I've been doing all I can the last few days to stay away from the snacks, away from the kitchen. But I can only do so much! (I do need to spend some time at home, after all!)
My hardest time is the afternoon and evening. Especially after my daughter goes to bed; I keep finding myself reachign for snacks. I know I'm not hungry, but it's compulsive.
I think it's like any other bad habit you have to break.
Keep your hands busy with something else! Try knitting, or writing family/friends letters, or scrapbooking. Whatever interests you!
I know I eat when I'm bored. I often catch myself getting up and walkng to the cupboard and opening it. Then it kinda clicks in my head and I'm like "What am I doing?!" and I just close it and go do something else. It's starting to happen less now though, so I think it just takes time to snap yourself out of it!
You can't control your thoughts. I think it's nearly impossible.
You can, however, distract yourself. I crochet ALL the time when I'm watching tv so my hands are busy. I've also found that it's not the eating I find so comforting, it's the act of chewing. (My doctor said for some reason chewing is a soothing motion for humans. No idea why though.) I chew gum between meals.
Also, are you on any diet? I used to be the same way--always eating, and when I wasn't eating, I was thinking about eating. Then I read the Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno. She advocates eating 6 mini meal of fresh fruits and veggies, with lean protein and complex carbs. They're not snacks, they're smaller sized, full meals. I feel like I'm constantly eating, so I'm placating that urge, but with healthy food.
The first week I've been on it, I've lost about 7lbs total since I've started about three weeks ago.
I would love to hear this answer to this! I think about eating more now than when I wasn't trying to be healthy. I think about my next meal, I stress about how many caloires are in everything, how much sodium is in my plan for the day, etc. It's awful! Even when I'm eating I'm thinking about food!
I have found that if I drink more water I am less apt to going to the kitchen in the evenings. My problem is I am a TV watcher, and I got so used to eating while watching TV at night. So, I simply save some of my calories for then and eat healthy snacks, like carrot sticks, unsalted popcorn, rice cakes, or something with little calories that tricks my brain I am snacking while watching TV.
During the times when you just can't stop thinking about food, and you can't seem to distract yourself, keep this in mind: eating will NOT take away the thoughts. 10 minutes from now, you will probably still be thinking about food, whether you eat a snack or not. In fact, in my experience, eating will just make things worse. The more you practice ignoring the urge to eat or saying "no" to yourself, the easier it gets.
There's no easy answer, it begins by channeling all that food energy into eating healthy. Write down your calories, plan your next meals, and think before you eat. It helps to think positive thoughts about the food you're eating "this lettuce tastes soooooo good" or "I never knew yogurt could be so yuuuuummy" etc. It makes you feel satisfied with the food you're eating rather than wishing you're eating something else.
It's not easy, but it's a whole process to get yourself UNaddicted to food. Spend as much time as you can observing healthy eaters. You'll find out that they have a whole range of things that keep them happy: physical activity, hobbies, spending time with friends, and keep themselves away from eating and thinking about food. I don't know how they do it but I know they're more likely to have the answer to your question than I do.
I often catch myself getting up and walkng to the cupboard and opening it. Then it kinda clicks in my head and I'm like "What am I doing?!" and I just close it and go do something else. It's starting to happen less now though, so I think it just takes time to snap yourself out of it!
Good luck!
LOL I just posted a thread about this SAME thing.. Glad to know it's not just me ;-)
How do I stop thinking about food?
