Re: Kitchen full of food

[Guest guest]

Hey Nelse,

Happy Monday to you, too! You bring up a very good question... In my

case, I had lost down to my target weight and everything was going along

great... not thinking about food too much and just eating little bits when

I was hungry. Then my elderly mother-in-law suddenly and permanently moved

in with us. Well, that put me in a tailspin and I gained 30 lbs in a year!

ouch!! :-) Two reasons... first, my hubby brought mom home without asking

me if it was okay or talking it over at all and I ate a whole lot of junk

instead of facing this issue. (and btw, she needed to come here and I

understand that... just should have handled it differently) and the second

thing is mom has to have sweets every meal, every day. Never have there

been so many cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream, chocolates and candies in my

house! I have a sweet tooth anyway, and it is ridiculously hard to resist

all this. I finally cleared a cabinet out and put it all in there, but that

has had limited success. It can't stay in her room because it's too hard

for her to get at it.

I was buying her 2 apple pies from Mc's everyday and that worked

pretty well, except I realized I had an ulterior motive of trying to 'kill

her with kindness' ... I mean she is 87 and had a massive heart attack and

quadruple bypass two years ago!!! So now instead of trying to 'off' her with

pies, I let hubby ply her with sweets, and do my best to forget they are in

the house.

Good luck with having boys in the house. My son is almost 13, and is a

bottomless pit! He could easily eat a whole box of cereal and a half gallon

of milk in one sitting. Hopefully, your 'new' boys will have some decent

eating habits. We focus on a good breakfast everyday, and at least some

kind of veggie with dinner.

One thing, and maybe not everyone will agree with this, but IMO, you make

what you make, and if someone doesn't like it, then they can always make

themselves peanut butter and crackers! No short order cook lives at my

house! lol Don't try to make different things for each kid, and if

possible, get them involved in the planning and prep of the food... makes a

big difference.

Sorry to be so long winded... don't get to post much, but when I do... !

:-)

oxoxo

Patti

On Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 9:29 AM, Nelse Schreck wrote:

>

>

> Hi again. It's been a while, but I've been working on lots of things.

> First, on feeling worthy, through conflict resolutions. Second, on

> addressing fears, large and small, by tapping. Third, on posing my

> experiences in the positive, and living with gratitude and forgiveness.

>

> So here is what I need help with. As a single woman, I have had a sparsely

> filled kitchen. Isn't it easier to stick on that weight loss plan if you

> have nothing to binge on? " Don't you check out at the grocery thinking that

> the checker thinks " Boy you sure eat healthily! " As you think, " Can the

> checker tell that I'm a compulsive eater freakcase? " I'm preaching to the

> choir. But it's Monday morning and you need a laugh. Everyone in my family

> teases me incessantly about not having " normal " food in my kitchen. The

> truth is I don't have junk food and processed foods. Most everything is to

> be prepared by me - I don't do premade foods very much.

>

> I have been working on my eating, to the point that I feel like I am eating

> like a normal person, and not guilting, obsessing, losing myself on food

> thoughts. So here is the next frontier: having a kitchen full of food and

> not being afraid of it. Fearful that I will snack incessantly.

>

> First I made a grocery list. This was a bit disappointing because my

> thinking was stunted by years of diet grocery shopping. Haven't I always

> been on a diet? Have I ever told myself, Hey Nelse, you are not on a diet.

> Heck No! But the list had all kinds of food from cereals and bread, to

> fruit and veggies, and some desert type foods. That was a good exercise, to

> realize I was not enjoying the different foods out there.

>

> Then I went to the store. Trader Joe's is good for this. Whole Foods

> too. I bought lots of fun stuff. Read alot of labels, and bought regular

> food - not diet, not total junk. Bought treats, veggies, meats. Had a

> great time baking bread, making purple rice.

>

> I found myself snacking a bit. Only on the Granola though. So I have a

> trigger food, but I am not going to eliminate foods from my house. In a six

> months, it's going to be me, and my Love, and his big growing boys. And I

> have to learn to coexist with food. So for all you Moms out there, how do

> you deal with the grocery shopping and having food for all ages and needs

> (more processed foods) in your house all the time. How do you buy for

> everyone and then not sneak mouthful's of Coco Puffs?

>

> Many thanks,

>

> Nelse

>

>

[Guest guest]

Nelse and Patti - thank you for your mails this am. Have not been very focussed

lately and I know a big reasoin is that I use not cooking enough as a reason.

I have 2 growing boys as well that are quite picky (and I really don't pander to

them honestly) but if I do then they wake up in the middle of the night claiming

they are hungry which then makes me very grumpy.

So because they are so picky I have given up cooking which means I don't eat

healthy dinners and it's just a downward spiral from there.

So last night I made homemade Chicken Soup which they both at least ate a few

bites of each. I guess we gotta start somewhere!

Happy Monday

-------------- Original message --------------

Hey Nelse,

Happy Monday to you, too! You bring up a very good question... In my

case, I had lost down to my target weight and everything was going along

great... not thinking about food too much and just eating little bits when

I was hungry. Then my elderly mother-in-law suddenly and permanently moved

in with us. Well, that put me in a tailspin and I gained 30 lbs in a year!

ouch!! :-) Two reasons... first, my hubby brought mom home without asking

me if it was okay or talking it over at all and I ate a whole lot of junk

instead of facing this issue. (and btw, she needed to come here and I

understand that... just should have handled it differently) and the second

thing is mom has to have sweets every meal, every day. Never have there

been so many cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream, chocolates and candies in my

house! I have a sweet tooth anyway, and it is ridiculously hard to resist

all this. I finally cleared a cabinet out and put it all in there, but that

has had limited success. It can't stay in her room because it's too hard

for her to get at it.

I was buying her 2 apple pies from Mc's everyday and that worked

pretty well, except I realized I had an ulterior motive of trying to 'kill

her with kindness' ... I mean she is 87 and had a massive heart attack and

quadruple bypass two years ago!!! So now instead of trying to 'off' her with

pies, I let hubby ply her with sweets, and do my best to forget they are in

the house.

Good luck with having boys in the house. My son is almost 13, and is a

bottomless pit! He could easily eat a whole box of cereal and a half gallon

of milk in one sitting. Hopefully, your 'new' boys will have some decent

eating habits. We focus on a good breakfast everyday, and at least some

kind of veggie with dinner.

One thing, and maybe not everyone will agree with this, but IMO, you make

what you make, and if someone doesn't like it, then they can always make

themselves peanut butter and crackers! No short order cook lives at my

house! lol Don't try to make different things for each kid, and if

possible, get them involved in the planning and prep of the food... makes a

big difference.

Sorry to be so long winded... don't get to post much, but when I do... !

:-)

oxoxo

Patti

On Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 9:29 AM, Nelse Schreck wrote:

>

>

> Hi again. It's been a while, but I've been working on lots of things.

> First, on feeling worthy, through conflict resolutions. Second, on

> addressing fears, large and small, by tapping. Third, on posing my

> experiences in the positive, and living with gratitude and forgiveness.

>

> So here is what I need help with. As a single woman, I have had a sparsely

> filled kitchen. Isn't it easier to stick on that weight loss plan if you

> have nothing to binge on? " Don't you check out at the grocery thinking that

> the checker thinks " Boy you sure eat healthily! " As you think, " Can the

> checker tell that I'm a compulsive eater freakcase? " I'm preaching to the

> choir. But it's Monday morning and you need a laugh. Everyone in my family

> teases me incessantly about not having " normal " food in my kitchen. The

> truth is I don't have junk food and processed foods. Most everything is to

> be prepared by me - I don't do premade foods very much.

>

> I have been working on my eating, to the point that I feel like I am eating

> like a normal person, and not guilting, obsessing, losing myself on food

> thoughts. So here is the next frontier: having a kitchen full of food and

> not being afraid of it. Fearful that I will snack incessantly.

>

> First I made a grocery list. This was a bit disappointing because my

> thinking was stunted by years of diet grocery shopping. Haven't I always

> been on a diet? Have I ever told myself, Hey Nelse, you are not on a diet.

> Heck No! But the list had all kinds of food from cereals and bread, to

> fruit and veggies, and some desert type foods. That was a good exercise, to

> realize I was not enjoying the different foods out there.

>

> Then I went to the store. Trader Joe's is good for this. Whole Foods

> too. I bought lots of fun stuff. Read alot of labels, and bought regular

> food - not diet, not total junk. Bought treats, veggies, meats. Had a

> great time baking bread, making purple rice.

>

> I found myself snacking a bit. Only on the Granola though. So I have a

> trigger food, but I am not going to eliminate foods from my house. In a six

> months, it's going to be me, and my Love, and his big growing boys. And I

> have to learn to coexist with food. So for all you Moms out there, how do

> you deal with the grocery shopping and having food for all ages and needs

> (more processed foods) in your house all the time. How do you buy for

> everyone and then not sneak mouthful's of Coco Puffs?

>

> Many thanks,

>

> Nelse

>

>

[Guest guest]

The questions was, " How do you buy for everyone and then not sneak mouthful's of

Coco Puffs? "

Well, I am blessed because neither my husband nor my 14-year-old daughter, like

junk food that much, so I don't have to buy much of it. What I mean by junk food

is cakes, cookies, ice cream, etc.  I have a hard time resisting those things,

so why torture myself by having them readily available to eat? (I would rather

make it a special occasion whenever I eat those things.) However, I have no

problem with highly processed cereal being in my house, or crackers, chips, etc.

If you looked inside my cabinets and fridge, I think that it would look like

" normal " food minus the Twinkies. (I don't think Twinkies are that " normal "

anyway!)

But truthfully, on holidays when there is too much junk food left over for more

than 2-3 days, I throw it out and no one notices.

P.S. I've lost 33 lbs....7 months...slow buy easy.

Bev

[Guest guest]

I have lost 70 pounds in 10 months and my kitchen is as empty as the

day i moved into the apartment. I have the same dozen eggs from the

first shopping trip...do eggs go bad...anyway. I live in fear of having

food in my kitchen. So good luck and let me know if you find out a way

to make it work

[Guest guest]

Nelse, I was looking at my trigger situations yesterday and realized I

never found a way to deal with them. One was PMS cravings and I

brainstormed and realized - hey I can give in to those cravings as

long as I plan for them. So I satisfy my desire for the food

(probably ice cream) without the side dish of guilt. So I will eat a

smaller amount at lunch or dinner (6 or 7 parts full) and leave room

for dessert. Maybe I do this once a day for a couple of days. It's

much better than overexercising for 21 days to make up for the 7 days

of binging only to have the scale stay same or go up. This way, I can

have a couple of weeks of loss, then a week where it doesn't move.

Also, I won't feel that constant tug of war between the self who wants

to move forward and the self who is screaming to eat cake. Something

else that may help you is to try to eat without distraction. No food

while driving, watching tv or listening to a podcast. Really pay

attention to the food you are eating as you are eating it. It makes

it hard to overeat when you do this. Even if you are going to sneak

cocopuffs. Pay attention to them and enjoy them. I've gotten to the

point where I almost want to tell my lunchmates - quit talking, I

can't have distractions while I eat.

Jenn

[Guest guest]

>

So for all you Moms out there, how do you deal with the grocery

shopping and having food for all ages and needs (more processed

foods) in your house all the time.  How do you buy for everyone and

then not sneak mouthful's of Coco Puffs? 

>  

Boy this is hard. I hear ya. I was single until I was 40 and then

married a foodie. I cook from scratch 6 nights a week and sometimes

make school lunches for a child. (DH and I carry leftovers.) I cook

quality foods (shopping around the perimeter of the store), but DH

still likes his treats, as does DD. Worse, I telecommute at home 3

days a week, and it's all too easy to eat around the lap-band.

I have tried ONE thing that works much of the time, especially for

band-hostile things like real Coke (which used to be my biggest

addiction). Mentally, I'll label things as his or hers. So it sort

of becomes like the office fridge -- if your name isn't on it, don't

eat it. But the calorie-dense healthy snack foods (cheese cubes,

yogurt) and the leftovers can be very tempting.

Edie