Overtired and wanting to snack - need support!
 

Hi all!

I am feeling very overtired today - I got home very late last night from being away for Thanksgiving (Canadian) and had to be up early this morning for work. I'm now overtired and my resistance is low. I'm not hungry but I want to eat EVERYTHING. Help me avoid the temptation! How do you cope when you're in "snack" mode?

Hot tea with Stevia. Lots of it. :)

I'm not a tea person- but I'd be drinking some coffee with equal and some creamer if I were you :D

I second the tea or coffee. I'm a tea person, so I would prefer a hot cup. :)

Also, find something to keep your hands, mind, or both busy. Idle work can fit as well as something productive. :)

Strawberries!

I'm in snack mode right this second, ugh. Carrot or celery sticks can help, because you can basically just eat as many of those as you want. Pretzel sticks are also super low cal and low fat. I know its not the same as chips or something, but at least its something to chew, lol.

Thanks guys!! :) This is very helpful. Man this has been a TOUGH day!

Sometimes when I'm feeling snacky, a nice hot cup of tea along with a 100 calorie bag of popcorn will do the trick. If I eat the popcorn 1 kernel at a time and kind of savor it, while drinking the tea....well, it seems to really fill me up for a little while. At least I'm distracted for awhile, haha.

I like to chew gum if I'm really desperate. To eat, you'd actually have to remove the gum from your mouth, so it takes a little extra thought before mindless snacking.

You know, AA has an acronym HALT to try to make people think about why they're indulging. I like to use it with food, because it's very true.

Reasons why you're falling back on your vice (food)
1. Hungry (did you feed yourself good meals today, or skip them?)
2. Agitated (In aa they use angry, but I take this to mean stressed in any way)
3. Lonely (most of us overeat when we're alone).
4. Tired (maybe you're hungry for sleep more than food?)

Sounds like a classic case of #4. So focus on taking care of that instead of taking care of an imaginary hunger. You can relax or go to bed early. Enjoy the feeling of both in the same way you would savor food.

Is it too early/possible to just go to bed? I really don't know what time zone you are in, so this may not be possible (not that I would judge you for going to bed at 6:00pm. I have nights when I am tired and just want to eat, I will go to bed early to not only catch up on my sleep, but to also keep me from eating.

If going to bed is not possible, I agree with everyone else, find something to do, snack on something low cal (tea, veggies, etc.). Anything to take your mind of the munchies.

It usually doesn't take too long for the urge to pass...

I personally have used the "go to bed" I call it run and hide...

Also I have used drink, water, crystal light fill 'er up....

Try liquid...

my favorite killer of urges ...
Homemade Caesar salad...
Using mushrooms instead of crutons
and Newman's Special Caesar Sauce..


My 2c.
The Orange One

Thanks again all - these tips are really helpful!

Kelly: your aa note makes a lot of sense, I'll use that a lot I think.

I drink lots and lots of water and do something like clean out a closet or fold laundry.. or get on 3fc! :)