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Comment by unfocussed_mike | Hacker News Reader

Things that are easier if you live alone:

Just don't buy rich foods over which you have no willpower.

Don't go down those aisles in the supermarket. Don't keep biscuits (by which I mean cookies) and snacks in the house at all.

Don't buy "meal deal" lunches that give you a discounted fizzy drink and snack.

It's all very well people telling others that they need to develop willpower over knowing when they've had enough, etc., and I admire people who can do that. But it's just a lot easier to exercise that control at the point of purchase.

And never, EVER go food shopping while hungry, for more than just lunch. Try to buy/order your lunches before you get hungry.

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> Just don't buy rich foods over which you have no willpower.

I started working with a dietician recently (which has benefits, but is not at all necessary) and they phrased is as, "its easier to practice willpower for 30 minutes once a week at the grocery store than every hour of the day the food is in the house."

It's really reassuring to hear that, because in my mind I always think my strategy is still inferior to those people who can ration out their own snacks.

Absolutely! Another couple of grocery shopping tips (from Michael Pollan):

- The Grandmother (or Great-Grandmother) test: don't buy food unless your Great-Grandmother would recognize it. I expand this to a generic hypothetical ancestor from anywhere in the world, as my Great Grandma wouldn't recognize, say, Gochujang sauce, but the idea is simple -- stick to food that has been around for a while.

- Stick to the outside "perimeter" of a grocery store for the most part. This is not a hard and fast rule, but generally the fresh and whole food will be on the walls around the grocery section, with more processed foods in the aisles.

I find it useful to think of those as just different kinds of people.

In high school, a friend of mine had an exchange student. My friend's family were all naturally thin. They were truly surprised that once a package of something sweet was open, the exchange student would return at regular intervals to have some until it was all gone. They weren't being tough or anything; they just didn't experience the cravings.

I am like the exchange student. So as much as possible, I just don't keep that stuff around.

When I was at my fittest and healthiest as an adult (at my lowest weight as an adult I was neither fit nor healthy, it was a result of being in poverty and wondering how to both pay rent and buy food), I would only walk the perimeter of my grocery store. Produce, butcher, dairy, and deli, that was pretty much it. I'd step into aisles to pick up rice, cooking oils, maybe flour (I enjoy baking, I take those things to the office though), and spices. It was remarkably effective for keeping the weight off because I, too, have no willpower. If a thing I want to eat is in the house, it gets eaten. Maybe not right away, sometimes I forget about it (like the Thin Mints I bought from a friend's daughter recently), but once I start, I don't stop until I've eaten too much.

I found this really helpful to change the way I look at willpower.

https://psyche.co/ideas/the-best-way-to-exercise-self-contro...

Wow, this really is fascinating!

Thanks so much.

OMG: When my wife started buying snacks for our kids it was game over for me.

I agree with this. Don't buy ready-to-eat food at all. All food should be prepared for a specific meal. No snacking at all.

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