Do nuts trigger overeating for anybody else? Just me?

yesmikan

I love almonds/walnuts/mixed nuts but on my last MFP diet I figured out that it's almost impossible to limit myself to one serving. I'll eat one serving and then binge on the rest of the container. There's something about that mixture of fat and salt that makes my brain go nuts.

After reading on MFP's blog that pistachios are lower in calorie by volume than other nuts, I decided to get a bag to try them out..... only to find that they trigger my madman-overeating just like any other nut does.

I have no problem limiting myself with other salty snacks, but I have no control with nuts. So I will have to cut them out of my diet while I am trying to lose weight.

I know that nuts are an extremely healthy fat, but I just can't eat a reasonably sized portion of them.

I'm not ready to give up peanut butter, though. HOWEVER, I did discover "Just Great Stuff" powdered peanut butter (just add water) in the organic section of my supermarket. It's about half the calories of standard peanut butter and tastes great to me. HIGHLY recommended to everybody.

MomforNoah

I have been using nuts as a snack but I had to premeasure them into 1 oz snack bags. Like a slap in the face! I would eat the whole bag if I could

MyOwnSunshine

I can't eat a single serving of nuts to save my life!

I find I do better with pistachios because you have to shell them as you go, which slows down my consumption. As a rule, I don't eat shelled nuts on a regular basis because I can't control the portion.

husseycd

Nuts may as well be potato chips or cookies for me. I can eat a ton. Especially cashews...

leahraskie

If you don't have to crack them I'll eat a boat load of them lol. They probably have a similar profile to chips, relatively high fat content and lots of salt. You could always try unsalted? Tastes fine as almonds, but the only other nut I eat is hazelnuts which don't have salt on them...

GeekMeister

I just experienced this phenomenon last night! I started eating some almonds and I literally had to walk out of my house to stop myself from eating them all. Not sure what to do about that...hopefully it was just a moment of weakness. Very wary of the almond jar from here on out.

-Geek

MinnieInMaine

Yup! I actually made myself physically ill eating peanuts in my teens. I was on a road trip and just kept mindlessly cracking them and popping them in and about an hour later - well, I'll spare you the details but it wasn't pretty. And the last time I had pistachios, I made my fingers raw from the shelling and salt residew.

So anyway, these days I buy the 100 cal packs of cocoa roast almonds or natural almonds (I don't care for salted) because of my lack of portion control. It's the best way to make sure I'm only eating as many as I should.

Also, salty nuts, giggity :blushing:

mygnsac

It's definitely not just you! I love nuts (cashews, pistachios, pecans and brazil nuts are my favs), but I do have to portion them out, otherwise I'd eat the whole bag in one sitting. I often pair nuts with fruit and that seems to stop that trigger for me.

caracrawford1

No. Not really a fan of nuts. Actually, I don't like a lot of things other people seem to like. Guacamole (eew...green and mushy, no thanks) and Mayonnaise..I think of crushed white maggots. Yuck.

LianaG1115

I have been using nuts as a snack but I had to premeasure them into 1 oz snack bags. Like a slap in the face! I would eat the whole bag if I could

yep this is what I have to do too!!

AyaRowan

I'm the same, it's so easy to just keep eating them. Getting individually packed 100 calorie packs helps, though I still get the urge sometimes to just eat another pack. I miss having boiled peanuts, one of my favorites, can't have them because I'll end up eating the whole bag or can!

Peanut butter, I love but I've limited to having very rarely because I can't really control myself. I guess the best thing to do is just know yourself, if you know you'll have problems showing restraint on a certain food and don't imagine yourself overcoming it then reduce the frequency you have it.

tectactoe

I buy those tube shaped single packs of nuts, otherwise I would eat the whole container, too. And those 100 calorie packs are egregiously small. Depending on the brand, size, nut, etc., the tubes usually have around 230-400 calories which is fine by me.

ajlandon

I can eat an entire tub of nut butter >___> Sometimes I can eat an entire bag of nuts, too. Actually I overate nuts so badly once I can't even eat most types unless I'm in the field. Seems like it's much worse when I'm trying to eat at too big of a deficit - they're nice and calorie dense, so my body is like "FEED ME ALL OF THIS!!!"

dward59

I can't stop if the nuts are roasted and salted. I've found, however that I can eat raw almonds and stop at a serving without too much trouble.

But roasting and salting make them so very delicious.

amykhughes

This is a total mind trick, but I now only buy nuts in the baking aisle (sliced almonds, diced walnuts, etc) because for some weird reason I don't overeat / binge on them if they're in tiny pieces. I use them in yogurt, oatmeal, etc. I can't snack on whole nuts though. I go nuts! :P

ValGogo

No but crazy people do....get it, get it? Nuts! HAHAHA

seltzermint555

I think if I took the whole container into my living room with me, or even to the table at mealtime, I might be tempted to keep eating more than a serving...especially with pecans or cashews. I know this may sound overly simple and was sorta suggested already...but how about measuring and/or weighing a serving (or 2 servings if you prefer) and putting that in a small bowl and then putting away the rest of the container, in a cabinet where you can't see it?

shutterbug282

If I have salted ones I really do tend to over eat. Plain ones, not so much.

Myhaloslipped

Yes, especially the salty ones.

healthnewlife

i always binge on nuts! i've been getting better at it recently. i keep in mind how expensive they are and how i have to share it with my family

SrMaggalicious

As soon as I figured out nuts were one of my migraine triggers, I stopped indulging...haven't had a migraine in 3 months, and have had very limited amounts of almonds, walnuts, etc. during that time, as well. This keeps me from going hog-wild now. No food is worth a brain-bashing migraine.