Peanut butter addiction?

JellyyBeanz
JellyyBeanz Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know it sounds funny but it’s actually becoming quite a problem for me.
A while ago I discovered a love for peanut butter and started eating it almost every day; with fruit, sandwiches, the lot. Now I just eat it out the jar with a spoon. I think it’s contributed a lot to my recent regaining of weight, and if I go a day without it I find myself craving it badly. Any ways to cut back without completely cutting it out??
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Replies

  • AnneLSam
    AnneLSam Posts: 19 Member
    I too love peanut butter .... creamy Jif. I try to keep it put away since I have kids and I cannot not have it in the house. I feel your pain!
  • passenger79
    passenger79 Posts: 257 Member
    I loooove peanut butter and I blame bf for introducing it to me ( tall,skinny guy that can eat everything) . I know how easily you can overeat on it but it can be a part of your everyday diet as long as you measure it.

    Last night I had dairy free Ben &Jerrys PB and cookies ice cream,absolutely lush but I made room for it with my exercise calories .
    There's also PB2 not quite the same thing but I quite like it.

    I have no intention on stopping my favourite foods just make sure it fits in your calorie goal and prelog your food.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    A jar of peanut butter does not last long. But I'm not going to quit eating it. So I just don't buy it that often.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    What do you like about the peanut butter? Does it represent something mentally/emotionally or is it more physical? Do you eat other peanut flavored items or just peanut butter from a jar?

    Look at your whole diet. Is the peanut butter providing you something like fats or other nutrients that you are missing from other foods? Maybe try increasing those type of foods and reduce the peanut butter. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4453/2

    If it is mental- are you stressed out? Do you do things to manage your stress besides eat?

    Buy a lower calorie version. Buy and use smaller amounts.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I actually prefer peanuts to peanut butter, and other nuts to peanuts (and other nut butters to peanut butter). One way I enjoy nut butter is mixed in a little greek yogurt.

    If it's too triggering/hard to moderate for now to have it at home, maybe try the powdered peanuts (there are lots of different options, PB2 is one, I enjoyed this Santa Cruz brand I found when looking for powdered peanuts). I think it tastes good in oatmeal or a smoothie or with greek yogurt, but it's lower cal and probably not nearly as hard to stop eating. (I would not reconstitute it and eat it plain or put it on a sandwich, however.)

    Another option if you like them and find them not as hard to stop eating is just peanuts.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited January 2018
    I have a tendency to go overboard with popcorn and potato chips. The latter I just don't keep in the house and only buy small single serving baked style when I go to Subway or something like that. When my husband wants chips he buys kinds that I don't like, or goes single serving. Popcorn I cycled through a bunch of different options and finally settled on pre-popped kettle corn. I don't inhale it like I did microwave or white cheddar, but I still get to enjoy popcorn from time to time. You don't have to totally give up peanut butter, but don't try and rely on "willpower" either. At least half of willpower is making it as easy as possible for you to do (or not do) whatever it is you're trying to do.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    I don't buy peanut butter anymore. I love the stuff, but I just can't handle how high-calorie it is. It derails my progress.

    I buy PB2 (45cals for 2 tbsp!) instead and it's actually very tasty if you take a bit more effort to prepare it.

    I add a pinch of cinnamon to my PB2 powder, then mix it with vanilla cashew/almond milk and a splash of caramel sugar-free syrup. You could eat it with a spoon as a dessert! But I enjoy dipping apple slices into it or eating it on sandwiches or bagels.
  • daveredvette
    daveredvette Posts: 88 Member
    can you try and only eat PB prior to your workouts? I have a spoonful before my run and swims. give energy and little fullness.
  • merimeaux
    merimeaux Posts: 304 Member
    OP, as others have suggested, I would also like to recommend trying peanut butter powder: PB2, PBFit, or something like that. (Like others, I also like to add things like cinnamon to it--yum!) I took a big jar of peanut butter powder with me when I lived in Japan most recently (as their peanut butter is way too sugary for my taste, and expensive!) and lost quite a bit of weight without really trying. With that in mind, peanut butter was quite possibly a saboteur for me as well. Definitely check out the powdered version!
  • lujako
    lujako Posts: 87 Member
    crb426 wrote: »
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    addiction does not mean what you seem to think it does :/

    Actually, it seems that Merriam-Webster agrees with OP:

    "Definition of addiction
    1 : the quality or state of being addicted - addiction to reading
    2 : compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (such as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

    Examples of addiction in a Sentence
    He has a drug addiction.
    His life has been ruined by heroin addiction.
    He devotes his summers to his surfing addiction.

    Because words can have multiple variations of meaning.

    Sorry, I know that's not the point of the original post, but I did feel the need to defend since we were getting a bit snarky about it.

    I was about to say the same thing! Seems some folks need to do what I had to do...use the dictionary. :wink:
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Could you describe in detail the texture, taste, and feelings you get when you eat peanut butter? What are it’s qualities that make it so special? Have you ever tried eating it as slowly as you can?
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    There are portion-controlled single serving portions of PB, I buy those. They are more expensive but help with the temptation to over-indulge.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    JellyyBeanz wrote: »
    Any ways to cut back without completely cutting it out??
    I eat PB all the time. Just fit it in my calories and compensate other places as needed. So If I have my two PBJ's for dinner, that is close to 800 calories, but I eat lighter meals elsewhere. All about balancing things really. I haven't had to give up anything yet. Just moderate and compensate.

    FYI, I have had 5 Hershey Kisses and Skippy PB ever night for the last 3 weeks. Lots of chicken and veggies for lunch to balance it.

  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    crb426 wrote: »
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    addiction does not mean what you seem to think it does :/

    Actually, it seems that Merriam-Webster agrees with OP:

    "Definition of addiction
    1 : the quality or state of being addicted - addiction to reading
    2 : compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (such as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

    Examples of addiction in a Sentence
    He has a drug addiction.
    His life has been ruined by heroin addiction.
    He devotes his summers to his surfing addiction.

    Because words can have multiple variations of meaning.

    Sorry, I know that's not the point of the original post, but I did feel the need to defend since we were getting a bit snarky about it.

    And no mental health professional will diagnose her with an addiction to peanut butter (or a surfing addiction). :wink: Some foods trigger folks to over eat, just as some circumstances can. That doesn't make the food or the circumstance addicting. There are ways to deal with problem behaviors that focus around food, and problem behaviors are not equal to addiction.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Slowfaster wrote: »
    Peanut butter has been a problem for me since I was a teen and I recently heard a chef on the Food Network say that one reason we tend to over eat it is that most brands contain molasses.

    I keep sugary foods like cookies and candy out of the house because I know anything with added sugar is a trigger food for me, however my Jif peanut butter only has 3 g sugar so it is at, but not over, my self-imposed limit. Another reason it's in my house is that my son loves it.

    The problem is that of all the sugars, (cane, beet, honey, etc.) molasses is the fastest moving, with a harder hit to the liver and blood sugar, making us want more and more. (Sorry, if that sounds unscientific, I'm just repeating what I've heard.) It makes sense to me, anyway. :)

    How is molasses the "fastest moving"? Does it have something to do with the proportion of sucrose, glucose, and fructose related to other sweeteners?
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
    I have a tendency to go overboard with popcorn and potato chips. The latter I just don't keep in the house and only buy small single serving baked style when I go to Subway or something like that. When my husband wants chips he buys kinds that I don't like, or goes single serving. Popcorn I cycled through a bunch of different options and finally settled on pre-popped kettle corn. I don't inhale it like I did microwave or white cheddar, but I still get to enjoy popcorn from time to time. You don't have to totally give up peanut butter, but don't try and rely on "willpower" either. At least half of willpower is making it as easy as possible for you to do (or not do) whatever it is you're trying to do.

    Me, too. No sweet tooth, but I love me some savory. I rarely buy them, and if I do, it's a small single-serving bag.

    Justin's Natural makes single serving peanut butter. And the price is probably going to help you not buy more than one pouch at a time.
  • skinnyjingbb
    skinnyjingbb Posts: 127 Member
    I would get a small spoon dedicated for PB. Allow yourself no more than 1 tsp (or 2) a day, this way you are still having this but it shouldn't make you gain weight.

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