Snacking is the PROBLEM

afia233
afia233 Posts: 47 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ive been on MFP for almost 2 and half months now and ive come to the conclusion that the one thing that has lead to my weight gain (and subsequent weight loss) is SNACKING.
Now we all do it, wether its healthy or unhealty is irrelevant for me. ive realised it is the snacking mentality which determines its detrimental effect. Of course the food your snacking on makes a difference but for me, my sucess lies in days where i have had three square meals. Breakfast-lunch-dinner, wth little - no snacking in between.

Ive often found that by allowing myself a snack i will constantly think about food until i have that snack, now its a habit i haven't been able to break out of as of yet, but the less i snack the better it seems to get.

Ive lost 9kg exactly since December, so it must be working. I am also eating low carb.

I was wondering if anyone has any tips to kick the habit completely. (APART FROM DRINKING LOTS OF FRUIT/GREEN TEAS - i do that already)

Replies

  • kaitlink9
    kaitlink9 Posts: 27 Member
    I find that if I have a pack of gum, it helps. That way when I get the urge to snack/have something to chew on, I can just pop in a piece of gum and the urge usually subsides. That's what's worked for me. :) And besides that, I try to try A LOT of water.

    Hope that helps!
  • kaitlink9
    kaitlink9 Posts: 27 Member
    I find that if I have a pack of gum, it helps. That way when I get the urge to snack/have something to chew on, I can just pop in a piece of gum and the urge usually subsides. That's what's worked for me. :) And besides that, I try to try A LOT of water.

    Hope that helps!

    Try to drink a lot of water** Sorry. :P
  • Loulousq
    Loulousq Posts: 38 Member
    i enjoy snacks during the day but i make healthy choices like raw almonds or blackberries. i set an amount for myself, ex 20 almonds, and dont eat over that. maybe you can try that? set apart a certain number of the item so you're not overindulging. and if i wanna avoid more snacks, i drink water bc i read that a lot of people have trouble determing if the body is thirsty vs hungry and we associate any hunger pains w food. Try some water before you think about picking up your snack and see how that goes :) i don't see anything wrond with snacks but if you're constantly snacking and eating too much, then it's a problem.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Identify when you snack the most. For me, it's when I'm watching TV. I spent so many years snacking in front of the TV that it's now a habit, not something I do because I'm hungry. So now, if I'm watching TV and get the munchies, I'll do something else with my hands, even if it's just playing a game on my phone. That distracts me from the snack.

    Chewing gum also helps, just be careful which ones you choose.
  • jehavin
    jehavin Posts: 316 Member
    I'll just throw in my personal experience: When I started upping my meals to be 500-700 calorie, protein and whole-food dense meals, I stopped feeling the urge to snack. After eating a tortilla filled with 3 eggs topped with spinach, mushroom and a handful of diced ham, my stomach is so full that I can't even think of eating for another 5 hours.

    Also, if you try and make your meals be proteinful (about 30-50g) and fit your healthy carbs in, too, then you can use your snacks to focus on fruits/veggies/dairy. A lot of time, if we don't get the right "balance" to our meals, then our body cries out all day, which we usually interpret as a craving for sweets/carbs. If you have already satisfied your body's basic needs (protein, fat, complex carbs,) then your body will feel satisfied and having a handful of blueberries, (while it may not have the same allure as a Snickers bar,) won't make you feel like you're missing out.

    This is what has worked for me! I keep my meals big and I make sure that my "snacks" don't come out of a box and help me reach my goal of 1 fruit and 3 veggies each day!
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Snacking is not the problem. Your overall caloric intake/Macros are what the problem is.
  • ruwise
    ruwise Posts: 265 Member
    I'm snacking now as much as i used to but where I used to have a big bar of chocolate as a snack I now have an apple or some raisins or some nuts.

    It really is good to eat little and often. If little is the problem for you buy some food bags and weight your snacks out and only have that amount.
  • runfatmanrun
    runfatmanrun Posts: 1,090 Member
    So really, snacking is your problem. I am one of those who likes to snack and my weight loss shows that snacking was and is not my problem...being fat and eating too much overall was my problem.
  • MyPresent
    MyPresent Posts: 35 Member
    This is me, but happens after work when I want to wind down and when working from home. Tomorrow I am working from home! :(

    What I am actually doing is going to bed early, brushing my teeth immediately after dinner and allocating time to read in bed. It is working. My mind gets distracted after reading. Also I just have healthy snacks at home: like peanuts, almonds, fruit, etc. so that If I am going to snack, I snack on something healthy and log it and count the calories. Hope this helps, good luck!
    I agree completely. Over the past two years I've realized that snacking is 90% of the reason why I gained weight and am having such a hard time losing it. The moment I allow myself to begin snacking "just a little" all hell breaks loose. I keep trying to control it but I think now I've just given up on my willpower - cutting it out most of the time is easier.

    Lately I make protein smoothies for an evening snack. Even though I prefer savory snacks, the protein and the sweetness of the fruit fills me up and kills most of my desire to eat anything else. I workout at night, so when I want to snack, I have to workout so I can have my smoothie. It's been working pretty decently in the past two weeks.

    If you want to get rid of the habit completely, you have to look at WHY you're snacking. For me, most of my snacking occurs while watching TV shows/movies, or am really behind on work and have to work at home. If I stop doing both of these I would rarely be having any food outside meals...... but that's not going to happen :) So protein smoothies it is.
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    Log ALL the snacks!
  • mistesh
    mistesh Posts: 243 Member
    Snacking is very much a problem. Aside from the mindless munching of empty calories, the timing is not good. Three meals a day and a mid-afternoon snack such as an apple and some nuts which make you fuller for longer boost your metabolism.

    Some suggest to eat often to keep your blood sugar constant, but that means constantly elevated. Maintaining low levels of insulin allows your body to more easily tap into your stored fat for fuel.

    The pancreas needs to rest, or it gets worn out eventually, as it also does from much sugar. Either way not enough insulin is created, and fat gets stored. That alone should be scary enough to have something done about it.

    Eating without being hungry is harder on your waistline, as blood sugar and insulin work differently than when you are hungry. So if you're bored or stressed, distract yourself with something like a walk or a glass of water.
  • 366to266
    366to266 Posts: 473 Member
    I used to snack all day long. I could not stop myself. I felt so out of control. It was like my mouth never stopped being hungry.

    When I switched to a ketogenic diet I made lots of legal snacks and kept them in the fridge, Like hard boiled eggs, individually wrapped 40g of cheese, nuts and peanut butter.

    But guess what? They did not get eaten! Without meaning to, I just spontaneously ceased snacking because at long last my body was (is) getting the total nourishment that it needs. I eat a meal and then I don't think about food at all for at least 4 hours and often 8.
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
    Yeah, I don't find snacking, grazing, or eating a bunch of small meals to be good for me. I eat two or three big meals with lots of veggies, protein, and healthy fat. I don't find myself hungry between meals at all. Identifying and eliminating foods that were causing me to have more unnecessary hunger and cravings was key for me.
  • 5ftnFun
    5ftnFun Posts: 948 Member
    Snacking is not the problem. Your overall caloric intake/Macros are what the problem is.

    Could it be that by NOT snacking she's meeting her caloric intake/macros better? Therefore, for HER, snacking IS a problem.
  • dovetail22uk
    dovetail22uk Posts: 339 Member
    Snacking is not the problem. Your overall caloric intake/Macros are what the problem is.

    Could it be that by NOT snacking she's meeting her caloric intake/macros better? Therefore, for HER, snacking IS a problem.

    No I think Whierd is right. I saw Bombay mix for breakfast. Eating under calorie goal every day. Doesn't look like there's an effort to hit macros.

    You need to log EVERYTHING, try to eat your calorie goal everyday and eat more protein IMO. This won't work if you don't make it work.
  • 5ftnFun
    5ftnFun Posts: 948 Member
    Snacking is not the problem. Your overall caloric intake/Macros are what the problem is.

    Could it be that by NOT snacking she's meeting her caloric intake/macros better? Therefore, for HER, snacking IS a problem.

    No I think Whierd is right. I saw Bombay mix for breakfast. Eating under calorie goal every day. Doesn't look like there's an effort to hit macros.

    You need to log EVERYTHING, try to eat your calorie goal everyday and eat more protein IMO. This won't work if you don't make it work.

    Oh yeah, I see her diary. Did not look at it before, so my apologies. I still, however, believe that for some people that snacking is the problem. If not for the snacking, some would not have a weight control problem at all. But yes, you are right. OP needs to log her diary and make a better effort on hitting her macros.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    I do think snacking..especially on carbs...keeps me thinking about food all day long. I now snack only on a 100 calorie pack of almonds or a 50 calorie baby bell light cheese. The protein satisfies my hunger...doesn't feed it.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    If snacking becomes a habit, then it is part of the problem because you may not even realize you're doing it. And when you don't realize you're doing it (or how much you're actually eating), how can you accuratly keep track of your daily calories? For me, habitual snacking between meals, in front of the tv, while reading or playing games, etc, is what cause my calorie intake to go up. When I was working at the resturant, it wasn't an issue, but once I got a desk job, I started packing on the pounds. Breaking that habit is something I've done much better with, though I still have to watch myself pretty carefully so I don't absentmindedly add calories I don't mean to.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    I found that eating a bigger breakfast helps. Sometimes I eat up to 600 calories at breakfast.
  • singer201
    singer201 Posts: 563 Member
    I was a terrible snacker (read--mindless eating in front of the TV or while reading), and I'm sure the high carb snacks made a large contribution to my weight gain. After two years of lower carb, primal/paleo eating, I no longer snack (though the urge to grab those goodies still exists--I just don't do it). The time of day that I'm most vulnerable to "the munchies" is late night, just before bedtime, since I worked until midnight my whole career and always ate something when I got home. When I retired and tried to eat three meals a day at the normal times, I found I STILL wanted that "bed-night snack". So, I have a mug of tea with my mom when I get up in the morning (mainly so she doesn't nag me about not eating breakfast), eat brunch around noon, dinner around 6 p.m., and my late night munchies (Greek yogurt and berries, fruit, cheese, a hard-boiled egg, or jerky, and a small portion of chocolate or nuts) around 10-11 p.m. That really satisfies the desire to eat something sweet or savory at night, but stays within my food plan and calorie target.

    You have to figure out what works for you and build it into your eating plan.

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