I do my best not to have good treats in my house. My personal rule for treats is this: If I want it, I can have it, but I have to go out and get it. When I really want something yummy, I pack Logan up and we go get treats. Our favorite destinations are the hand dipped chocolate shop down the street, and the gelato cafe by Grandma's. We usually take these outings monthlyish.
I do keep some yucky treats around the house for Logan occasionally. He doesn't know they are yucky. I did the same thing in my classroom. When I gave the kids treats, I chose treats that I could resist. I do not have a weakness for some things (gummy worms, taffy, sweet tarts, jolly ranchers, hard candy, etc.).
Why have I resorted to this? Because if I have a bag of Almond Joys, a box of chocolate cake donuts, Oreo cookies, or a large quantity of some other delectable indulgence sitting around, I will eat it until it is gone. Some people can eat things until they are gone over two weeks, or a month. I eat it until it is gone in two days.
My brain damaged thinking in the moment is this: If I eat this, it will be gone, and then it won't be here to tempt me anymore. Wow.
In a moment of strength, I have been known to throw very yummy things away so I won't eat them. Ashamedly, I have also been known to pull things back out. Wow.
Logan and I love to bake on Sunday. I usually justify breaking my rule about going out to get treats in the name of a math lesson on measurement and some fine motor skill development. This week we made chocolate coconut cookies. I decided to only cook one pan and freeze the rest of the dough. I woke up the next morning and started eating the dough. After eating half of it, I just baked the rest, most of which I ate. Again, wow.
I have tremendous admiration for people who can keep a candy dish with M & Ms in their living room. Part of me wants to have things around, and learn to not eat them, so I can model healthy restraint for Logan. The other part of my does not want to fight the personal battle that would require.
14 comments:
I think if you went to a therapist, he would tell you your normal:) Um, I have that same damaged thinking by the way... I'm going to eat it all anyway, why not just eat it all RIGHT NOW? lol. We never buy ice cream or soda at the grocery store cause having such easy access to it would be disastrous!
I have the same thought process: I better eat it all now so there won't be any left over for later to tempt me. Is it a teacher thing?
I love this post and related to EVERYTHING you said! You explained me to a T! I loved what you said about admiring people who can have a jar of m&m's in their living room. They wouldn't last a day at my house!
hee hee! i think we all think "i've got to get rid of this so i don't have to keep eating it!" we all want to be healthier. i think it's a great idea not to have it in the house and to make an occasion out of going to get something yummy. then it's an experience, not just food. brilliant!
I have thrown away perfectly good treats just to keep from eating them too. Usually because I have eaten so much that I can't stand the sight of them any more. I do recommend the practice. There are also things I don't buy anymore, just because I know they'd be too hard to resist. But I am glad you gave in to temptation a little bit. You deserve a break once in a while.
you make me laugh :). and you don't need therapy for this, trust me, tom would tell you to stop feeling guilty for eating treats. if anyone deserves to eat a whole pan of brownies at a time it is you!
Wow, this is your longest post in quite a while and it made me smile to read it.
I think you have exceptional will power--how else could you throw away something perfectly delicious?
You know my particular weakness. It's not M & Ms; I've had a bad of them in my pantry for more than a year. On the other hand....
I always love the "this is how I really feel posts".
I think its great that you don't keep tempting treats in the house. It makes the most sense to me.
I love that you make it an outing when you get a treat. Logan probably thinks it is the best thing in the world.
Ah Lisa, this is hilarious and so very very human. My problem is quite the opposite... if I don't have anything in the house I am always craving a treat and am never satisfied until I have a stash in my house. Then if I have a stash in the house I never want a treat cause I know I have it if I really really want it. Weird huh...that is how I am with money in the house too...dont waste your cash for emotional help save it and go on a trip to Tahiti with me :) !
I only keep oreos in my house when I know you will be coming over! Sorry! Other than that, I do not make treats or buy treats of any kind. I will eat them all. The other day I was craving No Bake Cookies which I knew Mason wouldn't eat. I ate 2 cookies after making them and then froze the rest...did you know frozen No Bake Cookies are better than warm?! We both might need therapy! Miss you!
One thing Erin and I learned through our whole True Health experience is that you eat mostly what you have sitting around in easy access. We switched from having sugared stuff to sweet fruits, nuts and other healthy alternatives. After a few weeks it becomes a habit.
Lisa, you are so funny, and SO normal! I am the same way. I eat and eat and eat. But I'm not just sweets. I will eat a whole bag of popcorn all by myself! But then I try to balance it by eating a bunch of carrots!:)
I have no idea what you are talking about. I have never been tempted by sweets! I have decided it's not the ability to restrain the sweets that counts, it's the ability to manage the stress. When I have smooth flowing rivers instead of rapids I can exercise and eat right. The treats tend to be less of a problem. If I focus on making life managable and building good habits these fits of indulgence go away. I used to go to 7-11 at night after you kids were in bed sometimes and buy Haagan Da ice cream or Dunford chocolate donuts, ccassionally both at once.
You may NOT go on a trip to Tahiti with Christy Marie, because you are going on a cruise with ME! (Sorry, Christy.)
Get over it, Lisa! Logan's gonna have plenty of other screwed up beliefs and mother-inflicted pains that he has to spend thousands of dollars recovering from. Don't worry about this one! :) And next time you're going out for gelato....
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