How can I stop or limit my snack cravings?

0atmeel

I struggle with bored eating or snacking. I feel like I always need to eat. Sometimes I eat until I feel like I can't walk aroud and my stomach aches. What are some methods have you used to stop the snacking?

yirara

So what do you do when you want to eat? Do you have hobbies? If not then why not? Don't sit around and wait for something to happen but keep yourself busy with something you enjoy. Or something you try and then decide whether you like it or not.

stevehenderson776

I do that too where I'll just kind of graze on snack foods and ruin my diet if I'm not careful. I've just stopped keeping things like chips or cookies or stuff like that in the house. If I feel hungry I can always snack on carrots. You can literally stuff your stomach with carrots and barely break 200 calories. The junk food snacks are now just a very occasional treat.

Edit: I'm also a Tigers fan. I live on the north shore of Lake St. Clair on the Canadian side, across from Algonac.

mariomicro

What worked for me: 1) ketogenic diet 2) intermittent fasting. Yes, it took me ages to get there, but now I only eat one a day without hunger or cravings.

mommarass88

I found fasting helped me get snacking under control. Maybe try eating meals with higher healthy fats (avocado). I tend to get really full off those types of foods but that’s what works for my body.

Diatonic12

millerjr5 wrote: »

I struggle with bored eating or snacking. I feel like I always need to eat. Sometimes I eat until I feel like I can't walk around and my stomach aches. What are some methods have you used to stop the snacking?

I use Urge Surfing. Most urges will dissipate within 15 minutes. You are going to have to ride them out like a rodeo because you have been giving into immediate gratification and now your brain has created some deep ruts and it wants you to stay there for the rest of your life.

In the beginning, you will have to fight like hail to surf the urges but with each passing day that goes by it is a muscle that will grow stronger with use. Urge Surfing. Do your own research. Those who do retain the most because you had to put your heart and mind into it. Check it out.

1poundatax

I have found that drinking herbal tea helps. I get flavor and my stomach feels full. I keep healthy snacks or things that are portioned controlled around. I rarely feel like binging/snacking anymore but when I did I would go for a walk to get away from the temptation. I am finding that as I am losing weight the feeling of success gives me the motivation I need to avoid snacking. That being said I still eat the occasional unhealthy food but I log it and move on. I am in control now but it took practice. Good luck!

dewit

All the above plus check out to see if you have sleep under control. If you dont sleep enough, you're going to want that chocolate or granola bar.

Also bear in mind that our brain confuses thirst for hunger. Stay hydrated! Water or tea, as suggested above; just make sure its not sour or black/green, as this can make you hungry.

mommyweighless

Just to reinforce what everyone mentioned about tea above...I recently swapped out my ice coffee for macha tea each morning.

This morning I skipped my macha for a Monster (big mistake) and my stomach is GROWLING at 11. When I drink my macha instead, I don't usually feel ready for lunch until much later. Lesson learned!

charmmeth

You might some of the contributions to thi thread useful: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10812641/immediate-gratification/p1.

Also, perhaps this one: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/45445262#Comment_45445262.

kshama2001

All of the above plus protein - when I don't get enough protein I can snack and snack and snack on foods that are high on carbs and fats and never feel satisfied.

lgfrie

There are innumerable strategies for dealing with what is undoubtedly the # 1 challenge to many dieters - learning to knock it off with the snacking and binging. You just have to find what works for you. It's so individual.

For me:

• As a few others said above, Intermittent Fasting. Amazingly, it's still working for me 20 months later. I eat between noon and 7 pm, maybe not as strictly now as 20 months ago, but still "most of the time". It doesn't prevent grazing in the eating window, but generally does a decent job of helping me control myself between 7 pm and noon the next day, which is when I always consumed a huge % of my grazing/snacking/binging calories
• Lots of exercise: this has really helped me. I do over an hour of cardio a day. I do spurts of it when I get bored, which is the exact opposite of grazing while bored. Also, try to be less bored. Find stuff you like to do and do it. That helps a lot. If you can find something you like to do which is ALSO a physical activity, that's killing two birds with one stone and a really powerful strategy for pushing back bad eating behaviors.
• Keeping binge foods out of the house, completely. In fact, we only keep the following foods in the house for between-meal snacking: nuts, berries, kippers (good fat/protein mix and 130 calories a tin - has served me well for dieting purposes), and fruit/melon. Yeah, you can still eat 1500 calories worth of nuts and melon, but it isn't easy and we tend not to do it. Just not having any sugary junk food around the house helps a lot. As soon as we let chips or chocolate into the house, things start to slip.

But there are a million other things you can try. Experiment, fine-tune, don't be afraid of mini-fails as you sort it all out. It can be done. Takes some effort, though. It's a lot more fun to eat than to ... do just about anything else.

AnnPT77

Underscoring the "hobbies" one.

Especially good: Hobbies that require clean hands (sketching, playing a musical instrument, needlework . . . ) or create dirty ones (painting, carpentry, gardening . . . .).

If the problem isn't hunger or nutrition/energy requirements, the answer isn't food, mostly. If the problem is boredom, the answer is some alternative form of engagement.

lemurcat2

The question that needs to be answered (perhaps only for yourself) is WHY are you snacking. From your post it kind of seems like it's just a habit, and if so, stopping and eating only at planned times is going to be the way to deal with it (breaking a habit can be hard at first but once you do it won't be hard at all). When you feel an urge to snack, think about why, maybe take some notes on how you are feeling in your diary or elsewhere -- and I agree with the post on urge surfing, the feeling will go away. Think about how soon it will be until you eat again, how delicious THAT food will be, how it will be even better if you are hungry for it vs being full from snacking, etc.

If you tend to snack on higher cal stuff, maybe try to transition by snacking freely only on really low cal stuff (celery, cucumbers). Or if it's anything, you just have to be eating all the time, come up with other things to be doing that make it hard to snack (or replace with sugar free gum or a near 0 cal drink like tea) or plan specific snacks (you don't have to eat only 3 times a day if you prefer more) and wait for those.

If the issue is hunger -- it didn't seem like it from the post -- then that would require a different strategy.

0atmeel

yirara wrote: »

So what do you do when you want to eat? Do you have hobbies? If not then why not? Don't sit around and wait for something to happen but keep yourself busy with something you enjoy. Or something you try and then decide whether you like it or not.

It's mainly after a long day of work and I am tired. I work at home currently at a desk job and get done at like 6 or 7 some nights and just wore out. In addition to that it's dark and gets pretty cold where I live so I can't really go outside. At that time, I am just bored, watching tv. Even during my work hours, I tend to go to the kitchen and just look for a snack while working. When I had to drive to work, I only had so much food with me lol.

0atmeel

stevehenderson776 wrote: »

I do that too where I'll just kind of graze on snack foods and ruin my diet if I'm not careful. I've just stopped keeping things like chips or cookies or stuff like that in the house. If I feel hungry I can always snack on carrots. You can literally stuff your stomach with carrots and barely break 200 calories. The junk food snacks are now just a very occasional treat.

Edit: I'm also a Tigers fan. I live on the north shore of Lake St. Clair on the Canadian side, across from Algonac.

I like carrots too but we don't have them often because they are gone too quick whereas if we buy cookies, or other snacks, they sit in the panty because nobody eats them. When I see them, I go after them.

I am originally from Southern Michigan but live in Colorado now.

0atmeel

Diatonic12 wrote: »

millerjr5 wrote: »

I struggle with bored eating or snacking. I feel like I always need to eat. Sometimes I eat until I feel like I can't walk around and my stomach aches. What are some methods have you used to stop the snacking?

I use Urge Surfing. Most urges will dissipate within 15 minutes. You are going to have to ride them out like a rodeo because you have been giving into immediate gratification and now your brain has created some deep ruts and it wants you to stay there for the rest of your life.

In the beginning, you will have to fight like hail to surf the urges but with each passing day that goes by it is a muscle that will grow stronger with use. Urge Surfing. Do your own research. Those who do retain the most because you had to put your heart and mind into it. Check it out.

I never heard of that before. I will have to look into this! Thank you!

0atmeel

mommarass88 wrote: »

I found fasting helped me get snacking under control. Maybe try eating meals with higher healthy fats (avocado). I tend to get really full off those types of foods but that’s what works for my body.

That is a good point!

0atmeel

dewit wrote: »

All the above plus check out to see if you have sleep under control. If you dont sleep enough, you're going to want that chocolate or granola bar.

Also bear in mind that our brain confuses thirst for hunger. Stay hydrated! Water or tea, as suggested above; just make sure its not sour or black/green, as this can make you hungry.

Sleep may be part of the issue. I do tend to struggle to get a good nights sleep at time. I drink about 100oz a day so that does help. Next time I feel like eating, then I will review my water intake since I do track that.

Dogmom1978

So buy more carrots and fewer cookies.

I have a desk job and I’m a little confused about how tired you are. Have you had blood work done? You might feel less tired if you were more active: for example, walking around the house or room during calls. It gets cold where I am (basement gym is getting chilly), but I just dress warmer so I can still get my exercise in.

YOU have to make the decision to get some hobbies that don’t involve just eating because you’re bored. YOU have to decide to make your health a priority and it sounds like that hasn’t happened yet for you.

No one can do it for you.... You need to find your motivation and will power and then follow through. Right now, you’re still in the make excuses phase. You need to change your mindset in order to succeed.

Best of luck!

0atmeel

lemurcat2 wrote: »

The question that needs to be answered (perhaps only for yourself) is WHY are you snacking. From your post it kind of seems like it's just a habit, and if so, stopping and eating only at planned times is going to be the way to deal with it (breaking a habit can be hard at first but once you do it won't be hard at all). When you feel an urge to snack, think about why, maybe take some notes on how you are feeling in your diary or elsewhere -- and I agree with the post on urge surfing, the feeling will go away. Think about how soon it will be until you eat again, how delicious THAT food will be, how it will be even better if you are hungry for it vs being full from snacking, etc.

If you tend to snack on higher cal stuff, maybe try to transition by snacking freely only on really low cal stuff (celery, cucumbers). Or if it's anything, you just have to be eating all the time, come up with other things to be doing that make it hard to snack (or replace with sugar free gum or a near 0 cal drink like tea) or plan specific snacks (you don't have to eat only 3 times a day if you prefer more) and wait for those.

If the issue is hunger -- it didn't seem like it from the post -- then that would require a different strategy.

You are right, it's mostly just I feel like I need a snack even when I am not hungry. Sometimes I eat and the food I eat doesn't fill the craving. I just need something to satisfy me and so I find myself snacking on foods, not because I am hungry, but to satisfy my craving. For example, I once ate a large meal then and hour and 1/2 later I am craving something else even though I am not really hungry. Then I get to the point where I am so stuffed that it's hard to tie my shoes.