So just wanted to reach out to everyone for advice on
WHAT TO DO
WHEN YOU ARE NOTHUNGRY
In the past ...I have drank chicken broth, tea, hot salt water, Yam Noodles, Rice Cakes, looked at fashion blogs for inspiration, went and looked at Ex's FB/Twitter (*embarrasedface*), Old pictures of my former body to stay FOCUSED!!!!
But that gnawling feeling persist that I am Hungry, when I am Definitely NOT
Do you guys have any tips tricks mind games, or food you go to for instant Satiable-ness (i think i made that word up)
i.e counting backwords, Repeating Inspiration Phrases, Sucking on Ice
I found that, for me, anything that involves chewing or putting stuff in my mouth (gum, ect.) other than cold water makes my cravings for food, any food, WORSE.
So. If I'm having persistent "I MUST EAT SOMETHING" thoughts even when I know I'm not hungry (I check the time first, and look at my activity for the day--sometimes I am hungry), I try to do something like:
*go for a walk
*pray/meditate
*call somebody (I'm a member of OA so there's always someone to call)
*text or email somebody
*write in my journal
*set a time for 15 minutes and do whatever it is that I'm procrastinating about (the normal cause for "must eat something" thoughts for me).
*read the OA "Before you take the first compulsive bite" mini-pamphlet (I keep on in each car and in my wallet).
*tell myself that I could eat it, but I'm just not going to for a couple of hours or until dinner/lunch/breakfast, whenever the next meal is.
*write a letter to someone
*work on my writing project
*do my relaxation exercises (another typical trigger for "must eat" thoughts for me is stress/anxiety)
*plug in a favorite podcast and do some housework/other work while listening
*go get a hug from hubby (he works from home) to recharge and to tell him what I'm feeling (he doesn't problem solve, by my request, but sometimes it helps to just admit it out loud)
*get out my cat's favorite toy and play with him
*troll youtube for 15 minute to look for hilarious videos.
Exercise!!!! Walking, gardening, treadmill, mowing lawn, anything that will make you sweat and/or be hot. When I get too hot, I don't want to eat anything. I just need a glass of cold water. If you have access to a sauna or steam room, it might work, but moving is better.
I agree with the brushing teeth idea; it's helped me alot especially when going to a place I don't want to eat but know there will be food at. I also agree that many of the previous ideas work well too.
I wanted to add to the list that I make sure that the types of food are very filling. At NutritionData.com, there is lots of data on each food item that also includes Fullness Factor (a number from 1 to 5, I think). I have used this along with volumetrics information to help find the most filling, nutritious and lowest calorie foods I like.
Below is a paste from their summary:
NUTRITIONAL TARGET MAP™
The Nutritional Target Map™ allows you to see at a glance how foods line up with your nutritional and weight-management goals. The closer a food is to the right edge of the map, the more essential nutrients per calorie it contains. For a more nutritious diet, select foods that fall on the right half of the map.
The closer a food is to the top edge of the map, the more likely it is to fill you up with fewer calories. If you want to restrict your caloric intake without feeling hungry, choose foods from the top half of the map.
Foods that are close to the bottom edge are more calorie-dense. If you want to increase your calorie intake without getting too full, choose foods from the bottom half of the map.
The teeth brushing definately works!!! And if it is after dinner and all my calories are spent, I check out my pee (gross, I know) and I'm usually just dehydrated, so I commit myself to drinking water "until I am hydrated". Telling myself this, plus the teeth brushing, gets me to bedtime.
I think all the suggestions are awesome! I, however, appear to have an exceedingly difficult time breaking the obsessive thinking, even while I apply most of these interventions. For this reason, I allow myself 10 sugar free hard candies per day.
I know that the artificial sweetener is probably a bad idea and on most days I find that I only eat about 4 of them, but I also know that if I don't have something in my mouth that is incompatible with eating something that will do more damage, I will go for something that I should definitely not have. One of the candies will last for at least 20 minutes (I never chew them) and between those and water, herbal tea, etc., I make it between meals.
Having said this, clearly , the suggestions that do not involve eating needlessly, especially if the alternative behaviors are also productive, are preferable.