How do I avoid mental hunger?

[karebare714 14]

I have been banded 16 days now and I do great during the day until about 8pm every night. I am not physically hungry at that point but mentally hungry. That was why diets never worked before, at night I would just give up. I have not had a fill yet and could eat a decent amount if I tried I think. I do not get hungry much during the day and a lil holds me for a long time. But I never feel like I can't eat anymore. I stop when I am full during the day and have tiny meals for bfast, lunch and dinner and am satisfied. When there is nothing to do and I am bored I am used to watching TV and eating whether I am hungry or not at night. It is getting harder to control. Any suggestions on what to do to get my mind away from this horrible habit until I get a fill?

Karen

[Jodi_620 37]

Are you watching your simple carbs? They are a huge culprit of head hunger for me. I do eat the good carbs fruit, green veggies, milk and limited whole grains. But I won't touch the strachy high glycemic ones like potato, corn, Pasta, rice, white flour and sugar. Just a little and my head hunger goes wild.

The best cure for boredom, weight loss AND head hunger is physical activity. I don't sit and watch TV anymore--other than dinnertime I don't sit still period. I exercise, go for a walk or start a project around the house. I have stopped watching TV so much and keep as active as possible in the evenings And I have gotten so much accomplished! I come home from work, go for a walk or do my workout, get dinner out of the way then start a project. I am so tired by bedtime that I just want to go to sleep. During the warm months I got all kinds of gardening projects done in the yard, remodeled my patio and organized the garage and tool shed, painted the shutters... Now that the weather is colder, I am working inside going room by room and completely organizing, cleaning closets and organizing drawers, painting ceilings and walls, organizing, cleaining carpets waxing floors...the whole nine yards. The only TV watching I get is in the background while I am keeping busy.

I rarely think about food in between meals like I used to and I credit that to watching my carbs and keeping busy.

[Tess415 1]

Hi Karen - congratulations on getting you lapband. I too had the same problems with the evening. I work 12 hour shifts so I would get home, be hungry and want to relax and eat, which unfortunately would be in front of the TV. Bad habit for me... and the weight really piles on that way for me.

I now go to the gym in the evening sometimes from 7-8pm, that way I am much tighter after exercising, so I have that physical satiety going for me. I am finding I have more energy in the evening now that I have lost almost 70 pounds, so I am not a victim of the lazy-boy!!!!

I get on lapband talk and my hands keep busy that way, and my mind too. I also try not to eat in front of the TV anymore, I eat in the kitchen and am trying to separate the 2 activities from each other. If I do want to snack in the evening I try to pick a good Protein choice so that it doesn't trigger giving into all of the bad carb choices (chips, Cookies, crackers etc...)

The main thing is to switch up your evening routine to work with your goals, and before you know it you'll be down several more pounds!!!!!!

[JennBand08 0]

I have the same problem.. and I do still like an occasional crunchy sallty snack. What I've found recently is Dry Roasted Edamame- 14g of Protein for a 1/4 cup. So then I don't feel so bad, because I'm getting in some protein and Fiber. It's not delicious, but it's not bad either, it satisfies the urge for me. Good luck.