[smgleason]

Yeah, the title isn't very discriptive but the only other things sounded wrong in my mind (I'm 23 sometimes bad thoughts just cannot be helped). So I suppose I am a type of person that has to be chewing something, or keeping my mouth busy most of the time, all I can really think of is chewing gum, which I do constantly but I am wondering if there is another low calorie alternative that I can like constantly snack on throughout the day in between my meals and snacks?

Oh, and I am very proud of myself! Its a really small thing I suppose but its big for me, I made a cake the other day and today I just really wanted something sweet, I told myself I would have ONE BITE, only one forkful, and that is exactly what I did! I had my bite, put the lid on the pan and walked away! Normally I would have stood at the counter and ate a huge piece of cake.

[treepeters]

I think the old standards still hold up... celery and carrots. Mostly celery.
Also, a nice lettuce salad can give you a feeling of eating and it's mostly water. I even like it with just lawry salt and pepper.
Cucumber with a lttle salt is really good.

good luck!!

[shoes27]

I have the same problem when I am bored and I usually chew gum or eat Celery.

The only other thing I can think of is maybe sugar-free hard candy, but I guess that is really the same as gum and probably has a bit more calories than gum (I may be wrong, I haven't checked).

[3FCer344892]

Great job on resisting the cake, smgleason! That's more than I can do.

[thesame7lbs]

I like raw sugar-snap peas for a crunchy, low-cal snack!

[i am still trying]

I like pickles- yum!!

[Sittingrumpy]

One thing I used when I quit smoking was straws. Go to the dollar store by 500 straws, cut them in half and every time you want the hand to mouth, chew a straw.

[3FCuser001]

I'm going to be blunt here: it's a habit that needs to be broken! Simple as that. There is no low-calorie food you can shove into you all day long without having negative side effects. So the only really sensible option is to take the sentence "I am a type of person that has to be chewing something" and prove yourself wrong!

I don't know what you do all day, but here are some suggestions to help you break that habit:

If you like to munch in front of the TV, when your hands are idle, someone here (sorry, I forgot who it was) buffed her nails instead of putting food in her mouth. Or try knitting, that keeps your hands busy, too!

If you want some snack while you're at the computer, try having a glass of water or herbal tea close by all the time. That was it for me - my automatism was to reach out for something all the time when I was at the computer - now it's a glass of water I reach out to.

If it's while you are out and about, try taking nothing with you - and no money, either, so you cannot buy something to munch on. A week should basically do to break you from the habit.

Good luck!

[ShylahEQ]

If I get to where I need something to keep my oral fixation occupied, I get a bag of sunflower seeds (with shells). I buy the unsalted. They don't taste great to me, so it cures the need quickly.