4 p.m. Dilemma
Re: Eating Healthy
I have always had this problem with controlling my junk food urges late in the afternoon. I can plan the perfect meals and snacks for the entire day, but around 4 p.m., I snap.
It goes like this: I start to get a little hungry and extremely thirsty around 3 p.m. This is also about the time I start to lose my patience at work. That last hour, my nerves are raw and I get snappish. I'm also usually too busy to stop for a snack or some water. Then at 4 p.m. I leave work, with only my little healthy snack to see me through until dinner at about 6.
And I start to think I deserve a treat. I will only be satisfied, if I fill up on sugar, salty snacks and soda. If I have any legitimate excuse to stop at a store, I will pick up a candy bar, chips or a diet soda, or all three. As I'm typing it now, it sounds so weak, but in that 4 p.m. period, I can not reason with myself. Once I've had my fix and gotten into that emotional space of needing to feel better, it's very hard to convince myself to get some exercise.
Image via Wikipedia
I still don't know a solution to this issue, but I know if I don't get control of it, I will sabotage every effort I make at losing weight.
However, there is a coda to this post. Today, my first full day low-carbing, I had no moments of great hunger, no cravings. Seriously. I did not expect it and I only just realized it a few minutes ago. There was no 4 p.m. dilemma when I left work today. I had my snack of string cheese and a few almonds and I didn't think about eating again until dinner. I even made a trip to Starbucks and I wasn't the least bit tempted to get a sweet.
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I have always had this problem with controlling my junk food urges late in the afternoon. I can plan the perfect meals and snacks for the entire day, but around 4 p.m., I snap.
It goes like this: I start to get a little hungry and extremely thirsty around 3 p.m. This is also about the time I start to lose my patience at work. That last hour, my nerves are raw and I get snappish. I'm also usually too busy to stop for a snack or some water. Then at 4 p.m. I leave work, with only my little healthy snack to see me through until dinner at about 6.
And I start to think I deserve a treat. I will only be satisfied, if I fill up on sugar, salty snacks and soda. If I have any legitimate excuse to stop at a store, I will pick up a candy bar, chips or a diet soda, or all three. As I'm typing it now, it sounds so weak, but in that 4 p.m. period, I can not reason with myself. Once I've had my fix and gotten into that emotional space of needing to feel better, it's very hard to convince myself to get some exercise.
Image via WikipediaI still don't know a solution to this issue, but I know if I don't get control of it, I will sabotage every effort I make at losing weight.
However, there is a coda to this post. Today, my first full day low-carbing, I had no moments of great hunger, no cravings. Seriously. I did not expect it and I only just realized it a few minutes ago. There was no 4 p.m. dilemma when I left work today. I had my snack of string cheese and a few almonds and I didn't think about eating again until dinner. I even made a trip to Starbucks and I wasn't the least bit tempted to get a sweet.
Just wait... you'll start craving bread 10X more than you ever craved sugar! :) Low/no carb gets great results though.
ReplyDeleteMy "bad time" for breaking all the progress I've made is between 9-11p. Before-bed eating! That's when I crack. I just want to eat mindlessly. Not to fill a void as Oprah says, but just for recreation!
I have the same problem. I'm starving by 4:00. I think it's because I have to eat lunch so early at school. I just fix supper as soon as I get home from work. Then I have to keep myself from snacking the rest of the night. I'm OK if I keep myself busy, but as soon as I turn on the TV, I want to eat the whole kitchen.
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