Help!

One thing I do is pre-measure all of my snacks into single serving baggies so that I know when to stop when I feel like mindlessly snacking.

Don't worry too much about skipping breakfast. If that's what works for you you'll find that plenty of people lose weight without their morning meal.

I know what you mean about getting lazy on the measuring but it has made such a HUGE difference to me...I learned how "off" I was on certain things...especially the stuff I love - like nuts...and steak.
I have been taking a couple of hours on Sunday to make a healthy soup for my lunch during the week and to measure out and individually package everything from grapes to the rice chips so that during the week I can just grab and go and they are already saved in "My Foods" so I don't have to think about it. It helps to keep me from cheating too.

Staying positive and not beating myself up when I slip helps me as well.

Good luck all!

Some things that are working for me this time around are tips I picked up at the gym:

1) Make your snacks from protein rather than carbs. So I will have a small can of tuna as a snack, or some cooked chicken or egg. The protein will fill you up and is not "moreish" as carb based snacks are.

2) Drink lots of tea! I drink tea at my desk all day long. Gives me an excuse to get up and make a cup every half hour or so, get away from the monitor, and drinking it relieves the boredom of sitting staring at a screen all day. There are also some awesome flavours out at the moment - strawberry shortcake flavour, creme brûlée flavour etc... 0 calories of deliciousness

3) As someone already suggested, chewing gum is also working really well for me.

Good luck!!

I like the chedder rice cakes ok but they are kind of bland....I found RiceWorks Gourmet Brown Rice Crisps and now they are the only "chips" I eat. They are so much more flavorful then the rice cakes...they really satisfy my crunchy-salty cravings.

Good morning! Here are my little ideas for you:

1) For coffee creamer, I'm with another poster on trying limited amounts of whole milk and then the Splenda you mentioned as a sweetener. I wound up switching away from whole milk simply because even buying little pint bottles and keeping them in the fridge at work they'd go bad on me frequently and then I'd wind up with no good choices for modifying my coffee. So I switched to the Land O' Lakes Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2 product with a longer shelf life and Splenda. The LoL product has 20 calories per 2 Tablespoons, but it does have a bit of corn syrup and some chemical products to produce the creamier texture and prevent spoilage. Overall, though, I'd rather use it than most of the actual coffee creamer products. If you like flavor in your coffee try adding small amounts of vanilla extract, ground nutmeg or cinnamon, or cocoa powder.

2) Snacks:
a) I like hummus and vegetable strips (red or yellow bell pepper, celery, zucchini or yellow squash) dipped in hummus. I pre-measure out a couple of tablespoons of hummus and pack up the veggies and I'm ready to go. Good hummus is flavorful, contains some protein, and is only about 40-60 calories per 2 tablespoon serving depending on brand and flavoring ingredients.
b) Try fruit with some protein along with. Cantaloupe chunks and pieces of lean deli ham. A good apple and a 1oz piece of pepper cheese (pepper jack or chipotle cheddar). Berries and nuts.
c) A fruit and nut bar? Just be aware of what goes into the ones you pick in terms of sugars, carb fillers, sodium, and fats. I kind of like some of the Kind brand bars. I keep one in my work bag because it can stay there for days or longer and I always have something I could eat if I develop between meal munchies or to keep me from having that horrible "Godzilla Eats the World" feeling occasionally at the end of the work day before dinner.
d) For refrigeration, most of the items I mentioned or something like a splenda sweetened Greek yogurt would all stay safely cool enough in a insulated lunch bag of some sort with an ice pack tucked in.

3) No breakfast... I'm kind of like you, not much hungry early in the morning, but if I don't feed myself something, preferrably with at least some protein to it, I find that I just get hungrier and hungrier throughout the whole day and it's both very uncomfortable and likely to lead to being unsatisfied with normally filling meals and the chance that I'll seriously overeat. I suggest that you do something small and that is either pre-prepared or very quick to make. Keep small amounts of prepped veggies and shredded cheese and eggs on hand and you can make a 1 or 2 egg omelet in 5 minutes or less. Try the "refrigerator oats" ideas. Cook ahead egg circles and turkey sausage patties, toast up a single piece of a whole grain bread and split it in two so you can build quick b'fast sandwiches. If I eat hot cereals I prefer steel cut oats or cracked wheat as they are chewier and have more fiber so they seem to stick with me longer. Regular breakfast cereal just leaves me hungry enough to chew off my own arm 2 hours later.

Hope there's something useful in there for you!

1. If you're not hungry, don't worry about eating it. I've never been a breakfast eater and now don't have my first food of the day until about noon. No point in forcing yourself to have food you don't even want.

2. For snacks you can just keep in your desk, you might try nuts. The protein and fat will be more satisfying and you can often find them in single-serving packs so the portioning is easy. I also keep a box of instant oatmeal packets in my locker for days I forget to bring anything. And you can bring fruit or vegetables with you on a daily basis; you can't store them without a fridge, but they're fine being unrefrigerated for the hours between packing them and eating them at work.

3. I found it pretty easy to go from creamer to plain milk (I just couldn't afford the creamer anymore but the switch was easier than expected), but you might try weaning yourself from one to the other by doing half creamer and half milk for a while so you get used to the lower level of sweetness gradually.

If you eat a little bit of something, say a few crackers or even a few grapes, it'll kick start your metabolism. That's why when you eat lunch, it's starts your metabolism and your so hungry when you leave work. It doesn't have to be a full breakfast, but I suggest eating something before you leave. Maybe a whole wheat english muffin with your coffee, or even just half a cereal bar. Anything will work as long as you start up your metabolism. And I still highly recommend that measuring your snacks thing. Bring 2 or 3 100 calorie baggies with you for between lunch and going home. It'll help you curb that hunger.