Foods I avoid to keep the weight off
I'm still slim, and a reason for that is because of foods I purposely don't buy.
A few years ago I lost a bunch of weight. Almost 60 pounds. In '23 I started falling off the wagon and put back on 15, but then got back on the wagon and dropped that weight again. I did what worked before, which is keep a daily food journal, exercise, and avoid temptation.
When I'm out and about, avoiding food temptation isn't a problem. I can go into a convenience store, see all the chips, chocolates, full-sugar sodas and at no point do I think, "Oh, I gotta have that." Giving that stuff a miss isn't an issue.
However, when the tempting stuff is directly where I live, that's where I give in. If the stuff is in my fridge, cupboard or pantry, yeah, I'll eat it.
This is some of the stuff I don't buy just because I love it too much:
A "family size" box of this stuff will not last past two to three days in my cupboard. I will eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner until that box is GONE.
This is my most favorite breakfast cereal of all time. And, of course, I would have to have it with full-fat milk, basically resulting in 400 to 500 Calories per bowl, given how much I wolf down in a single sitting.
Yes, this means I would consume upwards of 1,500 Calories per day of just Life cereal + full-fat milk. Stupid? Yes, and that's why I don't buy it.
I am one of those weirdos that likes the spiral shape, and I've no idea why. I just prefer the spirals, even though they taste exactly the same as the elbow shape.
I'm not particular to brand when it comes to mac and cheese. When I used to buy this stuff, I'd just get the cheapest crap available.
With this one I was somewhat restrained in that I'd only eat two boxes a day of this stuff. However, it's 400 Calories per box prepared, so two boxes would be 800 Calories per day - of just mac and cheese. Again, stupid.
If I start in on an 8oz bag of these, I won't stop until that bag is finished. Think I'll share? You thought wrong, because I won't.
That entire bag is about 1,600 Calories.
And oh yeah, when I'm done I'll have cheese dust all over my mouth and fingers. It would be just like I was 10 years old all over again. Cheesy and gross.
No chance of me buying these things. Not happening.
Tin of nuts (peanuts or cashews, specifically)
If I get an 8oz tin of cashews, it won't last the day. The damage on this one is about 1,300 Calories for the whole thing.
And wow would I be in trouble if I got a pound (16oz) of peanuts. That's about 2,750 Calories.
I actually don't know if I could eat that many peanuts in just one day... and I don't want to find out.
Oh, and speaking of which...
The damage on this is about 2,800 Calories for the jar.
Yeah, that bad.
It absolutely doesn't matter who makes it or how "natural" it is. Peanuts are super-dense with Calories and there's just no way around that. A jar of peanut butter is a total Calorie explosion.
A jar of this will last about three days for me or maybe four. Even if I were to make it last four days, that's 700 Calories per day of just peanut butter. Nope, not going there. I won't buy it even though I love the stuff.
I know the ice cream used in these things is total garbage but there's just something about that junk vanilla and soft chocolate that's oh-so good.
A box of these will last one to two days at most in my freezer. A regular sized box has 12 ice cream sandwiches, and that's near 2,400 Calories total. Spread across two days, that's 1,200 Calories/day of just ice cream sandwiches. Once again, stupid.
You'd think I'd have a problem with fast food temptation...
...but I don't.
I pass by fast food places regularly and never have a desire to eat anything they serve.
This doesn't have to do anything with price because fast food has been overpriced for a long time now. I just don't have any desire for the stuff anymore.
These days, anything I'd actually want to eat while out isn't made fast. If for example I go get Vietnamese or Thai food, I know of no place that makes that super-fast-quick, nor would I want them to. I'm more than willing to wait a little bit and get something that brings the flavor instead of some quick salt/sugar/cheese/maybe-meat mess.
The much larger food temptations happen with anything directly in my living space. If all it took was a walk to the kitchen to have a peanut butter sandwich and then chase with a big bowl of life cereal afterward, yeah I'd do it. But since that stuff isn't here, I'll just have a coffee instead or make some eggs.
Published 2024 Mar 12
