Do nuts trigger overeating for anybody else? Just me?

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Replies

  • Rowan63
    Rowan63 Posts: 6
    I hate all types of nuts (yet strangely, love peanut butter) but I know that can't-stop-once-you-start craving very well!

    You could limit your purchase of them, perhaps by only buying one small single-portion packet at a time, and eating it when you won't be able to go out and get more that day, like as a snack later at night when your local store is closed and you can't just get more from your cupboards. Making sure I don't have access to the things I know I will crave more of after eating works well for me. If you drive, you might feel too silly to get in the car to go all the way to a 24 hour shop just for a bag of nuts.


    Not strange at all since peanuts are not nuts... ;)
  • enzosmama
    enzosmama Posts: 134 Member
    As long as I get the 100 cal packs of dry roasted almonds or pre-measure them myself from a larger bag I'm ok. But given a bag to eat out of, forget it.
  • shewasanicon
    shewasanicon Posts: 2 Member
    For me, I only ear raw nuts. I think the salt triggered me to want more. Just a suggestion. :)
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    I steer clear of nuts for this very reason. A serving of nuts is a joke, and eating more means I have to eat a lot less the rest of the day. Nah, too calorie dense for me, especially since they don't fill me up at all.

    My husband is bulking and I make him a homemade mixture of his favorites: cashews, pistachios, sunflower seeds, glazed pecans, regular peanuts, honey roasted peanuts, semi-sweet chocolate chips, raisins and peanut M&Ms. I separate them into 1/2 cup servings instead of the usual 1/4 cup and it's over 500 calories for one little bag of nuts. Good for him, since he needs to get in 4000 calories a day just to gain a pound a week, but I steer clear of them.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    Yes, especially the salty ones.

    This.

    But no, seriously.

    Pre-portion. Buy a bag/jar/can/whatever, weigh out servings in ziploc bags, and that should help. That's what I always do.

    Just limit yourself to 2.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    I only eat unsalted & unroasted nuts myself, and find them ok to eat in moderation. I do find when I eat a handful of almonds though for example, they don't really sate my hunger unless I eat them with something else, usually a small piece of dark chocolate.

    Apparently you're not alone though, many people have difficulty eating nuts in moderation, so if they're a trigger food, perhaps just avoid them, or else include them in set portions with something else that will fill you. For example, my morning breakfast is simply yoghurt, berries, nuts and seeds, and it seems to work nicely in terms of filling me.

    Oh, I did find it a lot easier to be filled by my occasional handful of almonds as a snack, when I ate each almond individually instead of just popping two or three into my mouth at a time :) Also portion control is important with nuts, as its so easy to eat a lot of calories quickly if you go overboard on them.
  • stillhere1981
    stillhere1981 Posts: 119 Member
    I brought a tub of trail mix from Target with me to work before I started watching what I eat. I thought I would save money that way. I ended up eating the whole thing in three days (no wonder I gained a bunch of weight in the last three months!) Now I buy the individually wrapped serving sizes and it keeps me in check.
  • jadeous
    jadeous Posts: 133 Member
    I had this problem until I started eating plain raw nuts, no salt or other yummy stuff :(
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Yes, especially the salty ones.

    This.

    But no, seriously.

    Pre-portion. Buy a bag/jar/can/whatever, weigh out servings in ziploc bags, and that should help. That's what I always do.

    Just limit yourself to 2.

    2 handfuls.
  • aethre
    aethre Posts: 150 Member
    Hahahahah, I once switched to nuts instead of Skittles during a stressful period at work. I put on 3lbs in a week. XD
  • mygnsac
    mygnsac Posts: 13,413 Member
    If I have salted ones I really do tend to over eat. Plain ones, not so much. :)

    Ha! I'm the opposite. The salty ones I can take or leave. It's the raw and the unsalted roasted nuts that call to me.
  • Pamelicious1988
    Pamelicious1988 Posts: 16 Member
    I adore nuts, too, but I've restricted myself to raw only. You can read up on that if you don't know how roasting and salting turns a healthful snack into junk food, more or less.

    I usually eat raw almonds, and my MFP listing gives them by count rather than by the gram (10 = 70 calories), so I know too well how I used to sabotage myself by popping a handful every time I walked through the kitchen. Now I mix them with an ounce or so of organic raisins or dried cherries and snack on them while I watch TV, instead of the candy, chocolate, chips, and ice cream I used to much on for an evening treat.

    For some reason, I tend to overeat raw cashews—something about the creamy texture. I rarely eat nut butters, just add a little tahini to recipes or smoothies. At 1,240 calories a day with little regular exercise to create a calorie deficit, I just can't afford them for now.
  • More than once I have been tempted by a bag of pistachios at Trader Joe's and played in-the-cart-no-out-of-the-cart-no-in-the-cart-no-out-of-the-cart until I manage to walk away from them. I know that once I open that bag, they are as good as gone. They are the only nut that I have no self-control over. None.
  • krio33
    krio33 Posts: 2
    It does for me. But I have realized that a big part of the trigger is actually that I get super thirsty, and instead of realizing I need to drink water I end up indulging in more peanuts/almonds/cashews/nut butters. I have started drinking a cup of water before my nuts treat and then a cup after (or half water bottle before / half after). It definitely curbs my craving.
  • Cheeseburger85
    Cheeseburger85 Posts: 63 Member
    I definitely giggled through this entire thread.
  • ILoveGingerNut
    ILoveGingerNut Posts: 367 Member
    I easily overeat nuts as I like to munch on cruchy stuff.. so I only buy small bags of about 200 cal each (haven't found anything smaller and I do not have the self control to buy a big bag and prepare portions myself..).
    I think oat biscuits make me crave more for some reason, so I stick to a bread roll instead.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    I hope so
  • Caligirl0
    Caligirl0 Posts: 14 Member
    roasted and salted yes.
    Pre packaged raw almonds, no...
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    I dislike nuts. Of any kind. Peanuts excluded, of course, but those are legumes, not nuts.
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,854 Member
    Nuts don't make me hungry but I'm not surprised you aren't the only one. Everyone is different. I eat about a dozen unsalted roasted almonds a day and about the same amount of unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts.
  • whovian67
    whovian67 Posts: 608 Member
    Nuts may as well be potato chips or cookies for me. I can eat a ton. Especially cashews...

    Ditto....

    PB2 powder has chocolate and peanut butter flavors and 85% less calories than peanut butter..... again .. I digress
  • sarahanncarson
    sarahanncarson Posts: 50 Member
    I'm so happy I'm not crazy! I went to Fresh Market where you can make your own bags of different sorts of nuts. I got all unsalted or raw. But I thought I was going to get a bag that would last me the week. Ya... um... no.... I ate them in one sitting at work. But what I do like is that I can go to Fresh Market, get a SMALL portion and then go to work. If I buy them little bits at a time then they aren't around for me to eat like Cookie Monster eats cookies.
  • I only eat raw nuts. I take long rides on my road bike and always have some dates and nuts with me. Usually I put them together in the blender and make myself little snacks. They are much healthier and more effective than energy bars.

    I think your problem is that you eat treated salted nuts.

    I have given up nearly all processed food and have much less problems with cravings. It is the processed food which makes us addicted. It is designed to make you addictive. Lots of salt, fat and sugar.
  • kdbnmd
    kdbnmd Posts: 16 Member
    Omg nuts I cant stop at a handful..or a serving
    so I don't even try
  • GoForLew
    GoForLew Posts: 22
    I overeat nuts so quickly. I LOVE them, which is why I try not to keep them around too often.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    OH YES. Cashews are my arch-nemesis. One handful sends me into lunatic-mode where I either finish off the whole can or ransack the entire pantry. We don't buy them anymore. :laugh:
  • I'm in the same boat.... Not buying another bag of trail mix until I've reached my goal weight..... Uh what is it about nuts? lol
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  • Telomin
    Telomin Posts: 45 Member
    My tip is buying one container, then splitting it up into one serving each (on the packages it usually says how many servings there are in the pack), so just split it up, put in different for example, small plastic bags, and then you are only allowed to take one each day :) good luck!
  • shutch2112
    shutch2112 Posts: 236 Member
    I have to scoop a few spoonfuls into a baggy or else I would eat them all. Or, I buy them in the individual sized packages at Trader Joe's...