‘No One Can Eat Just One’ – Rings a bell, right? And it really is true, you cannot stop once you start gorging on a food like potato chips.
You wish to have just 2-3 of those delicious potato chips; but before you know it, you empty the container!
Trust us, it is not you! Something is so ridiculously good about potato chips that even the sanest person you know will gorge on it like she was famished for weeks.
Or, as I experienced many years ago, I couldn’t have just a tablespoon of peanut butter. A tablespoon quickly became half a jar, or more.
That’s a Domino Food.
You must identify any domino foods you have.
What food(s), no matter how hard you try, do you lose total control over?
Identify them, and write them down. And be honest.
How to Handle Domino Foods?
When it comes to preparing and taking control over domino foods you have a few options. The one you choose to implement depends on your preferences.
1) Don’t have Domino Foods around.
If peanut butter is a domino food, then keep it out of the house.
This one may not be the best choice because putting something “off limits” often makes us crave those foods even more (as we discussed in an earlier chapter). Labeling something “forbidden” automatically makes it much more desirable.
2) Try a new method of portion control.
Sticking with peanut butter as the example, you can buy single serving packages. That way, you get the satisfaction of eating the entire package, but without eating a whole jar. For some people this quenches that “clean your plate” mentality.
Or, you can scoop out a certain amount and then put the jar away. For instance, I used to sit down with an entire jar of yummy peanut butter and an apple. The plan was to put some peanut butter on my apple slices as I ate them.
Well, I’d end up loading each slice with a mound of peanut butter. Then, after I ate all of my apple slices, I’d take a few more spoonfuls of peanut butter.
Boom. Domino Food.
I realized this was a problem and despite my willpower, I’d always fail. (I was too stubborn to stop testing my willpower over something so small. See what happens? Never forget that your willpower has limits, so don’t test it unnecessarily).
It was madness putting myself in the same vulnerable situation over and over again. If I failed to maintain control several times, what made me think “this time” would be any different?
Like I said, set yourself up for success.
My solution was to scoop out some peanut butter onto my plate and then put the jar away. That way I couldn’t use absurd amounts of peanut butter or keep going back into the jar for more.
Simple, and it worked.
Before we move on to the third method of dealing with domino foods, keep one thing in mind – don’t eat directly from the container. Whether you’re eating almonds, peanut butter, or anything else, dish out what you want and then put it back.
Don’t tempt yourself unnecessarily and test your willpower. It’s not worth it as we’ve discussed before.
And now, number three.
3) Swap out your Domino Foods for lesser tempting items.
Let’s say you overindulge on mini chocolate bars. Try swapping them out for higher quality chocolate that’s at least 70% cacao. This chocolate is richer and so you may only want to eat a little instead of a lot. Plus, chocolate bars that are high in cacao (preferably 70% or more) are filled with healthy fats, fiber, antioxidants and don’t have trans-fat or tons of added sugar.
You may have to get creative here with the whole swap thing depending on your domino foods, but it could be worth a shot.
Whatever method you choose to employ to deal with Domino Foods, make sure it’s the sanest and simplest approach for you.