Struggles at work

erintheinspiration
erintheinspiration Posts: 229 Member
edited October 7 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey there!

I'm just wondering if anyone else out there has a desk job and they struggle with constantly feeling hungry... or thinking they're hungry? I try and keep a lot of healthy snack foods up here, but I always feel like I'm eating. I've started drinking water (this is not an easy task for me) quite a bit. I've heard that it makes you feel full, but so far that is not helping much. Anyone having the same problem? And if so do you have any tips you can share? Thanks!
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Replies

  • Stompp
    Stompp Posts: 216
    Hey there!

    I'm just wondering if anyone else out there has a desk job and they struggle with constantly feeling hungry... or thinking they're hungry? I try and keep a lot of healthy snack foods up here, but I always feel like I'm eating. I've started drinking water (this is not an easy task for me) quite a bit. I've heard that it makes you feel full, but so far that is not helping much. Anyone having the same problem? And if so do you have any tips you can share? Thanks!

    I do.. I've been drinking more water with flavor packets in it, and I do drink diet soda... I'm hungry a lot, but I'm kinda used to it, I'm hungry no matter how much I eat :(

    Other than that, get snacks that have small pieces (I do peanuts sometimes) measure them out, but then eat them one piece at a time, slowly... so they last longer..they taste the same in small bites as large...
  • erintheinspiration
    erintheinspiration Posts: 229 Member
    I'll give that a try! Thanks! :) Also, it's good to know I'm not the only one with that problem, LOL!
  • Ann_Marie_76
    Ann_Marie_76 Posts: 152 Member
    I have a desk job and if I am not super busy, I tend to want to snack. Especially since I sit right next a candy store we have in my office. It is so tempting to walk over and grab some chocolate (my biggest temptation). Try to keep busy, I go through a lot, and I mean A LOT of sugar free gum. Get all different flavors!! And water is key! Try adding lemon slices or flavor packets to it. That sometimes help.
  • nekosimba
    nekosimba Posts: 239 Member
    I keep my Curves water bottle next to me and drink as much water as possible. If I'm still hungry I have almonds to snack on. I count out 15 and eat them one at a time slowly. That seems to curb my appetite for the afternoon.
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    I could seriously eat from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed. And I do. I eat a lot of fruit and veggies. baby carrots, celery, cucumber grape tomatos. I go through probably 3 or 4 cups of cut up veg a day.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Actually I stopped snacking at work and now that I'm out of the habit, I usually don't feel hungry until meal time. I do drink a lot of water and tea so maybe that has something to do with it. But I have snacks in my desk drawer in case I need them, and I never do.
  • ck1rugger
    ck1rugger Posts: 4
    I drink the flavored seltzer waters with a lemon or lime slice, didn't love them at first, so it took some time to get used to them. Its like having a cocktail in the middle of the day!
  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
    *Raises Hand* For me it comes and goes, some days I'm not hungry at all, other days I'm starving... This morning I wasn't hungry (apparently nutella toast is an amazing breakfast for me). This afternoon.... where's the food! :-\
  • erika010
    erika010 Posts: 28 Member
    I don't know what kind of office you work in, but about 8 months ago I asked the maintenance guys to raise my desk so I could stand. I have a high office chair, too, but standing encourages me to get up and take walking breaks. I try to do that every half hour on top of working out. It just helps keep you energized!

    As far as the feeling hungry, I get that way when I am stressed or board. If you aren't quite enjoying the plain water, I like to put either a little lemon juice or just a splash of orange or cranberry to give it a bit of flavor. I also like hot tea, that way you drink it more slowly. Also, what kind of healthy snacks do you have? Almonds, peanuts (unsalted) and greek yogurt all have a lot of protein and keep you fuller longer than, say, a 100 calorie pack of something.
  • kaligrl1
    kaligrl1 Posts: 54
    I have a desk job, and made myself a rule last week.. No eating at my desk, only a bottle of water or plain iced tea. This forces me not to munch all day, and only eat at break time and lunch. This also forces me to go to the onsite lunch room and eat in front of others. It has been working for me. :wink: Oh yeah and i told my desk mate my plan so i will stay on track. Dont want her to think i dont have will power :laugh:
  • crb1988
    crb1988 Posts: 134 Member
    The water helps me most of the time.

    When I am actually hungry I have quaker chewy granola bars and fiber one brownies to snack on.
  • cindyanne29
    cindyanne29 Posts: 17 Member
    I'm starving all the time too. You have to load up your desk (if you can) with stuff you like: fruit, small bags of cereal; cheese sticks in the frig; vege sticks. When I run out of snacks then that's when I'm in trouble. My latest thing is celery. I can crunch that all afternoon and it keeps my stomach busy.
  • Alacey88
    Alacey88 Posts: 486 Member
    Try eating mini meals instead of bigger meals... for example eat every 2 hours (6 mini meals) instead of every 4-5 hours (3 bigger meals).
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
    decaf coffee FTW.
  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
    Same problem here. I am sitting at my desk as we speak watching the minutes tick away so that I can go downstairs and get a snack, even though I am not hungry in the least. It's just boredom and the need to shake up my routine that keeps me snacking all day. I am trying to go on MFP and read/post whenever I am bored and thinking about food. I am also drinking water so I at least have some sort of mouth action going on. I may go get a diet soda in a while to break up the monotony of the water. And I need it to be 5 o'clock soon so I can get out of here and think about something other than food!
  • erintheinspiration
    erintheinspiration Posts: 229 Member
    All great ideas!! Thanks a million! :)
  • stacyann1001
    stacyann1001 Posts: 41 Member
    Same thing here! All day sitting at my desk... I have a water bottle that I fill with ice and water that i non stop drink all day... in the afternoon i add a packet or crystal light to give myself some flavor and keep me from wanting something like candy like i used to do around 3pm every day. Also when i get hungry and feel tempted to eat i "window shop" online..... looking for clothes or things i will want to buy once i reach my goal weight, it helps to keep me from cheating on my diet :)
  • taraatwood
    taraatwood Posts: 57
    If you are hungry you probably aren't eating enough and often enough. Try eating 200 cals every 2 hours for a week. Also, make sure the 200 cals you choose aren't like 1 cookie.. that's not going to be fufilling. Have some almonds, cheese stick, greek yogurt with fresh fruit, soup, half sandwhich etc... I find that when I do this I'm NEVER hungry and a lot of the time just totally satisfied. Sometimes I have to force myself to eat the next healthy 200 cal meal. Also, once you get off the bad habit of eating.. your body stops craving so much food. Somedays are easier than others. believe me I have my down days where I could eat and eat - not b/c i am hungry its a mental thing. Just eat more frequently and more substantial things. Good luck
  • leanmeanrunningmachine
    leanmeanrunningmachine Posts: 56
    Crystal light packs in the water! Gives more of a flavor but hardly adds any calories. I put on packet of the peach mango green tea into a 32oz of water so its just 10 calories. Also try chewing SF gum. Gives your mouth something to do again for about 5 cals a stick. And when those don't work I do sunflower seeds! Again I get the flovored ones and dill pickle spitz are my fav the whole bag is 540 calories and says 3 servings. It takes me a week or two to finish off the bag because I more less jsut munch on them on and off all day. Kinda messy but at my desk job I don't have alot of people coming by so tossing some seeds into a cup or trash can doesn't bother anyone.
  • ladyfox1979
    ladyfox1979 Posts: 405 Member
    I know what you mean. I work for an investment firm where I have to sit for a period of 8 hours , 5 days a week. I usually bring homemade salsa( that way I can control what's in it), 9 white corn tortilla chips , carrot sticks , 1 cup of colby jack cheese and 1 cup of cubed baked chicken, This really helps take the edge off.

    And of course drink lots of water.

    I always try to space out the time, like I would eat every 2 hours small portions that way I don't feel hungry all day.
  • MlissaB
    MlissaB Posts: 16 Member
    I'm lucky enough to have a job where I can't snack at my desk so I have to make a conscious effort to go somewhere where I can eat. When I was able to eat at my desk though, I used a lot of sugar free gum too. It really seemed to help. I also measure out the snacks into serving sizes (peanuts and raisins in a snack sized bag, 100 calorie pack snacks etc.) and only let myself have one an hour. If I pulled it out and tried to make it last for the hour it really seemed to help.
  • Audi68
    Audi68 Posts: 113 Member
    I have the same problem but I learned if I pack snack for my self along with my lunch that will help. Also, make sure they are filling snacks like yogurt with frozen berries (the berries are thawed out by the afternoon and the yogurt is still cold from the frozen berries). I also have almonds in my desk (just make sure to count them out and put the lid right back on or the can will be gone in one sitting). Hard candy like a jolly rancher also helps and takes a long time to eat.
  • FitMama2013
    FitMama2013 Posts: 913 Member
    Desk job here - I take a walk when I want to mindlessly eat because it's the afternoon and I'm tired of sitting. Usually when I get back I don't want to snack anymore, and if I do, then I allow myself to. Just my two cents!
  • erintheinspiration
    erintheinspiration Posts: 229 Member
    Well, as I type this I'm munching on some pretzels and water, LOL! I think I might just have to quit eating at my desk all together! And I totally wish I could raise my desk to stand... that would be fantastic!
  • OLFATUG
    OLFATUG Posts: 393 Member
    decaf coffee FTW.

    There is much truth in this. I drink black decaf coffee all day long, in between my water and snacks. :)
  • josery1630
    josery1630 Posts: 205 Member
    I used to be hungry all the time and really struggled with cutting calories for the first few weeks. Then I upped my protein intake and haven't had trouble with it. I do drink a LOT of water and add in decaf tea once or twice a day, so that may be helping as well. I think it maybe took a little time to retrain my brain not to think I needed to snack all day.

    On the days I have snacks with lower protein, I'm constantly hungry. You might try that.
  • becoming_a_new_me
    becoming_a_new_me Posts: 1,860 Member
    I have less of an issue with feeling snacky and more of an issue with the woman who sits across from me eating takeout chinese like 2-3 days a week thinking that because she ate a gallon of salad with avacados, cheese, and bacon that she is eating healthy. Then wondering aloud how much weight she lost and waving a fried shimp under my nose. Slowly nibbling on my lunch right now feeling prideful in the fact that I abstained.
  • wmhackett
    wmhackett Posts: 1 Member
    I work a desk job, and not only dealing with the hungry feeling but resisting all the junk food brought in by coworkers to share! I made it through this Christmas by always having snacks with me. The 100 calorie snack packs are nice, not much there but they are controlled portions, and I also find that as I have less and less sweets, that fruit is tasting better to me and I actually crave it. So I usually have a 100 calorie snack and a piece of fruit in the mornings, and usually one of either in the afternoon. And the water is a good thing too, sometimes the hungry feeling is just thirst disguised. I just try to plan snacks that I won't feel depressed entering in my diary, and watch the carbs especially, since I'm on a dr. prescribed carb diet. If I watch the carbs I find I don't have to worry about the calories, they're always under or right at what I am allowed. My weight loss has been steady by doing this. I think the key is having your allowable snacks with you, so you don't become tempted by something you'll wish you hadn't eaten.
  • mxkitty123
    mxkitty123 Posts: 1

    I do.. I've been drinking more water with flavor packets in it, and I do drink diet soda... I'm hungry a lot, but I'm kinda used to it, I'm hungry no matter how much I eat :(

    Other than that, get snacks that have small pieces (I do peanuts sometimes) measure them out, but then eat them one piece at a time, slowly... so they last longer..they taste the same in small bites as large...

    be careful with the flavor packets and diet soda!! diet sodas and flavor packets have artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. its horrible for your body, can actually cause you to GAIN weight, and can make you feel hungry when youre really not!! there are also reports of it causing cancer, hair loss and reproductive problems (mainly in women). i am a diet coke addict, so i couldnt give it up all together. just be careful!!
  • mrsjefa
    mrsjefa Posts: 20 Member
    yes a desk job gets boring therefore you may want to eat more when you are not even hungry. i have the same problem!! so i try to have healthy snacks like pumpkin seeds,apples, yogurts. nuts. I'm also trying to schedule my snack time for instant one 10am and then 2pm in between i will drink water , or hot tea w/no sugar. if i cant fight the temptation i will eat a fun size chocolate candy....but try to eat just ONE. also chewing gum has helped...or just get up and take a brisk that helps me too when i'm bored...hope this helps:wink:
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