I have the willpower of a gnat.
(Well, now that I've said that, I really have no idea how much willpower a gnat has, and it could possibly be offensive to this poor, defenseless creature who might, very possibly, have more willpower than I do. For the sake of literary license, let's just assume that a gnat has no willpower at all, okay?)
I can have all of the best intentions, I can be dedicated and motivated... but damnit, if I'm hungry and food's in the house, I'm going to eat it, regardless of whether it's healthy and on my diet plan.
This is especially true after a long day of work when the last thing I want to do is cook a decent meal when it would be much simpler to just grab the Off-Brand-Eggo in the freezer and throw it in the toaster.
So, to save me from myself, what I really need to do is a cupboard cleanout. If I shouldn't be eating it, it shouldn't be in the house. But, this gets especially complicated since I don't live alone - I have a roommate who is sure to protest her good snacks disappearing.
I hear similar stories when talking to my friends who are trying to get healthy. Unfortunately, we don't live in bubbles, and our eating habits are greatly influenced by the roommate, spouse, children, and friends who aren't on the same path we are. Suddenly, there are two meals to cook, (and didn't I just say that I barely have enough time to cook one?), two shopping lists to fulfill, and cupboards and fridges full of the not-so-healthy food that everyone else enjoys.
Not to mention how much of our social lives revolve around food. We join our friends for lunch, for coffee, for beer, etc. What's the most popular dating activity? Dinner and a movie. Temptation for the bad stuff is absolutely everywhere, and no one wants to be the girl in the corner of the room with a plate of veggies while everyone else is downing the cookies and eggnog.
What are some strategies that have worked for you when faced with temptation all around?
We reach a compromise. They get their "good snacks" but only the ones I don't like. So Ryan's favorite sweets are butterfingers and whoppers. I like butterfingers but hate Whoppers. So, if I have candy around for Ryan it's always whoppers. I hate them and am not tempted to eat them, he still gets a sweet fix. Same goes with fruit snacks, cracker, any chips etc. They aren't picky about brand or flavor so I get the variety that I won't be tempted to eat. We also make variations on the same meal. The kids like chicken drumsticks and so do i, but it's just as easy to throw a chicken breast on the grill at the same time. I don't know how helpful that is, but it's kind of about finding a middle ground of things that you aren't tempted by but that still feels like the treats that they are used to/want to have.
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent idea, Hannah! :D I think I'm going to try this. There are plenty of things that are snacky that I just don't like and wont be tempted to munch on.
ReplyDeleteI try to remove myself from the situation, but when you are living with it, it can be very hard. I face the same struggles. What I have been doing at home is finding good tasting substitute snacks that everyone likes. This way I can still have healthy food around me and they think it's good, too! At school I have just been reminding myself over and over, that I need to be healthy and can't have it. It hasn't always worked, so I'm looking for solutions there, too. I really like Hannah's comment!
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing as Hannah. Hubby likes pecan sandies...I don't. We both like chocolate chip cookies so I just get the pecan sandies b/c I am not tempted to eat them. But now he's got to cut down on his sweets due to gaining 30 lbs this year and having a high sugar count so hopefully it will be a bit easier. His weakness is soda but he hates diet so we have to find some sort of substitute. I've been getting unsweet tea and it has helped. We can both drink it without sugar and are fine. And Win will eat anything sweet so I just get him the stuff that doesn't tempt me and is somewhat healthy.
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