Confession - I need serious snack help.
I'm guilty of packing the same old, boring, unsatisfying snacks with me to school every single day. As an early bird, I typically eat (a pretty substantial) breakfast before the sun comes up on my way out the door. Then I'm in class through lunch time and only have about five spare minutes to scarf something down mid-morning. In my perfect world, I would have a twenty or thirty minute lunch break to re-group and enjoy a balanced meal; but let's be real, nobody has that kind of time.
For the past several weeks my mid-morning snack has been a granola bar of some kind or twizzlers. Sure it tastes alright, but it doesn't even take the edge off my hunger; leaving me dreaming about food rather than absorbing class material.
Let me just take the time to say how huge it is for me to admit I no longer enjoy that hungry feeling. This is a big deal!
I've tried eating a larger breakfast, and although I don't enjoy being hungry, being too full (especially first thing in the morning) turns me into one cranky lady. I have also tried packing more calorie dense foods - think almonds - but that doesn't seem to do the trick either. And if you must know, I did try eating in class, but was forced to throw it out (haha). Drinking more water did help hold off my hunger; however, instead of counting down the minutes until I could eat, I found myself counting down the minutes until I could use the restroom.
So I actually need a little help with this one. My google search on 'quick satisfying snack ideas' resulted in countless diet and appetite curbing articles. How frustrating. I will admit that I am kind of a weird eater and don't necessarily enjoy eating quickly or on the go, but I guess it's time to make some changes.
Have any of you been in this situation? And how have you dealt with it?
Can I please just say one more time how exciting it is to finally not enjoy feeling hungry? :)
Progress.
Kelsey,
ReplyDeleteI compeletly agree with you about hating the hunger feeling now! In fact I am almost afraid of it! Plus it brings back awful flashbacks. Some of my favorite snacks that hold me off for a while are greek yogurt, apple and peanut butter, or Lara protein bars. They make really good flavors like apple and pumpkin pie for fall. Thanks for being such a wonderful source of inspiration:)
Yes, that hungry feeling is almost scary now. I completely agree with you. Thanks for the snack ideas! :)
DeleteHave you tried drinking something other than water?? For me, when I was in class for longer days, I would bring a smoothie or one of those bolthouse farms or naked juices with me. They are a good source of calories and are more filling than water without that feeling of having to run to the restroom :) Also, I would pack PB & J sandwiches. they are easy to eat on the go and they are very filling! if you don't have time to make them, even try buying uncrustables. Pull one out of the freezer in the morning when you leave for class and by lunch time it will be thawed out and ready to eat :)
ReplyDeleteI love the smoothie idea! And I'm not sure why I didn't think of a pb&j. That's one of my favorites. Thanks, Carly. :)
DeleteTough one! I'm picking Spring classes and thinking about the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI have back to back classes this semester so have to I actually eat a piece of fruit or granola bar on the walk there. Not convenient, but I think about things I can eat on-the-go. You could put fruit slices in a cup with some kind of dense or filling dip or yogurt. Mix it with granola and bring a spoon?
Or slice up a whole wheat banana cream cheese (or peanut butter, or both) "quesa"dilla into thin, easy strips?
Or, you could explain to one of your professors that you're in recovery if you feel comfortable with that and see if you can quietly snack or leave class a few minutes early to eat between classes? The fact that you're back in school shows how far you've come but it's okay to recognize that you do face a challenge that most people don't...so I think a professor would recognize that it's important that you don't go back to embracing being hungry as you've come so far.
Eating and walking is basically what I'm doing now, too. All of your ideas are making me really hungry haha - thank you! I think it just comes down to me getting organized and planning ahead. If I can't figure it out, then it might be worth it to speak with the professor.
Deleteyou could try packing a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with some dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries. I personally, like to add oats, raisins, or chopped walnuts. Its a relatively low volume and it has the good fats, the protein and the sugar to help with hunger and concentration.
ReplyDeleteYummm - that sounds delish. Thank you!
DeleteI have been there and still there.... When I am in school or at work (whatever it is), my hunger cue is totally messed up. And, it does not matter what weight I have. I admit this. Then, I realize that it is not food making me doing anything... having said that, I don't know what snacks would make you feel satisfy...
ReplyDeleteWhat I understand in my case is that I am not comfortable in school, at work, or whatever it is... It is hard to just feel good about myself and to feel ok to do the best I can when I am on public and surrounded by people... and having some responsibility... dealing with some unknown situations (can I do this? can I do this by the deadline? and etc...). My fear, competitiveness, perfectionism and etc.... My mind starts to speed up... This keeps me hungry, no matter what I eat...
I never ever enjoy being hungry in school or at work. Never. I enjoy it when I am on a vacation or having no responsibility in my life..... That's how I understand my case. Maybe, I am not helping you at all on this, but this is how I understand about an addictive mentality... and this is me. <3
No, you make complete sense. I often feel hungrier at school too and I do think it's an emotional response to being uncomfortable with my surroundings. Thinking about food distracts me from my anxieties.. make sense? Or maybe it's just because my body and brain are using more energy to keep me focused? Or it's probably a combination of a lot of things. Email coming your way this afternoon! <3
DeleteI also struggle a little with the snacks at school because if i skip one because of not feelign hungry "enough" my stomach starts growling a few minutes later in class. But i have some ideas what i think are yummy snacks maybe it helps you :
ReplyDelete- self-made granola bar (with nuts, oats, dried fruit, chocolate chips etc) or oatmeal/breakfast cookies
- toast/sandwich/wholegrain bagel (bc more filling) bagel with avocado/pb/turkey/hard-boiled egg (very filling)
- baby carrots and hummus
- apple oder banana"sandwich" (like a piece of bread with pb in between)
- cacao ? (the one you can buy in a small package like 250ml)
- fruit
- jogurt with fruit if you can sit down
- wraps ! (tuna-avokado and jam-banana are awesome)
- home-made trailmix (e.g. nuts, dried cranberrys, dark chocolate)
just some ideas. i think its just important to find out how much you need. if you are too hungry later it can be an issue of lacking nutriens and/or energy and/or the amount of food in the stomach. wish you luck with finding something that allows you to focus on class and not be too hungry or too irritated from feeling to full.
xx
Those are all wonderful snack ideas! I love the idea of a wrap - you can seriously put anything in them and eat them with one hand on the go. And yumm, hot cocoa this time of year is perfect! I will have to give all of these a try. :)
Deleteaww i´m glad i may could help you a little. i seriously saved a ton of images of yummy looking snacks and meal ideas from tumblr on my computer and printed some of them out so if i have no idea what to eat or pack for lunch i just look up the picutres sticking on my fridge :D of course thats a lot of work and not necessary but i think tumblr is still a good source of inspiration for everything - as long and you blog certain tags that could be triggering of corse . and yes i do love the wraps too and hot cacao brings back good memories of childhood :D
DeleteHaha that's awesome. I used to be the same way pre-recovery. I was so obsessed with food that I got a degree in culinary arts haha. So I have to be careful about how much I think/obsess about food. It's great that works for you! I have seen many of those blogs and think they are fabulous!! :)
Deleteit think its maybe a leftover of ED food obsessions but mostly i am really interested in it and i like trying out new recipes. but i know those tumblr blogs can easily get you in the wrong mindset about what to eat and what now when you search for healthy ideas you easily get on diet pages.
DeleteIt sounds like you have a good balance though. And if finding new recipes helps you try new foods then more power to you! <3
DeleteAvocados are calorie dense, and can be added to a smoothie (like Carly suggested), as well as coconut milk (and I think I've read coconut oil recommended too, but maybe it was coconut butter?). What about pastries? Like unfrosted cupcakes or brownies. Sweets like that will be easy to eat (and easy for your body to get the nutrients from!), and are calorie dense. What about a trail mix to snack on? Something with nuts, raisins, and m&m's. That'd be easy to do a mindless hand to mouth action while walking. The PB&J idea mentioned is good too, and what about other simple deli sandwiches?
ReplyDeleteI really like all of those ideas, especially avocados... They are great for your skin and hair, too! Ha. And I'm always up for sweets. Trail mix might be what I pack tomorrow. Thank you so much!
DeleteI struggle too with eating at school, especially when there's so little time. I like when I have time to sit and enjoy my meals/snacks at my apartment but of course, that's not always possible! Luckily this semester I have hour long breaks between classes so I have time to eat a more well-rounded packed meal but when I'm short on time, I really like Larabars and other healthy protein bars, or homemade trail mix, or easy to eat fruits and veggies like carrot sticks and grapes. I'm personally obsessed with bars, so I always have a lot on hand, and I just love them because they're easy to eat and don't make much of a mess, but anything that's portable works!
ReplyDeleteQuite a few people have suggested the bars to be, so I will be sure to stock up the next time I get groceries. Thanks so much for your help! :)
DeleteYes to Greek yogurt & also oatmeal loaded with fruit/PB/nuts etc. (if you're able to prepare stuff)! I'm glad this post happened; I am so bored of all my snacks lately too!
ReplyDeleteBoth Greek yogurt and oatmeal are wonderful, I agree. So many great ideas. I really needed this! <3
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