How do you fight the meaningless munchies craving?

Posts: 581
1/8/13 4:11 P

I eat a fiber one bar. They have 9 grams of fiber in them and they fill me up. It works for me .

Posts: 17
1/8/13 3:45 P

I, too, like to have fresh fruits and veggies cleaned up and ready to eat. Being vegetarian, I also like to keep some unsalted almonds and roasted edamame on hand for protein snacks.

Posts: 215
1/8/13 3:41 P

I have several options, When am in home watching tv, or in my pc, almost the time between 11 pm to 2 am is a hard time to say No to a snack, the truth is I dont want a healthy snack like a piece of fruit , or a carrot, because my food on day is that. so sometimes I keep my snacks, some cheese, crackers, unsalted peanuts, unsalted popcorn, coffee, or green tea. no yogurt at that time!
But when i had a stressed day, or a lot of things to do or just my period I just EAT , whatever I want, but small portion,the key is to have nothing to lead you into sin.

a tip!

by doing exercise you should never feel guilty for wanting to eat, because you're always looking for healthier and more natural foods as possible, since your body needs to learn how to reject foods that cost more to burn during the workout.!!!

SparkPoints: (51,153)
Fitness Minutes: (47,475)
Posts: 1,316
1/8/13 3:40 P

try a little popcorn, water, a few grapes

SparkPoints: (2,683)
Fitness Minutes: (2,410)
Posts: 30
1/8/13 3:33 P

I like keeping fresh fruits and veggies to snack on. Veggie and fruit trays are both perfect for variety, just throw out the dips. :)

SparkPoints: (10,924)
Fitness Minutes: (3,131)
Posts: 145
1/8/13 3:18 P

Tea, brushing my teeth, eating something I'm proud to put into my body instead of junk. Usually those help.

Posts: 507
1/8/13 2:58 P

If it's a true craving that has nothing to do with hunger then I'll drink a cup of green tea. This usually doe the trick for me. By the time I'm done with it the craving is over and I'm happy I didn't give in.

To avoid after meal dessert cravings, I brush my teeth then gargle with Listerine. Nothing tastes good after that! :)

lisa

SparkPoints: (25,354)
Fitness Minutes: (48,094)
Posts: 103
1/8/13 2:12 P

I find I tend to munch when I'm watching tv, so I try to only watch tv when I have a planned snack or lunch. Other than that, if I'm feeling in the mood for a craft, that works, or if all else fails, computer game on my laptop. Once my hands and eyes are occupied, I'm too busy to eat.I know it's not as healthy as cleaning (which I do all day!), or workouts. but I refuse to workout when my BF is around!

Posts: 13
1/8/13 1:59 P

Great ideas that I am going to try. I am a night time eater and since I started tracking diligently, I have been shocked to see what I put in my mouth when I should be sleeping! tracking is making me at least cut down on my night time calorie consumption.

SparkPoints: (76,895)
Fitness Minutes: (0)
Posts: 8,999
1/8/13 1:43 P

Great ideas posted here and have tried a lot of them and succeeded and failed
Having just a taste of the desired goodie seems to work best for me
Even if I chose a healthy snack choice the goodie is still calling to me
So give in and then let it go the damage is not that bad
One day at a time

SparkPoints: (23,792)
Fitness Minutes: (17,774)
Posts: 1,779
1/8/13 1:16 P

I work from home and find myself roaming in to the kitchen which can be dangerous. I started to cut up an apple or grapefruit and leaving it on a plate on the counter. I can grab a piece and get out of the kitchen and get in a serving of fruits or veggies. I am a nibbler so this works for me.

SparkPoints: (447)
Fitness Minutes: (335)
Posts: 6
1/8/13 11:53 A

Write down everything that I eat so I relize how much im eating.

SparkPoints: (13,054)
Fitness Minutes: (3,679)
Posts: 9
1/8/13 11:45 A

Motivate with my streaks and success
Try to do some fun things to divert attention

SparkPoints: (50,694)
Fitness Minutes: (0)
Posts: 3,553
1/8/13 11:09 A

I'll look for something healthy and if I can't find anything and it is close to bedtime I'll just drink some water and go to bed.

SparkPoints: (4,370)
Fitness Minutes: (8,109)
Posts: 1
1/8/13 11:08 A

I assess my level of hunger on a scale from 1-10 then I have associated activities to correspond with the level of hunger.

Managing my hunger levels:
1 Starving, weak, dizzy - Avoid
2 Very hungry, cranky, low energy, a lot of stomach growling - Avoid
3 Pretty hungry, stomach is growling a little - Eat
4 Starting to feel a little hungry - Eat
5 Satisfied, neither hungry nor full - Distract myself with a task or exercise
6 A little full, pleasantly full - Distract myself with a task or exercise
7 A little uncomfortable - Distract myself with a task or exercise
8 Feeling stuffed - Develop a plan to avoid going here again
9 Very uncomfortable, stomach hurts - Develop a plan to avoid going here again
10 So full you feel sick - Develop a plan to avoid going here again

Posts: 2,250
1/8/13 10:39 A

Try a cup of tea first. If that doesn't stop the cravings I'll have a piece of fruit or a pre-portioned snack of almonds.

Posts: 866
1/8/13 10:37 A

i try to always have a drink on the go... obviously there is always water, but i also love water with lemon or cucumber & mint, herbal tea, spiced black teas, coffee or for a treat diet soda (although i am in the process of cutting that out of my diet)

SparkPoints: (20,311)
Fitness Minutes: (4,162)
Posts: 374
1/8/13 9:37 A

Chewing gum helps me too! Especially the new desert flavors like mint chocolate and strawberry short cake by Extra...it is sugar free gum. :)

SparkPoints: (341,909)
Fitness Minutes: (261,594)
Posts: 175,732
1/8/13 9:36 A

drink drink my water..........

Posts: 2,903
1/8/13 9:19 A

I find chewing gum helps me.

SparkPoints: (41,431)
Fitness Minutes: (26,067)
Posts: 3,599
1/8/13 9:10 A

drink water and eat a piece of fruit

Posts: 11,266
1/8/13 9:09 A

sometimes I brush my teeth. the minty taste in my mouth makes other foods not as appealing

SparkPoints: (39,384)
Fitness Minutes: (0)
Posts: 1,620
1/8/13 9:05 A

The only thing that I have found that works for me is to get my mind off of it for at least 5 minutes and then I forget about the craving. As soon as I begin to think about munching when I'm not hungry I jump up and start doing something else and once that moment has passed I'm okay. I've tried so many other things but this seems to work for me. For those times I can't jump up and do something else I keep sunflower seeds, I love the ones in the shell and these keep me from grabbing something not too healthy.

Edited by: OCWIFEY1 at: 1/8/2013 (09:08)

SparkPoints: (100,188)
Fitness Minutes: (70,306)
Posts: 2,589
1/8/13 9:02 A

Lots of good suggestions here: drinking water, drinking tea, chewing gum, getting busy...I use all of these several times a day. Unfortunately, all it takes is one indulgence to go over my calorie count for that day. Working on perseverance and consistency of applying what I know to do, right now.

Posts: 9,797
1/8/13 8:54 A

I, too, am starting to chew gum more often.

SparkPoints: (47,674)
Fitness Minutes: (21,655)
Posts: 2,904
1/8/13 8:53 A

I drink a glass of water - then see if I'm still kind of hungry!

SparkPoints: (283,722)
Fitness Minutes: (236,768)
Posts: 65,012
1/8/13 8:44 A

Drink some decaffeinated tea.

SparkPoints: (143,086)
Fitness Minutes: (102,944)
Posts: 4,427
1/8/13 8:34 A

I chew on a stick of gum.

SparkPoints: (76)
Fitness Minutes: (62)
Posts: 5
1/8/13 8:28 A

as a nutritionist i first ask myself do i really need to eat the snack? you have to learn to argue with yourself. if my answer was no; "which it usually is", then i think about how it will affect me later on. if i eat something i was not supposed to eat then i will feel bad about myself later on which adds more stress. sure indulging may feel good for a moment but when you are trying to lose weight you will end up feeling worse than before the craving. grab a glass of water and get busy. write an email to a friend or start a load of laundry; if you can fight the urge for 5 minutes chances are that craving will go away! you will be empowered each time you say no to the craving adding to the motivation. this will shine in other aspects of your life as well.

SparkPoints: (6,732)
Fitness Minutes: (2,103)
Posts: 90
1/8/13 8:21 A

I have 2 snack times that are the WORST for cravings. 3pm and 8pm. If I am working from home I have been working out around 2:30 and I don't seem to crave anything after a workout and in the office I schedule something to keep my mind busy between 3 and 4. In the evenings I drink lots of water and have been going to bed earlier as the later I stay up the worse the cravings are.

SparkPoints: (739)
Fitness Minutes: (20)
Posts: 13
1/8/13 7:57 A

I go and pour a huge glass of water, and stand there and then pour somemore into it.

Also, I sometimes get like that when I need to go and lay down to take a nap, but I'm fighting it because I feel like I'm needing to eat something, when really I'm just exhausted.

SparkPoints: (14,008)
Fitness Minutes: (4,987)
Posts: 403
1/8/13 7:56 A

Coach Tanya,

Thanks for the reference article. It was great. One thing I noticed is the reasons for eating are similar to the reasons some people smoke and the strategies for quitting are very similar too.

JUICE to you!

SparkPoints: (1,122)
Fitness Minutes: (75)
Posts: 7
1/8/13 7:56 A

Another thing: If there's something I want, and shouldn't have, I tell myself I'll have it tomorrow. I try not to imagine in so many details how/what I'll eat, because that doesn't work, but I tell myself that no matter how much it costs, I'll get it for myself, because I'm worth it. The reason I say "tomorrow" is because that's a good mental compromise between "right now" and "never again". The intention is to keep postponing eating the garbage, one day at a time, until "forever".

SparkPoints: (28,470)
Fitness Minutes: (20,099)
Posts: 285
1/8/13 7:33 A

I find something meaningful to do. That way, my mind can focus on things other than food.

SparkPoints: (269,762)
Fitness Minutes: (117,417)
Posts: 16,294
1/8/13 7:14 A

Sometimes I mindlessly eat when I am tired. If I don't get enough sleep, I definitely will eat to stay awake.

SparkPoints: (34,676)
Fitness Minutes: (20,245)
Posts: 1,392
1/8/13 6:44 A

I have the problem of wanting to munch at bedtime. I think I will go out today and get veggies so I can eat them when I need to munch. The salad at lunch and dinner really worked for me yesterday.

SparkPoints: (10,496)
Fitness Minutes: (16,232)
Posts: 385
1/8/13 6:41 A

DO something...some activity (anything at all) will help...doing the dishes, phoning someone...

But recently, I've decided that sometimes that craving just hits and something is going into my mouth that isn't fruit...so I've taken to have super-dark chocolate on hand...95 or 99% stuff. It isn't exactly healthy spinach, but it isn't too bad...mentally I know its chocolate, but the high cacao % helps ensure it isn't really bad for me either.

Edited by: STEPHEN_NANNY at: 1/8/2013 (06:42)

SparkPoints: (1,122)
Fitness Minutes: (75)
Posts: 7
1/8/13 6:24 A

It's ironic that I'm writing this on a day of eating so many things I shouldn't....
At work it's usually easier (except for today):
I tell myself that someone's touched the cookies to arrange them on the plate, and that maybe their hands weren't clean
I drink coffee (no sugar or milk, so I guess that's reasonable)
I have some candy that has only 6 calories per piece

At home it's much more challenging, as one of the only things I can do successfully when I'm with the kids is to eat junk. However, I try drinking water, because many times I'm not aware of being thirsty, and I make a big salad and try to eat as much as possible.

Posts: 2,970
1/8/13 5:42 A

clean something... like my closets..lol

Posts: 1
1/8/13 5:24 A

This was the best tip--thanks!

SparkPoints: (90,649)
Fitness Minutes: (82,015)
Posts: 3,415
1/8/13 4:11 A

Get up and get busy!

Posts: 2,310
1/8/13 2:57 A

drink water

SparkPoints: (109,504)
Fitness Minutes: (84,052)
Posts: 5,412
1/5/13 10:55 A

chew gum

Posts: 1,139
1/4/13 3:14 P

I don't need to fight cravings because my cravings literally disappeared when I started following the Zone diet. No kidding. That was 18 years ago. I still follow the Zone diet and lifestyle to this day and I still have no cravings.

SparkPoints: (2,176)
Fitness Minutes: (1,548)
Posts: 73
1/4/13 2:46 P

I find this especially happens if I'm doing something useless (watching TV, for example). I try to switch my activity to something more engaging (alleviate boredom... something like playing scrabble with my BF). I also have found that drinking tea in the evenings is the BEST there are so many teas with stronger flavors, so you get a lot of flavor without ingesting tons of calories. If you MUST snack, grabbing something like veggies with hummus is helpful.

I think the more you change your lifestyle to not eating a lot in the evenings, the less you will crave. This seems to have been the case for me.

Also, make sure you're not under-eating during the day. Your body just might be needing more food.

Posts: 2,276
1/4/13 11:47 A

Chew gum, brush teeth, drink lots of water, keep busy, keep convenient low cal snacks on hand such as cut up veggies. Eat lots of protein.

Posts: 2,707
1/4/13 11:46 A

I am also a gum chewer, at least at work. At home, I was succumbing, but I've renewed my efforts. I just try to muster up all my willpower and say, "No!". If my stomach isn't rumbling, or I can tell I'm actually hungry or will be soon, I just grit my teeth and "suffer" through it! It's hard, but I feel like that's the best way to break the "habit". I know it's going to take me a looooooooooong while.

Posts: 13,544
1/4/13 11:31 A

I am usually bored. So I find something to do.

If I am tired or emotional, I try to give myself a talk and explain that it won't help to binge.

If I mess up, I refuse to be hard on myself. Get over it and move on

Posts: 4,947
1/4/13 11:21 A

It is something many of us battle with. This article may help you with some great steps to change the behavior.

10 Reasons You Eat When You're Not Actually Hungry
And What You Can Do About It!
www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_art
icles.asp?id=1660

Coach Tanya

Posts: 11
1/3/13 10:41 P

At night I always get an urge to snack on something ridiculous. I'm not even hungry, just bored I suppose. This week I started popping a piece (or two) of gum in my mouth (Orbit Whitening Bubblegum flavor) to avoid the Cheez-Its. How do you overcome this particular urge?