Baked good and grazing

ALWAYS log!
This will show you how much your mindless grazing is costing you. It's a revelation that will for sure stop you!
Also eat enough at mealtimes so you're not "starving" and manage and balance your calories so you have enough for snacks if that's part of your lifestyle.

Don't go home hungry or have a balanced meal waiting at home. Have an afternoon snack so that you are not starving when you get home. Or, have a crock pot meal or prepared meal that just needs reheated ready at home.

Also keep lower calorie snacks at work that you like. Being surrounded high calorie foods you tend to overeat while hungry is rarely a good idea.

Get enoough sleep. Fatigue messes with your hormones which can make you feel hungry when your body does not need food.

Drink enough water. Food contains water so if you are not well hydrated your body will urge you to get water from whatever source is available.

Find ways to manage stress. Yoga, meditation, crafts, take a walk, etc.

I have this issue - our office kitchen is stocked with snacks like chips, muffins, cookies, etc. and it's all too easy to take advantage of it. I've started measuring out snacks into small baggies and bringing them with me. I let myself have a snack mid-morning and a snack mid-afternoon, and that really helps!

Don't leave food sitting out. I could easily eat half a block of cheese, but I won't if I cut off a small serving for me and then wrap the cheese up and put it away. If it's still sitting out, then I'll keep coming by and nibbling more and more. Put your tempting foods in an inconvenient spot if you must have them in the house. For example, I'll cut myself half an ounce (about 14 grams) of cheese in thin shavings or tiny pieces. I'll put it away in the bottom drawer of my fridge, where most people keep vegetables. I'll get out five crackers, or whatever I've allotted myself (always, always log before eating!), then put the rest back on a high shelf in my pantry. I use the top shelf where I can easily toss the food up there but need a step stool to get it down. I'm a lot less likely to go back for more if I have to drag a step stool out to do so.

Also, log everything before you eat it. It's a lot harder for me to eat six cookies if I follow this rule and keep it in an inconvenient place. If I eat one cookie at a time and log before each one, I'll get disgusted with myself and stop before I've binged badly.

Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »

I agree with what others. My way to combat over snacking is to count out a serving and put it in one of those snack size zip lock bags and then put the box back in the cabinet. I move to another room to eat the snack and when its gone its gone. If I still feel hungry I will drink some water and wait 20 minutes. I tend to think sometimes I will eat because I am bored. If after the 20 minutes I still feel hungry then I must really be and I will eat something high in fiber (veggies).

Good luck I know it can be really hard with all of the food around.

This is good advice. I do this but often I just put the serving of food into a little plastic container or a bowl. A lot of times I'll portion servings out of a bigger container into ziploc baggies and throw the original container away. I write on the baggies what it is, if not completely obvious, and today's date. This not only gives me single servings at home but makes it easy to take some to work or on the go. If I take a big bag with me to the other room, I'll likely eat two or three servings. This way, when one serving is gone, I'd have to go back into the kitchen and I'm not likely to let that happen.

Does logging the food before you eat it work? I've also got problems of running off the rails and eating for no particular reason other than it being there. I will try this technique, bit late for today as I've already had my binge but will try it tomorrow.