1) CHEW GUM!
2) Drink tea
3) I definitely second the 'look online at cute goal clothes'
4) Stay out of the kitchen
5) DON'T watch the yummy food commercials
6) Call a friend
7) Make a list of stuff you need to get done (I love lists lol)
chew gum
drink tea
eat a 5 calorie jello cup
have a bubble bath... a LONG one
read a good book
grooming your double coated show dog that is blowing puppy coat (omg....)
clean
fold laundry
do dishes
go for a walk
call a friend
~ I always have a crossword puzzle book close by
~ I keep a fun journal, lots of stickers and cut outs of clothes i want glued in
~ I love cleaning, so I do a lot of that. Love to re-organize shelves
~ doing a fun laundry room project - why does it have to be ugly?? I'm painting fluffy clouds, a little picket fence and a clothes line with clothes dangling off it as a mural on the wall, keeps me busy and looks awesome!
~ clean behind the fridge
~ smooooch with DH
Sugarless Gum is my first line of defense, followed closely by large glasses of water.
I rarely need more time for the craving to pass, but if I do I like to exercise or get out of the house. A walk is always great and I can't eat if I am not near food.
~ doing a fun laundry room project - why does it have to be ugly?? I'm painting fluffy clouds, a little picket fence and a clothes line with clothes dangling off it as a mural on the wall, keeps me busy and looks awesome!
I also go for the "delay, but make it part of my calorie allowance" tactic. So, if fundraising chocolates turn up at work, I tell myself I can have one, at afternoon tea, instead of whatever I had originally planned to eat.
Otherwise, tea. Lots of tea.
If it's emotional though, then I try to work out what it is that I'm feeling, and if I'm still fixated on food, then I try to treat myself with something other than food. I buy something, or get dressed up, or have a bath, or read a pulpy book.
Read. Play around online. Go for walk if it's light out and weather permits. Clean or declutter. And my favorite, as someone said: when all else fails, go to bed. I probably need more sleep anyway!
I get out of the house! Shopping would be my preference.
Or, if it's late, I just go to bed.
I also plan for unplanned foods by having lots of on-plan foods around all the time. If I'm really wanting to eat something that I can't fit into my calorie budget for the day, I eat something that I CAN fit in. When I'm full, it's easier to not eat off plan.
To reorganize my closed have been helpful this last week. I also have found miniatures really useful as a distraction because they involves different crafts and if I’m not in the mood to stitch, I can paint miniature furniture or wallpaper a room
I don't get the late night munchies too often now that I am thinking about it. I tend to eat my biggest meal in the middle of the day just because that's when I am the most hungry. I eat a lot of whole foods, so the volume is high while the calories are low. If I am hungry later, I eat, simple as that. I eat a whole food snack. Fruit, veggies, an egg white with chopped veggies, greek yogurt with fruit mixed in (the kind I cut up myself), etc.
If I have a craving for something I shouldn't eat, then a distraction could come into play, but I find that if I keep myself even on the hunger scale those little evil thoughts don't intrude too often. They come out when I have let myself get hungry. When that happens, I immediately go back to plan above. Once I am not ravishing anymore, my mind returns to normal.
If it's just that I'm bored and want to eat for no reason, then yeah, a distraction is good. Find something to do.
Paint my nails
Read a fitness magazine
Play a game with my girls
Watch something on TV - I am not a TV eater, never have been thank goodness!
Probably not the best time to clean the kitchen. Maybe fold some laundry.
or I just tell myself "no" if I can't swing a little bit into my points for the day!
