3pm cravings during the day -- tips & support

[Love.fitness]

I am a huge snacker and used to eat when I was not hungry. It was a major issue because I loved bars, cookies, chips, pretzels -- you name it. Now that I'm listening to my body and eat when I'm hungry, I'm noticing patterns. I eat a regular sized breakfast, like Cheerios and milk, and then have a protein lunch a few hours later. No mid-morning snack is really required for me during the weekends -- but when I'm at work, I usually have a fruit. Why do I get more hungry at work? Is this craving really for food, or something else? And then I usually get the 3pm cravings. I get so hungry and end up eating a sugary granola bar, which really discourages me. Any tips?

[Dominique]

When you’re dieting down to a lower weight, you want to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your limited calories. This means things like eating a sufficient amount of protein with every meal (starting with breakfast), eating voluminous, low-calorie food (= most veggies), getting enough fiber (again, veggies, and fruits), not drinking calories (no soda, juice, sweetened/creamed coffee), favouring whole / minimally processed foods. Generally speaking, you want to favour foods that are bland / don’t taste much like anything. I know it doesn’t sound particularly enticing, if you are used to eating super-yummy stuff, but there are trade-offs in life.

For breakfast, you could replace Cheerios (highly processed, some varieties high in sugar) with plain oat (preferably not the instant ones). Have (plain) Greek yoghurt instead of milk (add fruits or berries to it). Have a serving of veggies. How about your "protein lunch"? What else does it include besides protein? It’s what you eat (and don’t eat) earlier in the day that leads to your 3pm cravings.

How about the size of your deficit (if you are counting calories)? It’s also something you have to consider, especially if your energy expenditure isn’t very high (e.g. < 2000 calories) in absolute terms.