Does Your Family’s Kitchen Support Weight Loss?

[Alex Brecher 10,516]

For many of us, we have (or used to have, before surgery), trouble passing up food. If you’re a mindless muncher, you drift towards anything that’s lying around, whether or not you’re hungry. That’s definitely a habit that contributed to my weight gain! If you’re an emotional eater, you can dive for whatever looks good at the time you need comfort.

Mindless muncher or emotional overeater, any junk food in the kitchen can call to you and throw a wrench in your healthy eating plans. The best strategy is to get rid of the junk food and only keep healthy, non-trigger foods around…but that’s not always possible if your family protests!

It could be your kids wanting certain snack foods around, or your spouse needing his stash of potato chips or leaving leftover take-out in the fridge. For whatever reason, it can be harder to lose weight if your kitchen isn’t “clean.”

So, does your kitchen support weight loss? Is it stocked only with healthy foods? Or is there a stockpile of trigger or junk foods that threaten to sneak their way into your diet? How do you deal with your family’s “required” junk foods?

[Yaberhoo 358]

My mom lives with me. I made the decision before surgery that I would not force my new way of eating on her. She is at a healthy weight and is not in need of dieting. My cupboards look exactly the same as they did before surgery. I still do all of the cooking so I will make the usual stuff but only eat the part that is consistent with how I choose to eat. For example, I made chicken enchiladas and dug out the chicken goodness inside the tortilla instead of eating it all.

When I find myself browsing the cupboard for something to eat, I step back and eat a hard boiled egg or some cheese instead. I acknowledge that I am browsing out of boredom or whatever and make a good food choice. The temptation of the yummies in the cupboard goes away.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Yaberhoo

[QuilterGal 216]

I find that junk foods are extremely unappealing since RNY. They make me feel SO bad and so there's a huge incentive to not eat them. I've never experienced anything so strong. So, so far, so good.

[swimbikerun 1,048]

I pack stuff for others but not me.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

"Boredom eater" and "celebratory eater" describes most of my old bad habits.

The scary stuff in my kitchen used to be potato chips, tortilla chips, ice cream, takeout Desserts, deli pimento cheese, cream cheese, Bagels, guacamole (because of the tortilla chips that went with it), and leftover pizza.

All that stuff is gone now. We do eat pizza, but throw away the leftovers -- or freeze them and then throw them away later.

We do still keep Peanut Butter in the house (which calls to me sometime), but it's high up on a shelf behind a cabinet door.

I think that what makes a bigger difference than what we don't have in the kitchen now is what we DO have in the kitchen -- healthier, tasty food: Greek yogurt (vanilla and blueberry), tasty seed crackers and GOOD cheeses, apples, almonds, our favorite Breakfast Protein drink (a GNC swiss chocolate version), non-sugar chocolate pudding, fresh berries (when they're in season).

When you're hungry, healthy food is so much more satisfying. Slider foods and crap stuff just make me hungrier. Not a good feeling.

[BestDayEver 418]

The only junk food I buy for the family is stuff that I don't particularly care for like chips or ice cream treats. What we don't have in the house are Cookies, cake or chocolate. They can buy that stuff on their own if they want it that badly.

One thing I enjoy is lower grocery bills now that I don't buy all that crud.

[glitter eyes 1,398]

My kitchen looks just like it looked prior to my weight loss surgery. My daughter and husband are very thin and have high metabolisms. They are snackers so there is always "junk food" in the house: Cookies, candy, ice cream, etc.

I have never let it bother me since I chose to have surgery- not them.

I keep plenty of food in the house for me to snack on. I also cook very clean healty dinners and they eat whatever I cook. So meals are easy. Sometimes I will make them a Pasta or rice side dish.

The abundance of junk is my house has only bothered me a few times, and the feeling to eat it either passes or I will have an occasional treat since I am in maintance.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

I live alone so the only time I have to worry is when my sister comes over with junk food. Thankfully most of what she likes I'm allergic to. She did come over with fresh Philly pretzels last week. I made her take them home.

[o00 494]

I am lucky to have a roommate who is a very health conscious eater and supports my new dietary habits and lifestyle. When she learned about my dietary restrictions she offered to remove her few items of junk foods from the kitchen. I did buy some junk foods for my niece during her week long stay with me. All the leftovers got discarded after she left.

[skinnyrita 188]

Fortunately, my husband is supportive of the changes I've made in my diet which are reflected in the foods that stock my kitchen. Junk food is replaced with healthy Protein - based Snacks and shakes. If we do splurge it's usually when eating out where we can split something and no leftovers are brought home. I haven't been hungry for the " trigger" foods but why take the chance? I get plenty of chances to exercise discipline at work where the Cookies and doughnuts show up this time of year????

I don't think of this lifestyle as a diet anymore, since diets have a beginning and an end , usually accompanied by weight gain. I'm trying for sustained change in food preferences and in making exercise a part of my daily life.

[lauraellen80 855]

I do the grocery shopping, and my husband is 1) very supportive of my surgery, and 2) also trying to lose weight himself, so he doesn't mind that I no longer buy bread, Cereal, Pasta, His mom is living with us currently, and she has her own section of the cupboard where she does keep some of that kind of stuff, but I just pretend it's not there. I do love to bake, but I try to get it out of the house immediately and give it away to people when I do so that it's not around tempting me.

[Bandista 7,466]

Do they have a kitchen I don't know about? Because this one is MY KITCHEN. Family often comment, "we live in a restaurant." Well, it's my restaurant, just sayin'..........

But seriously speaking, a good pantry with the right food is a necessity. Get in what's good for you, what works and if there are triggers, etc. -- get 'em OUT.

I cannot believe that we currently have things like chocolate, ice cream, array of cheeses, etc. and I am still able to make good choices. Thank you, band.

[newmebithebypass 713]

We live with a roommate and he loves meals that don't require a lot of effort or energy to make so we always have rice Soup and Pasta in the house I just choose to cook meat and the side of veggies and rice or pasta and not eat the carbs