Everyday Systems

I need the board to be an accountability buddy (forgive the cheesiness of that statement).

I tend to do better with short term goals that lead to a long term win, so I am going on a three day challenge of unplanned snacks (I will allow myself ONE snack between lunch and dinner if there is a long interval).


I'll also not have any sweets. I'm not so concerned about the seconds. I"ve always effortlessly lost weight when in an environment not conducive to snacking (ie, vacation).

Excited about the process.

Good luck with your 3-day challenge! Looking forward to reading how it goes for you.

Slipped up three times- A couple of handfuls of M&Ms from a coworker's desk midday, a bite of ice cream after work, and two white chocolate covered pretzels in the evening. Oh well, today is the day. Thanks for keeping me honest

Honesty is half the battle!

Thank you for spurring me to post! I haven't had a successful day yet… today will be the first. I'm going to consider it my mental work out.

Is there a particularly difficult time of day for you? Or a particular place that trips you up? Perhaps you can problem solve to help reduce the accessibility and/or temptation. As you say, sometimes small changes can lead to quite big results.

Good luck and if you need any ideas just ask.

Thanks for the question Gingerpie.

Tough times for me are in the morning around 10. That's b/c I often skip breakfast and try to hold to lunch. I inveitably don't make it and find a co-workers candy bowl...one handful leads to three and sometimes I will skip or skimp on lunch b/c I am again not hungry from M&Ms. Also, anytime work or school gets monotonous I go on snack auto pilot.

I am going to start a thrice daily check in. I'll post around every meal, or at least twice a day, to indicate if I have made it or not...tiny goals.

Why not just plan a 10am "late breakfast"? I think it's much easier to eat something planned and savoury at 10 which is not too big than to fit the inevitable cravings if you don't I have breakfast at 9am so not much earlier.

Why do you skip breakfast? Because you aren't hungry or some other logistical reason. Planning your breakfast time seems like a good place to start. My method is to assemble all the ingredients the night before so I only have to cook and eat in the morning. Or, as eschsno suggested, you could take it with you and eat it around 10 instead of candy. I think there is a good chance the rest of your day will start to fall into place if you can establish a firm breakfast habit.

This might seem unrelated but if work gets boring you might think about a way in which you could use down time for personal growth instead of snacking. Maybe podcast, books, music, study . . . anything that uses your brain activly to alleviate the bordom and consequently to reduce the urge to snack.

Good luck and keep trying.