food advertising is everywhere! Nearly a third of the time a typical television show takes is dedicated to commercials, and a good portion of those commercials are for food – and not usually for healthy food! Watch TV for a few minutes, and you are sure to see ads for soft drinks, burgers, pizza, potato and tortilla chips, candy bars, and beer. and all-you-can-eat buffets with fried chicken and Pasta.

The internet can be even worse! There you are, browsing the net, and you see tempting offers for food delivery. All you have to do is click on the ad, choose your order, and answer the door a few minutes later!

It’s hard to avoid food advertising, so how do you deal with it? Does it ever remind you of some forbidden foods that used to be staples before you starting on your WLS journey? Do you get cravings for those off-limits foods? How do you handle the ads? Are you able to limit their effects on you?

How do you keep from picking up the phone and calling Domino’s, or driving your car right into McDonald’s drive-through when you see a billboard showing their latest irresistibly tasty and affordable deal? Share your tips – because a lot of us find that the ads trigger some dangerous behaviors for weight control.

Great question. Through the years, I certainly know my trigger foods. As you said ads are everywhere. Even on fitday site where I log all my foods every day, there are fast food ads! grrrr

So I use coping skills. For example, I'll practice a certain skill so I know how I'll respond to a specific trigger. A few of my favorite coping skills: 1) I reflect on the reasons why I want to recover from my eating addiction, and how far I've come. 2) Stepping away from the computer or the TV and go put ice in my Water bottle, taking a few deep breaths, stretching my arms, anything to distract me. If I'm with someone, I talk to them about anything other than food. 3) If it gets really bad, I do the delay tactic. I tell myself to just wait 15 min, drink a glass of water, and if I still want it, then I can but I never do. 4) Never get too hungry or too tired and put myself in a position to be emotionally weak.

I just don't, I will watch Netflix to avoid commercials, when I go run errands I make sure that I have a Protein shake before I leave my house, I also don't give my self time or budget money for fast food, I only shop the outer part of my grocery store, I never go down the isles. The only things that I buy frozen is veggies, I buy a ton of frozen broccoli, asparagus, Brussels, and cauliflower because it is more cost effective that way.

I know that if I cheat and eat a handful of chips that it will take me several days to get back on track so I stay on the straight and narrow. I have found things to substitute like flavored teas, Celestial seasonings make an awesome Sugar Cookie flavored tea and Bigelow make a wonderful Peppermint Bark tea and I can have all I want. I write a menu and I stick to it, I do not ever do cheat days.

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Great topic this definitely pertains to me especially late night watching a good show on tv and the one of many fast food commercials come on. I would pay extra per month not to get the food commercials lol. And Alex I gotten so ravenous late a night after watching a fast food commercials I would drive to White Castle for some White Casket burgers at midnight lol

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I find most TV food advertising DISGUSTING!

Look at those pizza commercials...I mean who can eat that stuff? Where is the nutritional Value? They compete with one another and just keep getting thicker and cheesier, even stuffing the crust..YUK!

And the Burger commercials are just as bad...perhaps worse.

The more gross they make their products, the more they feel they will sell....and maybe they do which is very sad indeed.

I feel fortunate to have a dvr. I can skip all commercials on my pre recorded shows. Otherwise, that mute button works. I refuse to watch or listen to the crap they try so hard to sell .

I notice there are very scant ads for healthy choices. No one subsidizes that industry of fresh fruit and vegetables like America does for corn syrup..... Sad

I was, and still am a major "foodie". Pre-surgery my weakness as burgers, the big juicy type. So, now almost 3 weeks post op, I am becoming more creative in the kitchen. When I get triggered by an ad, I ask myself how I can make something similar but using healthy ingredients. I have replaced all red meat with fish, chicken and turkey.

I had a terrible craving for Chinese food a few days ago, right after I drove past Panda Express. So I went to the store and bought chicken and made "sweet and sour chicken" but made it sugar free, and pan cooked it with Pam instead of frying it. I could only eat two bites, but my family ate the rest and loved it!!

I am finding it fun and creative to turn the massively high calorie foods we see on ads constantly into low- carb, sugar free meals. So, Bring it On, Ads! I'll make something better!

Edited October 22, 20169 yr by The New Kel

After about one week post-op, I really started to notice all the "eat" triggers in my life and identified them for what they were...conditioning and programming that I needed to re-write. Now when I see food advertising, I see it for what it is - an attempt to condition my mind and take my money. If I get obese because of it...they are probably happy, because I'll buy more of their product.

There are triggers I have that are just circumstantial and behavioral, habit...and then there is advertising, and I know what they're trying to do. I think by being conscious of it, I can defeat its negative influence on me. It especially helps not feeling hungry, right now. I can see things without that fog of hunger.

Edited October 23, 20169 yr by PorkChopExpress

A few of my favorite coping skills: 1) I reflect on the reasons why I want to recover from my eating addiction, and how far I've come. 2) Stepping away from the computer or the TV and go put ice in my Water bottle, taking a few deep breaths, stretching my arms, anything to distract me. If I'm with someone, I talk to them about anything other than food. 3) If it gets really bad, I do the delay tactic. I tell myself to just wait 15 min, drink a glass of water, and if I still want it, then I can but I never do. 4) Never get too hungry or too tired and put myself in a position to be emotionally weak.

I do the same thing.

I also never tell myself I cannot have something I just choose to not have it right now.

I have my computer savy hubby record streaming videos of my favorite shows (like The Walking Dead). They always cut out the commercials! I have to wait a day later and avoid social media until I watch my show!

No food advertising affects me. Even ads for tortilla chips, which I can get into, go by barely noticed.

So many ads hawk chain restaurants and fast/junk food chains, only one of which ever interested me, but for two years only. I wouldn't eat McDonald's when I was young. Somehow I got into it, taking it home about six times a month. At the two-year mark, it became distasteful again. That was 25 years ago. I love a burger, but it's got to be a good one.

I used to visit another state a few times a year. Early during that time, only chains were in the area. After my second chain meal (which was Olive Garden), I'd sulk while out to eat with my hosts. When some real restaurants began to spring up, I cheered up. Re fast food again, the only bite of Kentucky Fried chicken in my life nearly had me in tears: How to remove it from my mouth discreetly when surrounded by co-workers? (Swallowing gets rid of the taste faster than does spitting.)

The soda ads leave me cold, as I forgot about soda several years ago. Boxed products, the kind that get added to fresh foods to create - voila! - luscious dinners, have never been in my mouth.

I'm trying to think of an ad that challenges me, but nothing comes to mind.

I don't feel that overwhelmed by food advertisement. I use an ad blocker when browsing the net, I usually don't watch TV channels with lots of commercials on (I pay an additional fee each month to be able to view certain channels that only have a few spots between shows and they're usually not for food except for one of these cooking boxes and I'm not interested in that).

As for drive through restaurants etc - my favorite pizzeria doesn't deliver so I'm usually too lazy to drive by and get a pizza, I like burgers but not the stuff you can get at the fast food places in Germany. Again, our favorite place regarding this is a place that doesn't deliver and we haven't been there for ages.