I also like having something sweet after dinner, so what I do is either buy a pack of really nice biscuits and have one each evening with a cup or tea so the pack lasts a week, or buy a bar of chocolate, keep it in the freezer and have two squares each day. I don’t do this every week though.
I also think living alone really helps. Cheese is my favourite food but I never have it in the house because I’d eat a block of it in a couple of days. Same with biscuits, apart from the one a day pack I sometimes have in the cupboard, or any other fatty food. I love my food and I put on weight easily, so to stay the weight I want I just don’t have junk food in the house. It doth suck, but I still have plenty of treats when I’m out.
I know that I’m both lazy and weak. I’m working on the lazy part though and doing pretty well. I joined a YMCA recently and I’ve been doing cardio four or five times a week for two sets of 30 minutes each day. It’s actually getting easier each time I go. And all the machines there, ellipticals, TVs, bikes, treadmills, all have their own TVs so I’m at least entertained while I’m hating the exercise.
The weak part is what gets me. I’ve cut soda out of my diet, but there’s a 7-11 really close to my house. In the middle of the night when I’m doing homework I almost always drive over there and get a bag of chips. Not a little one either, but one of the huge party-sized bags. And I’ll eat a few. And then a few more. And then I’ll just give up the moderation and eat the whole thing. I know it’s bad before I do it. I know it’s bad when I do it. And afterward I scold myself and say that I’ll never do it again.
So I’m party of the way there, I just need to stop giving in to cravings. It sounds so easy, but it’s so hard
I have a chocolate weakness. I’ve discovered one square of good chocolate is much more satisfying than an entire bar of cheap chocolate. You do need to take time to savor it though.
I think part of America’s problem with weight (in addition to the snack food thing - which I completely agree with - I have days where I consume a lot of calories and little nutrition), is that we see food as both utilitarian and habitual. The idea with a meal to Americans is to finish it quickly, and the food is secondary to whatever else is going on (family discussions, tv on). The idea with American snacks is to give you something to do, not something to eat. If we’d take the time to pay attention to everything going into our mouths - to savor it and enjoy it (even if its brussell sprouts), we’d be a thinner people.
