old habits die hard! page

[runningwild]

Hi all,

Have now been PB for 8 days and am loving it. I just wanted to see if anyone else was having similar experiences to me.

I had a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon and then at break time at work, even though I was not hungry I ate... it seems to me that it is habit and now I feel over full and wondering why I did it!

I think having eaten rubbish at 10.30 for 7 years, having a snack at break time is ingrained in me!

Just confused - perhaps i need to to not go to the staff room?!

any newbies having the same problem?

thanks

[Adventure8410]

Not a newbie, but I still have that sometimes; I think it all boils down to learning to listen to your "stomach" hunger over your "mouth" hunger.

[katydid317]

It might not even be "stomach" hunger, it might just be habit, or boredom. When I worked a desk job, I wanted to snack all day long just because I was so bored. I ended up packing my lunch in two smaller portions because I'd cave and start eating it mid-morning and then be hungry by mid-afternoon. It's easier now because I don't stay in one spot all day, I'm always on the go, so that habit was easy to break.

[supersellen]

If you feel like you may not be able to resist those snack times while you are getting started with this WOE, then I would cook up an extra piece of bacon or 2 at breakfast and make that your mid-morning snack. Snacking was difficult for me to overcome, and I found that setting small goals worked well, like deciding that I would not have a mid morning snack THIS week. By the time I got to the next week, the habit had already begun to disappear.

Maybe finding another activity to associate with the staff room would be a good idea, like having a special tea that you get to enjoy while you are in there during break time.

[Patrick]

I find the best way to distinguish between real hunger and boredom hunger is to take a short walk -- 5 minutes will do. Head outside and walk around your building or up the street. When you come back, if you're still hungry, then eat a bit. Chances are you won't be, though.

I still get "phantom hunger" semi-regularly and I'm a few months into PB. I just walk around the block or jump on the exercise bike for an easy 5 min if I'm at home, or I go up and down the stairwell if I'm at work. Then I reassess. I'm usually not hungry after, which means it was just old habits poking me.

[dorsia]

I definitely had the problem of wanting to snack out of desk job boredom for a while -- found that having no snacks around (or just a little tin of nuts) helps, although that doesn't stop people from leaving treats out in the break room. (Luckily most of the treats my coworkers bring in are pretty unappetizing, especially from a primal POV.)

Second the suggestion of tea, too -- I have a cup or two mid-morning every day and don't reach for a snack anymore.

[ephemeral10jf]

Psycho-hunger, as I like to call it, is still an issue for me, and I'm 5 months into my attempt at the diet. Don't sweat a cave-in now and then. Sometimes your desire to eat something tasty for tastiness's sake will just be too strong.

[Pandadude]

Dunno varies whether or not I have them. A piece of fruit or a raw carrot generally stop it for me.

[zoebird]

i agree about the walking. i do that at work too. it's nice to take a five minute walk. today's walk included personal vindication. success is the best-est revenge! "whazzup, B, i'm succeeding and you look like crap. too bad for ya!" that made todays jaunt particularly nice.

[Sigi]

It might not even be "stomach" hunger, it might just be habit, or boredom. When I worked a desk job, I wanted to snack all day long just because I was so bored.

Agree. And I also find that if I'm facing a horrible/difficult job at my desk which I really don't want to do, I seriously get the "munchies" and just wander off to the tearoom looking for ... well, what do I think I'm going to find? Crappy non-Primal snacks which don't satisfy, and (amazingly enough) don't make the nasty files on my desk magically disappear. I have to remind myself that the "need" to eat is all in my head, and I what I really need is to bite the bullet and DO what has to be done. Eating ain't gonna fix it.