Snacking at the office...

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lauraeisenman1
lauraeisenman1 Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
HELP! I always find myself craving unhealthy snacks inbetween my meals at work.

Before you remind me to eat 6 small meals through the day, I try and have almonds mid-morning and an apple or something with sugar in the afternoon. It seems like 30 minutes later, I dive into my snack size hershey bar stash or binge on 2 of my protein bars!

Has anyone found ways to cope with this challenge? Please share your wisdom!

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I see nothing unhealthy here! Okay maybe if it was one of those gynormous Hershey bars.
    I find if I eat breakfast too early, I'm more hungry throughout the day. I just put it off a couple of hours and I'm golden.
  • Mistraal1981
    Mistraal1981 Posts: 453 Member
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    I'm lucky in that where I work there are no vending machines or things like that so I can only eat what I take with me to work. If you don't take it you can't eat it. Maybe that could work for you?
  • marissanik
    marissanik Posts: 344 Member
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    Maybe try to spare some calories throughout your other meals so you can add another snack during the day. Personally I would bring some fruit, veggies, or popcorn to satisfy my need to munch.
  • angela233Z
    angela233Z Posts: 312 Member
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    My advice is the opposite. We have tons of free snacks in the office and I find once I start I can't stop. I try not to have any snacks during the day and go for a quick walk around the block instead. I find a lot of snacking is just a need for a break from work.

    If I do snack, I find greek yogurt with Chia seeds to be filling because of fiber, omega's and protein.

    good luck
  • debubbie
    debubbie Posts: 767 Member
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    Whenever I find myself struggling at work I break into my stash of healthier snacks (fruit, nuts, mini bags of popcorn, a few chocolate covered pretzels, soup, flatouts, nutella, oatmeal and peanut butter) that I keep mainly for this purpose or if I forget my lunch. I also drink a big glass of flavored water and this usually helps to end the hunger pains for a few hours, or until it is time for the next meal. I found that I was feeling hungry at work and would go hit the snack machine for a candy bar and sometimes a pop. I was eating 500 calories of crap and decided to bring in snacks to prevent a binge fest on unhealthy food.

    Another trick that I have learned that helps me is to eat my fruit with some nuts as snack. The amount of the fruit with the protein and fat in the nuts helps me to fill fuller longer and I don't find myself looking for snacks later. These are ideas that work for me and you may find helpful.
  • lauraeisenman1
    lauraeisenman1 Posts: 30 Member
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    Really like the idea of the popcorn...

    It seems like once I start, it's impossible to stop like a few people referenced. Thanks for sharing the thoughts!!
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    There isn't any need to eat 6 small meals a day. I actually don't snack at all, because I find that it causes me to want to over-eat. I much prefer having 3-4 large meals in the day - the only "snacks" are when I eat before/after the gym if needed, or eat part of my meal while I"m waiting for the rest of it to finish cooking.

    I agree wtih Angela, see if your snacking is really based on hunger or if it's just based on needing to have a break from your normal work day. Or it could just be thirst.

    ETA: if it is a hunger thing, I'd say prepare snacks in the morning and bring them to work. So if you know that you tend to crave a snack 3x during the work day, then prepare 3 snacks for yourself. Only eat the snacks that you prepared. You might just be needing to wait a while for your body to start digesting and register that you're no longer hungry.

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