how to stop mindless eating/snacking?

BeautyFromPain

i work in fast food 50 hours a week. It can get VERY stressful and I stress eat a lot!
How do I work on stopping this?

gazz777

Bump.

LyriByri

I drink water when I am in the mood for snacking. It has helped me.

meerkat70

Water does help. Have healthy stuff lying about so you can pick it up when snacky. And what works best for me is not to put anything in my mouth until I've logged it. Seeing the number of calories down there does make you evaluate whether you really, really want it.

lacroyx

water and gum.

elcieloesazul

I agree with the above about gum. I go through one pack in about a week, because of this. I also try to keep veggies in the house. Carrots are great (about 35 calories a raw serving). The mindless part, however, seems like something emotional to address. I know that whenever I watch TV, I'm usually bored and antsy. This leads me to take the walk of shame to the pantry. Try to notice when cravings for snacks are triggered and try to remove yourself from the situation. Being away from the house helps me a lot because there's no opportunity to grab and eat something I'm not actually hungry for.

PetersonMatthew

I always had water by my side and had it when i felt hungry. and if you have to snack have some fresh veggies with you. Green beans or cherry tomatoes are some of my fav.

balancebean

I am a compulsive overeater. I have done the following things to end that vicious cycle: 1) Only eat at specific times. 2) Avoid white flour and white sugar. 3) Avoid eating trigger foods and trigger time periods. Hope that helps.

lovinbutterflys

I say think twice. It is so easy to grab the first thing but before you pop that bad food choice in your mouth think twice. "Everything is Permissible but not Beneficial". You can have that bad food choice but will it benefit you in anyway......? I doubt it will except make you feel bad for eating it. I also have a stash of almonds around everywhere. I even keep a can in my purse! lol I also like to carry a few peppermint candy with me. The fresh taste of peppermint in your mouth makes you alittlle less likely to eat something bad. But I believe my best advice is to always think twice! Rachel

cartea01

That's a great piece of advice about logging it first! I do that! Tonight I was thinking about take out but after seeing the number of calories, I came home and made an omelette instead!

MelanieAG05

chew gum and drink water or tea

castadiva

Fizzy water, and keeping healthy snacks on hand. Good luck!

aaleigha1

I have been using 'the beck diet solution' and before the diet police arrive may I just say she used the word not in the restrictive sense but in the sense of what is eaten

Beck is not a diet per se but helps you learn the techniques of sticking with your chosen plan - the psychosocial aspects to help you chosen plan work for you
it deals with how not to over eat how to not eat mindlessly how to deal with food pushers )you know the well meaning that want to share with you)
I have lost one pound a week since using the plan - might not seem much but for some one who is 54 and inactive due to health problems let me tell you its a lot of weight for me to drop so consistently

message me if you want to no more and I can give you a better outline
I have done the 6 week plan and I intend to start again at week one day on the beginning of january as a refresher

daffodilsoup

I keep a big filled water bottle and a pack of minty gum on hand at all times.

pupcamper

Gum makes me hungry! I try to drink 8-10 glasses of water everyday throughout the day and this helps, I also have drastically reduced the amount of processed sugar/flour/bad carby stuff in what I eat - this has been amazing for me, if I don't eat much of it I don't want more of it and it totally takes away my desire to eat all that stuff which I used to eat to excess!

PennyNickel14

Have you thought about yoga or meditation....

One of my MPF friends always says "if hunger is not the problem, food is not the solution".

I am a stress eater and am working on it !!

Helloitsdan

Create snacks the night before and stick to them!
Nuts:
1/8 cup of almonds
1/8 cup of pistachios
160 calories.

Baby carrots! 30calories a serving and very filling!
Celery sticks with laughing cow cheese! Appx 70calories per 4 sticks!

1/4 of a cadbury dark chocolate bar. 200calories!

Pretzel thins and hummus! Sabra makes a snack pack BTW. 160calories!

Newton Thins by Fig Newtons! 3 cookies 140calories.

You can fit a lot of these into your daily intake if you are in the 1600 calorie range.

Sargento cheese sticks 70calories a stick!

MJ7910

honestly this is what i do... it's pretty intense.

i consciously and sometimes out loud say to myself "I am going to stop eating this after a bite"... or i'll say "I am not going to eat this"... i will seriously look at myself in the mirror while i say it... it keeps me honest... i know it sounds a little nuts but it works.

just remember - Eating is always a decision, nobody forces your hand to pick up food and put it into your mouth." - Albert Ellis

Keep yourself accountable to yourself. Log those calories... think about it... by not thinking about snacking we give ourselves permission to over indulge. one is ok. 12 is not.

get some good mantras for yourself. write them down. say them (in the mirror if possible). remember you are trying to be healthy and good to yourself. you are taking good care of yourself by not letting yourself overindulge.

Acg67

Acquire Willpower...

Elizabeth_C34

Do some relaxation breathing exercises or something during work to calm you down. Stress is a diet killer.

Also, don't believe that you CAN'T control anything. You can, but you are making choices not to.

Shanna_Inc86

Acquire Willpower...

Says the faceless 6 pack :laugh:

Gum, tea, water...

Maybe its a bad habit but I use to snap a rubber band on my wrist everytime I'd reach for junk....really started to hurt

firedragon064

You have to find a way to release the stress . Work out does work for me. A quick walk also do it for me.
What is your hobby? what do you enjoy? How about just look at picture of your family, kids

Don't eat food when you are stress.
But if you have stress and have to eat,
take at least 10 deep breath -Breath in- I know that I'm feeling ---- (angry/upset/worry)
Breath out - I let go of that feeling....
And when you eat, eat in mindful, chew your food several times, savor the flavor, don't think about anything else.

rachelcschmidt

I juuust started actively using this site and reading these forums, but I think what's working for me is just being a little bit better than the day before. I know that if I go "cold turkey" on all my old habits, I'm going to fail. But if I'm honest with myself, write every bite down, and have a little more self control tomorrow than I did today, I'll see some results. Coffee, for example. It took me about a month to completely cut out my 3 big cups of sugary creamed coffee and switch to tea, but it's done! And I NEVER thought I would say that. This week, I'm switching out the bites of random sweet treats for homemade smoothies and vegetable juice. And in 3 days of cutting down, I've almost cut them out. The more I get used to writing it down, the more I want to succeed today! And if I recognize I binged, then I hop on my elliptical and bust it out until I've made up for it!

stephanie_salvi

When I worked in a restaurant, I had to be very strict. I would not eat anything from the restaurant. Nothing. Not a french fry or sip of soda. All I allowed myself to eat was what I brought. It was very hard, but for me it was a necessity. I don't do much of anything halfway.

rbbrrmqn

To be honest, this just recently 'hit' me - whatever I put into MY mouth, I have to be the one to work it back off again!!! THAT right there makes me think A LOT B4 I put things into MY mouth--good luck!!

2Bgoddess

. Everyone talks about this "journey" being a lifestyle change. If your position now hinders your success as you strive to be healthy, then maybe a healthy choice is not necessarily just about your choice in food or snacks.

Would it be terrible for me to say.....Get out of the fast food industry? Just sayin' I am sure you have many skills from this job that are transferable to something non-food related. I know that is a big change, but maybe it is something you need to do.