Stop snacking

ellie12345678987654321
ellie12345678987654321 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I can't stop snacking. I eat a meal and then I get hungry again and snack on sooooo much food how can I stop. I feel my snacking is the thing that is making me put on weight.

Replies

  • KorvapuustiPossu
    KorvapuustiPossu Posts: 434 Member
    I have 2 snacks in my daily food plan, I just make it fit my calorie goals. And if you are talking chips or similar, I snack on that too sometimes but weigh out a 'dose'... 25-30 grams and it's enough for me.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Plan regular meals, set at reasonable intervals, of foods you enjoy and give you enough of everything you need but not too much of anything. In the grocery store, buy what you need for those meals and nothing else. Cook/prepare meals and sit down and enjoy them. It's really quite easy if you decide that this is what you want to do.

    Or you could plan for snacks as PP suggests.
  • _runnerbean_
    _runnerbean_ Posts: 640 Member
    I plan my snacks, weigh the food and log everything. Snacking isn't necessarily bad, especially if it gives you a boost of energy before a workout. Eat a little less at each meal to allow the calories to be available.
  • catstratch
    catstratch Posts: 18 Member
    Have meals with enough calories and fat+protein+carb to get you through 4-5 hours. Have them at a set time everyday. At first it was hard for me because my body is used to snacking but after a few months my stomach rumbles at the set mealtime like clockwork.
  • oitsjulie
    oitsjulie Posts: 21 Member
    I plan for both a morning and after lunch snack in my daily calories. Both are weighed and logged the day before so I know it fits!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    2. Look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below.

    3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

    4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

    5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

    6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

    7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Ellie, you're just getting started with mfp. Take it easy. First thing is you need to learn how to consistently and accurately log your food using the food diary and the food database. The recipe tool might be a useful tool for you. Both the food database and the recipe tool have idiosyncratic peculiarities which force us to learn some detailed arcane knowledge to use them successfully, but that's part of the fun. Once you log food accurately, you read what you wrote and you think about it and the weight loss happens first in your head as you make choices.
  • hapa11
    hapa11 Posts: 182 Member
    The thing that works best for me is to plan my day so I'm busy at times when I'll be tempted to snack. For me it's late afternoon so that's when I'll run errands or work out. Get out of the kitchen if at all possible.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    ellie12345678987654321 wrote: »
    I can't stop snacking. I eat a meal and then I get hungry again and snack on sooooo much food how can I stop. I feel my snacking is the thing that is making me put on weight.

    You're probably not focusing on satiating foods and/or need to tweak your macros. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • dlkfox
    dlkfox Posts: 463 Member
    I found that high fiber foods are absolutely wonderful for keeping me satiated. I still budget in calories for a couple of snacks, though. The magic mix of macros for you will likely be different, so experiment.

    That being said, some days are just hungrier than others. Distraction is the name of the game there. Drink water or diet soda. Go for a walk. Vacuum the room. Take a nap. Sugar free Jello is a good no calorie snack.
  • trinabot19
    trinabot19 Posts: 37 Member
    if you HAVE to snack...find low cal /healthy snack foods like fruits and veg..I try to grab something like this if Im really feeling the need : ) I like grapes because I can slowly munch on them and only about 50 cal in 1 cup give or take
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    ellie12345678987654321 wrote: »
    I can't stop snacking. I eat a meal and then I get hungry again and snack on sooooo much food how can I stop. I feel my snacking is the thing that is making me put on weight.

    Pre-log your food and make sure to include your snacks then stick to the plan. You have power over food, it does not have power over you. :)
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
    hapa11 wrote: »
    The thing that works best for me is to plan my day so I'm busy at times when I'll be tempted to snack. For me it's late afternoon so that's when I'll run errands or work out. Get out of the kitchen if at all possible.

    This.
    Also, it helps me psychologically to eat high volume, low calorie snacks like carrots or celery. The feeling of satiation helps me.

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