peanut butter
 

I've noticed on these threads that peanut butter is a commonly tempting and fairly-easily-bingeable food around here. So I wanted to start a thread about it, so we could talk about it... "know thine enemy", as they say. ;)

I do buy peanut butter, but I limit myself to one or two tablespoons at a time. I thought I was doing well... "I'm measuring out two tablespoons!" ... but I kept getting this little voice in my head... "I want more! I want more!" So I'd have a taste here, a taste there...

Well... I started really buckling down on my eating in other ways, but I was still having these tastes of peanut butter. I figured I wasn't doing much harm to my calorie count, but I decided anyway that for a couple days, every time I took "just a taste" of peanut butter I would measure it and figure out exactly how much it was and how much I was eating in a day, if I didn't try to limit myself at all.

I only counted for a couple days, but in those couple days, I was eating 6-7 TABLESPOONS of peanut butter a day ... and I thought they had been tiny nibbles... that's 600-700 extra calories! Every day! :yikes: No WONDER my weight loss has been so excruciatingly slow!

The good news is, if I can cut out the peanut butter, it will be SO much easier to lose weight. But I'm not sure what to do. Do I just stop buying peanut butter completely? I'm afraid that if I stop buying it I'll sit around feeling unsatisfied and compulsively eat everything ELSE in the house to try to compensate... that happened to me when I told myself "NO more chocolate!" a couple years back, and I gained 15 pounds almost before I knew it was happening! (Also, just the THOUGHT of having NO more peanut butter makes me want to rush downstairs and start bingeing, right this second. :( ) But I can't see myself cutting it back slowly, either... :?:

I've thought about buying nuts instead of peanut butter... but I also tend to binge on raw almonds and the like... I LOVE that "nutty" flavor and once I have it, it's very hard to stop. I don't want to lose that nutty flavor altogether, though. :( I guess if I have to, I have to... I just don't want to fall off the wagon completely because I feel deprived of that one flavor/food...

I think maybe peanut butter is so satisfying because it contains both fat AND protein... are there other, healthier foods that contain both fat and protein that might also be satisfying? Are there other foods that have a nutty flavor that might be an appropriate substitute? Generally, is it best to go cold turkey with a trigger food, or cut it off slowly? And if there are feelings of deprivation, do you get over it after days or weeks go by? (I realize that's kind of a silly question -- we can and do adjust to change -- but I can't imagine not craving peanut butter!)

Phew. So many questions, sorry! I know I'm probably REALLY overthinking this, but right now this little thing seems like a huge hurdle. Any and all thoughts are very much appreciated. :hug:

If you don't feel like ruling out PB would be a good idea on a permanent basis - you might try one of the following:

1. Cut it out for a limited period of time (say, 2 weeks). You can have it back at the end, but it might break the daily habit of the little nibbles.

2. Measure and record every bite of PB BEFORE you eat it. Commit to not eating even the tiniest nibble without writing it down and counting the calories for it. Even knowing you have to record it can help slow you down.

I think this is a behavioral thing, though it's also about the food itself.

But ... still .... may I ask, what kind of peanut butter are you eating? When I switched to the natural brands, with no sugar or salt additives, that really helped me. (Trader Joe's has a good house brand.) I liked the taste but craved it less.

How are you eating it? I want details. I mean, what are you doing physically? What exactly happens when you eat it? Are you standing up? With spoon & jar in hand? Moving? You're not sitting down to a meal in front of a plate with a portion of peanut butter on the side of the plate for dipping or already spread on something, are you?

When does this happen? How many hours do you have to be home before this occurs? Ae you alone? And at what time, generally? Evening? Afternoon? Morning, when preppign breakfast or lunch?

What do you associate with peanut butter? What is your memory of eating it & your experiences with it in the past?

It may help if you think this things out. If you keep a journal -- I don't mean a record of food, I mean something your thoughts & feelings get into -- this is definitely worth journaling over.

But binging is a behavior, I believe, more than it really is about any trigger food in particular. If you are inclined to binge, you will keep doing it on healthy or low-cal foods. Once you eliminate one thing, you will find another. That's why we have to do the mental work, too.

saef - great questions! i am going to try to answer those myself as PNB is 'still' not allowed in the house...

i did hear a suggestion to help though - buy the PNB and then mix it, immediately, with a full container of plain ff/sf yogurt until smooth. then if you want a tbls, it is significantly lower calorie!

what do you all think? would it maybe work? or would you just eat 2 or 3 tbls at a time instead?!?!? what about mixing it with ff cream cheese instead?

I see a couple options here:

1) Continue the behavior, eating food by the tablespoonful out of the jar, six or seven a day. (I don't know how this breaks out -- seven daily visits to the jar? three visits? two?) But somehow reduce the calories, by mixing it with something.

2) Stop the behavior, which could mean keeping PB in the house but limiting it, or never bringing it in the house at all, or working on the behavior in general so that it is not transferred to a different foodstuff perceived as lower-cal or "safer" than PB in some way.

We all have to decide this stuff if we're prone to this behavior.

Hello! I'm in Weight Watchers and this reminded me of something we discussed at a meeting. It was about red light foods (things that tend to lead to binging once you have some) and our leader said that one of hers is peanut butter, and that she learned to keep it out of the house completely.

Someone in the meeting then mentioned PB2, the low calorie powdered peanut butter that you mix with water, as an alternative. I had tried that before and wasn't that impressed, but the mentioned how having to take the time to mix up a serving might be a good way to slow someone down once they get into binge mode. And then, if you do continue to binge, at least it's about 1/4th the calories!

So that is something else you might add to your arsenal against PB binges.

(I personally have come around to appreciating it--just this morning I sprinkled some into my oatmeal, but it is not quite the same as real PB).

Skyra, I know exactly what you are saying. I think I am addicted to Peanut Butter. I used to buy an all natural brand, no salt, sugar or anything added, just peanuts and I just loved it. I craved that stuff, and I would binge on it by the spoonfuls til i ate 3/4 of the jar about twice a week. I got so sick! I used to eat it with spoonfuls of marshmellow, F.F whipped cream or chocolate marshmellow frozen yogurt. It tasted like heaven to me if I ate it with these other foods. I gained 3 lbs in one day when I did that! I tried not buying it for a while, then my family would complain that there is no peanut butter for them, so I would give in and buy it. And guess what happened? So for the past week I refuse to buy it or any of the foods I used to eat it with(cause I crave P.B when I eat these foods alone) I have been binge free for 6 days, just don't have it in the house! I tried raw peanuts too to take the place of P.B, it didn't do a thing to help the craving.

I don't know if it would help others, but I do very well with individually wrapped portions, and JIF makes those "snack packs" that are about 100 calories. That's saved me a binge or two. :)

I do love peanut butter, and I do find that it helps cut cravings or hunger in a pinch. I also find that since I buy the healthy peanut butter (the kind you have to stir) then the cravings for it are less. I also like chunky peanut butter, so not sure if that impacts the binge factor.

I adore peanut butter, but don't have a hard time with it, and find it to actually be a healthy alternative when my body is craving fats and protein and carbs. :)

I have the PB2 in my cupboard. I also have the chocolate PB2. It does help with the cravings, although sometimes I eat way more of it to equal 2 TB in calories.

I like it in oatmeal, over yogurt, just not really on its own.

Dawn

I agree that PB helps with cravings--I would feel deprived without my PB fix...

Thank you all for the thoughts/support. :hug:

First off, I have to admit (more to myself than anyone else) that after posting this post, I felt panicky at the thought of not being able to have peanut butter and went into the kitchen. I ate about half a jar of peanut butter, and my stomach has been hurting ever since (about a day and a half now).

I feel ashamed and depressed about it, but at least it has helped me learn one thing. I have more of an emotional attachment to peanut butter than I had realized. I actually felt PANIC at the thought of not being able to have it -- which surprised me. I used to think I probably ate too much peanut butter but that it was mostly OK. But realizing that I feel dependent on it and like I would be unhappy without it makes me feel like it's a thing I need to work on changing. I don't want to feel dependent on ANYTHING -- even something as "silly" as peanut butter. For some it's cigarettes or coffee or drugs -- for me peanut butter seems to be a crutch and so I'm going to journal about it, really look into my feelings about it and how it became a crutch (thanks for the idea, saef!).

I am still trying to figure what to do re: keeping it in the house or not. I want to throw all the PB out, but I live with other people and I know from experience (and this makes me feel guilty/awful too, but I HAVE to admit it) that if I don't have my own PB, I will take someone else's (thinking, "they won't notice if I just take a tablespoon"). It's not right and it's not nice. That's part of the reason I want to really work on this. It scares me when I stoop to the level of sneaking someone else's food. :(

Fruitlady -- I know what you mean! For me, I am MORE likely to binge when it's "natural" peanut butter you have to stir. The thought I guess is that it's more healthy and more delicious -- why not eat more of it? Ugh.

Amy and Dawn -- PB2 sounds like it might be a good alternative. Where can you find it in the grocery store? I looked for it last time I went and I couldn't find it anywhere.

Anyway, thank you again to everyone for your support and your ideas. :hug: It means a lot. I still have a lot to work through, but this is a good start, I think.

You can try blending it to lessen the fat and improve the nutritional profile but still have peanutty taste.

1/3 peanut butter and 3/4 cup drained great northern beans in the blender.

HTH!
A.

Skyra- I can't believe you are so much like me with the peanut butter problem. I didn't have any in the house for a week, on the 7th day I was craving it real bad, I had to go out and buy it right away. It tasted so good to me after staying away from it for so long. I ate half the jar too! I'm keeping the rest of the jar out of my sight so I don't eat it again for a while. I've been binging on P.B for about 6 mo. now. I have to stop, but I don't know how. I think I am becoming allergic to it, I get red blotches on my face, my eyes burn, I get a very dry mouth, sleepy and sick to my stomach. It never bothered me before, but I think maybe too much of it for so long can cause a food allergy. Do you have any problems when you eat too much of it?

i hope this doesnt sound harsh... i just realised that we are being RULED and CONTROLLED by an inanimate object... something with no feelings, no voice, no soul... why are we letting this stupid jar of sugary peanuts get the best of us???

we are WAY better than that jar of pnb and we deserve to live our lives without being at the mercy of a simple nut...

lets break free of 'its' control and just say "enough is enough" ... after all, it is all in our heads right? (and stomachs if we let it!)

1 tbls at a time ladies... we can do this!

Thanks happytobeamomof2! Not at ALL harsh... in fact, I appreciate what you said! You're right -- peanut butter is JUST an object -- letting it control me is just ridiculous! Thinking about that makes it easier... it sounds silly, but sometimes it's hard to remember that it's JUST an object and only has hold over me if I let it.

Duqserb -- Thanks for the support!

Fruitlady -- I don't experience those symptoms, no. But I don't think I've been binging on it for the time period that you have. I wouldn't be surprised if eating too much of it too often could create a food allergy, especially if it makes you sick... hey, for the next week I've decided I'm going to be completely PEANUT BUTTER FREE, and I could really use some help, someone to check in with... would you want to take the peanut butter free challenge with me for a week? We could PM back and forth, check in with each other... if you don't want to, it's OK, but I want to BEAT this addiction and I think knowing someone else was going through the same thing would really help!

I used to have the same problem (and sometimes still do.) The only solution I've found is to eat PB with a tablespoon. That way I know exactly how much I'm eating instead of "guestimating" how much is on my spoon.

Hi Skyra, Sure, I'll try to be peanut butter free for the next week. I have done it before, it was really hard and I did cave in on the 7th day. I ended up binging on it the whole day. But I will try my hardest to stay away from it starting today. Maybe we should start a new thread " The Peanut Butter free challenge" so anyone with this problem could be a part of it. I'm not sure if there are many other people that have a problem w/ P.B like we do. lol I would like someone to check in with also, so I'm in!

I am craving peanut butter as I type. I already had two (I'll be honest, at least three) tablespoons this morning and I feel like I will go crazy if I do not have some more. I have just started seriously trying to lose weight, and I'm not sure what to do about this pb issue. The nutritionist I started seeing is always trying to get me to eat pb, but always with something else : smear pb on a banana, an apple, or a cracker, for instance. When I have peanut butter like that I don't binge and I still enjoy the taste. But having the jar in the house is so tempting!

Fruitlady -- if you think staying away from PB for a week would make you binge, maybe you shouldn't? I dunno, you know yourself best... I just don't want you to join a "challenge" that wouldn't be helpful for you. That said, I would love the company. :) I do like the idea of starting a widespread peanut butter challenge, but I really have no idea whether we'd have anyone else joining us.

I haven't read all the replies, but I have blended PB with silky tofu for a low cal PB dip. It's yummy.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE peanut butter and I keep it in the house for my kids but I kind of trick myself. I eat one tbs. of REAL peanut butter every single day, if I want anymore that that one tbs. I eat powdered peanut butter. It's by Bell Plantation and actually really good. If I'm craving peanut butter than I'll mix a tbs. of it into some greek yogurt or something and it will nix that craving or I'll add it to my tbs. of REAL peanut butter. It has really helped me. Now, if only I could do the same thing to Nutella... LOL@

Skyra, I found it in the natural foods part of the grocery store. If you can't find it there, you can order online: http://www.bellplantation.com/

They even have little sample packs if you just want to try it out.

One thing I tried once and really liked was to mix some with low fat whipped cream. It was like peanut butter pie, only way better for you!

Hi Skyra, I didn't touch the peanut butter yet! lol How are you doing? Actually I haven't had any for four days now. But I find myself going after some of my other favorites instead. Everything is gone but the peanut butter now, so I should be ok.

Well, I am kind of up in the air about the powdered pb thing.

I am a pb fan (even got the pb&co lunchbox!), but, I have switched from pb to more heartier nut butters like sunflower or almond. I find that the almond is so thick and that good kind of crunchy, gritty, that eating more than a tablespoon or 2 at a time would be very difficult.

I often will have a tablespoon warmed up so I can have a nice warm treat that isn't terribly high in calories, and the fat and carbs and protein ration really help to keep my hunger at bay.

If I had a more commercial pb with lots of added sugar, then I can see the binge factor more.

I SO need PB in my life. It gets me through a long afternoon at work. It just helps to curb my hunger. I keep a measuring spoon - teaspoon at work with my peanut butter and I'll have 1 teaspoon then wait and see if I need more.

I east Skippy Natural - 190 cals for 2 tbs. 1tbs = 3 teaspoon. So I just figure 1 tsp of it is around 32 calories. The most I've eaten is 1 full tablespoon. It's just such a godsend to keep me from another sort of treat.

Hey Fruitlady, sorry for being so late checking in!

Yesterday I DID have peanut butter... only one tablespoon, though, and I ate it slowly. That was after 4 days of not eating it... I noticed that the peanut butter didn't seem NEARLY as appetizing as when I had been eating it every day.

Of course, since I had that tablespoon I have been craving peanut butter ever since, so I'm still gonna keep away from it... I'm gonna aim for 5 days peanut-butter free this time. Keep strong Fruitlady!! Let's keep doing this together!

Hi Skyra, today was my 7th day without peanut butter and I really blew it. I thought I would also just take a spoonful, well I ate the whole newly opened jar! I dipped marshmellows in it! I can't eat much f.f Reddi Whip with P.B anymore, I don't like how I feel when I eat it, so I chose marshmellows. I don't feel as sick as usual, but mentally I feel horrible. I'm going to try again, so I'm with you Skyra! Let's do this!

Hi all,

This is such a strange coincidence! My roommate got some junk food and peanut butter and gave it to me because she didn't want to lose control with it, but then I left the house and when I came back, she confessed that she had taken some of it back. I, feeling guilty about accepting the food that she had recieved in the first place, and feeling a little strange about her "taking food from me" (even though she had given it to me), woke up and HAD TO HAVE some tablespoons of peanut butter and a bunch of the chocolates she gave me.

I was able to stop myself before I began to feel sick, but this thread, and especially Skyra, how you talked about the emotional attachment to certain foods, made me realize how easy it is to feel possessive and controlled by food. And it's so silly! It's so silly that one person just telling me a food is loaded with emotional baggage, giving it to me, and then taking it back, makes me want to binge on it.

In an odd way, sometimes I binge on food because I feel like if I don't eat it, someone else will take it away from me. I think peanut butter is a big binge food for me because I know my roommate will always steal it if there is some in the house. Has anyone else felt that sense of "I have to eat it or someone else will take MY food!!"?
It makes me feel really silly, embarrassed, and selfish!

(edit: ...I think I am being very roundabout in my point, basically my point is that emotional attachments may come suddenly, or be connected to things which are usually not about the food itself at all. And I think it is helpful for me to really look into what associations I have with a particular food, and why, and what the root of that is. So, maybe my feelings can be better dealt with, not by binge eating foods I feel possessive over, but by talking to my roommate about how her behavior makes me feel and sets me up for failure too.)

i just received and tried PB2 and PB2 chocolate...well, it is certainly not the peanut butter i love and crave... it might have a place in my pantry though... i think pnb and banana sandwiches could be good with this, or sprinkled on oatmeal? hmmm... am a bit disappointed... now i have to resist the jar of pnb i did buy today (first jar to come into the house in 3 months!)