help me from wanting to munch

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flakydiane
flakydiane Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Lately, I find myself always thinking about food. I want to munch on this and that. At first I chose to nibble on chopped up celery, but now it's dry cereal, crackers, chocolate chips, etc... and all these little nibbles are adding up to at least a couple hundred extra calories above my 1250 goal. (I do record everything) Need suggestions on how to stop the cravings and acting on them...

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  • Clash1001
    Clash1001 Posts: 85 Member
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    Well, I suspect it will be different for everyone, but here's some things that help me:

    1. I pre-plan meals and snacks. In the morning I will pre-log everything I intend to eat. Basically, I start with tea, which is my main meal, add lunch and then see what I've got left to play with.
    2. On days where I'm more likely to be eating more/tempted, I try and do a decent amount of exercise - about 500-600 calories. This generally covers most 'indiscretions'.
    3. I don't keep things like chocolate, biscuits etc in the house. If I fancy a treat, I'll buy something pre-packaged in a single serving.

    Having said that, it could be that 1250 is too low a calorie goal anyway. At 1400-1600 cals you will still be eating at a reasonable deficit - have you set your loss goal to 2lb per week?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Increase your calorie goal so you can fit what you want in your diary. Unless you're over 40, female, and shorter than 5'2" you should probably eat more anyway.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
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    Try and get cravings for ice....
  • corgarian
    corgarian Posts: 366 Member
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    First things first, stop buying bad snacks. Just dont keep them in the house. A test for me to guage how badly I want a bad snack is if I'm willing to get in my car and go get it because it's not readily available in my house... More often than not I dont want ti that bad.

    Also pre-portion all your snacks for the week. I have a shelf in my fridge that is just plastic baggies filled with pre portioned nuts, veggies, fruits, cheeses, dried fruits, and even chocolate.
    I allow myself 3 baggies a day, and when they are gone I'm done snacking for the day.

    Drink more water too. people often mistake hunger for thirst.
  • flakydiane
    flakydiane Posts: 5 Member
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    My calorie goals did automatically reduce (mfp default?) when i lost 10 pounds, maybe I need to re-evaluate that. Thanks for the advice.
  • flakydiane
    flakydiane Posts: 5 Member
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    hmmm, interesting...
  • akj_25
    akj_25 Posts: 244 Member
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    increase your protein intake. i found that i snack a ton less when i get close to 100 gms of protein daily.
    i also usually have a bunch of protein bars (life choice brand) which are tasty enough to replace a candy bar but have 21 gm of protein that way i am usually satisfied my craving for several hours with just 190 calories.

    my other trick is : drink a large glass of ice water then wait half an hour if the craving is still there then eat something.

    don't get me wrong: i have several days that i am like a hungry bear eating everything in sight all day long, but when i look back at those days it is typically a day that i didn't eat much protein.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Increase your calorie goal so you can fit what you want in your diary. Unless you're over 40, female, and shorter than 5'2" you should probably eat more anyway.

    I agree with this

    I am over 40 but taller and I can eat on average 1700 a day and lose weight.

    As for the snacking it's because you are restricting yourself...don't do that. Are you going to give up that fun food forever...no.

    This should not be a diet, it is not a temporary fix it has to be a lifelong way of eating and if you can't sustain what you are doing now for life you are doing it wrong.

    Feel free to look at my diary and you will see I eat French fries, chocolate, bacon etc...basically what I want and still lose.

    And when I get this last 6lbs off I will just continue eating the same foods just a bit more of it...

    ETA: to the poster who said stop buying the snacks...yah no...some people have others living in the house and they like those snacks and there is nothing wrong with them...just eat them in moderation...see above.

    I would love to see my husbands face if I told him no we are not buying x for your lunch because Im on a diet...he would be like yah well Im not so suck it up buttercup...
  • shorna_90
    shorna_90 Posts: 7
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    I snack when I'm bored.
    Days when I get home from work and go straight to the gym are fine.
    Days when I have an hour or so wait before my gym starts, all I can think about is food!

    Make sure you have things to do to keep busy - prepare your evening meal or meals for the following day, wash the car, go for a walk, anything really that'll will keep you busy

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