Red Light Foods

Weight: I haven't weighed since Sunday... but 135. :) Love being at my goal!

A current topic of thought has been Red Light Foods. Meaning foods that cause you to defer from your current eating plan and cause an unhealthy chain reaction in your diet. How many times have I gone through my plan... Doing AMAZING on my diet and exercise... then one of my weaknesses shows up... And I find yourself fighting it. But the food pulls me in like a tractor beam.

After much thought, I've decided that there are three kinds of Red Light Foods: Foods that you can't even have in your house or around you because at some point you will binge on them (calling this RLF Category 1) and Foods that cause you to go overboard and binge on them after you begin to consume (RLF Category 2). Foods that are easy to binge on when socializing (RLF Category 3).

As I began to really think about this topic, my Red Light Foods came to mind:
Category 1:
Chocolate/Candy
Chips or crackers
Mac N Cheese

Category 2:
Cheese
Alcohol

Category 3:
Cheese
Alcohol

My strategies to combat over eating:
-Making a point to "JUST SAYING NO" to everything that comes along
-Flossing or brushing my teeth immediately after my last meal
-I keep almonds on me, so I have an alternative that I can whip out if I can't seem to fight it
-Keeping protein cookies (Apex protein cookies found at Oz Finess) in the house for the times when cravings are overwhelming, because even though its not a great choice... At least its some protein and other good stuff
-Pre-made protein shakes (I literally keep chocolate protein shakes made in my fridge)

If you haven't already, think about what are in your RLF categories... because the first step to doing something about a problem, is identifying it. If you know you have a problem with it, the problem becomes easier to overcome. Be aware of the problems and certainly be aware of your own strategies on how to overcome!