Fighting off the urge to snack

[M's sick of dieting]

Hello all, I'm posting this to keep myself from eating. Night time is so hard for me oh my goodness. Trying to get back into this healthy life habit but Man ! I've had to give myself 2 pep talks tonight ! I'm not hungry, at all!! Not even a little, but my desire to eat is obnoxious.. It's all I think about, it's one of those things where you don't realize how bad it is until you try to stop. They say it takes 2 weeks to break a bad habit, we'll see, this is day 2 for me. I'm thinking of it like quitting smoking or nail bitting. I'm remembering the wise words of my Mom's BFF (whose 66 and a size 4) "that grazing is just a bad habit that'll make you fat and once you stop you won't want to eat outside of meals". Ok, gonna go to bed now and know it'll get easier. Have any of you ever had to avoid the kitchen after dinner out of fear of losing control?

[earl7z]

Have any of you ever had to avoid the kitchen after dinner out of fear of losing control?

Rarely. Only every day

I find it helpful to sit and breathe. And understand that it's my choice to overeat or not. And if I overeat then I own the consequences, namely feeling stuffed and lousy in the morning. It's also my choice to not overeat, and to just sit and feel the desire to overeat. And breathe.

And I'm slowly discovering that if I don't overeat, just ride it out, calmly, that I DON'T die or starve or whatever. And I feel much better in the morning. I tell myself, I can overeat tomorrow if that's my choice.

Good luck. This isn't easy. But it is possible.

[Lyra]

Hi M,

I'm new to No S too, but before I came here I had come up with a (kind of) similar plan. I found that what helped me was journaling about what was going on, and I know it sounds funny, really playing up and celebrating every little success. I'm talking junior-high school type celebrations with multiple exclamation points and under-linings and hearts over the i's. This really worked for me.

Good luck! I know you can do it!

[r.jean]

I agree that the trick is to adjust your meal amount gradually to satisfy for several hours but let hunger creep in as the next meal approaches. It can be hard to figure out at times especially when vigorous activity is involved.

However, I would warn against being too strict. Too much deprivation can lead to episodes of overeating or binging. Have a glass of milk (or another healthy beverage) to tide you over if you are getting too hungry.

I started doing No S for weight loss. I am still here because of the sane approach I now have toward food....most of the time. It will always be a bit of a challenge.

[oolala53]

I'd say it's rare to find someone who isn't/wasn't used to nibbling (or more) at night. Our desires don't suddenly go away just because we decide to change our habit. In fact, that's WHY we have to decide to change the behavior. If we didn't desire food at night, there wouldn't be an issue.

Most eating habits are based on habit, not need. Most Americans don't eat because of need! If you had dinner, you don't need a snack. Accept that you have the desire; try not to be upset with it. Then try to get involved in something pleasurable or productive.

Be sure it's hunger, if you decide to have a caloric beverage. Having it because you're feeling antsy will likely prolong withdrawal.

There is NO guarantee how long it takes to establish a new eating routine, but I'd say you can make a real dent in the desires at night if you do hold on with no failures for two weeks. I can say from this side that for me it was totally worth the effort.

[leafy_greens]

Hello all, I'm posting this to keep myself from eating. Night time is so hard for me oh my goodness. Trying to get back into this healthy life habit but Man ! I've had to give myself 2 pep talks tonight ! I'm not hungry, at all!! Not even a little, but my desire to eat is obnoxious.. It's all I think about, it's one of those things where you don't realize how bad it is until you try to stop. They say it takes 2 weeks to break a bad habit, we'll see, this is day 2 for me. I'm thinking of it like quitting smoking or nail bitting. I'm remembering the wise words of my Mom's BFF (whose 66 and a size 4) "that grazing is just a bad habit that'll make you fat and once you stop you won't want to eat outside of meals". Ok, gonna go to bed now and know it'll get easier. Have any of you ever had to avoid the kitchen after dinner out of fear of losing control?

It might take you more than two weeks to break the habit - be prepared!