I admit it: I’m a snacker. I always have been. Regardless of how much exercise I’m doing or what my weight is, I feel better when I’m eating every few hours. I’ve tried to stop it in the past, but it seems there is not enough protein and healthy fat in the world for me to make it more than 4 hours without eating. Longer than that and I become crabby and unreasonable. (There are lots of stories amongst our friends about times I’ve lost my sh%^ because I was hungry. 10+ years later I still get teased about a night in college where I nearly came to blows with a friend over where we were going to dinner.)
So, I’m not trying to get rid of small, frequent meals. What I’m talking about here is the constant *need* to eat that I get in the evenings. I know it’s not a real need, but it certainly feels like it at the time. Even as I’m telling myself that I don’t need something, I’m reaching for another cookie or handful of nuts or plantain chips… Yeah, I’m an equal opportunity snacker – sugar, salt, fat… all of it sounds good to me. While the scale and my clothes are all saying it’s ok (so far), I need to get it under control before it becomes such a habit that I keep doing it even when my mileage goes back to 20-30 miles a week.
1. Eat breakfast – I always eat breakfast, but often it’s not very substantial. I’ll grab a couple of bits of Jones’ sausage and the crusts from S’ PB&J. Maybe I’ll make myself half a sandwich. I’m setting myself up for hungries later in the day. My plan is to eat a full sized PB&J on longer run days (still the fuel that works best for me) and then hit up a slice of quiche and some fruit on lower/no mileage days. (Quiche recipe here)
2. Prep some extra protein and vegetables – If I have something easy to grab in the fridge, I grab it. I’ll eat nearly any vegetable and I love beans. I’ve found that if I have cooked and ready to go, I’ll throw them together with a little cheese and salsa whenever I realize I’m hungry. The combination of protein and fat really make a difference in how long I can go between mini meals.
3. Plan lunch – I know life has been crazy lately with kids being out for snow/cold/ice plus trying to cram in work and increased mileage, but lately I haven’t eaten lunch until close to 3. Frequently, I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast and I’ve run 6 or more miles in that time. Talk about setting yourself up to start shoveling food in your mouth!
4. Drink more water – I’m awful. I have a Sodastream. I buy nuun practically by the case. Yet, most days I don’t touch water until during/after my run.
5. Eat more healthy fats – I love carbs. LOVE them. But I need to add more healthy fats to my diet. When I was nursing Shoo, I couldn’t eat enough to keep the weight on and used to eat an avocado a day. I don’t need to do that, but I think with all of the running I’m doing, I need to add part of an avocado or some nut butter to my mid-day snack.
6. Get away from the kitchen – I work in our dining room, which means I’m steps away from the kitchen. It’s way too easy to walk in and grab a handful of something. I’ve found that if I take my water bottle and computer and move to the living room, I’m much less likely to make the trip back for snacks.
7. Brush my teeth – I used to brush my teeth when I’d get Shoo ready for bed. Actually, I still do, but he goes to bed much later than he used to. I need to start heading upstairs after my evening snack and brush my teeeth. 99% of the time, I don’t snack once I’ve brushed my teeth.
8. Plan my snacks – I’m not going to give up my evening snack all together. We eat dinner at about 5:30. If I don’t eat again before bed, I wake up in the middle of the night with my stomach growling. I don’t mind waking up in the morning hungry, but losing sleep because I’m hungry is not going to cut it. On the nights when I let myself have a planned snack of oatmeal or something protein, I feel my best. I love the Simply Snackin meats and they really work for me. I hate how expensive they are, but really if I only eat that instead of a ton of other stuff, I’ll save money in the end.
9. Cut back on sugar – Sugar is a huge trigger for me. I weaned myself off of sugar in my coffee ages ago because it started me off on a day of wanting sugar. If I’m going to have it, it needs to be late in the day (right before I brush my teeth) and preferably something like a piece of fruit.
10. Just say no – Sometimes nothing else is going to work. If I can run half marathons even when my body says it wants to stop, there is no reason I can’t find that mental strength to just step away from the snacks. That strength is there. I just need to harness it.
Do you have a trigger time of day when you tend to snack? How do you stop yourself? What’s your favorite small meal/snack to eat between real meals?
I totally understand what you are saying!!! My issue actually happens during the day when I”m writing…if I get stuck suddenly I think I need to eat. I don’t mind my small snacks because they work for me too, but yes the eating for other reasons I’m really working on!
Amanda @runtothefinish recently posted…February Ab Challenge – #bestfoot this week #4 link up
This is great. I am the worst at mindless snacking and eating my emotions! I also have a sweet tooth that is always begging for some food too. 🙂
Lora @ Crazy Running Girl recently posted…Faces of Fitness: Healthy Life Happy Wife
Mindless eating? Eating my emotions? Sweet tooth? Check, check, and check. Sigh.
Good tips, and I have pinned to my new board called Looking After ME! Thank you.
Thanks! I need a board like that… off to pinterest I go…
I’m an evening snacker, too – the sad thing is I’m never even hungry then because I eat more than I should at dinner – habit for sure!!
Kim recently posted…How Do You Celebrate Special Days?
Awesome list! I have made it my new years resolution to drink drink drink water throughout the day. So far so good. Good luck with your strategies!
Sally recently posted…Asics Women’s Running Shoes
I feel like an idiot. I sincerely never even thought about the fact that having sugar in my coffee (or drinking a soda in the morning) was turning on the sugar switch, but that absolutely makes sense. See, this is why I need to read more blogs. LOL
Diana recently posted…Just…. Dance?
My biggest problem is timing dinner with my husband. He doesn’t come home before 7/7:30 most nights, so at that point the kids have eaten (and I’ve snacked with them, because it’s impossible not to eat while preparing food for others and I haven’t eaten since 12/1), and we put them to bed first before WE eat dinner, around 8:30/9. AWFUL. So if I’m really paying attention I’ll just eat a real dinner with the kids and then save a plate for my husband to eat when he’s ready. I just can’t eat a SECOND dinner with him then 😉
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Evening’s not a good time for me as far as snacking goes too. I’ve been a bit lenient over the holidays and the end result is slightly tighter clothes so I’ve had to make a concerted effort this week to reign it all back in. I use #7 on your list. I have my dinner and a little while later have a cup of tea with something sweet and then I brush my teeth. Once I brush my teeth I just don’t eat so it works well for me.
Char recently posted…Kicking Goals
Brushing my teeth worked for me!! Until I realized that chocolate after mint toothpast really doesnt taste that bad!!
Do you still love your soda stream? Ive been debating one for three months. Im so afraid of it ‘sitting there’. Im addicted to Diet Coke and want to break it…..
I LOVE it. I drink a couple of bottles of fizzy water (as my kids call it) every day. Both of my boys enjoy it as well. (My mom liked it so much when she visited that she bought one for her house.)
Yeah, sometimes I feel like I can’t feed the fire fast enough. I do a lot of mindless eating since I work from home. The best thing I can do is KEEP BUSY and make the right choices like keeping celery and carrot sticks up front and ready. I also opt for pea protein smoothies when I get desperate. Chia pudding is a late night favorite of mine so it is something I look forward to after dinner. Knowing that I’ll treat myself in a few hours keeps my snacking at bay. Great tips!!
Theresa recently posted…Training Tip Tuesday – Train!
I’m a huge snacker myself and also a sugar addict. I can be so lucky I run. If not I don’t know where my weight would have been. If I train hard I find I am more disciplined.
Johann recently posted…So what’s with my running for 2014?
If I train hard, I’m more hungry LOL.
Great tips! My problem is late at night… I’m going to start working on these!
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables recently posted…Friday Five and Favorites
I seem to be fine after my kids go to bed, but that’s probably because I brush my teeth when they do…
Great tips! The late afternoon is deadly for me – I mindlessly eat my way through helping the kids with homework, prepping dinner, etc. I think my downfall is I don’t plan my lunch and end up grabbing whatever on the fly or not eating at all. Then it’s a downhill spiral from there!
Michelle @ Running with Attitude recently posted…Friday Five – Great cause, Burpees and other stuff
These are great tips. I have been trying to do many of these and exercise more and wrote about it in my January achievements post. For the late night munchies, I have to tell myself “make a healthy choice, make a healthy choice” and it has helped. I certainly feel better. Stopping by from SITS!
Tanya @ Mom’s Small Victories recently posted…January 2014 Personal Goals and Achievements #2014Goals
stopping by from sits! i’m trying to eat healthier this year, and these are some great ideas!
she recently posted…February Goals: I Will Not Be Silenced
I’m a snacker too. I get it from my mom. These are great tips. I need to put them into action!
Jen recently posted…Celebrating my Switch to WP! {Giveaway}
those are great tips! Having enough protein is so important!
ashley p recently posted…Sponsored Post: Never Say Dieting Oath
Mid-afternoon is my weakness. Evenings I’m generally okay once I’ve had my main meal, then I don’t need to eat again.
Rachel Cotterill recently posted…An Assortment of Veggie Squash Recipes
I love to eat. Seriously, it’s one of my favorite things to do! I do these tips but I still like to snack! Although, I Eat dinner really late, I get that from when I lived in Europe. #SITS
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Do you have a trigger time of day when you tend to snack? How do you stop yourself? What’s your favorite small meal/snack to eat between real meals?
I tend to want to snack all day at work! I work in a cubicle from 8am to 5pm. Sometimes I have to do data entry and my mind always wanders to the vending machine in the breakroom!
One thing that has helped me a lot is to plan my snacks in the morning before I leave for work. I will pack a banana for the morning and some grapes or a granola bar for the afternoon. I then tell myself “okay in 2 hours I can have my banana and then in another two hours I can have lunch.” Giving myself a schedule seems to help a lot!
Cassie @ Running Journey recently posted…Treadmill Running or Outdoor Running?
I have such a problem with evening snacking! I don’t know what it is, but an hour after dinner and I’m standing in my pantry trying to find something to eat! 😉 These are great tips – brushing my teeth is the one that works the best for me too!
Jo-Anna recently posted…Colour Takes the Gold! A @CILPaints Giveaway!
Great tips… this sometimes overtakes me too! I find that brushing my teeth really helps.
Nice advice!
I think my favorite way to snack healthier is to eat fruit when I am craving sugar. If I’m still craving sugar, I try eating other food groups — whole grains and healthy fats. After that I see how I feel.
Julie V. (Somebody’s Dinner) recently posted…Retro Re-Pin Party 17
I do try to eat fruit when I’m craving sweets. Doesn’t always work but I try! Thanks for stopping by!