What do you do when you feel like eating?

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Replies

  • LaRaAnHa
    LaRaAnHa Posts: 14 Member
    If I am truly hungry or have a serious craving I eat and work it into my calories for the week. If I am not truly craving anything and just want to stuff my face full of food just because I am bored, sad, or anxious, I try my hardest to keep myself busy. I like to knit and spin wool into yarn, both of which leave me no free hands to snack with.
  • adorable_aly
    adorable_aly Posts: 398 Member
    You need to retrain your brain into not using food as an emotional crutch. Many people don't know how to properly relax and turning to food is an obvious option. Work out what really relaxes you, a bike ride? A bath? Gardening? A book? Whatever it is, start employing it in your daily life, so that you start to automatically turn to it instead of food, and you don't get so stressed in the first place. Furthermore, it' would be great if you have several of these, so you can have different things to turn to in different situations.

    Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • AshleyM71
    AshleyM71 Posts: 3,029 Member
    Almonds. A banana. Exercising releases endorphins. Sex? Lol. All kidding aside, do something to take your mind off the food. Cravings pass...fat sticks! A snack with a small amount of unsaturated fat satiates hunger.
  • eylia
    eylia Posts: 200 Member
    If it's from boredom or emotional reasons, rather than actually hungry, I try and distract myself. I do plan in advance a few snacks I can go to during the day and know they won't break my budget once my meals are tallied as well, so I use them if all else fails/I AM hungry/should eat. It helps me to know what I'm going to get, so I don't just munch on 'things'- and I usually make sure I have some fruit and something savoury in mind so I can satisfy myself either way.

    I drink a glass of water, sometimes with a peppermint teabag or some lemon and ice popped in for some interest. I've never loved water, so sometimes the mere 'whole' glass is enough for me to lose interest/take me so long I forget why I was drinking it in the first place.

    Brush my teeth.

    A cup of tea. Fills most of the holes my soul comes across.

    Go and do something productive for 30 mins, and if I'm still dreaming of a snack afterwards, I usually have it.
  • NYgirl1990
    NYgirl1990 Posts: 180 Member
    Drink a lot of water or tea is what I do.
  • AshleyM71
    AshleyM71 Posts: 3,029 Member
    Take your mind off food. Exercise. Sex? Lol. Seriously. Anything to get the cravings to go away. I hear cravings disappear in 20 minutes, but my pizza craving lasts much longer! SOS!
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    one thing that really helps me (i'm not perfect. yet. I still have my bad days) - is logging the calories before you eat them. so just before you are going for the ben and jerry's, stop and log it. when you see the numbers in your diary, and see how much this is going to get you off track, you may rethink it, or modify your snack (take a small amount and put the rest away).

    Also - eating *something healthy* instead of the *delicious high calorie yummy thing* doesn't always work. (a) because you are STILL eating and not breaking that habit and (b) because you often end up STILL wanting/craving/needing that *other thing*, and this often leads to over indulging. no, i haven't figured out how to override this, yet. but I think that doing "some other activity" might help (give yourself a mani, pluck your eyebrows, sort the papers on your desk, go for a walk, call a friend, come on MFP....)
  • emmecook199
    emmecook199 Posts: 3
    Drink water- cold wter is best best because it boosts your metabolism, and just water in general helps aid weight loss. Miso soup is really good its 3o cals a bowl and its filling. look at your goals. count to 100. read magzines and yeah
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  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 3,519 Member
    My newest way of coping with it, is to turn on the digital music channels and dance and sing along with oldies. I also get into a movie or one of the many Anthony Bourdain programs I have on my dvr. I come onto this site and read of others success. I will even get up and walk down to the park and feed the geese and ducks.

    Bordom and lack of imagination is pretty much why most people get over weight :tongue:
  • CycleGuy9000
    CycleGuy9000 Posts: 290
    When I feel like eating my main tactics are to chew gum or go exercise but if I can't exercise or don't have gum then I will notice that I'm usually in front of the tv or computer and that has a lot to do with wanting to eat because your body is actually telling you it's bored so I shut it off and go do something like house chores or work on my bike, something physical even if it's not intense.
  • happpyhappyjoyjoy
    happpyhappyjoyjoy Posts: 44 Member
    I eat sugar free jello with fat free cool whip. My recreational eating tends to be at night so I plan for it and I always put in the calories for my pm snack early in the day so I have the calories for it. Maybe I should tough it our since it IS emotional and recreational eating but this is what I do.
  • tiniboppa
    tiniboppa Posts: 14 Member
    Such great advice!
    Does anyone have a hobby they like to participate in to keep themselves busy?
  • RosyBest
    RosyBest Posts: 303 Member
    Even if you emotionally eat...change WHAT you eat. Slice up some fruit (when it's sliced it seems like more), eat peanuts, 100 calorie pack of something, popcorn, skinny cow ice cream sandwiches, etc. You can still snack, without overeating or going over your daily calories.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    If I am out of calories for the day, but still hungry, I ask myself if I'm truly hungry. If I am, I eat a bowl of a veggies with parmesan cheese. If I have enough calories and have gotten all of my required servings of veggies, protein, oil, etc, I indulge in something fun like ice cream.
  • RosyBest
    RosyBest Posts: 303 Member
    Such great advice!
    Does anyone have a hobby they like to participate in to keep themselves busy?

    Zumba!!! It's fun and it doesn't feel like a workout.
  • marysidneyherbert
    marysidneyherbert Posts: 69
    In the past I would have come up with all kinds of strategies to avoid eating. After a couple of weeks reading and learning from other people here on this site, I would say something completely different: I'd get some exercise and go ahead and eat. We're supposed to be eating all of our allotted calories. If I get some exercise, I "earn" some calories, and, in addition, the workout itself will make me feel better. I'm trying out the ideas that the knowledgeable people on this site have been recommending. If you haven't read the main posts that are up at the top of the list, then you should do that because they will explain the theory.
  • RNelson46
    RNelson46 Posts: 5
    I drink coffee. I was actually told that coffee usually makes people hungry but for me it's the opposite. :drinker:
  • missveeoh
    missveeoh Posts: 90 Member
    If I crave- I eat.

    But if Im bored and just want to eat for the fun of it- I go to the gym.

    If Im hungry, I eat!!!!

    Lol

    But pretty much just eat and snack on fruits.

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