Breaking the habit of eating when I'm not hungry

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Matttdvg
Matttdvg Posts: 133 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello. I'm wondering if anyone else has or used to have a similar problem to me. Just an hour and a half ago I ate a nice big dinner. It was tasty and fulfilling. Yet just 15 minutes ago I decided I wanted to eat something else. I was still full from my dinner. I was definitely not hungry. Yet I felt the desire to eat. So I had an apple, a handful of grapes and a light cheese triangle (like dairylea or laughing cow, but it was some random cheap brand). Now, that's a lot healthier than the stuff I used to snack on at times like this and I'm sure I'll still be under my calorie goal, but it's still extra calories that are just pointless. Eating when I'm still quite full from a meal is just stupid and counterintuitive to weight loss. I don't know why I do it. I thought about it to myself and thought about how stupid it was to be eating so soon after a big meal, but I still wanted to do it.

So, does anyone have any advice as to how I could break this terrible habit? I generally think of myself as having good will power - I've been choosing mostly healthy foods and when I'm having something less healthy I'll always make sure it fits into my calorie goal. When I'm with friends and they offer me a crisp or a piece of chocolate I'll refuse. Yet for some reason I don't have the will power to say no to these stupid snacks when I'm not even hungry.
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Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,124 Member
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    It takes time to break habits, or to form new ones.
  • lniffa
    lniffa Posts: 718 Member
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    Well, when that happens to me I drink more water or find some type of chore around the house to do. I even go for a walk, so I am not around food. Hope this helps a little.
  • GeckoJari
    GeckoJari Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi,
    I have the same problem. And usually I find it helps to distract myself for some time and then after a while the urge to eat is gone. Atleast sometimes
  • hbart500
    hbart500 Posts: 304 Member
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    Grab some water or even lemon water and keep yourself busy with laundry cleaning exercising a book etc etc anything to keep yourself distracted will work. :)
  • kagenw
    kagenw Posts: 260 Member
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    Something that helps me is gum. If I pop a piece of gum in my mouth after a meal, it somehow helps my brain come to the conclusion that my stomach is already full. Also, I try to remove all the food from my reach at the dinner table so that once i've eaten my portion, I have to actively reach out across the table for something else. The active part is what helps me realize that i'm probably already full and I don't need to eat anything more.
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    same problem here. do you like gum? sometimes that helps me get through it.
  • MrsSpinks
    MrsSpinks Posts: 274 Member
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    I'm exactly the same! If I'm under my calorie goal I don't mind, but when I'm trying to be really good, I make myself a promise that I won't eat unless my tummy asks... i.e. tummy grumbles!!!!
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Yep, time for new habits!

    I've learned to use planned snacks. It helps!
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    I simply stop eating at my calorie goal, nothing more, nothing less. Hunger is irrelevant to me.
  • ratherbeskiing
    ratherbeskiing Posts: 847 Member
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    omgosh I do it too!!!! I try to drink water I have sugar free werthers hard candy- about 8 cals per one. OR swiss miss makes a 25 cal hot coco mix. Hot coco not only is yum but it also fills me up.

    (sometimes I even put my caramel werthers in my swiss miss so it makes it caramel hot coco... for under 35cals)
  • jmruef
    jmruef Posts: 824 Member
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    Learn to knit/crochet. :) In all seriousness, it'll keep your hands busy while you're creating something, and it'll keep your mind occupied at the same time so you're not thinking about snacking. Worked for me - I make baby hats for a local neonatal intensive care unit.

    Okay, it doesn't hae to be knitting/crocheting. Just something to keep your hands occupied so you're not using them to snack.
  • bedoozled
    bedoozled Posts: 189 Member
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    I'd definitely second the distractions, or drinking water - even better, try having something low-cal but hot, like broth or tea :)
  • KimMischke
    KimMischke Posts: 9
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    I do it out of boredom, or if I'm a little tense or stressed. Most of the time I will busy myself with housework, something physical. Sometimes I chew gum. Other times I use pure willpower but I get a little grumpy and I complain a lot lol. And on the rare occasion I just give in. Like someone else said it takes time to break habits and make new ones.
  • CharleneJ14
    CharleneJ14 Posts: 13 Member
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    I would do something to keep my mind off it.. Whenever I do that, if I'm not really hungry and I just want something to satisfy a craving, I crochet or read. It keeps my hands and mind busy. If that doesn't work, chew on a piece of cal free gum for a little bit. It keeps your mouth busy at least.
  • MommaFuhrer
    MommaFuhrer Posts: 214 Member
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    Try Brushing you teeth!
  • bert16
    bert16 Posts: 726 Member
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    I've got 3 tricks I use that usually work: 1) chew gum; 2) make a cup of herbal tea of some kind (currently on a vanilla rooibos tea kick); or 3) brush my teeth! The last one does a great job, because most food tastes pretty gross with the minty taste of toothpaste in your mouth, so it decreases my urge to eat (when hunger is clearly not the culprit).
  • CharleneJ14
    CharleneJ14 Posts: 13 Member
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    I simply stop eating at my calorie goal, nothing more, nothing less. Hunger is irrelevant to me.

    I'm sorry, I just saw that. That is entirely unhelpful to her situation. I'm not trying to be mean about it, but it doesn't help at all.
  • ImperfectXion
    ImperfectXion Posts: 6 Member
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    I've got 3 tricks I use that usually work: 1) chew gum; 2) make a cup of herbal tea of some kind (currently on a vanilla rooibos tea kick); or 3) brush my teeth! The last one does a great job, because most food tastes pretty gross with the minty taste of toothpaste in your mouth, so it decreases my urge to eat (when hunger is clearly not the culprit).

    ^^^^ This. It all helps. Especially the gum and brushing of teeth.
  • Alison__
    Alison__ Posts: 107
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    This is exactly what I used to have problems with! Exactly! Eating without thinking about it, although I was never really hungry. For me, the hardest part was to realize that no, I'm not hungry, I'm bored - go do something else.

    Now, I wait until I can feel my hunger before I eat, otherwise I keep myself busy in order to not think of food.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    I simply stop eating at my calorie goal, nothing more, nothing less. Hunger is irrelevant to me.

    I'm sorry, I just saw that. That is entirely unhelpful to her situation. I'm not trying to be mean about it, but it doesn't help at all.

    Good thing he has plenty of other responses to choose from

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