Everyday Systems

I don't know what my problem is. I can make it through breakfast and lunch with only one plate but when it comes to around 3 p.m. I always grab a snack. This has been going on for years.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Bigger breakfast? Find something radically different to do between 2:30 and 4:30?

Grabbing a snack at 3 o'clock is a habit. Unfortunately, it's harder to break an old habit than it is to start a new one. That doesn't mean you can't do it. Distract yourself with something. Take a walk. Deep breathe. Jump rope. Meditate. Do something different than eating at 3 PM.

I have struggled with this as well. Just be aware that it happens and like others have said do something else during that time....and fight your way through it. Get a few days under your belt and it will get easier. Not sayijng it will be easy, but it should be less difficult as time goes on. Good luck!

This has always been a difficult time of day for me too. What I have found that works is having a cup of tea with a teaspoon of sugar. I read a study recently about willpower and how it gets depleted as the day goes on. Apparently restoring blood glucose to a certain level improves our self control, and it doesn't need to be very much, a teaspoon or two of sugar or honey should do it.

I started doing this a few weeks ago when I noticed I would start feeling tired and snacky in the afternoons (usually between 3 and 4), and it has made a big difference for me. After my sweet tea, I am able to get through the kids coming home from school up til dinner prep without feeling that desperate feeling that I need to eat.

And a cup of sweet tea is okay on No-S!

Have milk or another beverage, unless you really aren't hungry. Then water and diversions. You can do it! Get through 4 days. Friday will be easy and then you have S days. But don't wait until you have 4 days in a row.

April, Afternoons have always been the worst time to want to snack for me, but I've found that eating a pretty full plate of food at lunchtime is helping me keep from snacking in the afternoons.

I'm not saying the temptation is never there because it is there more than I'd like to admit. I've found that if I sip on a diet dr. pepper (not the greatest choice, but according to the book is allowed) seems to help and has helped me through quite a few tough times since I started. I look forward to the day that I get used to no snacking and won't have to rely on them quite so much.

We can do it! Hang in there and don't give up. I tried No S a very long time ago and didn't trust myself enough to continue it. So, I went back to counting calories and lost a lot of weight over time, but gained it back in no time at all. when I again couldn't stick with the monotony of keeping track of every morsel. It just wasn't worth going back to that way of living.

I wonder where I'd be today if I'd just stuck with No S and taken time to relearn how to get back to eating like I did as a kid. Snacks were honestly special treats. We ate three square meals a day and I never had a weight problem. It was only after becoming a young adult and started "dieting", that I dieted my way to over 200 pounds in just a few years. If I'd never heard the word "diet", I think I would never have had a problem with weight.

I didn't meant to turn this into a short story, but wanted to encourage you to hang in there and give this a chance even though the temptation is there and is strong. Make sure to eat enough lunch to get you through the afternoon munchies and find something to sip on to get you through them, too. Also, get busy and do anything for a little while and the temptation may leave you before you even realize it.

We can do this!

Try to make it hard to get a snack in the afternoon. Some ways you might do that:

Don't hang out in the kitchen or at a place that sells food.

Don't keep food with you. Don't have change for the vending machine.

Find something to do in the afternoons that doesn't work with snacking. This could be something like taking a walk, but it could also be something like a video game that doesn't allow you breaks to get snacks. If you're at work, schedule yourself to do something that food would be an unwelcome distraction from.

I moved my lunch to 1:00-2:00 and it makes the day go by so much faster. If you can do this, it's a good option.

Please tell us how it's going.

Since this is an ongoing, long term struggle, why not schedule a fourth small meal at 3pm every day? It could just be a banana or a piece of cheese or a few nuts. The key is to plan for it - that way it does not lead to random snacking, which is the real problem that most have. I have "banana o'clock" at around 3 every day. I just need something at that time. I don't really like bananas all that much - but at 3 pm a banana really hits the spot, and gives me a boost until dinner. Occasionally I will eat an apple instead, if I don't have any bananas. There is nothing holy about "3 meals" or about doing noS exactly as written. Figure out what works for you. Having a "mini meal" at 3pm, if that is what you need to succeed at noS, is not a moral failing, and may be preferable to forcing yourself to conform to vanilla noS. Banana o'clock has not led me to grazing or snacking at other times (I never even have the urge), and has made noS much, much easier for me to stick with.

Unless you have a medical condition that requires you to eat more often, embrace the hunger as a sign that your body is using up the food you have been giving it thus far in the day - and then enjoy your evening meal knowing that your body is ready to use it for fuel.



I drink green tea all day long at my desk, that and ice water.

If you need a snack every afternoon, perhaps you are not eating enough for lunch. I would eat more at meals just to break the snacking habit.

I agree with navi. I finally started having half my lunch at 11 and the other half at 3. Works mucho better for me. But I am religious about making a normal plate at 11 and then splitting in half immediately; otherwise I'd end up two full lunches.