I've been trawling the Internet but I can't find anything that relates or would help!
I keep trying to get back on my calorie counting plan. I schedule, preplan and prepare! I get up in the morning and do my exercises and struggle through work (I get no breaks between 9am and 2pm but sneak a few grapes to munch on).
When I have lunch at 2pm I am feeling tired and wanting to de-stress from work. I eat my planned food but my mind starts whispering about how relaxing and blissful it would be to zone out with more food. If I can I stay strong, exercise and start preparing dinner for the family which is usually ready by about 4pm.
I have one more "allowance" for snacks in my calorie budget which I save for about 6pm. But even whilst eating dinner my mind is saying its hungry and I want more food.
I go for a walk after dinner, wash up, have a bath and then have my snacks. I am certain from a tummy point of view my hunger levels are satisfied. But this is where I am at a loss! A combination of boredom and a strong desire to unwind and relax and feel that bliss you get when eating something delicious in front of the TV nags at me and it doesn't stop nagging until I give in and ruin my whole day of sticking to plan!
Advise online suggests going for a walk (done) having a bath (done) or distracting oneself. But I want to relax not start cleaning out the closet! Or exercising more! I want that zoning out bliss! But how do you get that without food?
I must confess that the kids being off school for 6 weeks isn't helping. I usually get some peace after work before they get home but I have no space or time to relax with them home!
My advice would be to go cold turkey with the snacks. You have said yourself that it’s not hunger, so it’s a habit you have got into. Habits can be broken. It’s not easy, but if you make up your mind to do it, on completing a whole day (which will be hard) you will feel such a sense of pride and achievement, it will help you do it again the next day. I think I read somewhere it takes ten days to break a habit, so why not give it a go?
Yes the "just don't do it" or get through it is what I need to do. But it's the what to do during that time frame that I am at a loss with. As I am pretty much on the go from 5.30am until my last snacks at 6pm then I have a few hours before bed where I want to chill and unwind... but don't know how without sitting down and eating!