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Day 64 - Instant tools for triggers

Sharon VA

We all have really bad days every now and then, sometimes we have a bunch of them in a row! If we are in the habit of turning to food for comfort, it can be very difficult to avoid the trigger foods at these times. And once we start, watch out! I have been known to dust off an entire pack of Oreos, or other cookies in one sitting. Paid dearly for it later, but at the time, I was just out of control.
We have to prepare ourselves for these situations and have instant tools to ward off those triggers and avoid binging behaviors.
Linda suggests brushing your teeth. I have tried that before, and it worked pretty well. Carrying around sugar free gum or Listermint strips is helpful too. Don't want to mess up that nice, fresh breath, do you?
If you are craving a particular taste, Linda suggests putting something opposite in your mouth, like sucking on a lemon wedge or dill pickle when you are craving sweets, or eliminating the craving for garlicky food by chewing on minty gum. I have not tried that yet, but it sounds logical.
We may even have to avoid the food and the situation altogether. We need a "fire escape plan". We can try the "not just yet" approach when offered triggers by friends, but if all else fails, we may simply have to take a walk and physically get away from the temptation. I have actually done that at a party before, and it worked well.The veggie type snacks were on one table and desserts were on another, so I migrated to the healthier area. I was able to slowly eat some carrot and celery sticks and not go nuts over the cheesecake bites.

Our assignment for today is to write a list of situations, foods, and other situations that trigger us to eat. From the list we should identify those that are hardest for us to resist. For me it is homemade desserts. Someone took time and trouble and I feel bad declining the offer.
We are to develop a "fire escape" plan for those triggers. I can thank the person for going to the trouble of making that dessert and let them know I think it looks wonderful and probably tastes wonderful too, but I am not ready to have any "just yet, maybe later". If they are like my MIL and liable to insist, that would be a good time to excuse myself to the restroom.

  Sharon VA Replied:

Sorry I posted late, I meant to carry my book to school, but left it at home. Silly me!

  Shari (CE) Replied:

Good summary Sharon =] I have a slight cold this week and sucking on sugar free cough drops is working to kill my taste buds. At work when I see doughnuts I run the other way. When cookies are offered at meetings I say no thanks and ((smile)). At home I usually brush my teeth after dinner to sort a close up shop.

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  Anonymous Replied:

Sharon, Good summary for a tough lesson. I use the "no now" one the most. If I am still craving popcorn tomorrow, I will make a small batch... Then tomorrow, I can say it again. I can often put off a simple craving for a week. It's the tough ones - the cup of wine while cooking dinner - that I'm still working on.

  Gwen Replied:

New attitude – I can resist food triggers – I can brush my teeth and then commit to not considering eating for at least an hour after I do that – I can use lemon to stop a temptation as I always have them in the house – I can say to friends ‘that looks delicious, I may have some later' – I can pick up my sewing because I don't eat and sew at the same time - I can go to bed early – I can choose to stay out of the kitchen.

I suspect I will have to use some of these tools soon!!

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  Anonymous Replied:

In the evening I crochet so it stops me from snacking, but will definitely have to search for a tool to help me mid-afternoon - I think prepared veggies is a great idea for that time of day Thx, You got me thinking of trying to search for other ways to keep my fingers from misbehaving.

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  Anonymous Replied:

chocolate is sometimes hard to resist for me

I usually tell myself, not now but if I still want the food I crave I will have it later - usually I either decide not to have it or I forget all about it.

brushing my teeth or chewing gum also helps

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