Asarver's Journal, 15 March 2020

Looks like you've got a good plan going for you. You can do this 

great to have a plan! good luck. youve got this! 

Smart planning! 

There are chocolates with very low carbs: try Trader Joe's or Lindt 85% cacao. I'm strict keto, and I have chocolate every day. 

Also, check out Rebel keto ice cream, it is pretty decent. 

Thanks everyone! Lo carb chocolate doesn't sound terribly good 😅 but I don't think I want to have chocolate every day. There's no reason for me to have sweets every day. I want to make rules to help stop the binging, ants I fear "lower calorie" foods will only exacerbate the problem. I'll look into the chocolate and see what it tastes like! 

It's interesting to me that you follow rules and don't binge. I feel like you should just make a NO BINGE rule. ;)  

The body binges when you are deficient in something's sometimes too, as vague as that may sound, it happens to me too and I have a binge once a week I think now. I am at my maintenance weight and I work in the sun so yeah. rebound 

I don't know how many calories you are eating. For me making rules forbidding specific foods might make them seem even more appealing. If I really want something I fit it into my RDI, even if it's just a taste. When I eat ice cream I eat a 1/2 cup serving. I have specific little bowls I use. You could have ice cream once a week and not go over your 1 pint rule. I keep a bowl of dark chocolate candy kisses on the kitchen counter... 22 calories each. You could have 1 or 2 a day. Also, I save calories for something sweet each night after dinner. Then I don't eat again til the next day. It doesn't have to be a huge dessert....I do save those for special occasions. 

Rules can have that 'rules are made to be broken' aspect. Bringing awareness to one's habits and actions are a good idea. I find that I make charts and each day I assess how I did the day before on any habits/actions I want to keep an eye on. Bingeing is plain scary just because it is out of control behaviour. I try to have the food I want in smaller doses along the way so I don't end up bingeing.  

You guys are great! LOL @davidsprincess you are so right. The article I read was saying to make your rules specific so your "demon" can't find a whole in it. If I made a no binging rule, in the moment my brain might find some justification for it. @SherryeB/59carey I'd agree with you in most cases, except it doesn't work for me. :-( If I eat sweets too often, I'll start eating more of it. And realistically, they aren't terribly healthy for me. And the rules become fuzzy at that point, how much sweets can I have if I eat chocolate kisses every day, etc. Unfortunately, I'll never be able to do that but these rules definitely help.  

I agree with the above on making/setting rules. Your rules are extremely specific. I too have rules, but they are way more general, more in the eating habits for life range. 1. All white carbs in moderation (bread, rice, white potatoes, pasta). Instead of a white potato, eat a sweet potato instead. 2. Eat fruits and vegetables daily - even if you don't get 5-6 servings, get something. 3. Have higher carb foods only at dinner (white carbs, starchy vegetables) 4. Eat protein first; Have a protein source at every "meal". 5. If the office has donuts, offer to split one with someone. As I look at these, these rules are how I deal with the food in my life that I want. So, for Pizza, I may have 1 slice, eat half of the crust and then eat the topping off of the rest. I keep DARK chocolate at my desk and have 1 square when I want a chocolate fix. The Dark chocolate kisses work too, as mentioned by SherryB. For dinner tonight, we are going to my Son and SIL's, who are making Chinese stir fry over rice. I am taking spaghetti squash to put my stir fry over. (Spaghetti squash is incredibly good and easy to keep on hand.) Rules are harder to keep. Habits are easy to make. Work on 1 habit at a time until you are ready to add a new habit. Eventually, you will get there. We are all struggling with something, otherwise, we wouldn't be on FS!! 

I also believe in planning certain foods and for me some are certainly addictive. Planning is a way of controlling it, good luck! 

@Asarver - oohh this sounds like a great plan. Can you share the article you read? 

Ashley, I wouldn't presume to tell you what may work for you 😊 I do have unwritten "rules" I've been following. I eat less rice, potatoes & pasta than I did before and more veggies. I still eat these, just not as often. My Kryptonite is jelly beans & gummy candies. Something about the chewy sweetness, I find hard to resist. I haven't bought either since last July. I usually buy jelly beans & have an Easter themed bowl on the counter in the Spring. Not sure if I will this year or not. It's funny that I can eat a piece or 2 of chocolate with no problem.  

Sometimes I use the three bite rule, because an item won't taste any different than the third bite. I do have some sort of sweet every day, usually a low calorie, proportioned skinny cow icecream something. I also have a fair amount of herbal tea, it really helps on those nights that those cravings are difficult to satisfy. Figure out what your triggers are and work to avoid them, you can do it! I used to binge allot back before I finally started making progress, but I'm happy to say that I don't really remember the last time I did. Tweak your plan until you figure out what works for you! 🤗 

I can have whatever I want, but I have to go out and buy it and eat it at home or eat in a restaurant. I'm lazy, so most of the time I get over it and forget before I act on a craving.  

One rule that I've been implementing is... never do grocery shopping when you are hungry. When I'm hungry the temptation is bigger. I believe that if I don't have what I'm craving for at home, it's easy for me to avoid eating it. For example, I love cookies or doughnuts, so I rarely buy them. It's been working great for me.  

I avoid the inner aisles of grocery stores, unless I have something specific to buy there. I also avoid processed foods. 

@p$m sure! Here's the article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/never-binge-again/201901/how-stop-binge-eating-in-three-unusual-steps I agree with the not buying tempting items at the store! Helps avoid even more binges :-)