I love food, I will admit it. If there were no calories and no draw backs I would make a career out of eating!
When I am bored I like to munch and over the years it’s been a habit that I’ve had to work myself out of. Do I think it’s completely gone? No. I do however minimize the chance that it will re-surface.
Maybe this will help someone else. If it helps one other person then me writing this will be worth it. This is what I’ve done to help with my non-stop desire to munch on food..
- Remove the stuff you love from your house. I literally went into my cabinets and emptied them of all the junk food. Unopened stuff as well. I *really* wanted to eat it all 🙂 but that would have defeated the purpose! Some things I took to work and the things that would not last until work had to go.
- Remove the junk food that you keep at work. Sometimes we keep emergency snacks in our drawers at work. When I get bored at work I start to think about food, and those snacks. Next thing you know they are going down the hatch. So .. no more work snacks.
- If you have vending machines at work and like to visit them then stop bringing change to work. We have vending machines at work and this is actually not a problem for me but if it is for you then take the opportunity out of the equation.
- Think about your grocery shopping trip .. give yourself a break but not a chance to fall. This is hard to explain in one sentence. If it’s something I LOVE and will consume immediately then sadly I never bring it into my house (because I will eat it ALL and immediately!). We are, however, human, and in order to survive a healthy lifestyle it is a good idea to give yourself a cheat moment or two along the way. So, when I grocery shop I will buy a focused quantity of something I like each week.
- As an example … I cannot bring Nutella into the house because I will eat the whole jar but I will buy a couple of slices of deli cake to give myself a sweet treat for working hard and staying focused all week. That way it is a treat and not too excessive. I may buy a pint of ice cream but I will never buy a gallon.
- Speaking of grocery shopping, try to buy what you need for that time period. Try not to fall victim of buying junk food because it’s on sale or you have coupons. Sure, it’s nice to save money but if we are trying to be healthier then it’s better to stay on course, no? Decide what you want to have more … that cheap gallon of ice cream or to be able to fit into a smaller pair of jeans? Trust me, it’s worth the sacrafice!
- If you think you are hungry, when you are usually munching, try drinking water. It’s been said that sometimes we interpret our body signals as being hungry when in fact it just wants water. So why not try? Grab a glass of water and see if 8 ounces does not do the trick!
If you have a sweet tooth, like I do, sometimes it’s hard or near impossible to give it all up. It’s both a mental and physical stress it seems. That’s when we both give ourselves breaks to work towards and we also learn to make simple swaps. If this is also you, then read my post Start Small and Start Now – Make Simple Swaps in Your Eating to Change Your Life and maybe this will help as well. I’ve learned to balance eating healthy while also satisfying my sweet tooth and, to be honest, it does not feel like I ever sacrifice what I eat.
If you have questions, let me know! I would love to help or give advice. Thanks for reading!
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