How to stop snacking

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mkhawaja08
mkhawaja08 Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hope everyone had a nice turkey day - I know I have to spend a few extra minutes in the gym after that day :)
I wanted to get everyone's opinion on something, I am trying to avoid snacking completely - usually during work I would grab a piece of fruit but to avoid the sugar been avoiding it completely. Any good ideas how to suppress the hunger been trying the cold glass of water - any other tips?
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  • Mycophilia
    Mycophilia Posts: 1,225 Member
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    Chewing gum has worked wonders for me.
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,908 Member
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    The only way I can seem to avoid snacking is to eat bigger meals that keep me full in between. Maybe the snacking isn't the problem, but the size of the snack. When I plan my day ahead, I plan the snacks too to make sure I don't overdo it.
  • weatheredcheese
    weatheredcheese Posts: 112 Member
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    Sorry, not sure I understand, what's wrong with grabbing a bit of fruit?
    If you trying to cut out snacking, it will take time for your system to adjust, to no longer expect it.
    Chewing gum and drinking water are the 2 ways I would do this, not sure of any others...
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,041 Member
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    Don't keep stuff in the house that makes you eat mindlessly.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    It will take some time, but you can train your body to not expect the snacks.

    I eat every 3 hours! There is nothing wrong with snacking if you are still eating a healthy balanced diet and keeping your deficit. Try healthy snacks like: grapes and cheese, carrots and hummus, yogurt with fruit, etc.

    Best of luck.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    I purposely bring fruit with me to work so that IS what I snack on. Why try to avoid fruit?
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I keep my own snacks around- b/c I'm always hungry- I can usually push it off but for so long- so I might as well just have my own. veggies are an easy go to- they keep well- and they can be prepared in advance and are easy to mindless snack on without jacking up the calorie count.
  • mkhawaja08
    mkhawaja08 Posts: 16 Member
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    Hi everyone, thanks for all the feedback I usually go to fruit but have been trying to keep my sugar levels low so avoiding fruit for that reason
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
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    I haven't tried to cut out snacking, but I'm planning my snacking now. I know that I like to have a mid-morning and an afternoon snack at work, so I make sure that I can fit my snacks in my daily requirements.

    Low-Sodium Deli Turkey and a Babybel
    Peanut Butter Crackers
    Pretzels
    Low-fat Yogurt with PB2 and honey or strawberry jam
    Nuts
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I prefer not to snack, and I just trained myself out of the habit--at first I ate low calorie things when I felt like eating and gradually I stopped expecting it. But I was never really snacking from hunger and tend to eat 3 filling meals. If I am hungry before the next one (which is rare), I just remind myself that it's no big thing to be a little hungry for a couple of hours.

    I'd say that if you can't easily train yourself out of it consider whether your meals are filling enough or if you might be someone who does better with more smaller meals (or smaller meals and planned snacks). I would go nuts on that approach, but many like it.

    And I think it's a shame when the sugar fear leads people to avoid even fruit, but perhaps you have health reasons or are trying to low carb.
  • tomsarno
    tomsarno Posts: 105 Member
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    Raw baby carrots and green beans work well
  • lolly715
    lolly715 Posts: 106
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    JenAndSome wrote: »
    The only way I can seem to avoid snacking is to eat bigger meals that keep me full in between. Maybe the snacking isn't the problem, but the size of the snack. When I plan my day ahead, I plan the snacks too to make sure I don't overdo it.

    This. I used to be a major morning snacker. I doubled the calories of my breakfast and suddenly, I no longer feel the urge to snack.

    But I don't see the problem with snacking generally. If you do need to watch even natural sugar, change the snacks up to hit another macro. I grab chicken instead of fruit as an example.
  • esaucier17
    esaucier17 Posts: 694 Member
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    Lots of water and gum.
    Or I figure my meals to be able to have calories for snacks. Always something small and low in calories.
  • GingerbreadCandy
    GingerbreadCandy Posts: 403 Member
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    Oh, I have the same issue!

    The thing that worked best for me was starting to log my snack calories. Now I barely snack or in any case have the snacks very small.

    Other tricks included simply not having things I will easily back on around the house (white bread. I can eat an entire loaf in one sitting….), and there is the old wisdom "If you feel hungry, drink a glass of water instead."

    Also, I found that having a large meal (not a calorie-intensive one), helps me stay full longer and thus snack less. :) So I will pile on salad, for instance.
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    I distracted myself with lots of tea, going for strolls, doing laundry (I work from home). ANYTHING to not grab that snack. Every time I didn't grab it, I felt empowered and it got MUCH easier with time and practice. Took about 2-3 weeks in total.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    There's nothing wrong with snacking if you're hungry. What matters more is the choice of snacks you make.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    mkhawaja08 wrote: »
    Hi everyone, thanks for all the feedback I usually go to fruit but have been trying to keep my sugar levels low so avoiding fruit for that reason

    Snack on some veggies instead? There are a lot of other things you could snack on that don't have sugar.
  • civilizedworm
    civilizedworm Posts: 796 Member
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    I don't know about you, but I hate fasting between meals... and snacks.
  • missemmapeel
    missemmapeel Posts: 69 Member
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    I used to get hungry every couple hours and snack regularly. I saw a naturopath and he recommended changes to my diet to regulate my blood sugar levels. A side effect was I no longer got hungry between meals, so it may help for you if you want to be less hungry between meals. Here's the advice:
    1. Eat large meals (my breakfast is ~600 cals)
    2. Eat lots of protein with every meal or snack
    3. Avoid sugar/overly starchy foods
    4. Get lots of fiber

    Hope this helps,
    Emma
  • holly55555
    holly55555 Posts: 306 Member
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    You don't need to stop snacking. If you want to avoid the extra calories, just divide your meals up over the course of the day. I do this, as I have to eat every couple hours for a medical problem.

    In example, if for lunch, you would have a sandwich and chips, have the sandwich at 12PM and the chips at 3PM.

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