Saturday, February 18, 2006

Survey: What one phrase or comment works to help you avoid mindless eating or overeating?

Quick survey....

What one phrase, concept or technique helps you avoid mindless eating, i.e. the eating (or drinking) that you do when you've already had enough calories for the day and you're not really hungry?

Please keep replies brief and on this subject so that we can get a nice big list going! The more replies we have the more likely we'll be able to switch a light bulb on for someone else!

Here's mine:

When I find myself mindlessly standing in the pantry staring at the shelves about to grab something I don't need ... I ask myself, "What do I want more....the junk or the fit body?" 94% of the time I choose the later. Sometimes I give in :)

What's yours?

56 comments:

Sarah said...

I think about how I like my stomach to feel flat when I wake up in the morning and how when it doesn't feel that way, the bad feeling sticks with me during the day. Works about 90% of the time!

Anonymous said...

I post photos of fit women in swimsuits on the refrigerator door.

I also post my "BEFORE" and "AFTER" photos.

That usually does the trick for me.

Anonymous said...

It's me again. Sorry, I misunderstoood your question. I thought it was "What works to help you avoid mindless eating and overeating?" I left out the "phrase or comment"!

Anyway, when I feel the urge to overeat, I think of how hard I've been working out six days a week and eating a clean diet. I think about how great I feel working out daily and eating well most of the time.

Moreover, I usually look at something (photos of fit people posted on the ref door) or listen to something (positive talk on healthy eating and living on audio CDs) to avoid mindless eating or overeating.

Anonymous said...

I have a couple that I use. But this one mostly:
"Stop! Listen to your body! Are you truly hungry?"
I also have a little stop sign on my fridge. And a picture of me in a fashion show. That works for me usually.
Visual cues and asking the question out loud. Yes, I talk to myself...you know you do it sometimes too...LOL

irish_robbie said...

I just call myself "fatty" until it makes me cry. Once I start crying I usually forget about food all together.

I'm just kidding :)

I find it really important to have goals, and when I am considering food that I don't "need", I just try and remind myself about how much closer to the goal I will be by resisting the temptation.

KellyC said...

Honestly, in the last month, nothing has stopped me, so I'm ready to see some other comments here.

Anonymous said...

"Don't let fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; you might as well put that passing time to the best possible use."

I don't know who said it, and I'm paraphrasing, but I heart that quote!

Kim Taylor said...

I always think:

"The joy of discipline or the pain of regret, which will it be today?"

I remember Tony Horton saying that back when I started my fitness journey almost 4 years ago!

Stacey Chatman said...

This may sound silly...but I place my hand on that problem spot and then I say "Girl....you know you don't need that...." GIRL...YOU DON'T NEED THAT....and then I walk away...hahahahahah..sometimes if I do indulge it's in a really tiny itsy bitsy portion".

Tamfish said...

Well....

I make it a point to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks each day, spaced out about 2 to 3 hours apart from each other. I eat them whether I am feeling hungry or not, because eating on schedule keeps me feeling satisfied and keeps me from OVEREATING.

If I think of hunger on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being starving to DEATH -- I always try to eat something before I get to a level 4. Anything past that, and I'm tempted to choose something "bad" or to eat too much.

Now, all that said -- there are times when I stand in front of the pantry, not hungry, yet just wanting to munch. And I munch.

But because I know those times happen (that's life!) -- I exercise faithfully.

:o)

Anonymous said...

Whenever I get hungry before I look in the frig I drink a huge glass of water and think about my before picture and if I really want to look that way the rest of my life. You also must realize that every little calorie counts.

T

Anonymous said...

My biggest downfall is at night. around 9:00. If I'm watching Tv & see them eating something I might have in the house. I asked myself Do I really need to eat this. Just think how flat your stomach will be in the morning when you wake up & I chose not to eat that food late at night. It's a great feeling knowing I fought the fight & didn't give in to temptation.

Anonymous said...

I picture how I will look in a bathing suit in the summer if I don't eat all the junk food.

Anonymous said...

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." Henry David Thoreau

Anonymous said...

When I start to roam the kitchen in the evenings, I have those same little talks to myself. I usually make a cup of hot tea and it always takes the edge off!

Anonymous said...

I have a bad habit of finding myself in the kitchen munching on a cookie and not even realizing how I got there! So, now if I have something too tempting in the house, I put it in our big combination-lock safe. Then if I really want it, I have to take the time to open the safe. My husband has learned that if the cookies suddenly disappear from the pantry, he needs to check the safe. ;-)

irish_robbie said...

Is it me or did you blog just get a little more PINK?

Anonymous said...

I think I will post a picture of Chalene on my fridge!! :=)

Anonymous said...

If I give in to chocolate, my face breaks into the worse, ugliest looking zits. NO THANKS!!

Anonymous said...

A goal without a plan is a wish


Feeding a craving doesn't squash it, it perpetuates it.

A 'wish' changes nothing. A 'decision' changes everything!

The 7 "P's" - Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

VaNeSs said...

Whenever I get the urge to overeat I do some crunches or jump around my room-this makes me feel like I have energy and distracts me from feeling lazy and overeating! I also look at my before pictures and think about how good it feels to see that scale go down every day instead of going up!

irish_robbie said...

I have a picture of David Hasselhoff on my fridge

Anonymous said...

I am working towards the Mexico get together - I have a sign on my fridge that reads " What do you want to look like in MEXICO!"

Joyce aka Sage

Anonymous said...

I ask myself "What the hell are you doing?"

Lisa (Dixie belle)

Anonymous said...

When I want to overeat or esp. when I want something sweet I just reach back and pinch the fat on then back of my hips and think do I want to add more fat to that?..I know it's silly but it really works for me.

Anonymous said...

I think of what Audrey Hepburn(spelling?) once said

"You want gorgeous hair, let a child run their fingers through it....
You want beautiful eyes look away from yourself and look to how you can help others....
You want a great figure....feed the hungry." -In summary, what helps me in those moments is taking my eyes off myself and onto those around. How to serve, how to be unselfish. When you're more in tune with other's needs our fussy cravings seem belittled by the greater things in life.

Anonymous said...

One word: Focus. When I grab something bad from the fridge I can tell myself "THIS isn't focus" and that does it!

KHSTUDIO

Anonymous said...

I say to myself "Whoa! This is so not sexy!!"

Anonymous said...

I usually think about how hard it was to get up at 5am and workout and do I really want to waste the calories I burned.

Anonymous said...

When I start to eat a piece of candy or something high in fat I say to myself. "If I eat this it will undo all my exercise today and make it a wash! Wow, what an eye opener! 45 minutes of exercise wasted on 30 seconds of pleasure.
Barbara

Anonymous said...

I remind myself of the very nice abs that the Turbo workouts have enabled me to acquire...and if I'd like to keep them, i better keep it clean!

Anonymous said...

I think about how much exercise I have to do to burn off the calories.

Anonymous said...

I tell myself: "One meal at a time, One day at a time" and when I get through a high-risk situation without giving in I really commend myself and I remember how good that feeling of control feels the next time I am in another situation.

I am also a big believer is telling yourself "The chocolate brownie is not the only one in the world and if, by the end of the week, you still have to have it then go buy one single serving and enjoy it and be done with it" (I usually don't have the desire for it by then because I have done 6 workouts and don't want to ruin my progress).

Anonymous said...

"Anywhere worth going is worth taking the long way"

AND-(Since turbojam...)

"WHAT I WANT MORE"...is fitness!

*Plus I hate wasting my workout on crappy food. I work darn hard on those Cardio Parties!! :)

-Keep pushing play,everyone!

Anonymous said...

Do you want to eat whatever you want
OR
do you want to WEAR whatever you want?

Anonymous said...

I always say, "A moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips!" That is my reality check and it usually cures me...till next time!

Anonymous said...

"OUT OF SIGHT....OUT OF MIND"

Well...maybe just out of sight and/or out of the house = no binge snacking for me!!!!

Saint BooBoo said...

I ask myself, "Are you eating because you're bored or because you're actually hungry?" And, as a diabetic, I also ask myself, "How will this impact your blood sugar?"

Anonymous said...

I think about the exercise I do daily now and how great I feel afterward. I think about how I am starting toward my goal and I don't want to bring back those lost pounds. Then I ask myself if I want to undo all of that with one cookie? The answer is always no.

Anonymous said...

"ABS NOT FLABS, JILLYBEAN!!!!"

tb said...

Mine is: The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want in the moment.

Not sure who said it originally, but I heard it and it stuck!

tb

JustJane said...

I remember my tears of joy when I tried on my "fat jeans" and they FELL DOWN after I hit the Turbo Jam workout hard for a couple of months. SO, I tell myself:

"Fat jeans are only fat jeans when they're too big for you..."

and that does the trick.

Anonymous said...

Chalene has the best video's. They keep you looking forward to tomorrows workout. I have never felt the energy,and such a positive outlook for my future. I know this time I will succeed.
Thank you Chalene. I have gone from size 15/16 to a 8/01 depending on the style. I have never seen single digets. WOW. I an so happy with MYSELF. DianaS, Illinois

Anonymous said...

It amazes me how someone can proclaim health, yet, stuff their chest full of silicone. Chalene, you are not promoted health you are a fake and you chest looks to big for your body!!!!....real healthy

Anonymous said...

I keep thinking of Chalene's and Anna Rita's abs! DiaJan

Anonymous said...

"You'll never regret the
short term pain for the long term return in self-satisfaction and
self-knowledge you're gonna get from completing this." My Dad sent that in a rather long e-mail when I had just joined the military, and it helps me stick it out in just about everything. I keep the e-mail on my fridge along with a "before" picture that I especially loathe, and it keeps me away from snacking on stuff that I know I shouldn't. And drinking about a gallon of water a day really helps in keeping me feeling full.

Anonymous said...

I stare at the food and i ask my self am i REALLY hungry? If not, i just walk away and start doing turbo jam. The only reason i would get up and eat something just to consume time is because i would be bored. Usually when im bored, i turbo jam! I turbo jam about 3-5 times a day.
:) Thanks Chalene!

Anonymous said...

Itell myself "It's time to Turbojam" and I put in a session and workout

Anonymous said...

It's me again I left out my workoutsI tell myself "It's time to Turbojam" and I put in a session and workout for 5 sessions a day.

Anonymous said...

what usually helps curve my sweet tooth is the saying that nothing tastes as good and thin feels

Anonymous said...

A friend at work once told me to think
"Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!"
I created a magnet with that statement on it and keep it on my refrigerator.
Like a lot of people I have a tendency to do a lot for others leaving little time for myself. I have taught myself to be selfish about my workout time and to daily remind myself that yes, "I deserve this!"

Anonymous said...

This is in response to the "Anonymous" person that made a rude comment about Chalene's chest. How dare you!
Chalene is the best thing that ever happened to fitness, and you're just jealous and you need to work out, and get a good body image. This page is not for haters, just true turbo jammers.

Anonymous said...

I have a comment for the ignorant person that left a rude comment for Chalene. This is exactly what they said, "It amazes me how someone can proclaim health, yet, stuff their chest full of silicone. Chalene, you are not promoted health you are a fake and you chest looks to big for your body!!!! real healthy". First of all, you can't spell, and second of all, how dare you insult Chalene! How would you know if her chest was stuffed with silicone anyways? Did you do the implant? Sounds to me like someone has no self-esteem, and probably has a flat chest, so you feel better by making rude remarks to someone that has an awesome body.

If you really want to look like Chalene, why don't you just workout, and eat healthy, and maybe one day you can get close!
Keep your nasty remarks to yourself and off this blog!

Anonymous said...

I usually say, "With God's help I can have health and happiness." Then I pray and wait for the craving to go away. Chewing gum helps too.

Anonymous said...

I have a glass of ice cold water or a cup of tea, and usually that covers my craving and gives me a feeling of being full. I think that I am hungry when really I am just thirsty. Plus there is always that saying "a moment on the lips forever on the hips" I want that beachbody and there is no reason to add more calories when I just burned them off!!

Anonymous said...

I like to have a cold glass of water or a cup of tea to handle my cravings. I think that I am hungry when I am usually thirsty. Plus there is always the saying "a moment on the lips forever on the hips" That usually works for me because I work so hard to burn calories and feel so good about myself when I do so that it is not worth it to add all those extra calories:)