To ask how to stop bloody snacking !

[Floridabadger]

I need to shift a stone or so (maybe closer to 2!) . I know how many calories I should be having, I know to shift my arse more and all of that. I’ve got my meals sorted , lots of veg etc but snacking is still an issue.
I try healthy ones such as those Ryvita cracker breads but I end up having 10 which amounts to about the same as if I’d just had a Kit Kat anyway!
I think I need to lose the snacks altogether. Those of you who never snack, how do you manage it? If you’re hungry and it’s 4pm and you’re eating at 6, do you just wait it out?

@MintyMabel haha absolutely! What do you snack on? I agree with the hunger issue , 2 hours of hunger I’ll be in a big unreasonable arsey mood. I need something sustainable else 3 days into ‘healthy eating’ and I’m venomous

I think you need a 2 pronged solution:

1. For snacks when you're actually hungry, you need ones that will promote health and be delicious, like crunchy raw veg (i love bell peppers as a Hand Fruit as they say on seinfeld), ryvitas and hummus, crudites and a fat free yoghurt-lemon juice-coriander dipping sauce that you stir together. Any normal food can be a snack, so enjoy your veg as snacks. Also: the best snack ever is white beans -- full of starch and protein. Roast them with a little olive oil and a very small touch of soy sauce: they are terrific and tick lots of boxes.
2. For when you're not hungry but you fancy a snack, I suggest not having things you don't want to eat in the house (as soon as I open tim tams I will eat 4), OR if you live with other ppl who can help you with 'dosage', have a bit of what you want so you're not calling any food forbidden a really small slice of cake, or 3 squares of chocolate. Etc. Another thing if you just want the chocolatish feeling is yogi tea chocolate chai delicious and not actually a snack, a drink.

Anyway, good luck and enjoy your foods in a spirit of veg-based hedonism. I sound a bit mental on this post but whatevs, nameste :)

@PickAChew with the weighing out , do you religiously stick to that? I would just grab a handful and then discover it’s probably twice the portion. Different habits I suppose (yours good, mine bad!)

@Randomneim not the point of your post but are Tim Tams the lovely Canadian (I think!?) biscuits I’ve heard about?!
Thank you for taking the time to write your post, veg is the way forwards ! And I love Bell Peppers too !

Don't snack during the day - night times are worse for me and when I've had wine! I allow myself 2 snack breaks per day. Usually late afternoon with a coffee and then after dinner around 8pm. I then brush my teeth. If I know I'm going to snack I'll go to bed early as I don't eat upstairs.

@Randomneim hmmm I may be confused with Tim Horton with the Canadian comment ...

A mug of tea without milk, or a black coffee, is my go to if I think I feel hungry. I promise myself if I am still hungry half an hour later I can have a snack. Usually I've forgotten all about it.

Snacking from boredom means removing all nice snacks from the house and permitting yourself to have something like a hard boiled egg.

If you can only break the habit you will find that is what it is - just a habit.

Good luck.

Both are good and both are CRACK! Timtams are australian chocolate biscuits which are amazing; tim hortons is canadian donuts, and they are also excellent. You have come to the right place for hi-lo food recommendations: I'm the lady who mostly eats organic bell peppers but also knows her krispy kremes :) enjoy your food adventures! Maybe some cookbooks might help with inspiration and seeing what kind of excellent healthy snacks there are -- I'm thinking Anna Jones and the ever great Ottolenghi. Good luck!

What do you snack on? I agree with the hunger issue , 2 hours of hunger I’ll be in a big unreasonable arsey mood. I need something sustainable else 3 days into ‘healthy eating’ and I’m venomous

@Floridabadger My go to used to be chocolate, but more recently it makes me feel unwell.

I find the Go biscuits a good alternative, but if I’m seeking savoury either mini cheddars or quavers. They take the edge off without busting too many calories. Walkers baked crisps are good too.

I’ve always been a bit of a grazer so cutting out snacks never works for me. I hate all those nuts or granola snacks too.

@MintyMabel quavers are a good shout! And skips ! I think I need a couple of weeks (months!) snack free for now and then maybe trust myself with the Good Stuff a bit further down the line. Or become a nit weigher outter which I just can’t see me doing !

Nut obviously ... I’m not partial to snacking on headlice

Try having more filling breakfast and a later lunch: scrambled eggs or avocado on toast. Then keep strawberries or other berries ready for any hunger and drink plenty of water or a tea.

Just don't buy stuff you'll want to eat mindlessly.

This. I deliberately buy biscuits I don't like so that only other people eat them. And dark chocolate because I don't really like it (but cannot resist milk chocolate).

Also, try putting off snacking rather than forbidding it. If you feel tempted by a snack, tell yourself that maybe you'll have one in half an hour if you still feel like one. Then go and be busy doing something else to keep yourself occupied. Repeat if necessary. Forbidding things makes them more tempting and makes you want to rebel!

The most effective way is to cut off the supply of snacks by leaving them in the shop. I no longer snack. Worth a try!

There is an app called Healthy Wage where you bet against yourself to lose weight. I’ve lost 9kg since Jan and got paid $480 last month. I’d bet $300. That stopped me snacking!

@lazylinguist really like the delay idea! I will be giving that a go. Along with water. Replace snacks with toilet trips.

Water. Every time I go into the kitchen I make myself drink a glass of water, so it's become habitual and now I'm so full of water I've no room for snacks.

Agreed. Water or diluting juice if you need, but I'd alternate between water and juice.

Do something as well. Clean, go for a walk, do a workout, something to get you moving so you're not thinking about it. Sitting still doesn't help.

@BusyProcrastinator is that legit? Is it available in the UK? How do you prove it though?

@lazylinguist really like the delay idea! I will be giving that a go. Along with water. Replace snacks with toilet trips.

Also, if possible try distracting yourself with doing something quick that you enjoy, or rewarding yourself with it for not snacking. For example I love knitting and crochet. I rarely do it during the day because I have other things I should be doing. So taking 5 or10 minutes to do a row feels indulgent and also occupies my hands and mind for a bit.

I've had to stop buying pringles Unfortunately I then discovered those Jacob Baked Crinklys & found the Salt & Vinegar ones to be divine. So I stopped buying those, then Amazon had a good deal on Fruit & Nut chocolate bars... I've resisted so far but that's 'cause the kids are awake & it means I'd have to share!

@lazylinguist not a saddo at all ! I might do similar with a chapter of my book or a tv episode

The book might be an idea but the TV episode would be worse for me, I'd end up watching it and before I know it I'd have eaten crisps, chocolate & still be looking for something else!

I have to a) drink more water, b) eat my lunch later (which involves having a higher quality breakfast so I am not champing at the bit by 11:45) and then c) having high quality snacks in that feel like a lovely grown up treat - good olives or some thinly sliced chorizo, or watermelon and blue cheese. Not necessarily "healthy" but delicious and satisfying.

That works for me because my problem isn't snacking in and of itself but mindless snacking or starting something I find addictive and impossible to ration (crisps) and then discovering I have eaten half a family sized bag. See also cheap chocolate. Strangely I can keep to only two squares of expensive chocolate, perhaps because it is more satisfying. If your snack problem is different you'll need a different solution.

I do also go and go for a bike ride or a walk if I am hungry before dinner, it often distracts me enough to be okay.

So I’ve found a Britta water bottle on amazon with a filter in the lid. Worth the splurge to encourage or just stick to a glass? It’s not especially pricey to be fair

(and, depressingly, I now weigh Everything. Frustrating but otherwise I massively underestimate what I'm eating.)