keep it out of the house if I can
    3. Sweets- mostly cake. I don't know what the deal is, but I seem to be able to control myself over just about anything else but cake.