Tips on not snacking when I'm not really hungry??

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Replies

  • emmies_123
    emmies_123 Posts: 513 Member
    Lots of great advice. I have done a combo of these suggestions:

    - Keep snacks out of reach and out of line of sight
    - when I do need a snack, makes sure I get only one serving size (or less) and move out of the kitchen before starting to eat it
    - at work, I only take one serving per day so I can't binge. If i eat it when bored I won't have it when I need it, and once it is eaten I have nothing else to snack on (my office doesn't keep snack food or do group meals)
    - Got rid of snacks that go stale. I still eat a lot of processed crackers and chips, etc, but nothing that will go stale too soon. Stopped buying cakes, cookies etc that would stale fast and compel me to overeat
  • cparsons_60
    cparsons_60 Posts: 95 Member
    When I'm really craving a snack and can't talk myself out of it, it sometimes means I'm actually hungry. I'll reframe what I'm doing as eating half of my lunch or part of my dinner, eat some real food and adjust my remaining calories accordingly. I can usually eat less of the later meal and keep from going over. If I can't, if I'm just really hungry, it usually means I've exercised more than I'd planned and need to eat back more of my exercise calories.
  • almostsuperpowered
    almostsuperpowered Posts: 135 Member
    Great tips. I'll add that thinking about why you want a snack is helpful: is it emotional eating; are you tired, bored? For me going to bed earlier or having a nap on the weekend helps.
  • slbbw
    slbbw Posts: 329 Member
    Pre-portioning snacks and pre-logging your day was super helpful for me at the beginning as well. I rarely know what I am eating for dinner, but I usually know everything else and I can see if I have room for snacks. I also find exercise to be an appetite suppressant when I workout in the morning. So I do a morning workout as frequently as my body will let me, usually 4-5 days a week. I actually tend to eat less on the weekends because I am busier and following 2 kids around.
  • chelny
    chelny Posts: 179 Member
    This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but when I started eating low carb, no sugar, I stopped having afternoon snack cravings at work. It surprised me, but it's true. If I don't eat enough calories for lunch, I do get hungry. But I don't get snack cravings while not hungry, as I used to.
  • Melh1969
    Melh1969 Posts: 29 Member
    https://portlandpsychotherapyclinic.com/2011/11/riding-wave-using-mindfulness-help-cope-urges/
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
    Don't keep snacks where they're accessible to you. You can't eat what you don't have.

    If you have kids, find snacks they like that you don't. Or get them out of the habit of snacking, too.
  • All1971
    All1971 Posts: 89 Member
    avoid getting hungry in the first place by increasing your protein and fiber consumption.
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,572 Member
    Controlling the environment is key for me. I keep foods that trigger cravings out of the house.

    I often drink something hot and find that it addresses the issue (so I was probably thirsty).

    Next up -- check in with myself to see if I am really hungry. If I am considering a snack and am really hungry, I'll be willing to eat something nourishing but not especially tasty -- a bit of plain chicken breast, some tomato slices, etc. I keep a snack to about 100 calories -- enough to take the edge off but not a meal.
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,002 Member
    I sip warm water.
  • SoaringOccamy
    SoaringOccamy Posts: 57 Member
    I know the feeling all too well. Honestly, when I have a lot of sugar in my diet, nothing satisfies it for me. I binge all the time and can never be satisfied. It is a terrible trigger for me. It is the craving that begets all other cravings. I have tried many of the above suggestions to tame this compulsion and found that none of them really worked.

    When I am watching my sugar intake, I find that the need to constantly eat isn't nearly as bad, even if I have a sort of hungry day, a little extra protein usually does the trick. I find that a hard boiled egg or a piece of breakfast ham is about right. And when I do get the urge for some mindless snacking, as we all do, I find that a bag of smartpop or some other mini microwave bag of popcorn is a good choice. Or maybe a mini bag or two some type of puffed chips (like cheetos, funyuns, or puffcorn)
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Mbierschbach wrote: »
    This is why I eat 6-7x a day. I grew up reading all the bodybuilding magazines about needing to do that either for cutting (keeping your metabolism going) or bulking to keep feeding your muscles. Whether or not all that has been debunked over the years many, like me, still do it. Why would you do it? Because it is a prescribed time you know you're going to get food!

    Call it what you will, 2nd breakfast, elevensies, a snack.....whatever. I divide up my calories between those meals. I eat at 6:30a.m. , 9:30a.m. 12:00 p.m. 2:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. I don't have a urge to mindlessly snack between all that because I eat all day long.

    Meals 1, 2, and 4 are always the same day to day so they're easily measured and/or pre-portioned. Lunch is variable (based on leftovers) but still pre-measured. So I'm not mindlessly snacking on any of those things. I know how much food I'm going to get and that it will fill me up.

    You don't need to keep your metabolism going. If it stops you are dead.

    Eating multiple meals a day is great for some people. It would make me hungrier and more prone to snacking.
  • iloverita28
    iloverita28 Posts: 1 Member
    I changed what I snack on and how much. Developing great habits is important and in my opinion it takes about 30 days to get rid of the bad eating habits. I know for me I snack when bored or a little hungry. I replaced my junk food with carrots, nuts and fruit. I also had portioned it all out. You have to get creative with your snacks or you just get burnt out eating the same thing over and over again. Good luck!
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,231 Member
    edited May 2019
    Remember the words of the late and great Jack LaLanne the next time you want or reach for a snack: “Ten seconds on the lips and a lifetime on the hips.”

    Don’t know who he is?

    Ask your parents or grandparents.
  • EmBeatie
    EmBeatie Posts: 33 Member
    The best tip is not to have any unhealthy snacks in the house. If you don't have great willpower as you admit you don't, you won't be able to resist them, no matter how "out of the way" you put them. So sugar, chocolate, sweets, crisps, cakes, biscuits, get rid of them all, then you can't have them. No sugary drinks either. I try never to eat meals closer than four hours together, and not four hours before bed. If you must snack, protein's supposed to sate appetite, so nuts or peanut butter are good, or some boiled egg. I like to have a drink with a little milk (again a supposed suppressant) or if I must eat I like sugar snap peas. If you're bored at home, do some exercise, yoga, ride an exercise bike while watching TV. But if anyone wants to lose weight you have to learn self-discipline ultimately.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    I have used two different strategies for different times and each has it's time and place imho. Fist, I try to hold a couple hundred calories back so that I can have a snack after dinner because I am more Hungary then than I am in the morning. If I don't have the calories left because I just wasn't able to hold them back, after dinner I brush my teeth and "snack" on flavoured teas
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 667 Member
    I finally lost the last 10 lbs when I pre logged my day. Snacks and all. I tend to snack at night, but I have the same tasty snacks (tasty to me) every night and work them into my food budget. It seems to do 2 things. Gives me something to look forward to, and causes me to be more mindful of eating more vegetables during the day, for my health and because I find them filling. The other thing that helped me was carbonated beverages. I drink one glass of diet soda after my nighttime snacks and it helps me to not binge on more of them. The bubbles I think. I imagine results may vary.

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