I have 7 kids and to not have a birthday cake and ice cream would seem to be extremely wrong just cause I cant handle having it around. So how do I get the will power to stay out of it??? I got sugar free angel food cake it had 30 carbs and was extremely nasty and then I craved everything in sight of me again.
I know there has got to be something in me that steps up and says no thank you because its not worth it but the food always seems to win. Food seems to be tied to me with everything. Once again I can use some words of wisdom. I know you say it gets easier I just seem to be struggling at this and yet I want to get myself healthy at all times not just when its convenient not to eat junk food.

Thanks again,
Debra

Hi Debra,
I would suggest that you check out the recipe section here and look for the *3 minute chocolate cake* or some other LC treat, such as cheesecake perhaps. Make your own special treat for special occasions, and when they are having theirs, you can join in the fun and have your treat. After all, it really is about the celebration, not the cake
Hang in there!
HTH

__________________
~~~~
Shelley
~~~~

Visit Kassie's Korner



Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

debra- i disagree with your assessment that not having specific sweets around is morally wrong on any level--food does not have morality attached--but of course that's a decision everyone has to make for themselves.

i will say, however, that as long as you say you cannot deal with it, you'll be right.

it takes imagination. maybe...you either make a low-carb cake, or maybe you cut the regular cake into individual slices for the kids and get rid of the rest or maybe you take them out somewhere and let them eat there or whatever. doesn't matter how you handle it, but that you do.

forget willpower. my money is on PLANNING every time. these situations will come up. develop a plan that you feel like you can live with and be prepared ahead of time. that's how you steer clear.

the thing is, as long as you see it as impossible, it will be. when you decide not only is it possible, but that you WILL do what you need to do to be successful, then you can and will.

good luck.

__________________

EatSmart Nutritional Scale Review

What SHE said.

I, too, live with people who don't eat low carb. I am the one who cooks all of their foods. I also shop for their foods. It would be wrong of me to foist my low carb eating onto them and declare, "We will not have any sugar in this house." Doing so would take away their freedom of choice.

You see, it's all about choices.

It's all very logical to me.
I know what foods I can eat to be healthy and lose weight.
I also know what foods I can eat to feel lethargic and gain weight.

Hmm....now, do I want to lose weight, or do I want to gain weight?

It all boils down to that for me. It's a simple choice.

Here's something that may help you. I've found a little trick that seems to help me make the right choices. Before I eat something, I enter it into FitDay. I really do plan ahead, like Dixie said (didn't mean to rhyme there), and enter my food into FitDay just before I eat it. That way I can see if I'm already over my carb or calorie allotment for the day. If I am, I chose something else.

I made banana bread for the family Saturday morning. It smelled great while it was baking. It looks swell sitting there on the pretty plate on the table. I can choose to eat it. I've stopped telling myself, "You can't have that, April." Instead, I turn it around to a positive statement, "You can have that, but not just now."

That way, I can wait until the craving for it passes, and by that time I'm no longer craving it and, instead, feeling victorious over the moment.

You can do this. Trust me.

__________________
April

The face of a child can say a lot -- especially the mouth part of the face.

My Blog

What THEY said.

It's not about "willpower" (which I don't believe in) it's about choices.
You will choose to eat off plan, or not. It's that simple.
What do you want for yourself? Will eating cake take you closer to that goal, or push you farther away? Are the consequences worth it?
Food cannot win. It's not playing with you. It has no power but what you have given it. Every bite you eat and every sip you take is a choice you make.
If you're going to eat off plan, own the choice. Don't embrace the idea that you're powerless against it. Then you are, and it becomes an excuse.
Only you can decide what you will eat.

My personal strategies: when I decide I'm going to eat off plan, I get the best whatever-it-is I can afford. Don't get Twinkies if what you want is a piece of Black Forest Cake. Read the label carefully. Know exactly what you're getting into, nutritionally speaking. Have a bite, then another, and throw the rest away.
Or, I'll get something on-plan that I don't normally get because of the expense. My thing is Brie. So I get something rich and wonderful that's a treat, and haven't gone off plan. This works better for me because I'm so cheap that the idea of paying $12 for two bites of chocolate cheesecake often makes me lose my appetite.

You need to try different things and find what works. But don't give the power to the food. It's YOUR choice to make.

Stacie
222/130

It is your choice, and planning is the only way to take care of those "I can have just a littles'"
From January to june, i was working out, eating on plan m-f, and then the weekend's hit, I would justify i can have a little because I was good all week, and I worked out.... but you know... I didn't lose a pound during that time--- and the 20 lbs I picked up during the holidays were still sitting around my middle...
At the end of june I had had enough, and knew if I didn't do something I would be gaining more and not losing any more.... so what did I do....
What I did was stop the insanity.... I just stopped eating sugar, and plan almost all my meals (breakfast and lunch I pack to work, and dinner I plan)
I keep food in my drawer, and in the fridge at work that I can eat... I don't keep sweets in my house (dh doesn't have a sweet tooth, so I don't have to keep them at home for him.)I have no sugar, no flour cookies in my freezer that I can eat if I need a treat...., I have flax seed tortilla chips in my cubbard and at work if I need a snack....I eat fruits, and veggies, and protien...I am not hungry cause of the foods I choose....

today is day 43 of no sugar.... I walked into the office today and there were three boxes of krispy kreme donuts in the kitchen.... havn't had one yet....
over the weekend a friend brought over 1/2 gal of ice cream to a barbaque we were having... I ate watermellon, and pulled out a couple of cookies I keep in the freezer.... no ice cream, and no krispy kreme's

Take the kids to the park for their birthdays, bring the cake there, and while they are eating cake, go for a walk, have someone else there to help and while you are walking, have them dish out the cake, and wrap up left overs to give the the other children to take home, or just throw out the rest of it....

you can choose to rule the things you put into your body, or you can let it rule you.... only you can make those choices.... as someone said... what do you want to lose the weight and get healthy or to eat cake....
Good luck, post often, and help is here ...

__________________
http://www.youravon.com/cnorulak
carolyn in texas
started 8/11/03 327/268/177
5/20/08/ - 348
onward thru the fog

In the past few years we've had several parties at the park, as we live far out of town and our park is very lenient. A couple of the parties had cake decorating for the kids that led to a full-out food fight (with hoses nearby; watch out for the colored toppings and stained clothes though-- have the kids wear old clothes). Not much of the cake has ever been eaten at those, but no one cared at all! The one rule was the cake needed to be decorated with the happy birthday song before the cake fight started.

The most recent I bought an angel food cake for, frosted with that globby canned frosting and used the pre-made sugar candy decorations. All stuff that I don't care for much, but served with fresh strawberries. It wasn't the best tasting cake, and some of it did get dumped, but no one cared! They ate the candy bugs off from it and lots of strawberries. First we had eaten lunch - salads, raw veggies with dip, fruit and hot dogs, sausages and hamburgers on the grill. What didn't get eaten of the cake was then dumped in the trash can. Water was the only thing on hand to drink and only one kid out of 12 complained. Games to play and as a bonus we have a creek at the park to play in.

Try to shift the focus to doing things and away from the food. Mostly, as was said, plan ahead so you don't have the temptation too close to you.

Flax pancakes with berries and whipped cream are a good substitute that you can have on hand in the fridge. A sugar free crustless (or nut crust) cheesecake is also a great option.

Getting extra exercise on days like this helps also. Don't wait until you need to get away from the cake! Get some exercise in early, and then also as needed later on for avoidance.

Try to make new traditions that circle around activities, like baseball, basketball or made up games. Keep working at it and it'll evolve.

And if you find yourself with a piece of cake and ice cream? Hand it off to someone else, set it aside, throw it down the garbage disposal or douse it with salt. Be sure to have something good for you at hand that you'd prefer to eat!!

Been there; struggled with this! Boy, do I understand. Sending you luck and good wishes. It can be done. Remember that eating the high carb junk isn't a 'treat' and is actually a form of self-punishment. Think of what it does to your body and mind. Don't do that to yourself.

~ Linda

__________________
180 / 145 / 135

"Impatience comes from focusing on negative thoughts. Results come from focusing on being happy today and constantly renewing your commitment to change and to improve the things that you can, one small step at a time." - Bob Greene

THANK YOU!!!!! AS ALWAYS EVERYONE UNDERSTOOD 100%. I LIKE THE ACTIVITY IDEA. DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE FOR THE FLAX SEED PANCAKES? I HAD TRIED TO PLAN IT OUT JUST DIDNT DO AS GOOD A JOB OF IT AS I THOUGHT. I WILL GET TO TRY AGAIN AT THIS IN SEPTEMBER SO I WILL PLAN BETTER.

tHANKS AGAIN,
DEBRA

I use 1/4 cup flax seeds, ground (makes about 1/2 cup ground flax), 2 beaten eggs, 1/4-1/2 tsp baking powder, and about 2 T. whipped cream. I like to use pre-whipped cream sweetened with sugar free vanilla Torani syrup, but 1 T plain heavy cream can be used also. Cook at medium or medium high heat. You don't want it too hot or the middle of the pancakes won't be done.

~ Linda

__________________
180 / 145 / 135

"Impatience comes from focusing on negative thoughts. Results come from focusing on being happy today and constantly renewing your commitment to change and to improve the things that you can, one small step at a time." - Bob Greene

__________________
Catahoulagirl
220/214/175

I have noticed that my "cravings" aren't related to hunger. I eat more now than I ever did before. Heck, half the time I am thinking about off-plan foods, I have just finished eating!

Sometimes it almost seems like bats swirling around my head "I want this" I want that" "ooh, that would taste sooo good!" I acknowledge the thoughts, but I say still say no to the food, because I know I can't have it. I have decided that I am going to be "allergic" to whatever I can't eat. Somehow, subconsciously, that seems to help me. I know that whatever it is will taste great, but is it worth making me "sick"?

As for events, I have a boatload of saboteurs waving that taste of this or that at me, My best girlfriend is the worst. She will actually lie to me about the ingredients just so I'll taste it! "OOh, just try this one bite, ONE bite won't hurt." This type of behavior doesn't make me feel guilty, it pisses me off. So I try to eat before I go anywhere where I know this is going to happen; I am not about to let them "win". I also put whatever I can have on the plate and eat that first, then I become "too full" to go back for the rest!

I remember reading somewhere that it takes 28 days to unlearn a bad habit. Keep that in mind the next time you feel your reserve weakening. It may help to get you through that rough patch.

Cat

__________________
Catahoulagirl
220/214/175

cat... i have done that with my food... fill up on salad,... always having in the back of my mind that i COULD have something else... but by the time i am done... i dont really WANT it anymore...

i dont use dressing 99 percent of the time.. so i can get away with ALOT of salad mix...

__________________
kims SECOND journal is HERE
kims new blog
KIMS BLOG !!
SUGARFREE BLOG

lol. I like the 28 days. I wish it were so! but yes, 28 days can make a difference. I read you need to continue a new habit for 60 or 90 days to ingrain it. For me it's an ongoing lesson, but I do think it gets better each year. I really DO know the difference between eating well and eating badly now, so it's just a matter of continually practicing the methods to keep me eating well and taking care of myself.

A couple decades of putting everyone else first doesn't change overnight, but it can change. I'm no good to everyone else if I don't take care of me first!

~ Linda

__________________
180 / 145 / 135

"Impatience comes from focusing on negative thoughts. Results come from focusing on being happy today and constantly renewing your commitment to change and to improve the things that you can, one small step at a time." - Bob Greene

I have a couple of suggestions also. I have 6 children of my own so I know what you mean about the birthdays. Not only the ones you plan, but the ones you're invited to as well.

For events where I'm having trouble controlling myself. I'll take a plate of one or two things I think I'm dieing to have. Then I'll take a small bite of it. Keep it in your mouth for a while and really think about the taste. Is it REALLY what you thought it would taste like? Is it really what you want instead of that great feeling you get when you know you've done well? If I can honestly answer yes, I want this food then I'll eat it without beating myself up. If my answer to myself even in some small part is no then I'll salt the whole thing down. That will keep me from changing my mind back.

To tell you the truth after being on plan for a little while, things won't taste the same anymore. I'll be craving a specific candy and thinking of the taste and how much I want it. I'll get to a planned cheat and have a bite, only to realize it doesn't taste at all what I remembered it to and I don't want it anymore.

The other thing I do to make sure I won't falter is fill up before I go. I've also been known to bring my own food so I'll be sure to have something.

Like everyone else said, it's all about the choices you make. Of course to help you make better choices it's also helpful to know why you made the bad choice. When I went off plan this last time it lasted over a year. I didn't know what was going on in my head. Now that I do, I'm better prepared to stave off temptation.

Hope something in there helped you

__________________
Michelle

Starting over 8/19/07

I've also struggled with birthdays and other traditional "food" events, and not always successfully. One thing we've started doing is a LC birthday spread: shrimp platter, beautiful fruit salads, veggies with dip, etc. Then we have a SMALL cake and make sure to dump the leftovers. With the shrimp and fruit, I don't usually feel deprived.

One thing I'll likely try for future "high risk" situations is LC hard candy - Werther's makes a fabulous LC carmel hard candy. It's something sweet to pop in your mouth if the sight of the cake is sending you into a frenzy! And it lasts quite a while. I'm also going to keep a bag of these at work for similar situations.

__________________
Staci