How did you stop mindless eating?

mkrista72
mkrista72 Posts: 1
edited October 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I struggle with eating after about 4:00. I do great all day by only eating foods that I have the portion size and nutritional information for and I am really enjoying the feeing of being healthy and fit. My family eats dinner at 6:00 because that is when all of us can eat together and I think that's really important (my kids are 6 and 7). So, between 4:00 and 6:00 I have the hardest time not eating anything I can get my hands on. Since I have little kids, we do have healthy snacks around but it's never healthy to eat a whole bag of something! And then I feel bad because I ate something I totally meant for my kids to have. I am working harder than I ever have to lose 30 pounds and I'm getting frustrated with myself because I blow it at the end of every day. If anyone has successfully kicked a bad eating habit, I'd love to hear how you did it and retrained yourself.

Thanks!

Replies

  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    bump
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
    Are you eating enough? Are you eating your exersise calories?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit

    Go to the tools section and figure out your BMI:

    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).

    This is just a part of it! please read the link above
  • steffiweffi92
    steffiweffi92 Posts: 1
    Sometimes when I am waiting for my partner to get home from work I really struggle not to raid the cupboards to cure my growling tummy, however I have found that either drinking a pint of water fills my tummy up, or doing a bit of housework takes my mind off the hunger. If all else fails, just have a handful of blueberries or grapes to keep you going :)
  • mmuzzatti
    mmuzzatti Posts: 704 Member
    Fruit!!!! Lots of it around the house. Also take grapes off the stem throw them in small bags and toss them in the freezer. Takes longer to eat one and it burns calories to defrost them in stomach. Now we are not talking about 100's of calories but more than just a regular amount.
  • amberwebb79
    amberwebb79 Posts: 113 Member
    Is there some task you can move to that part of the day, to redirect your mind? That way, it eventually associates that time with cleaning or a walk, or playing with kids, or helping with homework instead of eating.

    I think I used to eat just because I couldn't think of something else to do. It really made my stomach feel bad, and it was an annoying habit to kick.
  • amberwebb79
    amberwebb79 Posts: 113 Member
    *double post
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    I log everything that goes in my mouth so I don't do any mindless anything. Make sure that you work out enough to cover the extra food that you want to eat. MFP really makes this easy, you can do this.
  • tmaksparkie
    tmaksparkie Posts: 279
    Gum, gum, and more gum. And water. I used to pick while I made supper everyday and I did not reliaze how much calories it amounted to. So when I go to make supper I do one of three things. I either chew a piece of gum, have a cup of coffee, or I do eat a small bag of sugar snap peas not many calories their. Good luck.
  • Alachofra15
    Alachofra15 Posts: 117 Member
    I've managed to basically cut out my cravings of sweet stuff during the day, but I still get them in the evening, and like you - after dinner.
    My solution to this has been a low-cal instant hot chocolate. There are plenty that you just add water (i.e.no milk) to and are about 80 calories or less, but I find that sipping one slowly helps tackle that chocolate/sweet craving and it takes time to consume, so you can have it, enjoy it, then forget about what you WERE craving before...
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    I cut out all snacks, period. I just eat full meals.
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