3:30 pm bingeing - how to cope?

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Maddalen101
Maddalen101 Posts: 307 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone else experience a time of day when all you want to do is to fill your belly with JUNK?
Even if you've eaten well for breakfast and lunch?
I am finding that around 3:30 every day, esp. at work, the very distracting cravings begin.
I try to keep reasonably healthy nibbles around (e.g. cinnamon raisin bread, oatmeal with raisins and a tsp of jam, grapes, etc.), or if I'm going to have a sweets binge, account for them in my food diary.
I am also trying to see whether certain foods stir up the cravings, and others don't.
I am frustrated - I really don't want to keep battling this jones.
Anyone have ideas of how to get through that ultra-craving time of day?

Replies

  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
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    Mid-late afternoons are my danger times, too. I can eat the best, most filling, healthy, satisfying day before hand and still crave the junk as soon the clock hits that magical hour.

    Honestly, this is the only place where I extol the virtues of white-knuckling it. For me it's definitely a mental thing and it's going to take a long time to break it.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    By 3:30 it was been 3-4 hours since lunch and my body needs food. A protein snack and fruit usually do the trick for me. The brain needs glucose to work and mine seems to deplete it's glucose quickly and needs frequent replenishing.
  • lucasriggs
    lucasriggs Posts: 131
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    I just try to keep that kind of binge type food away from me.
  • CoachJake83
    CoachJake83 Posts: 108
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    Too much sugar in your diet. Sugar causes insulin spikes which will leave your blood sugar level lower than where it was before hence the cravings.

    My suggestion is cut out refined, white, or bleached / enriched carbs and most sugars especially your raisins. When you do eat a meal make sure the carbs are low glycemic and that you eat them with protein to slow digestion and fats to help absorption of nutrients and hormone regulation.

    Also make sure you're getting enough sleep. If you don't get 8 hours (ie waking up before your alarm goes off feeling refreshed) it can cut glucose flow to the brain by a huge amount which causes massive carb cravings.

    You may may also want to consider adding cinnamon to some dishes as it's helpful at stabilizing blood sugar levels.

    I've been using intermittent fasting as well which has helped enormously in controlling my blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity.
  • Thesoundofwolf
    Thesoundofwolf Posts: 378 Member
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    Depending on the craving I either chug ice cold water, or do hot tea. Or peanut butter. I allow myself a snack of 100 calories or so, just because I have a thing where I eat full meals (250-350 calories) every 3 hours. But like two or three 100 calories snacks throughout the day (IE: between lunch/dinner and a evening 90minietus + before bed).

    Flavored hot teas are often great if you can't spare the calories. And hot things (foods like soups, tea, popcorn) fill you up faster then cold things.

    Personal favorite on those junk food days:
    http://www.davidstea.com/birthday-cake
  • dogo187
    dogo187 Posts: 376
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    do you eat breakfast? do you eat enough protein?

    do you eat simple carbohydrates?

    there are foods that can trigger sweet cravings, so if you can find what they are, and not eat them anymore you will find that you dont get the cravings anymore...

    i used to get them...all the time! but they i stopped eating simple carbs and well, no more cravings...
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    That's when my Munchie Monster jumps onto my back, too. What works best is to get busy with something, but most of the time I'm sitting at my desk doing my transcription job, and there's no escape, other than toughing it out. By dinner time, I'm fine.
  • amyk0202
    amyk0202 Posts: 667 Member
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    When I get a craving like that I have either 20 ounces of hot tea with no calorie sweetener or Swiss Miss Diet Hot Chocolate (only 25 calories). I generally add 1/3 cup of powdered milk (80 calories, 8g. protein) to up my daily protein (I hate protein powder). I find that a hot drink makes me feel more like I am actually getting food & settles the munchies.
  • julesoa
    julesoa Posts: 68 Member
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    Too much sugar in your diet. Sugar causes insulin spikes which will leave your blood sugar level lower than where it was before hence the cravings.

    My suggestion is cut out refined, white, or bleached / enriched carbs and most sugars especially your raisins. When you do eat a meal make sure the carbs are low glycemic and that you eat them with protein to slow digestion and fats to help absorption of nutrients and hormone regulation.

    Yes, yes , yes. For me cutting out sugar especially refined sugar and white carbs is essential. What you are describing is a blood sugar drop. I used to get that around 4pm. Now as long as I stay away from my trigger foods and make sure I balance complex carbs with protein my bs stays stable and the afternoon cravings are gone xx

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