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Unsweetened carob almonds, which taste sweeter than the actual carob. I always look for something sweet after dinner and end up grabbing handfuls. They are both the bain of my existence and the sweet nectar of the gods ; ) A binge on health fare is still a binge!
Previously, I made a short and sweet post that was very well received (hundreds of comments and counting) called The Best Diet Tip EVER.
In that tip, we talked about the simplest way to avoid temptation and cravings—don’t have it in the house.
Simply put, if it’s not available, it’s not a temptation.
But today’s tip digs a little deeper.
Did you know that even “healthy” foods can be a problem for some people? There are certain foods—and it’s an individual thing—that once you start eating them, it’s very hard to stop.
For me, it’s pasta. Sure, I’ll cook the whole wheat variety and sit down to a “healthy” meal, but unless I specifically portion out the amount I’m going to eat, I can easily end up downing half the box or more.
You see, if I’m not careful, “healthy” can easily turn into a massive calorie overload sent straight to my waistline.
These foods—those “Pringles” once-you-pop-you-can’t-stop foods—are what I refer to as “trigger foods” and if you’re going to consume them, you need to do so with a little bit of caution.
Here are just a couple trigger food tips:
1. Only consume trigger foods as an “individual” meal, not with the family. This allows you to cook (or reheat) an individual portion, and not be tempted by a huge serving bowl in front of you.
2. If you are cooking one of your trigger foods as a family meal, measure out a single portion and remove the serving bowl from the table. Tell your significant other “I’m not having seconds; hold me to it.” A little accountability goes a long way.
3. Never eat trigger foods directly from the box/bag/container. Always measure out a specific portion and then store the rest.
Do you have a “healthy” trigger food? Let me know by commenting below!
I’ll bet you anything it’s a carbohydrate of some sort ;)
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
P.S. Want to learn some VERY smart food choices for weight loss (and even some “healthy” foods that you should NEVER eat)? My good friend Isabel gives you the details in her video here:
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304 comments - add yours
for me it’s always been wheat thins the original flavored ones
For me, it’s Peanut Butter. Give me a jar of all natural, organic peanut butter and a spoon, and I’m one happy gal!
My favourite trigger food is vanilla yoghurt and honey :), sometimes with raw nuts. How bad and how much is overdosing :) ?
I actually do this more with fats (nuts, butter), though I haven’t had trouble with this in a pretty long time now. Dried fruit can be kind of like that too.
Normally a low carber, I’ve been trying to incorporate oatmeal into my diet to help lower my cholesterol. I make my oatmeal with a couple tablespoons of ground flax, a bunch of cinnamon, and no sugar, yet still it sets off those killer cravings.
I have til the end of June to lower my cholesterol naturally, and if it doesn’t happen then statins are in my future.
I’m not sure how best to handle this…
grapes.
Mine is Natural plain yogurt sweetened with liquid stevia
To true carbs are the culprit, as you say it is so easy to cook just that bit more.(well it is wholemeal) portion control has always been my problem, that and always clear your plate, there are plenty of starving children who would love to eat what you have !!!!!!!!!!
Good idea regarding pre-portion, but then are not all good ideas just the little things?
Yvonne
Pretzels with natural peanut butter. 12 pretzels and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter can lead to the bag, the jar and me! I usually control it.
pasta, i can eat it all day, everyday. It never tastes bad no matter how many times i have eaten it
@BJ – Ask your doctor about Mega doses of Niacin, the last thing you want is to fall into the statin trap. Try and do a workout when you have constant muscle aches and pains. If you normally need a day of recovery after a good workout, when your on statins, it will take tree days to recover.
Thanks Don. I’m dead set against the statins myself. I already take asthma meds and I’m trying to get off those. Don’t need any more crap in the bod!
Great tip, as simple as this sounds it is effective if followed. That is my problem follwing through on the portion control. You tip about not bringing the junk into the house is very effective, and I have used that for years. But I can easily gain weight, even eating only “healthy foods” because i love eat, period.
For me it would be mixed nuts. I bought a plastic jug of them and ate the whole thing. Just too many calories for me. I didn’t buy anymore after that and just stick to my fruits and veggies, plus eggs and fish.
Pasta is mine. I have to measure the dry pasta and then make a sauce with lots of vegetables to be sure I am satisfied, or then I will browse for more carbs.
healthy energy bars! I find that some are just like eating a candy bar and I crave more and more.
It is empty carbds—- candy and sweets– white pasta, cookies which can get me into a binge mode ….always with bad results. Any helpful thoughts solicited…..
Nuts and seeds, raw, roasted, doesn’t matter.
My deadliest “trigger” food is pancake mix; the kind you simply add water to. I used to play games with myself and buy the “whole grain” variety (as if this choice some how helped negate the carbs/calories), I simply cannot have this stuff in the house. Within a period of five to ten minutes I can have a stack of the things, piping hot, in front of me loaded with the topping of my choice (one of my favorites is lathered in peanut butter, Once I start I can’t stop. I simply don’t even keep the stuff in the house anymore. The lure for them is hardest at night in front of the television when my “reflex” eating is at its peak. When its around what do you think I’ll choose when the snack bug hits, carrot sticks or pancakes? A no brainer.
Mine would be lasagna. Worst part is im Italian so its a common thing in my house being eatem. By the way, thanks for all these letters. They are awesome and VERY helpful.
White bread. Don’t eat it – not good for me anyway and I prefer whole grain bread – but if I eat white bread I just want more and more. Had this effect on me even before the world learned that it was just sugar in disguise.
Any food can trigger me if I’m not in the right mindset. If I feel like I’m going to go on a bender, I stop and have a deep breath and ask myself “why do you want to eat when your not hungry…what are you really craving?” If I do have something to excess it’s normally peanut butter and bannanas on Kashi waffles!
Pasta, raw nuts, quesadillas, cheese and meat. Also anything spicy.
I just eat everything if no one stops me lol.
I just write down what I’m going to eat today and stick to it.
Pasta, for sure. Note: A box of high fiber pasta is a very effective colon cleanser, although fairly uncomfortable for a day or so. Personal experience ;)
Oatmeal was a trigger for me too. Medical research has demonstrated that eating 2 apples/day (no more, no less) is as good as statin drugs in lowering cholesterol. Try having it with plain, unsweetened yogurt (make sure it has live culture)–the protein in yogurt will help tamper the sugar in the apples, and the good probiotics/enzymes will help your body fully assimilate the nutrients.
And if you still want oatmeal, make sure to have some protein with it.
@BJ -
PB and J are not really healthy But I love them how ever I use whole wheat bread good peanut butter and jelly. Does that count?
Rich
Cashews, Cashews, Cashews!
Mine would definately be frozen yogurt… but I’m only eat a scoop maybe once a week. That’s when I actually have it in the house, which is rare. I’m good at portion control so I’m not that bad. I just feel bad sometimes after eating this like yogurt on low carb days… but now I’m trying to gain weight so I have to stop thinking like that lol. Though I still stick to healthy foods all the time. :P If I had no control I’d say oatmeal would be the thing I could eat non-stop!
Peanut butter for sure.
I agree with some of the others – It has got to be PEANUT BUTTER!!
Big, plump, fresh, Medjhool dates (mmm…) or bananas, stuffed with any nut butter.
Peanut butter, vanilla yogurt, and nuts are my trigger foods. Especially peanut butter, just love the stuff. Double whammy if its peanut butter and chocolate.
Cheese & butter. Just last night I sat “snacking” on the butter, one knifeful at a time, while chatting with my family at the table during dinner! (And yes, I just love to eat it plain!)
@BJ -
Hey there this may be of some help for you check out on google Dr.Mercola he has some really helpfull info on all sorts of stuff im sure you will find this a great help cheers
My worst trigger foods are oatmeal and whole wheat pasta . I love oatmeal with walnuts and dried cherries or cranberries, sweetened with stevia. This is very good for you but I have it more than once a day sometimes…too many calories with the walnuts and cherries. My problem with the pasta is like yours, I make too much-telling myself that I will have it for another meal or two and end up eating it all at once.
Incredibly, mine is beef. It doesn’t even have to be a fatty cut; I can have a pound of a juicy, “lean”, just-slightly-grilled beef all by myself in one sitting.
French cheeses also used to be a problem (when I was living in France). With more than 360 different kinds of cheese, once I started I wanted to taste them all.
I love roasted red pepper hummus on a triscuit (hint of salt variety). I also have a problem with portion sizes and raw almonds/walnuts with craisins. These are great snack choices….but I can really go crazy eating them! Portion sizes are key! :-)
Peanut butter and almonds. But I am like DW. I just love food in general. I bought some really fantastic whole grain bread from a bakery “for my son” the other day…big mistake!
whole grain bread/pasta would be my weaknesses! I always portion prior to eating because I know if I don’t I’ll eat to much :)
the truth is that I love ALL food but you are absolutely right about the carb part. I bought a jar of peanut buttter and ate it in less than 4 days!!! I also love pasta and buy the wheat kind but I have to be careful and control my portions cause I will also pig out, but my N° 1 craving or weakness is french fries!!!! They are like a drug to me!!!
Hot cinnamon raisin toast and butter and ice cream are my two trigger foods!
@BJ –
BJ:
My recommendation is absolutely don’t go on statins. They’re not a permanent fix, they just treat one symptom. I have had some issues with cholesterol, and I have now gotten mine down to 163. What I did was:
1. Increase exercise (1 hr per day, 6 days / wk)
2. increase green, leafy veggies
3. Cut out processed meats
4. Cut out refined sugar and flour products
5. lowered dairy intake
6. take flax seed or fish oil
Actually, I have a friend who went off dairy entirely and he drastically lowered his.
Give that a try and see what happens.
White rice with beans.
Natural peanut butter mixed in with smooth chocolate protein powder. And cottage cheese! I could eat nothing but cottage cheese (and oats) all day long and be very happy.
For me its Smoked chicken breasts and Smoked Salmon steaks … just so wonderfully tasty I can’t stop till Ive had the lot!
Peanut butter for sure!! But another weakness for me is hummus. I try to control it by putting a couple tablespoons on a plate and eating it w an apple or carrots,etc. But….ever so often those pretzels come out and yum…pretzels and hummus. Trouble.
mine is pb and beverly international protein (vanilla)
For me it’s Boysenberry yoghurt! Here in New Zealand there’s a brand that’s just devine – and given the chance I could down a whole 1kg container in one sitting… I have to use a lot of willpower to stick to a cup a day :-)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Joel,
From my experience of eating according to the Holy Bible’s instructions and eating according to the health books that recommend natural foods, my appetite has not ben affected like you described above. Therefore, I believe that you are not eating mostly natural foods in an uncooked state as much as possible. If this is true, your appetite for those foods that may trigger a binge is a result of your body system not being clean from junk-type supposed good foods. Also, I don’t drink alcohol ever, or do I drink beverages made with synthetic sweetners or the high fructose syrup except rarely. So this may be your problem area, Joel-unhealthy drinking. Have you considered how you drink beverages? Alcohol seriously ruins your body chemistry health and ph balance, your liver’s ability to detoxify, etc.. So this is possibly the problem area with people that say that they eat healthy… The question now, Joel, may be: do they also drink healthy?
Sincerely,
George Voirol
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...