I know I need a fill....scheduled for Monday...hopefully this will be "the one" and will help my physical hunger. But I'm looking for ways that you deal with the head hunger. What do you do when your head wants the snacks? My toughest times are right after school(I'm a teacher) and in the evenings while watching tv. Especially when the hubs is working nights. Any tips or suggestions? Thanks so much for the encouragement!

You might want to incorporate a healthy small snack into your routine at those times...I have one in the evening as part of my daily routine...I eat a small amount of nuts and seeds and it gives me that crunch too...if i don't eat in the evening I wake up in the night..So it is part of me now I think.

Head Hunger..... Probably part of the reason we are where we are. When I taught, I too, wanted to eat when I came home from school ( kept the habit from when I was a kid and my mom had snacks for us when we came home from school.) So here's what I did. I re-adjusted my three meals. No breakfast, lunch at school was my first meal, I ate my second meal when I came home from school, and then I ate dinner later that night. It might not work for you, but it worked for me. My band is usually right in the morning. Two cups of coffee fill me in the morning.

Don't watch TV. Read a book...better yet, read a good book while taking a hot bath. I love doing that. Knit...do a puzzle, play solitaire... Just do something that's not passive. It will help. And yes...keep healthy snacks around so you have something to go to that won't do much damage. Almonds...lo-fat cheese, SF jello, pops, pudding. Those things work for me. Good luck!!

Edited February 14, 201412 yr by gowalking

Evenings are hard and old habits can be difficult to break. I noodle around on my iPad while we watch a movie or I go through magazines for pictures (I make collage so am always looking for images). Recently I found a warm beverage that really works for me -- Dandy Blend, an herbal "coffee" that feels like it has more body than tea (kind of like Postum). It's warm and gives me something special to have in the evening plus it's really good for me, liver cleansing, etc. Kind of the opposite of the wine and cheese party my body is programmed for every damn evening -- ack.

Evenings are hard and old habits can be difficult to break. I noodle around on my iPad while we watch a movie or I go through magazines for pictures (I make collage so am always looking for images). Recently I found a warm beverage that really works for me -- Dandy Blend, an herbal "coffee" that feels like it has more body than tea (kind of like Postum). It's warm and gives me something special to have in the evening plus it's really good for me, liver cleansing, etc. Kind of the opposite of the wine and cheese party my body is programmed for every damn evening -- ack.

Hmmm..Dandy Blend...what does it taste like?

I'm a little different than most, in that I have no hunger, no interest in food...and my tastes have changed also....

Having said that, I had no control over head hunger, and would succumb to just about everything...but then one bite and I realized I really did not want/need it....eventually as this went on, it got to be less of a habit...until the point when I get a craving, I dismiss it just as fast....

That's not to say I don't like to snack...sure I do...like chips and salsa, popcorn, veggies and dip. hummus, etc....I just don't crave things I absolutely have to have....for no good reason.

Example....every morning I stop at Starbucks on my way to work....ordering my coffee I see all those delicious looking pastries, etc in the glass case....just have to have some, right? So I'll buy a piece of lemon cake or something...one bite and I realize I really did not want it, don't really feel I need it...I'm really not hungry and have no room for it(?)....besides, cake is not band friendly to me...so I throw the whole thing away....now when I go to Starbucks, I see the same treats but I dismiss them as soon as I look at them...

And that's a SMALL example...I have prepared and thrown out entire meals!!! But I eventually learned....

I should say, for he newly banded people...I have been banded for 3 years, and in the Green for 2...so it was not overnight that this mental change happened...it developed as my band became more prevalent.

Edited February 14, 201412 yr by B-52

I allow myself Snacks. The nights are the worse for me, particularly if I am watching TV.

I've made a pact with myself - I can have a snack but only if its an apple & cheese, greek yogurt or a cottage cheese combo. So, essentially, I bargain with myself. I can have a snack but it MUST be something healthy.

Now, that's the daily snacks I'm referencing. I'm not talking about treats. That's a whole other matter!

Find other things to do besides what tv. Play games on the computer, read a book, do some cleaning, fix your lunch for the next day, go to the mall and walk around since the weather outside is crappy. You can very well keep yourself busy. Put on some music and dance. I cant stand regular exercise it is boring to me to walk on a treadmill I would rather put some crazy music on and dance for 30 minutes. Get some things and make some crafts. Spring is coming start some indoor plants.

Taking the time to unwind when you get home from work is not a bad thing. If TV is your usual go to thing switching it up a bit won't hurt.

Also take some time and think about the hours you are awake, and the times that you eat your meals. If you are like me...I am up at 5 am. I have coffee in the am and then nothing until around 10 then I have a Protein bar. Around 1 I'll have something for lunch this is usually my largest meal of the day. It might be Turkey chilli, or grilled chicken or today I had 4oz of pot roast beef. around 4 in the afternoon I will have a Protein Bar or a shake since I won't be home until 7 for dinner. This is too many hours to go before dinner so I throw a snack in or I'll gorge when I get home and either over eat or get stuck from eating too fast and now chewing enough.

If you have to break up your meals into mini meals through out the day to keep you from mindless eating, do that and then you won't feel like your "snacking" on empty calories or eating something "just because".

I also wanted to add that sometimes when I get home early (which is mostly never) I will enjoy a nice cup of decaf coffee and de-compress in front of the TV for a bit. The coffee is soothing and the creamer (sugar free of course) helps me to feel like I've had something and then I am usually content until I cook or prepare dinner.

If I don't get home early, (which I rarely do) I will have that cup of coffee/tea after dinner and before bed. It really is my guilty pleasure these days to help me unwind my day.

Edited February 14, 201412 yr by lisacaron

I have my sugar free hot chocolate. I have it every evening and I really look forward to it. Evenings are the hardest for me, I've noticed it's when my band seems to be the loosest. I rely very much on MFP for this reason.