Snacking

I love snacking too, and fit it into my diet.

I'm also a snacker, so I preplan my day to account for snacking. I also portion out exactly how much I can work into my day so that I don't eat directly from the bag/box/whatever.

I've also found that I have very little self control around chips. I try to not have them around the house at all. I'll have a single serving with a boxed lunch when we have lunch catered for meetings. Sometimes I'll have chips at a friend's house when they have snacks around. Although, like home, I have much less self control there.

Speaking of, when they are around (like when I'm hanging out at my friend's house for 8 hours and they're specifically out on the counter so we all have stuff to snack on), I have a few strategies to try and help deal with them, though I'm not perfect:

• I eat a large but sensible lunch trying to focus on whole foods and plenty of protein and fat because I found those keep me feeling satiated longer than higher carb meals.
• I try to avoid eating anything at all while I'm there; I've found that once I say just one bite, I start eating all of everything.
• I always have a full drink in front of me whether it's water or diet soda or whatever.
• I chew sugar free gum.
• I'll bring a single protein bar or something in a single portion that fits my goals better and keeps me feeling full longer (and I honestly only do this because sometimes dinner ends up being super late and I can't go that long without food).