Let's talk about snacks baby...lets talk about you and me :)

Low fat popcorn, everyday. I make a bag and snack on it all day. 1 cup at a time.Add some grapes and I'm good.

Maybe if you have more small meals during the day. that way you wont have much time before your next meal and maybe if you know you have a meal coming up you will be less likely to snack. Here are some of the things I would snack on at night time (my worst time for snacking)

Snap Pea Crisps (I get them in the salad section at the grocery-they look nasty in the bag but they taste like hot fries without the "hot")
Brussel Sprouts (weird I know but with a dash of parmesan cheese they are filling and low calories)
Rye Crackers with light laughing cow cheese
Rice cakes
Kashi Go Lean with Skim Milk
Frozen Cool Whip with strawberries (great for when you are craving something sweet)

I used to (and honestly still often time have) this problem!! Something that's helped me is that I chew gum while cooking/prepping food... always. And a minty flavor gum (i.e. not fruity) so it will make nearly everything you put in your mouth taste bad. Really- I chew gum almost any time I'm not eating to resist walking by something in the break room or in my kitchen and shoving it into my mouth. Also, try to resist the first bite as much as possible... at least for me, once I start I cannot stop. If i resist that first bite, then I'm typically okay- but after the first one, the image that comes to my head is also the raccoon in the fridge :-)

Also- if you have to have to snack, I'd try to have things like celery sticks, carrot sticks, etc on hand. Because if you do happen to snack, at least it is on snacks that are very low calorie.

Hope this helps-- good luck!!!

I have been making my own veggie dip with greek yogurt (greek yogurt and then I add paprika, dill weed, and some garlic salt). Mix up and eat with raw veggies. You can also us greek yogurt and the powdered ranch packets -- you just need a tiny bit and it is so rich and creamy and delicious!

I also eat a lot of cheese - and love, love, love fresh mozarella, I use my mellon baller and ball out an ounce and eat that too.
and I like almond butter on celery

Let's talk about snacking...of course I am sure that I am not the first person to post a topic on this. Let me break it down for you. I will have a FANTASTIC day when it comes to nutrition--I will resist all office function fattening foods and bring healthy snacks, plus I try to eat around every 3 hours. Ok, now I'm sure you all are thinking...ummm what's the problem here? Well...here it comes--I then get home and start cooking dinner which is different than my family's--but then as I am nuking my food or sauteeing my veggies--I just can't help but nibble on their dinner. Or its evening and I am making my lunch for the next day and I can't help but hmmm look and see whats in the fridge and nibble and snack on leftovers or other things there. Before long, I am basically in a squat position shoving food in my mouth in front of an open fridge-like a raccoon! Don't even get me started on the weekends where I essentially loe it and snack and snack and snack! What's a girl to do! Then when I weigh in--I'll gain. So my question/intervention for all of you is)

How do you all handle snacking?? When you snack what do you snack on??

Any help would be much appreciated!

I snorted my coffee all over my laptop reading that part of the raccoon hahah!!! Okay give me a minute so I can recover, think straight and give you an answer

My snacks are usually, blueberries, grapes, carrots, pea pods. I also really love low salt hummus with unsalted rice crackers or rice cakes. Oh, and a green smoothie, 1/2 a frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 3 cups fresh spinach, 2 cups water and a little sweetener (I use honey because I don't like artificial). Blend it up and enjoy. It makes two big glasses and you'll never taste the spinach
Here's a question for you, why are you making a separate meal for yourself? I have a family as well with a 6 and 3 year old. Let me tell you, they can be fussy eaters, but I don't have time nor do I feel that my family should be eating anything different than me. Are you on a special program? If you're nuking your food, I don't blame you for wanting what they have. Our basics are grilled chicken, baked fish, or ground turkey with steamed veggies, a salad and brown rice.
Good luck with the snack attacks.
Oh, one last piece of advise. Pick a time in the evening where you will no longer eat. Mine is 8:00 when my kids go to bed. If I want to eat, I have to do it before 8, otherwise I'll have to wait until the morning. This helps with mindless snacking in front of the TV : )


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

My favorite snack is without a doubt peanuts! We buy them in the shell 25lbs at a time. They are the unsalted kind which is way better and I don't have the guilt of craming in too many calories coupled with the sodium. I'd say my second favorite is my meal replacement, Shakeology. Great thing about it is that I can experiment with what I add to change up the taste. I have a major sweet tooth, so I can make "peanutbutter cup" or snickerdoodle Shakeology and have not guilt at all and I'm actually giving my body all the nutrients it craves to curb the sweets that I am 'craving'. Great thing, Shakeology is only 140cals and it DOES fill me up.
Good luck on your finds, remember that nutrition is 80% of your overall fitness. Keep tracking your intake with the food planner here and it will help to keep you accountable. Also get an accountability partner that you can rely on to keep you grounded.

Stay away from the fridge at night if that's a problem for you. You can always pack a bunch of lunches on the weekend; then you just have to grab one in the morning and not pack it at night. Also, allow yourself some calories for a nighttime snack. Open your food diary (if you haven't already); I find that knowing that everyone on MFP can see what I ate helps me think twice about it!

Can I ask why you're cooking something different for the rest of your family? I told my kids I'm not a short order cook; they eat what I eat or not at all. They need the healthy stuff, too--veggies, protein, etc. There are things you can do to make veggies more palatable. My daughter HATED broccoli--until the night I added just a touch of garlic salt and onion salt to it. She still doesn't LOVE it, but she certainly tolerates it better with some seasoning on it. Usually dinner for us is a meat (pork or chicken or tilapia, seasoned), a carb (rice, pasta, or potatoes), and veggies. The rule is, for every cup of carb you eat, you have to eat a cup of veggies. This helps all of us keep the carbs in check (rather than a huge plate of mashed potatoes!). There is no dessert unless they eat their healthy dinner. They're doing really well with it. I think the key is to make everything flavorful; just because you're counting calories doesn't mean your food has to be bland. You might want to start slowly introducing healthier foods to your family; they'll benefit from your lifestyle change, too!

I chew a lot of gum (much to the annoyance of my co-workers since I am an unaware popper). But it helps. But I also keep my dried fruit and nut mixes at the ready. I also do fruits and veggies, but one of my guilty pleasures is corn chips. And I also like to drink hot tea.

Here's a question for you, why are you making a separate meal for yourself? I have a family as well with a 6 and 3 year old. Let me tell you, they can be fussy eaters, but I don't have time nor do I feel that my family should be eating anything different than me. Are you on a special program? If you're nuking your food, I don't blame you for wanting what they have. Our basics are grilled chicken, baked fish, or ground turkey with steamed veggies, a salad and brown rice.
Good luck with the snack attacks.



Yes, agreed. Our kids (11yrs, 4yrs) eat what we eat. Very few exceptions, like yesterday we had tuna casserole and the kids wanted soup and sandwiches (easy, no worries) Example, if we eat pork stir fry, they still have to pick out veggies (usually broccoli and peppers) and meat from the pan.

Mindless snacking while watching tv? Go to bed early, keep your hands busy? Manicures? Everytime you pick up that snacky nibble, ask yourself "do I really need it?" More or less your answer is no. Look at the clock to remind yourself that in "x" minutes I'll be eating again.

There have been times where I chant in my head "no no no no no no" when standing in front of the fridge for no reason only to eat out of bordom LOL You can do this! Stay strong!

Great post! I asked the very same thing on my page earlier...

Before long, I am basically in a squat position shoving food in my mouth in front of an open fridge-like a raccoon!

Print out your post on your fridge and read it before opening to remind yourself how it upsets you.

Losing weight is also a mental thing.

Before you do it just think about how hard you want to lose weight.

My snack is typically PB spread on fruit or a protein bar, sometimes on chocolate.