Head hunger (aka The Munchies)

[Geekin' in Utah]

Ugh, I've got the munchies really bad right now (the last few days, actually). I know it's just in my head, so I'm sitting here drinking water, waiting for them to go away. It's times like this that the box of Lucky Charms looks particularly good.

[Mistizoom]

I had the same feeling tonight. Drank some diet iced tea and ate 4 pieces of microwave bacon. Better than what I could have had!

[Geekin' in Utah]

I usually toss back a few spicy pork rinds. The crunch gives a satisfying "snack" feeling and spicy food is much more satiating than non. (The skinny on spicy foods - Health - Diet and nutrition | NBC News)

[rubidoux]

I've been having a hard time the last couple of days, too. My kids have both been home from school sick so I've been bored and making them lots of food. I haven't caved, but it's been uncomfortable. I keep telling myself that I need to practice not caving and teach myself that I can do it and I'll be happier if I do.

[Trigger828]

munchies. ugh. hate them. winter makes me want to nibble/graze/EAT to store fat thru the winter like a bear lol

hang in there. eat LC foods obviously. no lucky charms!

[NH_Free]

I've found it's a lot less painful if I don't sit around while waiting for it to pass. If I get busy with something I enjoy, I forget the munchies almost immediately. It's like when people quit smoking... they need to replace that hand to mouth habit with something else to keep their hands busy. I had to replace my "eat in front of the TV" habit with other things.

[Kittee]

Sounds like me every night. I just started on Atkins '72 once again a few days ago, hoping these damn munchies will go away!! Last night I cooked a cut up pork chop in butter to try to satisfy myself...it was delicious but I still wanted my daughters yogurt dipped granola bar. Didn't even have a taste though. Today is her 2nd birthday and that damn cake is gonna be calling my name.

[synger]

Some of the things that work for me:

First, get out of the vicinity of the food. Do something else that uses your hands. Take a bath or shower.

Eat a dill pickle. For some reason, it curbs hunger. Maybe that "explosion" of taste does it. Same with something spicy.

Drink a cup of warm tea (I have lots of flavors to choose from).

If I still have 100 calories left, I eat one ounce of cream cheese or put two tablespoons of cream into a cup of tea (or a diet A&W root beer). The fat is very satisfying, and curbs the munchies.

Imagine the starch/sugar of whatever is tempting you as little knives ready to flood your body (think cyber-punk nanobots on a rampage), cutting into vital organs and bringing pain, stiffness, mobility issues, and disease. Or imagine the food rotting, covered with maggots or vomit or dog poo.

Brush and floss my teeth, then rinse with mouthwash. For some reason this signals "eating is done" and I have less interest in food.

[wannalose]

OK there are two things I am really trying to acknowledge and deal with this time around, and this is one of them. The other is "mindless eating". Like, last night when i was making the delicious stir fry we had, I had the urge to pick up a piece of candy and eat it. Was I hungry? No. Was I bored? no. Was I sad? no. This was purely and completly habit/mindless eating.

I am the same way with muchies. i figured out this week that i get the munchies two times a day at work - 1. around 10:30 or 11; and 2. around 230 or 3. Why? Again, I think it is just habit. I do have pickles and olives to try to help but what I am TRYING (not always succeeding) to do is NOT to eat just because. Just because it is certain time, a certain place, etc. Even if it is just a pickle, toomorrow it could be a bag of chips. SO I am trying to stop, think, and decide, am I hungry or just "its time". ALso, someone else posted taking 10 minutes before you eat something will let a craving pass but not true hunger. I am trying that too.

[synger]

Originally Posted by wannalose

OK there are two things I am really trying to acknowledge and deal with this time around, and this is one of them. The other is "mindless eating". Like, last night when i was making the delicious stir fry we had, I had the urge to pick up a piece of candy and eat it. Was I hungry? No. Was I bored? no. Was I sad? no. This was purely and completly habit/mindless eating.

I am the same way with muchies. i figured out this week that i get the munchies two times a day at work - 1. around 10:30 or 11; and 2. around 230 or 3. Why? Again, I think it is just habit. I do have pickles and olives to try to help but what I am TRYING (not always succeeding) to do is NOT to eat just because. Just because it is certain time, a certain place, etc. Even if it is just a pickle, toomorrow it could be a bag of chips. SO I am trying to stop, think, and decide, am I hungry or just "its time". ALso, someone else posted taking 10 minutes before you eat something will let a craving pass but not true hunger. I am trying that too.

I hear ya! I sometimes use a technique from "Brain over Binge" that helps a little. You try to kinda "step away" from the craving and observe it. You realize it's coming from the habit-center and creature-comfort-wanting part of your brain. But you also acknowledge that that part of your brain has NO POWER over your hand. It cannot make your hand open the refrigerator. It cannot make your hand put food into your mouth. It takes a conscious effort to do that. It's not truly "mindless" eating.

Sometimes doing this feels like I'm watching a bird through binoculars, or a bug under a magnifying glass. I observe and acknowledge my feelings about wanting to eat this or that, but the more rational/detached part of me recognizes that it's just a feeling, and that it will pass.

And then it does. It passes. And the "munchies" become that much weaker against me.

To a degree, I suppose it's an exercise in "willpower." But it's not white-knuckle just-get-me-through-this-Lord willpower. It's more observational. The feeling I get is more "this is interesting" as I observe from a detached place, rather than "I have to have it NOW!" as I would feel if I were in the middle of the emotion/habit section of my brain.

I'm probably not describing it right. But it helps me...