This morning's breakfast: whole wheat toast with butter, local eggs (these guys were huge!), and a little fruit salad of cherries and clementines. I'm taking time to eat a filling breakfast in an attempt to eliminate the need for a snack before lunch. If I just eat cereal or something lighter, I'm hungry one or two hours later. Sometimes I'm just not satisfied and I find myself looking for something else to eat regardless of hunger. I'm thinking this will tide me over for at least four hours.
Eating three filling meals a day helps with clearing my mind. I don't have to worry so much about eating when I'm not truly hungry because it's more clear this way. And eating enough to keep me full for hours is so helpful.
I should note that I don't think snacking is a bad thing for most people. In the past, snacking for me, leads to more snacking and eating without hunger. I'm finding that if my meal is filling, I really don't need to eat between them.
Do you eat between meals?
One thing that helps me to not snack between meals is drinking tea.
I agree Nicole. I have to much tea and always forget about it. I need to implement a 3 or 4pm tea time like the British.
I have the same problem with snacking. I love to snack during the day and I try to only snack on fruit or veggies, but every once in awhile it gets out of hand and I go to the store to buy junk. I have been known to keep gum or mints handy instead.
I love your idea, eating healthy but filling meals to reduce snacking. Your breakfast looked amazing!!
I agree- snacking for me has to be a fruit or vegetable otherwise I’m eating it all!
I got the book Brain Over Binge because you talked about it on your blog. How are you doing? It is making more and more sense to me. Slowly I am starting to understand things inside me. I spent SOOO long in therapy trying to figure myself out. I just kept saying, “I don’t think there is anything wrong with me, I just love food too much and can’t control myself.” I completely relate to what you have been talking about with wanting to find the right program or problem in my life that I could fix to make myself stop overeating. Thanks for writing about this. It has all been a very very interesting and enlightening point of way that is the first real thing that has ever made any sense to me. Please keep me updated. You are the only one I “know” who is open to this and understands what I am talking about.
Hi Melissa- I’m so glad that the book is speaking to you. I am doing well, some days are better than others, but I’m slowly getting ahead and believing that my binge days are behind me.
I can usually make it to lunchtime without a snack but there is no way I can make it to dinner without one. I alway try to have a yogurt or fruit and cheese to snack on. I also find that sipping on tea helps to curb the snacking urges too.
Chandra- so agreed, what is it about tea? It feels so luxurious to me
I need more tea dates with myself!
I find that if I have protein for breakfast then I don’t get the blood sugar high/low that makes me hungry (and grumpy) mid morning. I try to keep carbs around 50 -75g a day to prevent the ups and downs. If I have an omelette made with 2 eggs, 30g cheddar and 50g ham then I’m feeling great all morning and can easily get to 2 or 3 in the afternoon before I get hungry again and need another high protein meal. Eating like this I can struggle to get to 1200 calories a day yet I feel full all the time and it has made food a non issue for me. Cereal, fruit or toast leave me ravenous again by 10am. Everyone is different and it’s a process of finding what works for you and makes you feel great.
I agree- if I just eat cereal, fruit or toast alone, it does nothing for me, but adding eggs making it a 4+ time frame that I’m full.
I think you should eat 4-5 smaller meals during the day. And to avoid snacking sweets or fast food, I eat sliced apples between meals.
Grace- I hear this comment a lot and the sentiment isn’t lost on me, it’s just not realistic for me to eat when I’m not hungry. When I do this, it brings back old habits of eating too much because I’m eating out of hunger. As long as I don’t let myself get too hungry, I’m good to go