Stress/Boredom snacking strategies...
 

My biggest obstacle to weight loss is the fact that I feel "too busy" to eat meals, and I tend to just snack at the computer while I'm working. Which, of course, is a recipe for eating too much of all the wrong things. ( I know I need to eat meals, and I've got some ideas about how to make that easier for me, but I need some good, effective strategies to avoid stress and boredom snacking while I'm at the computer.

What do you do to avoid munching all day while you're working (or doing whatever you do all day)?

I plan my snacks...and i chew gum. I know that when i am sitting at work bored...even though i am busy, i just feel like i am bored and want to eat..you know what i mean?? Well..anyways, i try to keep gum at my desk so that if i feel like my mouth is bored, i can chew gum. But i do plan my meals and my snacks. I don't eat breakfast until i get to work in the morning (8:30), then i have a snack around 11:30 or noon, then lunch at one...then a snack at about 4:00 or 4:30. Then i have dinner when i get home.

I eat on a schedule too. It's the only thing that works for me. My day looks like this:

8:30: breakfast
11:00: mid-morning snack
1:00: lunch
3:00: afternoon snack
6:00: dinner

And sometimes I'll have a post-workout snack in the evening, but I try to keep it to two or three times a week at the most, and only if I have extra calories.

I often keep a cup of tea handy. In addition, I love grape tomatoes and sometimes go through a pint a day. Maybe celery sticks or baby carrots would work for other folks, but I don't like them much myself.

Can you make your computer a "no eating zone" for a while? That should, over a few weeks, break the mental association of the computer and snacking for you. Once that association is broken, you may find it easier to pass up computer snacking. Also, it'll help you to schedule your snacks, as the above posters stated, because you'll have to leave your desk to eat them.

I work all day long at the computer. I don't snack while working--for one thing, who needs the mess? I will drink tea or coffee while working, but if it's time for a meal or snack, I put the computer into sleep mode and go elsewhere to eat. So, I agree with mandalinn82 about making it a no food zone. It's just a habit...

Jay

Gum, hot tea/coffee, and ditto on the no eating at the computer.

If i eat at the computer i dont know half the stuff i put in my mouth and i certainly dont appreciate the meal as much, so when i leave the computer, i dont feel like i have eaten...which makes me feel entitled to a sit down meal If that makes sense.

I plan for a lot of snacks throughout the day. I eat smaller breakfasts, lunches, and dinners so I can have my snacks. I also schedule them and don't eat each snack until it's time for it.

If I'm really feeling munchy, I'll have a beverage (usually a 12-oz glass of hot tea) or a piece of sugar free gum.

I think I will make the computer a no-snacking zone. That will definitely help. However, it will also require that I stop working long enough to get a snack in once in a while!

I went out to the grocery store this afternoon and stocked up on some healthy snacks that I like, all of which can't really be eaten in front of the computer. But I completely forgot to buy gum... Oops. I think I will allow myself a water bottle (with Crystal Light, maybe...) at the computer, but I will also make it a "No Pepsi One Zone", because I think my habit of constantly sipping on it makes me more hungry.

Okay, starting tomorrow, no food at the computer, unless I'm just reading the label to enter it into my food journal! :)

You know, that chewing gum thing never worked for me. I found that the more I chewed the more I started salivating and getting hungry. What works for me is eating raw healthy options. If you're accustomed to snacking then snack on something good...I always have sugar snap peas or baby carrots handy...or even green beans....the crunch factor gives me immense satisfaction.

Oh and I too don't really have traditional meals...small meals all through out the day and it's true...if you sit down and concentrate on what you're eating you do tend to fill up quicker.

In any case...best to you.

I have been buying those small snack size bags and put my snacks in them. I have not been tempted to eat out of a bowl, and then eat more then I should.

I find that coffee with skim milk really fills me up and keeps me from snacking!