The FastDay Forum

@Sassy1, I struggle with the reward side of eating too. Im a terror for eating on the couch so I stopped watching tv and take the tablet to bed to go on the internet, or read an ebook. Then I started with the cuppa in bed, which I ended up munching bickies (cookies) or chrisps (patato chips). It was purely my evening eating that was putting on my weight. So, I used similar tactics to Peebles. It worked for a while. When I started to waver again I started to reward myself for resisting junk instead. I got a point everytime I resisted and 20 points earned me a girlie mag, home spa time (face pack, hair mask nails etc), a day off housework etc. Sometimes hubby even obliged with a massage or he would take the kids for an afternoon. For a while i was adding €5 to a jar each Friday that I lost weight and the money went towards a weekend with my sister. I dont have much money to go off shopping for clothes etc each time I needed a reward so I had to really think about what would be free and still motivate me.

Its a whole other question about why I use food as a reward and how do I just stop this need for self nurturing! Any phycologist or NPL people here?!

[carorees]

I'm with carieoates - I am learning how to resist food as a reward but I LOVE clothes now and have to be strict with myself because clothes shopping is no longer a depressing experience.

Same here! It's a novel feeling being able to go into a shop and try on a variety of clothes that will all fit and look OK. I have to be selective and try to buy only the things that really look good on me as opposed to my previous buying standard of 'passable'!

I try to confine my clothes purchasing to charity shops so that I'm a) giving to a good cause so can add feeling virtuous to my reward and b) not spending tooooo much! Also trying to take in more stuff than I come back with helps.

@Peebles I can also relate to your post. A good example of my similar strategy is that tonight I had ONE Borders dark chocolate covered ginger biscuit. It's not a fast day but still, I'm aware that had it been a Lotus caramelised biscuit I wouldn't have been able to stop at one, two or even three. I just don't dare open the packet or the biscuit tin if there are some open. Nobody except me likes ginger and I keep the open packet of Borders in a box in a cupboard out of sight. They are so satisfying that one is enough

I'm relatively new and haven't lost enough weight for clothes shopping to be fun yet (looking forward to that!). But I have been keeping a 5:2 journal, and when I find myself tempted to (over)eat, I ask myself why? Am I hungry? Bored? Annoyed? (had a bad morning last week and wanted to eat even though not hungry)

Of course, sometimes it's been AFTER the fact, but even then I can figure out what happened and hopefully forestall it in the future.

TV...I love certain shows, and my son and I like to get DVDs at the library to watch. Snacking in front of the TV is deadly; don't even realize that you're eating! (Ha--try watching Hannibal; that'll ruin your appetite! Great show though...) Still working on that one, as I know I'm not going to give up my TV.

Alas, Hazelnut, I have learned just this past week that I can't be trusted with any caramel popcorn. I had found one that I did well with, but that was because the coating wasn't all the delicious. But Trader Joe's had one with cashews in it up by the register, in what looked like a very small bag, so I brought it home and the result was ugly. And when I calculated the calories for the entire package. Ugh. That undid almost an entire day of fasting!

But the key thing for me in a situation like that is that I remind myself that this is a very long-term effort and failures are to be expected. I don't beat myself up. I just make sure I don't bring that stuff home again. There is something about the mix of sugar, salt and nuts that undoes all my control. The other things on my Do Not Buy list tend to have that same combination, too.

Fortunately, I can eat one square of chocolate, with no problem, and even a piece of salt water taffy or two, which has carbs, but somehow that doesn't trigger that "gotta eat more" reaction.

A more mundane activity I sometimes use is to give my feet a good foot soak with epsom salts. It helps me to sleep sometimes.

I thought i was the only one that used their footbath. I have to have the mandatory peppermint oil in mine along with the bubbles. and then one of those special foot creams often too with peppermint. My foot baths are at least 30 minutes long .. so long as i have to put in some hot water half way. My vibrating thing in the footbath doesnt vibrate at much but its still good.

If only i can do that every evening! and yes i feel i can sleep better.

Gosh @peebles - if I knew where to get my hands on popcorn with cashew nuts...there would be no hope for me!!

Really admire your ability to not have them in the house! Confess I am still at the "better have them in the house, just in case I need/want them"...stage!

Also think your forgiving of self when the inevitable slip up happens - a very sensible approach.

Many thanks for sharing...

I never rely on self control if there's an easier way to avoid having to use it.

I am disciplined and a bit obsessive, which certainly helps with weight control. But I learned after many years of inner work to be kind to myself. Those nasty voices saying mean things about me are just echoes of the unloving family members I grew up with. It's taken time and the example of a warm loving husband to teach me to treat myself more kindly.

Once you learn to give yourself that love and support without having to earn it by accomplishing superhuman feats, controlling weight and a lot of other issues become more manageable as you are only dealing with the weight, not a lifetime load of other people's unhelpful mean and thoughtless comments.