Yes, Rubin’s abstainers v moderators was a light bulb moment for me.
The Christmas Cookie baking arena is somewhere I’d like to reduce. I could do with far less. Everyone seems to insist we “need” variety after variety. And they last SOOO long - when there are still cookies in the freezer come late January - it’s too much cookies!!!
Ugh. Drove to the club for my 30 minutes of exercise but was derailed by a trip to TJMaxx…
Yes, with the abstaining. I’ve found that the less I eat cookies the less I want them. I just don’t find them tasty any more. And with cake – I might try a bite, but that bite convinces me that it’s not worth the calories. It’s not that tasty. Once you start eating with less sugar in your life, you really don’t miss it.
It helps to have a daughter who is the “healthy” one. She won’t eat anything that’s not whole grained and zero sugar. No butter at all. That makes it easy for us to eat everything whole grain, dip our whole grain bread in olive oil, and eat healthy proteins. Really I would indulge more if my kids allowed it. Esp plain potato chips. Love them.
And it goes back to networks: you eat what your friends and family eat. If you buy it and bring it into the house, it will get eaten.
For me that means: do not buy potato chips! I will eat the entire gigantic bag.
@katliamom wrote
Hey, shopping burns calories 
Next time, 30 minutes at the gym first, THEN TJ Maxx. 
TJ’s is a great reward!
I love all foods - healthy and not so. I DO want the cake, the cookies, the donuts, the mashed potatoes. So it’s up to me to plan how I can have them - some of the time and in limited size.
I love big weekend breakfasts. I also love bacon at those breakfasts. I cut my bacon packages in half when I get home from Costco so for me 2 pieces actually = 1 full slice. I am happy to have those “2”. However this morning in prep for a lunch away from home I ditched the bacon. A small whole grain piece of bread with an egg and an apple with a little PB. Better choice than the bacon.
I’ve never been a big breakfast eater but now I I force myself to eat it - a real breakfast with protein and fat. Because I noticed that afterwards I eat much less, and better stuff, throughout the day. I wish the US had a culture where we ate more during the day, and less at night, as in Europe. Much easier to keep weight down that way…
I like @nottelling post about #57. I do best if I abstain. Moderation doesn’t work well for me. I volunteer with an organization where one of my jobs is picking up leftover bread, pastries etc from a local bakery one afternoon a week. The majority of the time I abstain. I made the decision that I would never eat any of the bread nor a scone or muffin. It works most of the time. If I end up at the bakery and I am starved I will take a scone. The next week I took a scone and vegan chocolate muffin that are both addictive. It’s a slippery slope. I can’t say I will have a few bites. If I commit to abstain I don’t feel I’m missing it and it becomes easy to do my job and move on.
In Abasket example I am better off having the bacon. A piece of toast whole grain or not will set me up for toast the next day or a sandwich for lunch. What works best for me is when I can settle into the routine of abstainance from carbs during the week and allowing the same 2 days of the week to be the days I allow myself bread or potatoes. I need that routine.
Where I struggle is a party or potluck where most of the choices are starchy.
I don’t bake unless I’m bringing it somewhere else or having guests. I will eat the whole batch of cookies and my H will have 1.
Abasket, thanks for starting this thread.
I’m good at getting plenty of water, on doctor’s orders, and I’ve found that I do feel better when I’m well hydrated. For me, finding the right bottle was essential.
I’m going to really push myself to stick with my workout schedule this month, 3 days a week.
I’ve been uber upset and stressed out for the last month, and the holidays will add to it. I need to find a long-term way to deal. No progress on that front yet.
I think that I can have the most immediate impact on my holiday health by being more mindful of what I put in my mouth. Like “Is this really a special treat, or am I just wanting to eat it because it’s there?”
Sounds like the “abstaining” is from certain food groups or foods like carbs, baked items, etc. I can see that.
“Abstaining” from adequate calories on any one day to save for the next is hard for me to swallow. (pun!)
I usually only have toast/bread on the weekends. MAYBE once during the week. Generally breakfast is largely protein, a little fruit, some fat, dairy. I really look forward to that good bread and bacon in moderation on the weekend!!!
Got through my lunch out ok. Some beet/carrot/greens/feta salad w/balsamic and 1/2 of a Michigan cherry burger. And then later a good bout of exercise.
How is that any different than what we are talking about? You choose certain days of the week to indulge so you aren’t tempted on other days, on which your choices are more restricted.
ETA: For me, if I’m looking forward to a big event that is focused on food – like a dinner at a fine-dining restaurant – I naturally restrict my eating in the days leading up to that. I don’t consider it a “diet” or anything like that; I just find it hard to eat heavy meals on multiple days in a row, one after another. The big heavy meal tastes so much better if I’ve been on a moderate fast for a few days leading up to it. I don’t really even think about it; it is s habit. The trip I’ve bern mentioning was difficult because it was days of heavy eating all in a row. I would have much preferred fasting days in between but I didn’t plan the trip; someone else did.
By the way, what’s a Michiga cherry burger? That’s a new one to me!
@nottelling , I’m not skipping meals, I’m not limiting my calories to less than 1000 a day…I’m eating 3 square meals with good planning. I was talking only about bread or toast - not any other food or food groups. And, I don’t crave or miss or feel I’m missing out on that item - bread - on the days I don’t have it ! My response was somewhat in response to #67 that indicated she’d do better off eating the bacon.
Michigan Cherry Burger = burger on ciabatta bread (except I didn’t eat that), with red onion, blue cheese, field greens, balsamic reduction and a cherry compote.
@katliamom wrote
My experience when I lived in Italy was the exact opposite-they’d have a cappucino (or five!) for breakfast, and dinner was always hours long and started around 7 pm. I put on so much weight there! I had to eventually stop drinking coffee completely and say no to those amazing three hour dinners…
Interesting. In France the bigger meal was at mid-day… evening meal was more of a snack
I actually do that most weekdays. I have a bigger lunch at work- either we go out or eat at the hot food service that comes to the office- and then H and I tend to have smaller dinners. He tends to eat lunch later and also might have a bigger mid-day meal.
I didn’t do great at my social function Friday night. Too much good food and wine! I did run a race Saturday- with less success than I expected due to the “too much good food and wine”.
Our office- well, the large floor of our building that I’m on- is doing a ridiculous thing of having a TWO WEEK spread! We all have to sign up for a couple of slots for bringing breakfast or lunch items (and sweets, of course). That means within steps of my office there will be all sorts of tempting food items. I’m pretty sure this is not a good idea for most of us…
^^^^ And we’ll expect a report everyday! Two weeks - that sounds like way more food provided (even by staff) than anyone needs!
I think it’s excessive. It’s the first year my department has been included. We usually just crept by the tables and grabbed something if we got desperate!
I was wrong. It IS only 3 days, so I feel better about that. There will definitely be piles of “gift” food around for 2 weeks, but the organized grazing is only 3 days.
So maybe a tip is to fill up your office desk drawers with some fruit, Babybel cheese, flavorful tea, etc. so you can grab something from there when tempted. That’s one tip!
Another…
When you fill your plate at a gathering 1. Make sure you put some healthy food on it. 2. Eat that healthy food off the plate FIRST. You may feel you don’t need to finish the other stuff. Don’t let the raw veggies and leaner food items be what ends up in the trash.