I find snacking really difficult..

[Danni_23]

If I'm sat at the desk at work or at home, that's when I get my craving most and want to snack on crisps or chocolate, any tips/advice!?

[Oldgirl]

Carrot sticks, apple, banana. One of my favourite snacks is 2 Rich Tea biscuits with a Laughing Cow light cheese triangle (25 calories) sandwiched between. A low fat yogurt poured over some fresh fruit too. If you need something hot try a low fat chocolate drink (Options or similar)

The other thing of course is are you really hungry or are you dehydrated, this can make you feel hungrey so before you start tucking into anything have a glass of water first, it will rehydrate you and also stop you eating so much. Good luck.

[Schwem7]

Swapping for healthier foods as Oldgirl suggested is good, but I also found that chewing some of the sweet sugarfree chewing gums that you can get helped me stop craving sweet foods so much and the chewing seemed to stop me from being so hungry. Also try and drink as much water as possible, as this also helps me to stop feeling hungry.

[Hidden in reply to Schwem7]

Yup, the chewing gum trick works for me too. You will find after a while that sweet things taste too sweet for you, so hang in there with the healthier snacks and drinking water, your taste buds will adjust

[problemo]

I find the only way for me to avoid snacking is to confront the hunger and go and do something away from temptations (ie. not in the kitchen). It also helps me not to carry money around which makes it harder just to nip into the shops and buy a Cadbury's Whole Nut or a bag of Hula Hoops. Or both.

[PhatBoySlim]

Apples were my saviour when staving off hinger pangs (that and drinking more water...)

[Danni_23]

Thanks for the tips everyone!

I also fine it better when I don't take money with me and only eat what I've brought for lunch. I do love fruit, but always feel the need for something crunch sometimes. I do like a couple of rivita's but the cream cheese topping is getting a bit boring and don't really know how to mix it up.

I shall try to drink more water and will try the chewing gum as well. A fresh breath would certainly put me off eating a bag of crisps!

[Oldgirl in reply to Danni_23]

Have your Ryvita, but spread a Laughing Cow cheese triangle (Light) on top. They are only 25 calories and very low in fat.

[pollyolly in reply to Danni_23]

I am very bad at snacking and lately have given myself an aim to eat something at most once an hour. this includes dinner, lunch. So when it comes to evenings my main snacking time, I may have my dinner at 6pm and don't eat a snack until 7pm and then 8pm. I am finding that this is working for me at the moment.

[Jomel in reply to Danni_23]

I love fat free Greek yoghurt spread thickly on crisp breads with a little lemon curd or jam, tastes really lush

[Hidden]

I've just had a bit of a shock insofar as I normally have a scone for elevenses at work. I've just realised how many calories it probably is!

So, I'll probably be swapping that for some fruit or a couple of rice-cakes or similar.

[Danni_23 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Doikosp,

I got a bbc good food "cupcakes and small bakes" book for christmas which is excellant for healthier options on all the treat we like. There is a recipe for cheddar scones in there which are only 130 calories. Would you like the recipe?

[louise67]

Yes i find snacking really hard to my worse time is at night,do you like nuts? I have started trying to eat them when i feel like snacking,another thing i find hard is drinking water i love my tea to much

[Danni_23 in reply to louise67]

I do like nuts but i tend to feel that they're not enough as I think they lack flavour. I love them in a chili casing but that adds on lots of calories!

[louise67]

I am not sure how many calories a scone has but i know it must be very high i know a chocolate digestive biscuit has 50 calories just one,but do not be to hard on yourself just cut back the next day,hope that helps

[katie_a]

I've never had an office job but my sister has a 'fruit drawer' at work - mixture of fresh (apples, bananas, clementines, grapes) and dried fruit (apricots, raisins etc). It might be a good idea to weigh out individual portions of grapes/raisins/apricots into individual tubs or sandwich bags in case you graze on them all day and end up eating a lot of sugar!

[Danni_23 in reply to katie_a]

This is a good idea. I'm just learning to prepare all my food the night before as I find I snack so much more if I forget to make my lunch so have to buy it and not knowing what I've got planned makes me snack more as well. Thanks for the tip!

[louise67]

Your welcome danni i found it worked 4 me and i hope it does 4 u to,ive started my weightloss programme today the hardest thing 4 me is cutting down on my tea. I wish u the best of luck let us know how u are getting on

[LadyJazz]

Hi Danni, I snack on fruit and nuts but also eat rice cakes instead of biscuits - they come in sweet and savoury and hardly any calories. You can get some with a thin layer of chololate if you have that craving. Rich tea biscuits, jaffa cakes and garribaldi about 35 calories each.

[sophiesmum]

I know what you mean about snacking... so understand the dilemma. I tend to snack when I am bored! I have found chewing gum helps. Also instead of crisps or biscuits, you could try a handful of nuts or dried fruit.

[Zest Healthy BMI]

I usually have a mid afternoon snack consisting of an orange, half an apple, 3 brazil nuts; 5 almonds and 3 walnut halves. I find it is tasty, filling and satisfying. I look forward to it.

[Bkkbull]

make sure u eat a healthy breakfast to stop the need for a sugar rush later, also try eating a small meal within your calorie allowance every three hours, keeps your metabolic rate up and your hunger down, my girlfriend laughed at me doing this to start with, now ive lost 70kg and im the one laughing.

[anthony97 in reply to Bkkbull]

Well done on the weight lose what type of things did u eat every 3hrs