Weight loss struggles - 3pm cravings

[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?

[RachelShrinks · Accepted solution]

I'm a huge mid-afternoon snacker. The only way I've been able to deal with it is to make sure I have a healthy snack available. Pretzels and hummus, carrots and a high-protein vegan cheese, walnuts and an apple—anything that's a fair number of calories and all of them "important" ones. That way I can cook dinner a few hours later without eating half of it before it gets to my children's plates :).

[Love.fitness]

Thanks!! I was trying to avoid this snack, but I guess it's inevitable. Those are some great snack suggestions! 🙂

[RachelShrinks]

I've found that when I stand there at 3 and say, "I'm NOT going to eat. I WILL control myself! *grrr determined look*" I inevitably end up eating a Ding Dong at 5 when I'm STILL starving. Some people can pare down the number of times they eat in a day, but I'm not one of them, so I make the best of it.

[Dominique]

@Love.fitness: avoid posting the same question in multiple topics. See the Use good network etiquette section in the Community guidelines.