What do you do instead of eating or drinking

[PollyannaMk2]

As a treat, reward or to soothe yourself throughout the day? I’m very overweight and I want to change my relationship with goof and not use it as a reward or pick me up during the day (I’m constantly snacking!) So I’m interested in ideas for things I can do to replace food for when I want a break or Ada little reward or to pep myself up. Thanks.

Pre lockdown (food is my only comfort at the minute probably not helpful) when I was dieting I used to drink lots of fruit tea if I was hungry or I'd make myself a flask of black coffee in the morning and just keep going back to it throughout the day if I was thinking about those unhealthy snacks between meals

Run. Soak in a bath, manicure, pedicure

I know having tea & coffee is still drinking but it did help me a lot
And cleaning too I'd crack on with the housework to keep myself busy

I vape.

Go out for a walk, go up to the bedroom and read, jigsaw, do housework while listening to podcasts. These keep me focused until it’s too close to the next meal to bother snacking.

I also tell myself that I am a person who doesn’t snack between meals and I can have anything I fancy at mealtimes. This helps me feel like the ‘normal’ eater I aim to be. Good luck OP.

I just don’t regard food or a drink as a treat.
So it’s not any loss not to have them.

Things I enjoy.... walks, really nice coffee, good TV and books, getting stuck in to reorganising a cupboard for example (I’m a weirdo).

Having a forgone coffee now and about to do an online hiit class, shower, tidy, grocery shop, take away coffee, back home, unpack groceries, get something in the slow cooker for when the children back from their dad’s, quick lunch for me, clean out animal cage, sort laundry, cup of tea, fruit and read the paper, go for a walk, children back, dinner, chat, tv and bed.
No time for lots of eating I suppose

It sounds strange as I don't do things to reward myself, I do things because I enjoy them / they make me feel good.

I run because it makes me feel energised and is an easy way of getting high strain (I use a whoop which really helped this mindset)

I train Grappling because I love it and I work towards competitions.

I cook food I enjoy and I love. I don't deny myself things I enjoy but avoid alcohol as it had such an effect on my recovery (whoop again)

If I need a sweet fix I love battle it's protien.bars / protein hot chocolate or a skinny latte

When I lost a lot of weight I used to buy my self a nice piece of jewellery, bag or shoes as a reward if I hit a weight goal. Other things I enjoy and distract me from snacking are calling/zooming friends or going on a walk with someone. I have pets and I enjoy interacting with them. I also like planning things like holidays or birthday celebrations.
For the urge to snack- fruit tea, brushing you teeth, chewing chewing gum, crafts, and computer games.

I have a few mindless games on my phone- when I need a brain break, cup of coffee and 10 mins word puzzles rather than a biscuit.

I'm also trying to stop snacking and lose weight OP. I'm using MFP, and I find that knowing I'll have to put the snack in is effective in making me not have it in the first place.

For me, it's also about recognising that I didn't need the snack, it was just a habit I got into. So my new habit is not snacking!

Brush teeth
Chewing gum
Drink water

I spoke a lot about this exact issue during my recent dietician sessions. I wouldn’t say brushing teeth is a good reward 😂 I have certainly suggested that on here before, but more for if you’re staving off hunger.

To stop myself eating through boredom/as a reward/stress reliever, I do one of the following:
have a tea/sparkling water (I love it),
deep breaths, star jumps, a moment of mindfulness eg visualising future me,
paint my nails,
do some painting,
clear out a cupboard,
do a workout.
Mainly things that absorb me so I’m not thinking about food.

The problem is, most of these things are much more time consuming than eating and you can’t multitask while doing them. That is the point, but also very impractical if you have other stuff to get on with, eg entertain kids, work.

Being aware that you’re eating for reasons other than hunger is a big thing, so well done on that. Work on your mindfulness - guided meditations as you’re falling asleep can be helpful. I also was going to the cupboard for every transition - come into the house - go to the kitchen; finish some cleaning - go to the kitchen; about to start up an activity again after having lunch - go to the kitchen (yes really).

Hope some of that helps!

I wouldn't necessarily change from food and drink but instead would make different choices with that. This is from someone who would - shock horror - have a glass of wine every day with dinner (pregnant now so obv not right now!) but I kept it small.

Could you have a few squares of dark chocolate rather than a chocolate bar/get some nice fruit like mangos and strawberries for pudding/tonic water (diet) with some garnishes and put it in a gin glass. You're not depriving yourself that way.

Noom has been very helpful to change my attitude towards food.

I have developed the same habits as you and I have caught myself just in time. I see food as a hobby!! I think about it all the time, wondering what my next snack will be. It is really really hard to resist the urge to snack. I just love having something yummy in my mouth.

All that helps is imaginin how good I'll feel the next morning to know that I didn't have those snacks yesterday. Also brushing my teeth helps.

In the past I used to do a lot of running, and some occasional gym, but a back problem he stopped that. As a result, I’m more aware of what and when I eat.

I find that I have to do something physical, with some activity. Reading or involvement of the brain is too much! These might sound silly, and obvious but it’s a mixture of these

• put on the radio, and do some minor cleaning tidying for 15 mins
• make a nice coffee, with steamed milk, savour, and tidy away everything ... like it never happened
• 15 mins weeding in the garden
• put in earphones, listen to podcast and walk to/from the local bus stop which takes total 30 mins
• masturbate (blush)

I don’t do them all everyday, but I probably do one in the morning, one in the afternoon. It’s gives me a none food break, and was to switch of for a while, as I’ve been working from home for the last year

I do a few rows of my knitting, or 5 mins practise on the piano. Both are very mentally soothing.

I was a comfort eater and have only just stopped it.

For me, it was less about suppressing the urge to comfort eat in the moment and more about being nice to myself in a range of other ways generally, which reduced my levels of stress and promoted my general well-being, which in turn meant that the urge to comfort eat wasn’t anything like as strong.

Some of the things I did were:

• buy myself fun, non food-related little presents like books or nicer skincare regularly. I only ever used to treat myself with food because it was cheap enough to feel legitimate. Once I got ok with spending money on myself in other ways, I didn’t feel that visceral urge for chocolate or crisps.
• log everything I ate for a week. I found that I wasn’t eating a lot of protein and so found myself stuck in a cycle of using carbs and sugar to boost intermittently low blood sugar which went with low mood, and then overeating. I now eat more protein and start the day with oats and it’s really helping.
• I like an evening snack, so finding nice healthy things to nibble on in the evening like nice cherry tomatoes on the vine, sliced apples with peanut butter dip etc. I’m never going to not nibble.

But mainly I realised that I was just not making time to be nice to myself in any other way than eating snack food. I wore clothes that didn’t fit well or make me feel good, I didn’t take the time to recharge with things I liked doing like going for walks alone - I just drove myself hard and rewarded myself for my joyless existence by eating junk food. I’m so glad things changed!

Hot water bottles, reading in bed, workout in the mornings. Buying nice clothes and accessories. Funny TV shows, making time for hobbies.
Making sure you're having enough good fats with meals will mean you don't feel so hungry between meals. Cut out sugar and after a few weeks the cravings will disappear. But good fats are really important.

I'm finding drinking a pint of water helps. I struggle most at weekends and am a huge snacker so I haven't stopped but now I have cherry tomatoes, radish and other veg out and prepped so if I am peckish I grab a handful of these. It's still snacking so I don't feel I've missed out and don't get distracted by hunger but it's healthier than a biscuit which would be my usual snack!

Make sure you are staying hydrated. Try different herbal teas, all the different green teas. Fennel tea is lovely. Also there's a brand called Dr Stuart's i think their teas are really good.

Also, it's such an obvious thing, but WALK. As often as possible. Once you really really get into the habit of it you crave your daily walks in the fresh air. Make them as mindful as possible really notice everything in your surroundings- the scenery, people's houses. Do variations of different routes in your local area and you will notice something new every day.

Best of luck with your health journey!

Fizzy water...tea or coffee. Use mfp and tbh logging stopped me. When I used it to lose a lot of weight Coke Zero became an addiction but I wouldn't recommend that. Chewing gum also helped!