How do you motivate yourself to stay away from bad foods?

@ladym33 (10979)
United States
January 12, 2010 11:02am CST
I am doing Weight Watchers and it is pretty good and flexible. However, I find my self wanting to munch on things I shouldn't from time to time and I need some advice on how to keep myself from doing so. What do you do to keep from giving in to temptation?
7 people like this
20 responses
@nautilus33 (1827)
12 Jan 10
not a bit! I like to eat very much and I don't care about that, is the food bad or not. Yes, I also eat healthy food, but I eat and bad one. And I think we should not refuse ourselves from everything bad, just because it is bad and not healthy. We have only this life and we should try everything, and live it as we want. And not by some rules!
1 person likes this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I am at the very far end of your idea of life. I eat a LOT of junk type foods. Mostly baked goodies like cakes, donuts etc. But I am still somewhat healthy at 55 after eating this way for all my life. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!~
12 Jan 10
Thanks grandpa Bob! I also like eat many sweeties and I don't refuse them. I like chocolate, cakes, ice-cream!
• United States
13 Jan 10
I've noticed that if I cut out sugary junk & have only one portion of carbs per meal that I actually lose weight.If you crave sugary sweets (like me) try eating sugar free cookies or sugar free yogurt. When I get a sweet tooth and already had my daily allowance of sugar free treats & food, I usually drink hot tea with a touch of Splenda.I have recently found some really good hot tea's that have chocolate flavoring and it really does seem to keep my sweet tooth at bay. Drink a lot of water and have healthy and sugar free snacks around.Good Luck!
@GardenGerty (160883)
• United States
13 Jan 10
I do not buy the foods I should not have. I keep the other things on hand. I find that I like celery. If I do not have a food in the house, I do not need to worry about munching on it.
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
13 Jan 10
I go to weight watchers too, although it is the south australian version, not the international one. The only way I can stop munching on naughty foods is by not buying them. I am one of those people, if the food is present in the house, I have to snack on it. The only problem is, I do buy treats for my daughter. Some of what she loves, I like too. An example would be chilli chips. I guess the only other way to avoid tempation is to really fill yourself up with filling foods, the foods that are allowed oin your diet that is. If you are feeling full, you are less likely to snack. Good Luck.
@maxilimian (3099)
• Indonesia
13 Jan 10
Just be around in the circle of healthy people, usually people who likes going to gym, or just by looking into the mirror, you can tell it by your ownself if your weight is just over because of the food
• India
13 Jan 10
i am not heavy and looks slim so i don't need to avoid any kind of food. Every kind of food suit me and i can happily digest what i wish... I think there are so many fat people who need to avoid.... Thank God to make me healthy
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
12 Jan 10
Sadly I say I am a junk food junkie and can not keep away from the sweets and or baked goods. I need to for my health but I also find it difficult to keep away from junk food. I'll be coming back here to read others ideas etc. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!~
@tawny_24 (341)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I have not done weight watchers, I don't agree with the limiting mentality. I think it creates despiration, which leads to eating what is "forbidden". IT is a psychological things. First we deny ourselves, then we desire what is denied, then we violate the "law", we get a thrill from the adventure, from doing something taboo, like eating a whole bag of cheetos, then the guilt sets in. This approach to dieting and weightloss is really negative and the root cause of the yo-you effect. I don't like this. My approach is all about forming a positive relationship with food. If you can look at something like a slice of pie, and feel that it is a good thing. If you do not demonize the pie, it can't hurt you, in a psychological sense. Sure you may eat the pie today, but with an improved perception and relationship you will be able to avoid eating the pie, by saying to yourself: "pie, you are a good thing, you and I have a mutual like of one another, you want me to eat you and I want to take a bite. There is nothing wrong with eating a peice of pie, it does not make me a bad person. I have a good relationship with foods and I make the effort to eat healthy foods most of the time. So I don't feel guilty about an occasional indulgence." Once you mind beleives that the danger is gone, you no longer feel the urge to "live on the edge" by flauting the rules of your diet. In essence food can be like a bad lover, You may feel like I want you because I can't have you and I know you are bad for me but in the moment of passion I just don't care. YOu have to turn that bad lover into a good match. So that is one part of it. The next part is feeding the body properly. It is all about getting all the nutrition out of your food that is possible. Eating high fiber, high protien, high complex carbohydrates, getting all the recomended daily servings of fruits and veggies, and eating balanced meals is how you stay full. Often times we experience cravings for the above mentioned psychological reasons, but the other reasons are linked to nutritional deficiencies, as well as withdraws from addictive substances like perservatives and sugar. The third part of it is snacking. If I'm not snacking I'm just not happy, no one I know is happy when they don't get snacks. So snack, but snack on healthy things. Do you like crunchy things, think of every healthy thing that is crunchy and think of putting them together is different combinations, your mind automatically feels satisfied because it sees and interprets abundance. So the psychological need to overdo it is soothed, then it is all about physically enjoying what you eat. So lets say instead of potato chips you choose pretzels or some raw veggies. You add some hummus or mustard instead of ranch dressing, and you have a decent portion. If you like sweets you choose a ripe mango or some pineapple chunks instead of candy, and you anticipate your snack time and come prepared. It is so easy to eat air popped pop corn instead of butter flavored microwave, you see where I'm going? I always drink pleanty of water through out the day as well. often time, because of the cultural conditioning we recieve to eat, we think that we are hungry when we are actually thirsty. The three things I do everyday: Eat a highly nutritious and large breakfast. Snack, eat five to six times a day including munchies. And drink pleanty of water, sometimes I add a little fiber mix to my water. Taking supplements can also help you out as well. www.itfeelsgoodtosweat.blogspot.com is where I write about this exact topic. Let me know if any of this information helps you. Way to go keep it up, you can do this. You are sticking to your goal and you will meet it.
@thedaddym (1731)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I either just try to keep my mind off of it, and go and watch TV or seomthing, or I eat something that is better for me to eat like an orange or a pickle. I tis sometimes really hard to walk away from foods that you would really like to eat. Dieting is hard, I just try really hard not to think about food, or I eat something else that will hopefully take the craving away.
@cream97 (29086)
• United States
12 Jan 10
Hi, ladym33. First let me congratulate you on your weight loss regimen! It takes great courage to sustain yourself into losing weight. The best advice that I can give to you is to say to yourself. If I eat this food that looks so tasty then this food will add more extra pounds to my body, something that I am trying to lose now... If you can see it this way, then I bet you would not want to eat that particular food at all. I wish you all the success as you complete your weight loss goal. Take care!
@hmkoct5 (2065)
• United States
12 Jan 10
Oh, this is a hard one for me. I have a hard time not giving in to temptation myself! But, when I am being really good, I will try to do something else that I find fun. For me, it is singing. I will grab a glass of ice water and head to my karaoke machine. I sing two or three songs and drink the water. The water tends to fill me up and the singing distracts me. If I still want something really bad... I will let myself have a Hershey Kiss. I suck on it for a long time and hope that the sweet flavor in my mouth will keep me satisfied for a while.
@suzzy3 (8341)
12 Jan 10
I stop buying fattening foods keep a full fruit bowl and maybe some slimming bars to nibble on .It is difficult I am about 12lb overweight and no matter what I try it just won't shift.
@Torrs13 (217)
• United States
12 Jan 10
My friend once made an inspirational poster to keep her motivated, and it definitely worked! She placed it in her room where she had to look at it everyday, but it could also function well on your fridge. On this poster, she placed a picture of how she wanted to look, inspirational quotes, and she wrote down all the goals she had. Getting others involved is also a great step to take. These people can encourage you to eat healthier and keep you in line when you are craving french fries or soda pop. Another option you have is to pick out only healthy foods, so that even if you get cravings, the only thing available to eat in your house is good stuff. Food Network has some great recipes that are easy and tasteful. Prepare some of these snacks and I'm sure those potato chips won't come creeping in your mind so much. Best of luck!
• India
12 Jan 10
bad food means its bad for us, then how can i prefer i just stay away from that i don't even a touch that .that's only safe for me .
@surfette (673)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I try to cook very healthy foods for our dinner, just ordinary foods that taste great but without any additional fats or sugars. My husband works the night shift and my difficulty is later in the evening because we eat our supper at 4:00 p.m. I tend to stay up late because I'm a night person and it's a long time between 4pm and when I go to bed. If I refuse to eat any snacks later in the evening, I will blow my diet and look for anything "yummy" to eat which isn't good for me. Instead, I'm on a quest to find low fat snacks that actually taste good. So many times, the cardboard box would taste better than these treats, so I keep on searching. I've found that the Ruffles low fat potato chips are very tasty, satisfy my need for something crunchy and are half the calories of regular chips. The low-fat vanilla wafers are also good because they give me something sweet and crunchy at the same time. I also like to slice a banana and put a dollop of low fat sour cream and a spoonful of no sugar added preserves on it. It's almost like a sundae and it tastes good without being loaded with sugar and fat. These are some of my "tricks" to try not to binge during my evening. So far it's been successful and like I said, I'm always searching for new things that help me to not eat cupcakes, Fritos, donuts, etc. Good luck to you.
@Allie_xoxo (1063)
• Canada
12 Jan 10
I dont. I don't need to do it for weight reasons and life is too short ot spend it worrying about things like sugar and carbs. I just throw in some of my favourite vegetables when I can and I'm good to go!
@nitu1952 (286)
• India
12 Jan 10
always motivate ourself to be good looking person with not much weight. this could only be possible when we are away froom eating the oily junk food which would affect ours health and brings much pimples on faces. there are several many diseaes which junk food occur like chlorostol, fat,etc
@RachelleNH (1396)
• United States
12 Jan 10
This is what I've done..had the same problem. You said you're on WW, Maybe you are eating too little? I try to eat every 3-4 hours and make it something healthy. What I did is stop buying the "bad" foods..keep low cal popcorn and fruits, veggies, special K cereal, etc around instead of those chips, cokes, candy, etc. that way you're not tempted. and if you're finding that you want to eat maybe you're just bored...read a book, take a walk...etc. There's a lot of forums/groups you can join also that are free and help keep you motivated. I know WW has one online.
@PastorP (1170)
• United States
12 Jan 10
Hi ladym33. As a Christian the Word of God tells me my body belongs to God and is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. I then do not wish to damage that Temple. I have to think that if I eat or drink the wrong things that I am inviting illness. So I have a focus to avoid those things that are known to make me or others ill.
• India
12 Jan 10
I always think about god food only .and prepare my self about the efects of bad foods so even if i se that food i never like to buy it or if soem body buy for me i avoid to eat that one ..but it is possible after some efforts not at first time..