Tips to avoid snacking?

Is snacking between meals causing you to go over tour calorie goal? If it isn't, there's nothing wrong with it. If you're getting hungry, what are your protein, fat, fiber ratios in the meals you do eat? I find if I get a good amount of fat and fiber, I'm more satiated then with something carby. It's an experiment to find a balance that works for you

Honestly? Eat more fulfilling meals, or allow snacks that are low cal but filling.

If I get hungry or crave something between meals, I kind of compromise with myself. Before I eat the food I am craving (be it chips, something sweet, popcorn etc) I make myself eat a piece of fruit or serving of veggies. For instance, when I cam home from work, I had all new groceries in the house and I wanted to devour the bag of chips I bought. Instead I had an orange and then took out one serving of chips and put it away. I found I couldn't even eat the entire serving.

Personally, I think the worst thing to do if you are hungry is not to eat. I got rid of my crappy, high calorie, crunchy, salty snacks and got better, lower calorie, salty, highly process snack foods

Well actually, I moved to yogurts, cups of whole grain cereals, and those packs of imitation crab meat. I still probably don't eat the healthiest of foods, but I eat better than I did.

Coffee is good at curbing hunger at times (I'm not a big tea drinker, but I think tea will probably have the same effect).

If you are snacking because you are bored, get unbored. Find something to do when you are bored.

Another thing I do is I will cook a meal for myself (like for lunch, I cooked Tater Tots and a piece of pork tenderloin). Rather than eat it in a sitting, I will drag my meal out for an hour or so. I'll eat a bit, clean, eat a bit more, take trash out, eat some more, surf the web, etc...

I embrace snacks. I like to eat frequently, and I just plan for it. I have snacks that I have found that work for me, and I end up usually eating something every 2-3 hours. One thing that does help me is knowing which kinds of foods keep me feeling satisfied the longest. I don't snack on things like just a piece of fruit or some veggies. Those will not keep me satisfied for long. But combining fruit with a small handful of nuts or some peanut butter, veggies or chips with hummus, or some string cheese...that will get me MUCH farther without being hungry. I try to always include protein & fat in my snacks.

It depends on what snacks do to you.

For me, grabbing a small amount of something healthy or proteiny when I'm peckish between meals stops me grabbing a whole lot of something less healthy. I've recently discovered that my brain thinks blueberries are sweets. These are now my favourite snack. Snacking also seems to stop me overeating at mealtimes. So I make plenty of room for snacks in my calorie allowance.

If snacks have the opposite effect on you and keep tipping you over your calorie goal, then whatever keeps you from snacking is a good idea. Tea, water, soda, gum, taking a walk, not buying snack foods or popping blueberries like they're M&M's... Whatever works.

gia07 wrote: »

I have to avoid snacking like avoiding the plague. I am considering a lock on the pantry that has to be unlocked by someone other than myself..

But seriously, don't do it. I hate my self if I load up on calories that are not within my deficit especially when it comes time to weigh in the next week.

There is nothing wrong with snacking, you just have to choose foods you like that fit into your calorie/macro goals.

Snacks are fine; just plan them into your day's calorie allowance.

I drink water, chew a piece of gum, have a hard boiled egg or a cup of fresh spinach with some homemade balsamic dressing if I feel hungry between meals. For me, usually the water or gum trick works the best as I'm not usually hungry, but bored.