I've recently fallen back into the habit of snacking while I'm cooking dinner. If I'm putting cheese with something, I'll eat a little extra. Or taste the enchilada sauce a few too many times...then I'll feel HORRIBLE because I can't tell how much extra I ate, and I worry it killed my calories for the day...
Anyone else have this problem? What do you do to avoid it? (Other than will-power...which I obviously have NONE of these days)
Oh, I definitely do that!
I'll try to keep an eye on how much I'm eating and then be honest about it in my daily plate. Just the act of trying to keep an eye so I can count helps me stay a little bit in check.
The mint gum is a good idea!
Yep, if I'm cooking something overly tempting, I chew gum.
I also measure out ingredients before I start cooking for my calorie-calculating, rather than after cooking. That means if I snack on something while cooking, it gets deducted from the total amount cooked for dinner. Since my portion is 1/4 of the total I cook, I just portion myself up a bit less than my "share" at dinner and it all evens out.
If I'm REALLY hungry while cooking, I will get myself a healthy snack, so I have something to munch on. Usually raw veggies or something. It's easier to avoid the ingredients if I'm already eating something.
I like the gum idea but I have this image of the gum falling out of my mouth and into dinner (surprise! )
This was a major problem for me too - until I started getting practically obsessive about my food journaling. I kept a pad of paper next to me in the kitchen and made a column for everything I was using to prepar dinner. Then I would put a hash mark in the column every time I "tested" the food. Just having that visual reminder of how many bites I was taking (and the fact that really often my "tastes" added up to more than an entire serving ) helped me break that habit pretty quickly.
When I find myself snacking as I prepare, it's because I'm hungry. The suggestion of having a snack available, especially something like vegetables or a fruit serving cut up in bite size pieces is a really good one.
This was a major problem for me too - until I started getting practically obsessive about my food journaling. I kept a pad of paper next to me in the kitchen and made a column for everything I was using to prepar dinner. Then I would put a hash mark in the column every time I "tested" the food. Just having that visual reminder of how many bites I was taking (and the fact that really often my "tastes" added up to more than an entire serving ) helped me break that habit pretty quickly.
That is a great idea!
I just try to limit my snacks to the ingredients that aren't very high in calories--mainly the veggies I am adding. I figure if I'm not losing/maintaining my weight, the problem isn't the veggies.
If I have to sample something to see if it is done, seasoned appropriately, etc., I try to take a very small amount. So 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of the sauce I am making, a little slice of potato, just a tiny piece of pasta (instead of a whole noodle), or just a few grains of rice.