Controlling your own environment.

Amiwry

Amiwry

New member
What I've often wondered about is the effect that one's home environment has on their diet and lifestyle.

I live with my parents, and I can't walk into the kitchen without being surrounded by sugary cereals, muffins, bleached-grain breads, or whatever baked sweets that happened to be on discount at the store a few days ago. It's not pretty, constantly tempting, but I try to make the best choices I can. I'm sure many people have faced similar home situations.

My question is, when you have control of what foods you buy and the recipes you cook, does the temptation for unhealthy things still remain?
 
Absolutely. Instead of walking in to your kitchen to see all that, imagine walking in to a grocery story with everything you can think of or anything you could be craving. Or driving down the road you see fast food everywhere, or instead of cooking that dinner wouldn't it just be easier to order a pizza?

There are temptations everywhere, it's hard to deal with it in a situation like yours (living with your parents), but it's hard later on as well. Just have to learn self control, moderation, etc....
 
Hopefully, I don't think that will be a problem for me. I grocery shop often and only buy real food... growing up, I've never eaten at fast food places or restaurants on more than the barest occasion because money was tight.
 
I also am living with my parents at the moment and my Mom and I are the two that grocery shop. I normally make a list with all the healthy foods (salad, chicken breasts, fruits, veggies, etc) and go to the store and get everything I need for the week. For the most part, my Mom and I are the only two in the house that eat salads and yogurt, but she still has to grocery shop for my brother and Dad.

My brother is 5'8" and 120 lbs...the school says he's underweight and he probably is, but apparently they've never seen him eat. He eats pizza rolls, hot pockets, bags of chips, steaks, cookies, cake, huge containers of yogurt (not the single serving size), anything that's there he eats, and he eats two lunches during the day when he's at school. Damn him for not being able to gain a pound!

All that stuff is in my pantry, but if I have my healthy snacks and stuff there to make dinner, then I normally wouldn't eat anything bad. I try not to run low so the bad stuff doesn't tempt me...but we can't get rid of it totally, if my brother ate grilled chicken salads with everyone else, he'd probably end up losing weight. Ugh. If only my metabolism were that fast...
 
Amiwry said:
What I've often wondered about is the effect that one's home environment has on their diet and lifestyle.

I live with my parents, and I can't walk into the kitchen without being surrounded by sugary cereals, muffins, bleached-grain breads, or whatever baked sweets that happened to be on discount at the store a few days ago. It's not pretty, constantly tempting, but I try to make the best choices I can. I'm sure many people have faced similar home situations.

My question is, when you have control of what foods you buy and the recipes you cook, does the temptation for unhealthy things still remain?
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Your environment has a HUGE effect on your lifestyle. I'm moving back in with my parents next month and that's one of the things I'm concerned about. I'm going to start my weight loss journey in a few weeks, but, by that time, I'll be in my parents' house so I'll have to be around all of the food that they buy for themselves. They don't eat like pigs or anything, but there's always cookies, brownies, candy bars, soda (etc) just lying around.

But, I have a feeling that fighting the temptations will make me a stronger person in the end. So, I'm looking forward to the challenge.
 
Had it not be for my home lifestyle, I probably wouldn't bother attempting to eat right, actually! I live with my father, who loves going to the gym, dieting, and looking like the hunk on the beach. So during the year--especially this time, since summer is coming up--he's really working at his diet and exercise. Which means that first off, I've got a great role model and a dieting buddy if I choose, as well as my own mentor. BEST of all, there's almost ALWAYS something healthy laying around or in the fridge that I can nuke in the mic and scarf down. Had my dad simply sat around gaining weight and eating unhealthy, I probably would not bother to attempt to diet, as I wouldn't have that role model.

I feel that "out of sight, out of mind" works very well for me. My boyfriend brought me home a few cookies from his work today, and I wanted to attack him. They smelled sooooo good. And I didn't even know I wanted cookies! (I didn't eat them though! Not even a bite! Whoo!)
 
I think for some people they will always have some sort of cravings or be tempted, but having only healthy options available certainly makes sticking to your diet easier.
 
My question is, when you have control of what foods you buy and the recipes you cook, does the temptation for unhealthy things still remain?

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Yes. It certainly does for me. I lived off of junk food for quite some time. That's allllll I ever ate.

Now I eat better. Even if I don't buy the junk at the grocery store, I still have baaaad cravings for it every now and again. People always say, oh eat fruit, you won't succumb to eating candy. It has "natural sugars". It never does the trick for me.

I guess in time with practice it will go away. It helps when the other(s) are wanting to learn too. (I live alone) sometimes I go to my dads. He has really turned things around, and we discuss eating habits and what not.

It def helps if I eat before grocery shopping. Or making a list. Or even getting just ONE junkie thing that I can split up for the next month, and to not over indulge in the old behavior.:drool5:
 
Oh Shep that was totally how I was most of my life. haha It's ironic really when everyone thinks you're underweight but in actuality you (in general ppl) eat like a horse!
 
RunningGirl said:
Oh Shep that was totally how I was most of my life. haha It's ironic really when everyone thinks you're underweight but in actuality you (in general ppl) eat like a horse!
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Ha, I know. I was like that my junior and senior year of high school. I ate SO bad...nothing for breakfast, a small bag of Cheeto's, Twix bar, and iced tea for lunch, and pizza and wings for dinner...I never gained a lb and was stuck at 108. And then I went to college!!! :cheers2:
 
Amiwry said:
What I've often wondered about is the effect that one's home environment has on their diet and lifestyle.

I live with my parents, and I can't walk into the kitchen without being surrounded by sugary cereals, muffins, bleached-grain breads, or whatever baked sweets that happened to be on discount at the store a few days ago. It's not pretty, constantly tempting, but I try to make the best choices I can. I'm sure many people have faced similar home situations.

My question is, when you have control of what foods you buy and the recipes you cook, does the temptation for unhealthy things still remain?
Click to expand...

I live alone and have total control over what comes into my house.

After so many months of doing this, the temptations are sometimes still there but they usually do not strike when I am actually out shopping. They strike at like 11pm when I'm dozing off on the couch. I skip the candy and chip aisles at the supermarket; I'm actually really good with the shopping and I'm so used to not eating most types of junk food that I don't miss it much anymore.

So to answer your question...not really. I'm not really tempted to buy unhealthy things. And in the weak moments that I do, they usually sit on the shelf in my pantry until they go bad and I throw them away.

Hope this helps.
 
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Your environment is crucial. If living at home try and get your family to adjust to a healthier lifestyle. My mother when I lived at home always but sugary foods in the house and made us eat big meals. She cooked healthily but there was still alot of junk in the house. Nowadays I do the shopping so ensure that its healthy food. If you have junk food there in front of you everyday eventually you will eat it. When you see it you crave it so the best thing to do is get it out of there.
 
I have a major advantage in that I do the shopping, and I live in the country (so I can't just take a quick trip to the store if I'm craving junk). This helps me a lot when it comes to resisting. If that stuff was lying around though, I would have a much harder time staying on track. I think environment plays a huge role personally.
 
I notice that if the treats are hidden, I won't go for them. So the potato chips/crisps go into the cupboard and I don't eat them at all. I only know that they exist if they are visible. That's a way I avoid eating junk.
 
Scorpiogal said:
I have a major advantage in that I do the shopping, and I live in the country (so I can't just take a quick trip to the store if I'm craving junk). This helps me a lot when it comes to resisting. If that stuff was lying around though, I would have a much harder time staying on track. I think environment plays a huge role personally.
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I'm like that too. I live 7 miles from the nearest store of any sort and by the time I think of what I want, get dressed, grab my keys..I just don't care anymore and it's WAAAAY too much effort to go to the store. lol.

But yes, your enviroment plays a huge role. I'm lucky that even tho I live with my parents, my Mom turns to me for ideas on dinners and grocery shopping and I have a strong hand in what everyone eats [I try to go healthy but not overly, so that the masses wont complain, lol]
 
i agree with all the replies you've had environment can have a huge impact certainly on options available/setting healthy habits etc...but i really think it comes down to your own character too...i was very slim for yrs & yrs...but even then i knew 'food' was my thing...my crutch/comfort & my pleasure (chocolate over drink/drugs anyday!! LOL)

my mother was a bit 'mommie dearest' with food...keeping the nice food ie treats for my dad/using food as a reward or in my case...using its removal (ie no tea for you...) as a punishment...

whereas my two sisters accepted her 'rules'...i broke them whenever i could...eating everything she'd said i wasn't allowed to eat etc...i remember i used to obsess about what i'd buy when i left home (sad but true...) i would always say i was going to buy the biggest bar of diarymilk i could (i did...it was soooo HUGE the extra special kind for gifts/xmas etc) in my head i was getting back at 'HER' of course i was just setting myself up for unhealthy eating habits & (eventual) weight gain...

though 'luckily' for me what with the serial wife thing & other dramas blahblahblah...my weight stayed down due to nerves probably & also lifestyle too (ie vanity/wanting to wear certain clothes etc) until only a few yr ago...DAMMIT!!! :willy_nilly:
 
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