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?

A few things that work for me:
Just don't buy them!
Distraction
Telling myself to wait just 5 more mins

You could always stop buying snacks, though that wouldn’t be much use if you’d just have some nice buttered toast instead. (With blackcurrant jam is my favourite.)

I do snack but I just have good ones like fruit, veg sticks with a small dollop of houmous, a babybel or a couple of cream crackers spread v thinly with cream cheese. I can still lose worth this way. I can’t go 6 hours between meals

Oh god this is me! The problem is even if I don't buy snacks I'll invent them e.g some dry cereal, honey on toast, huge lump of cheese etc

Weight not worth

@northprincess honey on toast !!! That sounds amazing, why have I never had this?! Two week snack detox then a little slice of that joy I think!

I've banned myself from eating after my dinner at 5pm so no eating after 6pm. I snacked most in the evenings and it's put a complete stop to it.

Currently having a cup of decaf tea to stop myself snacking.
I also “close” my diary on MFP as soon as my dinner is over. That helps a tiny bit too.

@Estrellente that’s a good idea about the MFP diary close, draws a line under the day!

I have started the 16:8 thing. I don't start eating until midday. Am much better at not eating earlier in the day than later as if I am hungry at e.g. 11am - it is only another hour to go until brunch. Since am only having 2 healthy meals per day I can have a snack at e.g. 4pm and stay under 900-1000 cals per day (which I need to lose weight). Bizarrely though I have gone from not being able to stop snacking and being constantly hungry - to forgeting to eat - and realising its 9pm and I haven't had an evening meal. I am a bit shocked but I think it is to do with fasting and insulin resistance.

yeah I just don't buy them because I've got no willpower at all....luckily my laziness just overcomes my greediness so I can't be bothered going to the shops if I get a craving. Wow I sound like such a catch

First step is always nice cold glass of water.
If I'm still hungry after that I go for a cup of tea, or very occasionally one of those low cal flavoured hot chocolates if I'm craving something sweet.
If I'm still hungry (e.g. can't concentrate on work) which happens particularly at that time of the month I might have an apple or a glass of milk - still a bit sugary/fatty but at least not something you'd tend to have more than one of in a row! That will usually be enough to fill me up.

If I'm really hungry sometimes I just listen to my body and eat the evening meal really early. Sometimes I find I just 'need' to do this. Other days I wait to eat at eight and then sort of go off feeling hungry so just have a snack. Particularly if I go to the gym later in the evening I don't really feel hungry afterwards - whereas if I go in the morning I am ravenous!

It was easier to do the 'just eat when you're hungry' thing when living alone though so you don't get caught up in cooking meals for others, wanting to sit down and chat while you're eating, etc!

I also close mfp diary after dinner and clean my teeth.

I find I have much more willpower in the morning. I hold off as long as I can before I have breakfast and have a small breakfast at say 10.30 or 11. Then i have lunch later and find I dont need an afternoon snack (I still get chocolate cravings around 3 but think its tiredness rather than hunger)

Following as I am the same OP! Some really good ideas here!

[quote Floridabadger]@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!)[/quote]
When I'm calorie counting, I weigh them out.

I routinely weigh out my breakfast muesli and things like pasta and rice, too, whether I'm currently counting or not. I don't feel great after a meal that's too carb heavy but if I served myself too much I'd eat it anyway. I maintain a weight I find acceptable pretty well, that way, too, so just end up counting for the occasional couple of weeks if I find things getting tight.

Mog what muffins are you making for low carb?
Op I do 16:8 which limits the amount of time I can stuff my face
Also my meals are quite filling and having a smaller window in which to eat just limits my ability to snack

@Floridabadger2
Yes, legit. I was paid out my $480. PayPal took their fee though and the bank took one too for sending the $300 to start. I have since entered smaller ‘Challenges’ (as opposed to the main wager), just won/earned $52 that I’m about to cash in on a $40 input. I intend to do these smaller bets until I have a healthy BMI (currently 27). My partner thinks I’m getting caught up in gambling but it seems to be just about the only thing to focus me. (I have divided up my target into smaller weekly targets and do work at it).

They verify it by getting you to film the scales at 0, and you getting on &off in front of a full length mirror with minimal layers on.

If intuitive eating is to be believed, the reason you are "binging" on snacks is because you are restricting elsewhere. I have found this to be true. If I say "I am not allowed to have snacks or more than 1200 calories, I get hangry and eat a sleeve of Oreos. If I acknowledge that I want an Oreo then eat a few and wait to see if I want more, I usually stop. Stop restricting and your body doesn't go into starvation mode so often. And drink more water.

@florascotia2

This is NOT directed against OP, but WHY is anyone snacking? (apart from culture/adverts etc encouraged by mass-production fast "food" industry). It's not necessary and there is considerable evidence that it is no good for our insulin production.

I'm old in Mumsnet terms, and we were brought up - like generations before us - to eat two or three meals a day only. Nothing in between. Crisps, salted nuts etc were almost unknown. Biscuits and cakes and ices were treats for rare special occasions. Sweets and chocolates were restricted; two small portions (eg a boiled sweet or a square of chocolate) per day. (And also - sandwiches never had crisps with them - where - and why - did that start? Nutrionally, it's nonsense. I and others have eaten sandwiches for decades, without the need for greasy extras.)

I know that looking back it's easy for me to say all this,. I'm honestly not being smug. But as a really quite active child, I genuinely can't recall feeling hungry. Possibly the old ways might be worth re-examining?

I was brought up in exactly the same way. And now I can eat as many sweets and cakes as I want, so I've been 'making up for the deprivation' ever since, and am now hugely overweight.

I don't think our upbringing had anything to do with it, to be honest. It's just that I'm a greedy pig, and you're not.

Back on the diet again tomorrow

Starvation mode is bollocks - no overweight adult in the developed world will go into starvation mode by restricting their calories in order to lose weight. They'll have a calorie deficit, but their body will have all the resources they need to live on restricted calories. It's psychological and once you get your head round the fact that you are not starving, eating when you are actually hungry and stopping using food laden with sugar and fat as a treat for everything you do it will pass. Just don't buy the stuff then you don't have to torture yourself over whether you eat it or not.

If I'm hungry, I eat.
I don't think it's normal to be hungry for two hours whilst waiting for an arbitrary time to eat your evening meal.
If you're always hungry at 4, you either need to eat more at lunch time, or have a light meal at 4.

Something which might help is a very low calorie “barrier” snack.

Ideas could be - celery, raw carrot, gherkins etc.

Mine is gherkins.

A barrier snack is Something you have to hand that you can shove in your gob at those times where you are genuinely in need of something ASAP - so when you get in from work and you’re making dinner and you’re just sooooo hungry.

The calories are very low and so you can happy munch away for a few minutes without doing damage. Think of the effort it takes to eat a couple of sticks of celery - and that’s about 20 cals.

You’re right in saying things like ryvita are a waste, as you end up eating far more calories than just having what you really wanted (chocolate) in the first place.

Don’t buy too many tempting snacks
Have a low cal barrier food
Drink water or tea or anything sugar free
Make sure you’re eating enough at meal times
Build in the snack calories to your day, If you know you like to snack then just adjust your cals for each of your meals and plan them in

Yeah, water, but also smaller meals in the day and a big meal in the evening works for me, I look forward to a big dinner, lots of veg etc but also really carby. I am a huge fan of carbs. I don't really have meals in the day, just a series of healthier snacks.

But as a really quite active child, I genuinely can't recall feeling hungry

I was also brought up in a very non-snacky household and remember being acutely hungry for at least the full hour before lunch and tea (dinner for you southerners) to the point where I’d be shaky by the time I got to the table. Perhaps we didn’t get given enough at actual mealtimes.

@florascotia2

This is NOT directed against OP, but WHY is anyone snacking? (apart from culture/adverts etc encouraged by mass-production fast "food" industry). It's not necessary and there is considerable evidence that it is no good for our insulin production.

I'm old in Mumsnet terms, and we were brought up - like generations before us - to eat two or three meals a day only. Nothing in between. Crisps, salted nuts etc were almost unknown. Biscuits and cakes and ices were treats for rare special occasions. Sweets and chocolates were restricted; two small portions (eg a boiled sweet or a square of chocolate) per day. (And also - sandwiches never had crisps with them - where - and why - did that start? Nutrionally, it's nonsense. I and others have eaten sandwiches for decades, without the need for greasy extras.)

I know that looking back it's easy for me to say all this,. I'm honestly not being smug. But as a really quite active child, I genuinely can't recall feeling hungry. Possibly the old ways might be worth re-examining?

Maybe it depends on people's metabolism?

Right now I'm reading this thread as I know I eat from boredom and to give me something to get through the day. I am trying to shift a post baby stomach (I look pregnant 10 months pp).

However in relation to your point, when I was at school I'd have my 3 meals a day and then I remember having most or all of ice cream, yogurt, crisps, chocolate biscuit after dinner every night. I did not put on weight. Before exams I'd have to eat as much as I possibly could so hopefully I'd avoid my stomach rumbling. In my 20s I tried to save time in the morning by having breakfast at work but I just kept passing out on the train in the way in. Even now in my 40s I get shaky easily, rumbling stomach, very stressed and angry, etc.