What do you snack on and how frequently

[Gymmum82]

My snacking is out of control and I’m gaining weight as a result.
Yesterday for example I ate a pack of cheese twists, a sharing bag of crisps, 4 millionaires shortbreads and 3 twirls.
I don’t seem to be able to stop myself snacking.
So what do you snack on? Do you have set times for snacks? Do you limit the amount of snacks you eat? Are they always healthy?
Give me some help/ideas to curb my snacking

At the moment, I'm calorie counting so a little stricter with snacks than usual. I'm allowing myself something like a Freddo, Kit Kat, Curly Wurly, Club etc. after lunch and/or dinner, along with something like a bag of quavers. Otherwise, my snacks if I get peckish are things like chicken I've already got cooked ready in the fridge, boiled eggs, babybel. They're not exactly moreish so I stop when I'm satisfied rather than demolishing a full bag of crisps like I would love to 🤣

Nuts. small portion once a day. maybe a couple of Rich Teas with my coffee.

I am trying very hard to sort out my blood sugar levels. This stops me being hungry.
So high protein/low carb meals. With gaps in between. Fasting has also really helped control my snacking. I was eating less than you but about 4 times a day I would have a biscuit.
I try and not snack but when I do it's mainly houmous with carrots or celery, oat cake and cottage cheese.
I feel about 100 times better and have lost weight.
Write down all your calories for a week. It was a real eye opener for me as thought I was ok but was eating around 2500 a day.

If you don't buy crap, you can't eat it!

Stop buying all these high calorie snacks!

I carry a pack of sugar free sweets (fruit or cappuccino flavour) and will occasionally have one mid morning.

I make a batch of gingerbread men twice a week, sometimes shortbread and it's my mid afternoon treat and I only have one. If I don't have one of those I have an iced coffee instead.

I'm on a diet, that sounds heavenly to me 😂But yes not good for you as a long term plan. My diet is due to type 2 diabetes, recommend avoiding that if possible!

Without 'going on a diet', have you thought about logging the calories for what you eat? That might horrify you into changing.

Also, what's the trigger for you snacking? For me it's time on my hands so weekends are worse than weekdays; during the week it's being too tired & not wanting to bother with a proper thought-out meal. Having a plan is what's keeping me on track.

In answer to your actual question I have Walkers French Fries most days and a garlic-stuffed olive practically every time I open the fridge.

Apples and bananas. Ryvita with almond butter & cheese if I’ve been to the gym & need protein.

I don’t buy biscuits, crisps etc so I don’t have to resist them. Cake on Sundays when I go to my favourite coffee shop after gym.

I have a snack mid morning at work, usually a yoghurt (yeo Greek honey usually) or a cereal bar. I don't snack in the afternoon but am always starving just before dinner so have a little bit of cheese while I prep dinner to take the edge off 🤣.

I managed to break the crisp habit by only buying the flavours that DH and DD like and I don't. Then I started on the cracker habit (plus lots of butter), so I have had to stop buying them.

Someone on another thread said something about identifying your triggers. One of mine is the mid-afternoon slump, so (on a good day) I have a glass of water and a handful of nuts, then go out for a walk if I can.

Fruit and veg. My work provides this free so on my work days I just don't take a morning snack.

A portion of unsalted nuts, maybe with some cheese cubes ( wouldn't do this everyday).

Greek yoghurt with a drizzle of honey.

Making sure I have 12 hours of no eating a day.

Not having snacks in the house helps. Eating more fibre and protein helps fill me up.

If I really want something sweet then I try to bake a simple cake at home.

Drinking lots of water and herbal tea.

If you eat when bored or stressed then find something to occupy you and look at how to relax.

The more junk you eat, the more you want. Breaking the cycle can be tough and you will feel hungry at first but when your body gets used to 3 proper meals you shouldn't need to snack. Once I stopped eating junk food I stopped having an afternoon energy crash and felt much better (also had more will power not to keep eating and fewer cravings).

Bananas and apples as that’s all I buy for “snacking” and I’m trying to get rid of the last of the baby weight.

Im meant to eat about 6 times a day but rarely manage that as you need to be in a good regular routine to do it, but my snacks are nuts, plain home cooked popcorn, bits of cheese, dried fruit. Anything that can be carried around easily without going off

Are you hungry? Eat more at mealtimes. Are you bored? Do something else.

I’ve stopped snacking. Lost a stone, fair dos I’ve got another 1 1/2 stone to go.

3 meals a day, protein carb and veg. Lots of veg.

if I want something I’ll have banana, an apple or a small handful of nuts. But I’m trying not to do that if I’m just bored.

used to have cheese and crackers every night for supper, took 3 weeks for that to not be a habit any more. Now I think that was stupid.

also if I’ve had a drink the night before it’s harder so I’ve cut down on random wine.

I cut back as wanted to lose weight a couple of years ago, also from a health point of view. I have one biscuit am and pm with a hot drink. Most afternoons, I'll have half a packet of crisps, but yesterday I had a couple of clementines. If I'm hungry before lunch or in the evening I tend to have some fruit. The rest of my diet is fairly healthy, salad/fruit, sandwich & clementine, crisps cheese and veggie sticks at lunchtime and a proper evening meal.

I try and just eat proper meals but making sure I get plenty of food so I’m not needing snacks. I think the only way is to get out of the habit tbh. If I need a snack, I try to have an apple or a piece of cheese.

I don't snack at all. I was a serial snacker but did a proper LCHF diet a few years ago and it broke the sugar cravings completely. I think cold turkey (as a snack if you like!) is the only way to do it.

I don't do 'proper' LCHF anymore but I still eat relatively high protein.

I can still get through a bag of tangfastics at the weekend though:)

Bag of pre-cut carrots

Tangerines

Grapes

(these are the healthier options - I will eat any old rubbish if available so just have to make sure there’s none in the house).

My snacking was out of control but I wasn't putting aside time for regular meals (work at home).

Now I have a lunch break blocked off and try and ensure I have a proper high protein lunch, chicken salad, omlette or something prepped ahead and then warmed up if I'm feeling really organised!

I never want to eat breakfast so I have a protein shake around 10am. Drink plenty of water. And make a proper evening meal.

Every time I feel snacky I will get a glass of cold water with ice first and contemplate if I was hungry or just bored. Crunching ice provides a good distraction too!

The weight is finally starting to come off so feeling hopeful I've made some sustainable changes.

My go to snack is the large rice cakes from most supermarkets! Sliced tomatoes on the Salt & vinegar ones are delicious and low in calorie!

Thanks for all the suggestions. My meals are fine. Usually porridge for breakfast. A big salad with tuna or chicken for lunch and dinner is normally something home cooked and healthy like a spag bol, curry and rice, stirfry and noodles. Something with plenty of protein and veg. It’s literally just the snacking which is an issue.
I don’t even know what my triggers are sometimes it could be boredom I guess if I’m at home. But I’ll snack at work too when I’m busy (my colleagues are terrible for bringing in biscuits and cakes or chocolate etc)
Its not too easy to not have it in the house as the kids want crisps and bars for their lunch boxes but then I end up eating them

I don’t snack, I eat 3 meals a day of food as unprocessed as possible and don’t get hungry in between meals.

Whereas dh had a diet of constant snacking at work and was often heavier than he wanted to be.

My snacking was basically my
whole life, would always rather pick than eat a full meal but all that was doing was
continually spiking my blood sugar (I was mainly snacking on crappy junk food).
I switched about 6 weeks ago and now eat a proper meal at 11:30ish and then dinner with a snack at about 3/4. The snack is either a small pot of pistachios or cashews. Healthy fats and salty so sort of replicate crisps. Calorific but I watch my portion size. I’m not calorie counting but just making sure I’m aware of what I’m putting in my mouth.
Obviously not the same as crisps or anywhere near as good but I was worried about developing type 2 diabetes or something else and I knew I could control it.
On a Sunday I’ll make something like a very dark chocolate mousse which is fairly low carb. I’ve cut out bread (which I was eating so much of, with a LOT of butter too), pasta, rice and potatoes and feel so much better and less sluggish.

I snack loads but I do it at the expense of full meals. So I don’t eat a full meal and all those snacks you’ve listed, I would have them instead of a meal. I log calories on MFP so, as long as I don’t go over my calorie allowance, I snack freely. I’m very thin because I don’t eat snacks and food.

Some healthy snack ideas if helpful:

• veg sticks (cut these & have ready in fridge)
• pitta bread
• hummus
• yoghurt (depending on type you buy)
• fruit
• nuts + seeds
• crackers
• unprocessed cheese (a few squares way more satisfying than something like a cheese string, which I could eat 10 of!)
• boiled egg

• would recommend increasing size of your meals and drinking plenty of water! It's hard OP, but you'll get there x

It's a mindset shift OP. A switch you need to flip.

You have to decide - really decide - that you want to stop - and commit to it.

Once you have truly made that decision in yourself, it will start to get easier.

Just don't keep UPF in the house.