Distraction ideas...
 

One thing recommended when we want to eat unplanned food is using distractions. How many can we think of. Please feel free to add some.:)

I'll go first:

Brush teeth
Read a book on health
call a diet buddy
post here
play with pet or child
exercise
shower
music
putter

Read the "20 Worst Restaurant Foods" list again

Knit
Play the piano
drink water

Posting...first line of defense ! Also, foraging for healthy alternatives, like a cup of herbal tea,or a plate full of crunchy raw veggies.

I was sitting here trying to think of something and realized that I got nothing! I need this thread! Thanks! :)

..draw/color/paint/crafts
..clean
..look online @ clothes you want once you reach goal

Hubby and I are both binge eaters and we get our worst urges at night, so when this happens, we like to pull out a game, Scrabble for instance. It takes out mind off the food and keeps out hands busy. The time passes pretty quickly and the urges do too. :)

Journal
Read anything
Write a letter
Walk the dog

Crochet! Play a video game :)

Anything that keeps your hands busy and wastes time :D

Sorry if some of these repeat

Chew gum
go to sleep
read a book
paint your nails
put a mask on your face
organize your closet
clean out papers you have piling up
cuddle with a loved one or massage one another's feet with lotion (just a thought) ;)
Find karaoke songs on youtube and sing along...I'm a dork! ;)

After dinner, I declare the kitchen closed. Lights off, no more being served.
When all else fails, go to bed. Tomorrow will be better!

Something I found that works really well is to put white strips on your teeth. You get a whiter smile and don't feel like eating.

Surf the web
Sew
Do Laundry (which means going downstairs for me)

talking a walk, reading a good book, or my favorite, reading 3FC!!

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

Play the guitar, just dance or jump on the elliptical, chew gum :) or I just tell myself "no" if I can't swing a little bit into my points for the day!

Chew gum or Drink Crystal Light with crushed ice and munch on ice, Read success stories and look for before and after pics.

Pray
Journal
Run up and down the stairs
Pull out the camera and get creative

~ 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 :D

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. ;)

We'd love to see some pics.

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. :D

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. :D 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.

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.