NPR Fitness Group

[Mike]

At one point I knew I was up, so I avoided weighing myself. After two days, MyFitness"Pal" says, "Hey Mike, it looks like you haven't weighed yourself in a couple days. Do you want to enter a weight now?"

Fuck you, MyFitnessPal.

But I went ahead and weighed myself anyway. I'm a slave to the smartphone.

[Elle]

Calories. Many calories.

[Ronster]

[Mrs.Darcs]

Congrats Ron!!!

[Kyle]

Guys- I went to the gym this morning! I walked over two and a half miles! Pretty proud of that.

[Elle]

Awesome! Hang on to how good you are feeling about that and use it next time!

[Mrs.Darcs]

Proud of you, Kyle!

On the opposite side, I'm so upset about so much I can't stop eating, at first I couldn't eat, now I can't stop! WHEEE!

[Elle]

[Kyle]

I think I eat out of sheer habit. I come home everyday and eat dinner and then snack before bed. Like- even after dinner, I'm still grazing on stuff. Since the diet has started, I've just really had to limit myself to the meals.

[Elle]

I totally get this. There you are wandering through your kitchen and it has food. There are other people eating the food. Why wouldn't you just wander by and take something to your mouth? There is your child not finishing those damn Chick-fil-A waffle fries. There is a bowl of guacamole that people are eating. You probably made it for them.

But no!!! You and your extremely clean ass are going to resist all this nonsense. You are not an alpaca that just wanders around grazing for enjoyment on whatever it sees in its path! You are a rational hominid who will choose every bit of food that goes in your mouth.

[Kyle]

In all seriousness, though- I do think it's important to recognize what is triggering our urges to eat. Because it's usually not hunger. In a lot of cases, I do it because I'm bored-- and getting up and surveying the pantry and fridges is an interesting activity. And even if I can't stand that three of my kids are watching WolfieRaps youtube videos on the big screen, somehow snaking on doritos makes it easier.

So if I recognize that- I can better resist the temptation.

The big problem is just the rationalization that goes on: "Man, I had a bad day. I need a reward for having suffered through this day." That reward is breaking my diet 100% of the time. It's a shame that I quit smoking, because I could use that as a good substitute for my reward. But that's even worse. So what I'm trying to figure out is what a good substitute would be. On those bad days where you feel like you need comfort food- what could I use instead? I don't have a good answer.

[Mrs.Darcs]

I am on the verge of tears, I want chocolate to make me feel better. Eating chocolate will trigger guilt, making me cry.

Any emotion can be subbed in here for me, including boredom. Salt can replace chocolate, as can carbs, or cheese. I wish Broccoli made me feel comforted.

[Mrs.Darcs]

French Women Don't get fat would tell you to have a small portion of something really really satisfying to comfort you after a bad day, this has worked for me in the past. I need to get something that will make it work again.

[Kyle]

We all have tough days. And we all have days where we fail. Going off your diet isn't the real harm- it's how you react afterwards (i.e., just staying off of it for a week) that does the real damage. If your day is super crappy, then don't diet today and take care of yourself. That will give you the strength and resolve to start again tomorrow.

[Stan]

[Mike]

[Stan]

[Mike]

WIN!

[Phoebe]

[Mrs.Darcs]

OMG! I adore dark chocolate, I had a bar of 90% once, it was HEAVENLY

(Does that mean I'm a really bitter person, as I loved it?)

I like the idea of using soup for comfort instead of say a mug of cake. I have a glorious "cream" soup that I can do using skim milk and whatever vegetable I have in the freezer. It does use a lot of butter, but not a lot per serving. As for curing up, that's a panic attack waiting to happen, so I can't do that unless I'm in bed for the night haha.