Drinking instead of eating

i_love_vinegar

I got way off track the past few weeks, and recently said, "enough is enough." While I do not feel inspired at the moment (I have been extremely grumpy and down-on-myself), I am hoping to feel better soon.

I have decided to replace eating bags of donuts and cartons of icecream with drinking hot teas (fruit, herbal, milk, and green matcha)...a lot of what I am drinking has calories, but considerably fewer than what I was eating.

I was wondering if anyone else has taken this approach and how it has worked for you! Thanks

engineman312

i used to have a soda ever afternoon. i have replaced that with an apple, with no problem.

Justjoshin

If you are replacing your junk food with Tea, fine. If you are replacing your entire diet with Tea, you will not be hitting your macros and will not be providing your body with the nutrients it needs.

i_love_vinegar

If you are replacing your junk food with Tea, fine. If you are replacing your entire diet with Tea, you will not be hitting your macros and will not be providing your body with the nutrients it needs.

Just the junk food. <.< c'mon now.

Dtrmnd86

I started doing this and so far so good. I used to get home from work and eat a bowl of ice cream, have some banana bread, eat a bunch of chips, and it was getting out of control. I bought 2 boxes of herbal (decaffinated) teas and with the cooler weather here, it actually helps me relax more and I find it easier to fall asleep at night. I will also have a pouch of swiss miss hot chocolate with marshmallows if I have to spare calories. That way it feels like a treat with the right amount of calories.

LilMissFoodie

If you are replacing your junk food with Tea, fine. If you are replacing your entire diet with Tea, you will not be hitting your macros and will not be providing your body with the nutrients it needs.

I agree with this but I think you are talking about the former. I often use tea/coffee with a little milk to curb my appetite and stop me from snacking. Also a little splenda in there helps me to stop craving sweet foods.

mcanavan05

MMMMmm.. Donut flavored Ice cream!

I need to start subbing tea for coffee at a minimum M through F during the work week..

EMc4452

I dont replace drinking with eating typically...but I do like hot tea or hot chocolate at nighttime to satisfy my hunger before bedtime. The hot drink makes my stomach feel full...not for long though, which is why I have it before bed. I think its a great way to satisfy your hunger instead of eating junk, but you should definitely still be eating real food in addition to that.

soriondee5

I've been trying to replace my evening junk eating with hot tea. I've been mildly successful, I think I just need to train myself. Let me know how it works out for you!

i_love_vinegar

i used to have a soda ever afternoon. i have replaced that with an apple, with no problem.

I might try this, except with bananas (apples are extremely expensive where I live bah) Thanks!

mkallie

I've heard your brain doesn't process calories that you drink the same way that they process what you eat (specifically, that calories you drink don't make you feel full in the same way that food calories would). Can you switch it up and go to sugar-free drinks? A lot of teas taste great without any extra sweetener (for example, rooibos -- it's sort of naturally a little sweet), or you could toss in some stevia or something. Alternatively, replace the crappy sweet stuff with fruits (apples, watermelon) and you'll at least get some nutrition with the calories.

I don't want to sound judgey -- I've been on sugar binges myself -- but it sounds like you are seriously hooked on the sweet stuff and that is probably why you are off track. Simple sugars have NO nutritional value and really only keep making you hungry because they don't last in your body long enough to give you long-term energy. They basically go straight to fats.

You might want to just take some time and unplug from all of it... maybe a milk tea is better than a bag of donuts or a carton of ice cream, but it's mechanism is the same -- putting sugar into your body. I think ultimately to get back on track you might need to "detox" a little bit from it and find new things you like. If you can get some distance from the sugary stuff you'll probably find that you don't even like the taste of it. Good luck!

i_love_vinegar

I started doing this and so far so good. I used to get home from work and eat a bowl of ice cream, have some banana bread, eat a bunch of chips, and it was getting out of control. I bought 2 boxes of herbal (decaffinated) teas and with the cooler weather here, it actually helps me relax more and I find it easier to fall asleep at night. I will also have a pouch of swiss miss hot chocolate with marshmallows if I have to spare calories. That way it feels like a treat with the right amount of calories.

That is what has been going on with me..it started with a candy bar, a single thing of icecream, a single pastry...until I was eating 5 times the amount >.<

I am glad it is working for you!!! ^o^

oodlesnoodles

I am a very big fan of genmaicha green teas, which are a blend of green tea, matcha, and toasted rice. You can usually find it @ Whole Foods or online. Although it's not the cheapest tea I find I really enjoy the flavor. I try to find the healthiest things I like and enjoy them to the fullest. The longer I go without sugar, the less I crave it - if at all!!!


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cessnaholly

I don't replace anything in particular with beverages but I do drink a lot more where I would have otherwise snacked. It fills me up a little better - enough that I can ignore the snacky feelings. And sometimes if I think I should not yet be hungry (or if I think it is just boredom) I'll have a big glass of something and wait about 1/2 hour to see if the feeling goes away.

It took awhile but now it is working pretty well. I drink a lot more and snack a lot less. Good luck to you.

JennaM222

I drink wine instead of eating dinner sometimes

i_love_vinegar

I've heard your brain doesn't process calories that you drink the same way that they process what you eat (specifically, that calories you drink don't make you feel full in the same way that food calories would). Can you switch it up and go to sugar-free drinks? A lot of teas taste great without any extra sweetener (for example, rooibos -- it's sort of naturally a little sweet), or you could toss in some stevia or something. Alternatively, replace the crappy sweet stuff with fruits (apples, watermelon) and you'll at least get some nutrition with the calories.

I don't want to sound judgey -- I've been on sugar binges myself -- but it sounds like you are seriously hooked on the sweet stuff and that is probably why you are off track. Simple sugars have NO nutritional value and really only keep making you hungry because they don't last in your body long enough to give you long-term energy. They basically go straight to fats.

You might want to just take some time and unplug from all of it... maybe a milk tea is better than a bag of donuts or a carton of ice cream, but it's mechanism is the same -- putting sugar into your body. I think ultimately to get back on track you might need to "detox" a little bit from it and find new things you like. If you can get some distance from the sugary stuff you'll probably find that you don't even like the taste of it. Good luck!

I don't think I can give up sweets, but thank you for the suggestion. I get nutrients from my actual food, although I can honestly not afford fruit on a regular basis anymore (a baby watermelon is $15 here).

I was on track before while still eating candies, I just need to cut calories. Thank you for your suggestions though

i_love_vinegar

I've been trying to replace my evening junk eating with hot tea. I've been mildly successful, I think I just need to train myself. Let me know how it works out for you!

Thank you! Good luck to you as well

Elainepetersen

That is a good replacement for the junk food and coffee or soda but still stay with nutritional foods. Tea has become my evening relaxing and getting by without snacking all the time. I now look forward to my Harney's cinnamon spice tea sachet, one teaspoon of raw honey and a 100 cal pack of popcorn that relaxes me and i breeze through the evening. It will cost you 130 points but well worth it.

i_love_vinegar

That is a good replacement for the junk food and coffee or soda but still stay with nutritional foods. Tea has become my evening relaxing and getting by without snacking all the time. I now look forward to my Harney's cinnamon spice tea sachet, one teaspoon of raw honey and a 100 cal pack of popcorn that relaxes me and i breeze through the evening. It will cost you 130 points but well worth it.

That sounds really good >.< I dont think there is popcorn here, but I am trying out a Caramel and Strawberry flavor tea right now >.<

rml_16

Some hot tea mid-morning or mid-afternoon definitely helps me with any junk cravings or mindless eating. And it keeps me from feeling hungry for a pretty long time, too.

As for those saying she should still eat healthy food, if you read the OP, she specifically says she's replacing the junk she eats. Nowhere does she say "all food."

i_love_vinegar

Some hot tea mid-morning or mid-afternoon definitely helps me with any junk cravings or mindless eating. And it keeps me from feeling hungry for a pretty long time, too.

As for those saying she should still eat healthy food, if you read the OP, she specifically says she's replacing the junk she eats. Nowhere does she say "all food."

Thank you for sharing your experience with this and reading the entire post/backing me up >.<