How to stop snacking!!!

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  • LisaGetsMoving
    LisaGetsMoving Posts: 664 Member
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    I can eat anything I want so long as I plan for it. A turkey or tuna sandwich with chips/crisps measured out and a half an apple is a hearty lunch for me. A scoop of ice cream portioned out (1/2 cup) into the very small bowls I bought just for ice cream does well after my dinner meal IF I've saved calories for it, OR earned extra calories by exercising a little more. That said, I don't keep much of those kinds of foods, or treats like cookies, in the house because of old habits I'm trying to break and no sense in placing temptation in my path. But I am consciously trying to include a few of the things into my eating plan, especially the two things my spouse insists on having in the house all the time (tortilla chips and ice cream).
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    edited April 2021
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    My original strategy, necessary for building new habits rather than reinforcing them, was higher protein for meals and lower calorie snacks - 100 cal bags of popcorn, halo top, those dumb 'ripple cut' carrot chips in an air fryer than tossed in some ranch seasoning, rice cakes, pb power, etc. It kept my mouth occupied with less high calorie, less palatable options while I reset my brain to stop reaching for food for reasons like 'boredom' 'I'm tired and think I'm hungry', and 'I haven't eaten today, I am exhausted, I'll eat a bag of chips instead of dinner'. (Because lbr: "You can eat the carrots" is less tempting than "You can eat sour cream and cheddar ruffles" so I had to actually WANT FOOD IN MY MOUTH)

    My strategy now is basically that I portion out the family sized bags of snacks and keep them with the canned goods, baked goods and candy stay in the freezer, and I never, ever, eat them unless I walk away from where they're stored and sit down. Meaning if I want more than my serving I have to walk up stairs again to get more of them.

    Then I make all the other options easier to grab. Bowl of fruit and pouches of tuna on the counter, single servings of yogurt and cottage cheese in the fridge, veggies precut and in baggies, boiled and peeled eggs in the fridge, whatever.

    Basically I eat what I want but I make sure the more calorie dense options are less convenient to me than the lower calorie and or high protein snacks. So if I just want to be eating or I'm exhausted and food is hard it's easier to grab tuna and a boiled egg than a bag of chips.

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