That crucial 20 minutes--what do you do?

Hi, all.  I've been counting calories for a little over a week.  I've really cut back on how much I eat each day, but I still struggle with those first 20 minutes after I arrive home from work.

After eating a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snacks (fresh fruits, veggies, milk, yogurt, peanutbutter, etc.), I'm starving when I get home.  At least I think I'm starving.  I tell my self to get some carrots, so I open the fridge and get some carrots, but I know there is colby cheese in there.  So after I eat the carrots, I open the fridge and get a piece of cheese.  MMMmmm good; I open the door and get another one.  Still looking for satisfaction, I eat a piece of bread.

In about 20 minutes, I've had a meal and it's not even supper time yet!

So, does anyone else have this challenge?  Were you able to overcome it?  I have a feeling I need to stay out of the kitchen altogether for 20 minutes after arriving home, but that's hard to do because it's the central room of the hourse.

mamarose-

My husband has that same problem.   The orange he used to have for a snack just didn't stick around long enough.   To fight it he now either eats a little more for lunch or has a more substantial planned afternoon snack.   Right now he has a protein bar last period (he's a teacher) and he's fine when he gets home.   I know that I'm really hungry when I get home from work but I usually just go ahead and start dinner so it's not really an issue for me.   

Maybe try the cheese sandwich for your afternoon snack?  If that specific craving is pretty consistent, working it into your routine may help you feel more in control.    

I know that when I started counting and limiting calories, I had to change some routines that either focused on food or made it too accessible.  Maybe that would help also? 

Let us know if you find something that works.  Good luck!

Radishes!

I find that keeping a big bowl of cleaned, prepped radishes (in ice water) in the fridge is a great way to keep me from grabbing the WRONG thing from the refrigerator. They are right there, at eye level.... cheery and red. (And one cup of sliced radishes are just 19 calories!)

And the only cheese in my refrigerator is (1) low fat cottage cheese; (2) fat free Kraft singles; and (3) Laughing Cow Light Gourmet mini bites .... so there's a limit to how much cheese-related damage I can do.  And there's no bread around, either -- I've switched to high fiber bran muffins or high fiber, low-carb multigrain bagels.  For me, I try to win the battle at the grocery store and not have trigger foods in my house right in front of me.

MOLLY

I used to be the same way. I'd do so good with my eating all day long. I'd feel proud that I stuck with it another day. And then evening time would come and I'd feel so hungry that I'd start snacking on "healthy" stuff. So healthy in fact, that I'd tell myself it's okay for me to have this low calorie pudding, or part skim string cheese. And it would be okay if I could just eat one. But I didn't. I'd eat a couple puddings, cheese, fruit. All this stuff that is supposed to be good for me, I'd eat so much of it, that I made it bad for me. Before I knew it, I had eaten over 400 calories in just snack foods and I would have like 200 calories left for dinner and I still felt hungry!

So it's gotten a bit easier now. I still have days like that, sure, but it's not like it used to be. Now I try to eat a breakfast that is low in carbs and high in protien. It helps me to stay full longer. I will usually make lunch my biggest meal of the day now, instead of dinner. I still snack a lot, but I do it more during the day and I don't over indulge. At dinner time, I am not feeling like I need to eat everything is sight, so I can plan a good dinner and stick with it. Sometimes by dinner time, I am not hungry at all and I will have to make myself eat, so it's really worked for me. Sugar free jello is great if you get sweet tooths. Not very filling, but it's only 10 calories a serving and it really helps with the sweet tooth.

Good luck. I know this is an issue a lot of people face, but you can beat it.

I also feel very hungry when I get home. I think it is a combination of knowing it is dinner time and I just finished exercising which releases something (can't remember what) that makes you feel hungry. As a single person I am able to come home and make dinner right away. Definately try keeping the low calorie stuff in the house like Molly suggested. Laughing Cow cheese wedges are really pretty good and have surprisingly good flavor for being "diet" cheese. Melba Toast is also not too bad. Only like 60 calories for I think 5 pieces (check the box on that one). Also Sara Lee reduced calorie wheat bread is pretty good and only like 45 calories. I will toast it and eat it plain.

Thanks for the good ideas.  I put radishes on my grocery list after reading mollymouser's post.  The store was out of the bagged radishes (or hid them well), but they had the bunch radishes with the green tops still on them.  I bought those.  WOW...what a difference in taste!  They are really yummy! 

Does anyone know if anything can be done with the tops?  I know some plants, like potatoes or rhubarb, have toxic leafy parts.  I don't know anything about radish leafy parts.

I had the same problem but I changes my workout time to when I get home from work instead of in the morning. So now the first thing I do when I get home is a 20-30 minute workout and then I eat dinner. It takes up time in the evening and keeps me focused.

How about taking something healthy with you to work that you can eat on the drive home so you aren't hungry when you walk in the door? Celery and carrots would be an easy one to crunch while driving. or a piece of fruit or something.

And of course getting anything you binge on out of the house might help :)

I agree with the workout as soon as you get home, dont even go near that fridge until your workout is done and then drink a huge glass of water, if you are still hungry pick up the phone and call someone and talk ,you will burn calories and at the same time maybe forget your hunger, another thing sometimes you arent hungry your mouth just wants to stay busy alot of people I know chew sugar free bubble gum, I however carry sugar free tic-tacs with me everywhere, they are in my bedroom my bathroom, my locker at work, my purse, my car, they really help me with my sugar cravings and the tic tac chills are not like regular tic tacs they are not as hard so you can actually chew them I am usually satisfied with about 10 but even if you do go crazy and eat the whole container thats only aboyt 70 calories, and if you still feel guilty 70 calories is alot easier to work off than 400.

All Bran. Believe it or not, two servings of All Bran (2/3 cup plus about 1 cup 1%milk) comes in at about 250 calories. With that you get 96% of your daily fiber intake and it tends to fill you up. I go for the AB at night and it generally takes away the hungries. Two cups of frozen cut green beans also does the trick. If you use the zero calorie bacel spray it almost feels like buttered veggies...and all it costs you is about 100 calories.

Oh, I've been having that trouble too.... I get home from work and start fixing dinner for the family .. .and I nibble  on stuff. 

So, last week, I decided on a new plan.  I will drink a glass of water and if I'm really hungry I'll grab something healthy.  Then I get dinner started (like start the rice cooker and through chicken in the oven as an example).  Then I get out of the kitchen and go downstairs and do 20 minutes on the treadmill.  Seems to be helping.

A belated reply about radish tops ... you can absolutely eat the greens! They're spicy like the radishes themselves. I like mixing them with Romaine leaves, which adds some crunch since radish greens are soft. Ditto with eating the leaves of fresh beets and turnips - don't let that good stuff go to waste. Even carrot tops are edible, though they are bitter and some people are allergic, so use caution there.

Grapefruit, apples, or pears. One grapefruit makes me feel like I ate a brick, which isn't too bad for 100 calories or so.

Walk ten minutes away from your house and then ten minutes back. You will have time to relax and think about a strategy and maybe not want to sabotage your walk. I have done this before another method is I go lay down.