Corn chips anonymous

[becausewhole30]

I'm gearing up for another whole30 in a couple weeks. But since my last ended (October), my relationship with corn chips had been a toxic one. At first I recognized they are just food without brakes, so I refrained. Then I had a couple some Saturday at dinner. Then my fiance brought a bag home. I get home from the gym and I'm famished. I don't have anything prepped, so I have a couple which turns into half a bag. Now I crave them. Since I can't have gluten anymore, my love/obsession for bread morphed into this unhealthy thing for corn chips. Salty, crunchy, guacamole holding corn chips. They make me bloated and I gain belly fat. I want to be happy and healthy. And I don't want to have to resort to another thirty days every time I feel like I don't have control anymore. Has anyone found a happy medium, a peace with themselves and their choices?

[MeadowLily]

Maybe you won't want it anymore after today.

 

 

Corn is full of sugar and makes you fat.

While it is true that corn contains more starch than most other vegetables, the Glycemic Load (how much a food will raise a person’s blood sugar level after eating it) of a serving of corn is actually lower than that of a baked potato, basmati rice, or sweet potato. To put it in perspective, 1 ear of corn on the cob has 60 calories and 2.3 grams of sugar compared to 1 cup of pineapple which has 80 calories and 16 grams of sugar.

 Corn is NOT a vegetable, it’s a grain!

Do NOT be misinformed! Corn is technically classified as a vegetable, grain and fruit depending upon the form it takes. Fresh sweet corn (as I refer to it in the article above) is classified as a vegetable, dried corn (popcorn, corn meal etc.) is considered a grain and corn seed is a fruit because that is the botanical definition.

 

Sweet corn = the tasty vegetable we buy at roadside stands, farmers markets, and grocery stores and eat at picnics and summer BBQs.

Field Corn = the practically inedible commodity crop that is used to produce everything from feed for livestock, high fructose corn syrup, ethanol, oil, paint, crayons, etc. 

[GFChris]

For me, any food without brakes, I can't keep in the house. Maybe you and corn chips need to part ways for a while?

I used to snack on corn chips by the bagful. Now, when I want something crunchy, I go for sliced jicama sticks. Plain, dunked in guac, or coated with lime juice and chili powder.

[Brewer5]

For me, any food without brakes, I can't keep in the house.

 

^ This.

 

--OR--

 

You realize the cold, hard truth:  You simply can't eat "a few" corn chips.  

 

It's okay... just go ahead and admit it to yourself.  

 

It's very freeing to be able to stare down a bag of corn chips and make a conscious, informed decision -- instead of an emotional one.  

 

Who out there enjoys that "food without brakes" feeling?  I mean, come on.  Anyone?

 

We keep all sorts of stuff in the house now that I would be prone to binge on.  I don't touch it because I have learned the hard way, and now I know better.

[MeadowLily]

Maybe your palates have really changed.  Corn chips might taste like popcorn balls with that corn syrup stuck to your teeth.   (Hutlifr says wines taste like vinegars to her, now).  

[becausewhole30]

Can I just run over the chips with my car a few times and then use the bag to clean up the kitty poop? You think that would be freeing as well? Because I tried the stare down method and they totally won. Clearly I need to take this to a new level.

Jicama sticks with lime and chili powder, mmmmm, good idea.

[Brewer5]

LOL.

 

In all seriousness, though.......  It has been a long journey, and I am still learning a few lessons here and there.

 

#1 advice is:  If you are not sleeping well, everything will be harder.  Every. craving. will. be. hard.  Lack of sleep = more carb cravings.  FACT.

 

#2 advice is:  Don't let yourself get to the hangry point of letting those corn chips win.  Eat, eat, eat... follow the template... nourish your body... give it what it really needs (hint: this usually means more protein & fat).  It is so much easier to make smart decisions when you are Well Fed.

[becausewhole30]

It has been a long journey for me too and sometimes I get frustrated and just want it to be a little easier. Thanks for the advice, when I eat better I sleep better. That's 100% true. And when I prep, I never get hangry because that means I had a pre-workout snack. It's getting to the point where I'm a machine in the kitchen, now I just need to set aside the time to make sure I have what I need to stare down the chips and actually win. Thanks for the pep talk folks.

[Markette]

I'm all about corn chip kitty litter.  Srsly, that is an excellent intervention. 

[kmdchuckles]

If they're truly a food without breaks for you, I agree, get them out of the house.  Pre-Whole30, I portion controlled tortilla chips by pouring myself about 2 oz of my favorite salsa. When it's gone, I put the chips away. I found this worked well since I switched to a particular brand, Jaunitas, that is super greasy and fatty. But I think that I might have been reacting to the soybean oil in these chips as I had them on day 32 and on boy my legs hurt that day.

 

What I found during Whole30 was I missed salsa and that salsa is REALLY good on roasted sweet potatoes! Maybe that would work for you too? Make a big double batch and keep them in the fridge.  You can warm them up quickly and then go to town.  They'll fill you up before you over eat.  

[toeinthetide]

I have the same problem with chips and salsa/guac!  Or even better, a giant plate of organic blue corn chips, piled high with grass fed ground beef, green pepper, and organic cheddar.....

 

Oh wait, that's not the point.  I know that corn is just not that bad for me to have once in a while compared to all all the other processed grains and crap I no longer crave or consume.  But I am still ADDICTED.  I am about to finish my first Whole 30 and one of my biggest goals after I am done, is to NOT pick up the habit again.  It's always my gateway drug into snacking, "no brakes," and increasing carb cravings.

 

I feel your pain.  Be strong!

[zBeverly]

My dh has cookies, chips, dips, snacks and has my entire W30.  Somehow I've managed to close my mind to them, make them not an option.  I think W30 has helped with this because of fueling/feeding my body.  Do you have the W30 "ISWF" book?  I make deals with myself to get through things sometimes.  Like tonight I got guilt-free play games on my phone for almost 2 hours to get through my first craving (I reintro'd gluten grains today and they set off some triggers apparently).  I brought up the book bcs I will bargain with myself too.  If you read a chapter in the book and still want ______ (corn chips, for instance) then you may have some.  Or, if you clean up the kids' rooms and put away the laundry then you can have ________.  Et cetera....   Most often the mere fact of doing something else plus "allowing" myself to have ____ negates its power over me (or is that negates it from overpowering me?).  I hope this helps.  It helped me to 'say it out loud' so thanks!   All the best to you~

PS...it may also help to read the label before ingesting (here's one I found, Doritos I think):

Whole corn, vegetable oil (corn, soybean, and/or sunflower oil), salt, maltodextrin, wheat flour, whey, monosodium glutamate, buttermilk solids, whey protein concentrate, onion powder, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, corn flour, disodium phosphate, lactose, natural and artificial flavor, dextrose, tomato powder, spices, lactic acid, artificial color (including Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40), citric acid, sugar, garlic powder, red and green bell pepper powder, sodium caseinate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, nonfat milk solids, whey protein isolate, corn syrup solids.