Quick question....
 

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. :) :carrot:

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!!

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).

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

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

I like pickles- yum!!

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.

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!

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.