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> I've started taking so much junk snacks (which wasn't available at Office) What I've found helps is to not buy snacks. I eat junk if it's available, but if

> I've started taking so much junk snacks (which wasn't available at Office) What I've found helps is to not buy snacks. I eat junk if it's available, but if nothing is nearby, then I can't be bothered to go out and purchase it, so I'll eat a grapefruit instead. Another thing that I have found helps is to order a community supported agriculture (CSA) produce box. A lot of farmers that supply restaurants are losing a lot of business lately, and at least in the Bay Area, many are starting to sell directly to consumers. I'm on a weekly schedule now where every Wednesday I pick up a box of restaurant quality vegetables in SF, and it's pretty fun because a lot of these vegetables are ones I've never even heard of before. It has become a hobby to come up with new types of meals, and it also gives my wife and I a nice break from the monotony to go for our vegetable pickup excursion.

xyse53 6y ago
One of my mottos: Good eating starts in the supermarket, not in the kitchen. I can easily not buy potato chips. I don't even pretend like I'll control myself and not eat a whole bag in one night if it's in the house.
- tiew9Vii 6y ago
  You don’t even have to go to the supermarket for food these days so can avoid the temptations completely. With online shopping it’s easy to set up a weekly shopping list so easier to stay in track, no chocolate bars or soft drinks at the check outs. Likewise if you walk to a butchers or green grocers vs a supermarket it’s easier to avoid temptations.
- PopeDotNinja 6y ago
  Do you have a second motto that helps me not stress eat all the good food I just bought?
  - FartyMcFarter 6y ago
    If you buy food that requires preparation time, that makes it less likely to stress eat.
    - PopeDotNinja 6y ago
      That's an interesting idea. I'll look into that.
  - xyse53 6y ago
    Fuck it. I'd just enjoy myself, the damage is already done this time.
  - d0100 6y ago
    Just buy a bunch of veggies. Eat soup all day?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - godelski 6y ago
    My motto is: if you're house is dirty, you're probably getting depressed. Clean your house. It'll probably help with the stress eating. Anxiety is a big culprit and it is common these days.
    - Broken_Hippo 6y ago
      On the other hand, if my house is very clean and uncluttered, I'm probably depressed/anxious and not spending time doing things I like. I personally despise cleaning house, and minimal cleaning for practical reasons works for me.
  - katbyte 6y ago
    Eat it all you want? I can eat cherry tomatoes all day long and I doubt that’s awful for me
  - Broken_Hippo 6y ago
    Make it difficult. Open chips, put chips into bowl, and take them somewhere else. (for example). You can make yourself bored while eating them, but I rarely do. The bowl/plate plus immediate cleanup helps stop the mindless eating. In the meantime, work on getting some sort of hobby to help with the stress.
- Ductapemaster 6y ago
  Love that. I've learned two things about myself in the last 5 years or so: - I have very little self control when impulses are right in front of me. This goes for most things: drinking (especially out), food/snacks, purchases, even exercise (eg. just keep hiking a little farther vs. stopping). - I have enormous self control if I "distance" myself from impulse. This means not buying snacks in the first place, trying out alternative forms of exercise, not buying beer except on weekends, putting things from Amazon on a wishlist vs. clicking the Buy Now button. I know my impulses well enough at this point, and maybe there is something to be said for these methods not actually controlling them (just avoiding them), but they are much healthier mentally for me since I can indulge when things are around that I want without feeling guilty for being constantly indulging.
dllthomas 6y ago
Another nice aspect of a CSA is the push to eat seasonally. I'm not sure it really matters, but I find it aesthetically appealing. Of course, the downside is that I now have to figure out what to do with fennel for the 6th week in a row...
- gherkinnn 6y ago
  Alternate between steaming it and eating it raw. Rotate through sauces, including none, just some oil, and then fancy stuff. I skip fancy stuff myself and nibble on them raw. Makes for a good Netflix snack.
- OJFord 6y ago
  Bit late now (in the UK at least) if you want it all in season, but I like it in a pie with sweet potato and leek, and just a bechemel sauce, optionally thickened with egg or cheese.
PeterStuer 6y ago
Not buying the bad stuff is key. Passing it in the store takes orders of magnitude less 'willpower' than moderating your consumption once it is in your cupboard.
Vinnl 6y ago
> What I've found helps is to not buy snacks. And the main trick to doing that is to not go shopping while hungry. If you are hungry, eat something small before going for groceries, and the temptations will have a lot less power over you.
- giancarlostoro 6y ago
  I was going to say the former comment but I will add. Treat junk snacks as actual junk. Limit yourself to one snack as comfort food a week that you can buy. It doesnt hurt to have some cookies around but dont go to town on them.
- Viliam1234 6y ago
  Before going to shop, write a shopping list at home. When you are at the shop, you can still put something extra in your cart, but generally be in the "I am following the list" mindset, instead of "I am looking around and see if something catches my attention" mindset. Before writing the shopping list, decide what meals do you want to eat in the following days; then put the ingredients in the list. Otherwise you might end up with too much breakfast stuff, and not enough cooking-material stuff. (Or with cooking-material stuff that you don't know how to put together.) Before even that... if you are not a skilled cook, you could make a list of all meals you can cook, and put it on your fridge. So when you are out of ideas, just look at the list and pick something you haven't cooked recently. You will get greater variety, and you will keep practicing all you have learned.

xyse53 6y ago

One of my mottos: Good eating starts in the supermarket, not in the kitchen. I can easily not buy potato chips. I don't even pretend like I'll control myself and not eat a whole bag in one night if it's in the house.

tiew9Vii 6y ago
You don’t even have to go to the supermarket for food these days so can avoid the temptations completely. With online shopping it’s easy to set up a weekly shopping list so easier to stay in track, no chocolate bars or soft drinks at the check outs. Likewise if you walk to a butchers or green grocers vs a supermarket it’s easier to avoid temptations.
PopeDotNinja 6y ago
Do you have a second motto that helps me not stress eat all the good food I just bought?
- FartyMcFarter 6y ago
  If you buy food that requires preparation time, that makes it less likely to stress eat.
  - PopeDotNinja 6y ago
    That's an interesting idea. I'll look into that.
- xyse53 6y ago
  Fuck it. I'd just enjoy myself, the damage is already done this time.
- d0100 6y ago
  Just buy a bunch of veggies. Eat soup all day?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- godelski 6y ago
  My motto is: if you're house is dirty, you're probably getting depressed. Clean your house. It'll probably help with the stress eating. Anxiety is a big culprit and it is common these days.
  - Broken_Hippo 6y ago
    On the other hand, if my house is very clean and uncluttered, I'm probably depressed/anxious and not spending time doing things I like. I personally despise cleaning house, and minimal cleaning for practical reasons works for me.
- katbyte 6y ago
  Eat it all you want? I can eat cherry tomatoes all day long and I doubt that’s awful for me
- Broken_Hippo 6y ago
  Make it difficult. Open chips, put chips into bowl, and take them somewhere else. (for example). You can make yourself bored while eating them, but I rarely do. The bowl/plate plus immediate cleanup helps stop the mindless eating. In the meantime, work on getting some sort of hobby to help with the stress.
Ductapemaster 6y ago
Love that. I've learned two things about myself in the last 5 years or so: - I have very little self control when impulses are right in front of me. This goes for most things: drinking (especially out), food/snacks, purchases, even exercise (eg. just keep hiking a little farther vs. stopping). - I have enormous self control if I "distance" myself from impulse. This means not buying snacks in the first place, trying out alternative forms of exercise, not buying beer except on weekends, putting things from Amazon on a wishlist vs. clicking the Buy Now button. I know my impulses well enough at this point, and maybe there is something to be said for these methods not actually controlling them (just avoiding them), but they are much healthier mentally for me since I can indulge when things are around that I want without feeling guilty for being constantly indulging.

dllthomas 6y ago

Another nice aspect of a CSA is the push to eat seasonally. I'm not sure it really matters, but I find it aesthetically appealing. Of course, the downside is that I now have to figure out what to do with fennel for the 6th week in a row...

gherkinnn 6y ago
Alternate between steaming it and eating it raw. Rotate through sauces, including none, just some oil, and then fancy stuff. I skip fancy stuff myself and nibble on them raw. Makes for a good Netflix snack.
OJFord 6y ago
Bit late now (in the UK at least) if you want it all in season, but I like it in a pie with sweet potato and leek, and just a bechemel sauce, optionally thickened with egg or cheese.

PeterStuer 6y ago

Not buying the bad stuff is key. Passing it in the store takes orders of magnitude less 'willpower' than moderating your consumption once it is in your cupboard.

Vinnl 6y ago

> What I've found helps is to not buy snacks. And the main trick to doing that is to not go shopping while hungry. If you are hungry, eat something small before going for groceries, and the temptations will have a lot less power over you.

giancarlostoro 6y ago
I was going to say the former comment but I will add. Treat junk snacks as actual junk. Limit yourself to one snack as comfort food a week that you can buy. It doesnt hurt to have some cookies around but dont go to town on them.
Viliam1234 6y ago
Before going to shop, write a shopping list at home. When you are at the shop, you can still put something extra in your cart, but generally be in the "I am following the list" mindset, instead of "I am looking around and see if something catches my attention" mindset. Before writing the shopping list, decide what meals do you want to eat in the following days; then put the ingredients in the list. Otherwise you might end up with too much breakfast stuff, and not enough cooking-material stuff. (Or with cooking-material stuff that you don't know how to put together.) Before even that... if you are not a skilled cook, you could make a list of all meals you can cook, and put it on your fridge. So when you are out of ideas, just look at the list and pick something you haven't cooked recently. You will get greater variety, and you will keep practicing all you have learned.