Trigger Foods: What are Yours?

By , SparkPeople Blogger
Over the past four years on this never-ending journey, I have had to make many changes to keep me on this path. Some changes were much easier than others, but all changes, both big and small, have been necessary to keep me on course. One of the toughest changes was learning to how to deal with trigger foods.

So what exactly are trigger foods? Well, for me, they are the foods that once I start eating them it is very hard to stop. It’s as if I can’t seem to get enough; foods such as chips, candy, cookies, ice cream, brownies, etc. While I would love to say I have developed the discipline to eat these in normal sized portions, I still struggle with these foods if I bring them home. But that’s OK because I have devised my own plan on how I deal with this situation.

  1. DO NOT bring these foods into the house. Oh, how I wish I had the self-control 100% of the time, but I must confess there are times when stress can lead me down a path that I would prefer not to go and NOT having my trigger foods in the house is how I deal best with this situation.

  2. I DO NOT deprive myself of any foods. I do not believe life-long deprivation of foods that I enjoy is realistic. In the past when I attempted to give up many of my favorite foods, once I was exposed to those foods, trust me I was a binge in the making.

  3. When I crave a specific food, I buy a single serving. M&Ms are one of my favorite treats, however, having a huge bag is not a good thing. This is when smaller individual servings help tremendously. If I crave ice cream, I will spend a little more money to go out for a cone. While the expense is a tad higher, for me, the price of guilt if I ate a half-gallon of ice cream would be far more expensive than the cost of the cone.

  4. Find a healthy alternative to replace my craving. This is where the Deep Chocolate Vitatops have been a life-saver. These are not only a healthier alternative to an ooey gooey brownie or piece of chocolate cake, but they have a nice healthy dose of fiber and vitamins, too.

  5. Out of sight, out of mind. Yes, even healthy foods, such as almonds and walnuts, can lead me to a binge, therefore putting these foods on the lowest shelf in the fridge in an opaque container forces me to look for them. Many times if I allow myself to get too hungry I will be like a hunter looking for his prey. But if the first thing I see are some fruits or veggies (which is why I do not store all my fruits and veggies in the veggie/fruit drawer) many times that will do the job.

While I would love to say that I have developed great disdain to chocolate, chips, especially Baked Lays, cookies, and other foods, I’m not quite there and I am not sure I ever will be. Ironically, now that I allow myself to eat ANY food, for some reason the cravings aren’t that strong. More times then not, if I don’t have them in the house, I can usually find something else to distract me until the craving passes. This journey is truly about each of us learning how to deal with the obstacles and writing our own owner’s manual.

How do you deal with trigger foods? What are your trigger foods? Do you believe our emotions have a connection to our relationship with trigger foods?

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