NEED HELP with nut binges

lxjennie

I have been generally good with my calories since this February, and I have lost 18 pounds so far. Yesterday I ate at least 3 handfuls of peanuts, a whole bottle of chocolate milk, along with EIGHT quaker granola bars. I felt terrible and I wanted to die. I told myself I was going to be back on track today. But today I ate even more mixed nuts, a cheese burger, and SEVEN granola bars( lol, little improvement). It's exam week here. I just kept on eating as I read my books and studied. Before I knew there were piles of peanut shells next to my textbook. Oh well. Tomorrow the exams will be over and I will get right back on track...I hope.

Anyone has any idea to why I'm having sudden urges to finish a whole lb of nuts?

Maybe I'm just too stressed out about the exams?

I can do this..

jwdieter

Maybe you need a better variety of snacks around. But hey, could do worse than peanuts.

norcal_yogi

sorry to hear hon. first thing, stop buying the foods you tend to binge on (like granola bars etc). nuts are great, but not the ones with all the oil and salt. BUT as you know, they calories and fat add up *quickly*. the issue is you are likely depriving too much...therefore, hungry (and/or depleted in various vitamins/nutrients) and gravitate towards binging.

eat more protein, exercise, and try to eat a little of what you'd like for a treat -- therefore, not totally depriving yourself in the first place.

bms34b

Maybe your diet needs more variety - make sure you're getting enough protein and other fresh veggies, and hopefully you won't crave only nut bars.

Either way, exam weeks are allowed to be a little nutty with your diet. (see what I did there?) After you have more time to relax, you'll be fine. Plus, our brains burn way more calories than you'd think. Lots of intense study time really does burn more calories than mindlessly watching tv.

freddi11e

omg during finals week i was a wreck. at least you're eating nuts... my stress food was cookies by the boxes. no joke. i'm so happy school is over... i'm back on track 4 pounds to go. you'll be fine

CapnGordo

Nuts are good. Eat 'em up!

lxjennie

Thank you everyone!!! I feel a little better now ..

MyOwnSunshine

Stop buying nuts.

I know that they are very healthy, but they are also very high in calories and the portion size is very, very small. Have you weighed 1 oz of nuts? A serving is about 15 almonds.

I cannot eat 15 almonds and be finished. That is not a realistic portion for me. I love nuts, and include them on days when I have calories to spare (lifting days) but otherwise avoid them. If you have to have them, buy single serve packs or nuts that are in the shell like pistachios, which take a long time to shell and eat.

Granola-type bars are also very "triggery" for me. If I eat one, I just want to eat a whole bunch, so I don't buy them either.

One of the things I've learned is that certain foods are dangerous for me to keep in my house. It doesn't mean that they are bad or forbidden, only that I have issues with portion control or that they trigger binge-type behavior for me. I don't keep them around anymore.

nehushtan

Anyone has any idea to why I'm having sudden urges to finish a whole lb of nuts?

Argh! I had the same problem where I used to work.... there was a huge bucket of mixed nuts that everyone was free to share and contributed to purchasing... I swear that bucket of nuts was like a magnet to me!

The combination of salt, fat, sugar, and starch in those things (cashews are high in sugar) is just too compelling... you are not alone... they're as bad as doughnuts.

I eventually had to learn to make rules for myself.... e.g., one handful *after* 4pm, none before. Still it would get me too often.

UrbanLotus

I LOVE nuts, I could eat like a whole can of them! So what I've started doing is buying nuts and immediately portioning them out into serving sizes. I'd feel really guilty eating like 5 baggies of them, so it really works for me!

Cheeky_0102

i have no power over nuts.
I literally have to buy them in 100 gramportions from the bulk bins or i eat whatever sized bag i have in front of me.

I would just not have granola bars around, or find a better snack. When i feel munchy and it's nerves, i will buy a big bag of precut broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. If i want something but I'm not hungry, i go to that. Not my favorite, but i have no excise at that point

MyChocolateDiet

Bwahahahaha. You and me both sistah!

ang3li

Hey Darl

I am having the same problem but realised that this is making me feel sick! At home i have the raw unsalted nuts but at work i bought salted nuts - my solution: i am not going to buy salted nuts anymore.

When you feel hungry, make a proper meal: veggies, protein and complex carbs like yams and sweet potato. Fill yourself up on a proper meal so you don't get "snacky".

Good luck!

coolraul07

Don't mind me... I'll just be standing here waiting for the disappointed pervs to misinterpret this post.:devil:


BTW: Almonds FTW! Roasted and sodium-free, I buy big ol' 3# bags at Sam's Club monthly.:drinker:

sunshyncatra

Have some fruit and veggies on hand to snack on.

lxjennie

Thanks for the advice! I will keep them in mind. In fact I will start portioning my whole bag of nuts now...

ang3li

Hey hun.. just checked your diary to see what you ate before hand and i think to help you stop bingeing with the nuts and granola, eat a hearty breakfast such as 2 eggs, handful of spinach leaves, cucumbers, peppers etc or whatever veggies you have..

The granola bars were the first thing you ate that day so you were probably really hungry and needed something filling..

If you love nuts so much, you can have the meat and nut breakfast: Around 150g of meat (your choice of lean meat), handful of veggies, and handful of nuts..

Keeps you fuller for longer and no crash!

RobynLB83

You are stress eating. Exams are very stressful. I'm in law school. I just try to keep my workouts up and let myself stress eat for finals month (within some limit). I figure, it's short term, a very specific stress trigger, and really, I can undo the damage the next month.

RobynLB83

I portion my nuts by eating them out of shot glasses. Funny visual, I know. Also, I buy pumpkin seeds because they are nutty, but chewing on the shell talks longer, and tires out my jaw (yeah, funny, I know), and the fiber from it fills you up.

GurleyGirl524

I LOVE nuts, I could eat like a whole can of them! So what I've started doing is buying nuts and immediately portioning them out into serving sizes. I'd feel really guilty eating like 5 baggies of them, so it really works for me!

This is what I do also, otherwise I could eat an entire container of almonds in a day.

Mother_Superior

Emisole

I'm the same way with almonds. They're pretty good for you, but so calorie-dense!

Joocey

Possibly the salt.

ndj1979

OHHHHH you mean those kind of nuts..

wow I totally misread that one..

exiting stage left ...

MercenaryNoetic26

lmao!

demmy2012

I had the same problem with nuts, I was eating mixed nuts so much that I got sick. Couldn't control my intake with calories in the nuts. I had to choose between my goal and having piled up fat. Yes they may be healthy but too much of them are not good from findings. I stopped eating them until I'm able to control the quantity I eat. You can imagine feeling sick after eating so much? I had to act fast. If you can't resist eating the nuts then control the quantity. As for me, I'm on a short break. Good luck with your exams

demmy2012

Lolzzzzzzzz. Really

cheyennekl

OHHHHH you mean those kind of nuts..

wow I totally misread that one..

exiting stage left ...

Was waiting for this :happy: