At the risk of being an overachiever, may I add another long post?
Sometimes without meaning to we sabotage ourselves with our snacking. Especially during very stressful times. We are careful with our meals, but then the in between snacking, or mindless eating is the thing that we don’t keep track of or we forget about. It is so easy to eat a handful of candy from a dish, or ½ of the bag of chips without realizing it until it is too late. (while doing homework? or preparing our taxes?) This is how I learned to handle it to keep me from going out of control with my snacking. I plan my snacks in advance, and I do not allow myself to deviate from the plan unless it is a very special reason. (Ask me about the brownies that haunted me all week long this week at work)
I eat a good breakfast before I get started with my day. Then I pull out everything that I will eat for my snacks between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. I put it all in a lunch sack. I have an apple, orange, kiwi fruit, or grapes, a WW one point cookie, maybe a WW one point snack bar. Carrots they are free, a cheese stick, maybe some yogurt. I try to change up what I have each day, but I usually have 4 or 5 items. When I get to work, I take it all out and I lay it on top of the lunch bag. Then throughout the morning when I begin to feel hungry, I will reach for one or two of the items and eat it. I enjoy them, and they satisfy me. Then in another hour or two when I begin to feel a little hungry again, I choose another snack from my pile. Usually this one will satisfy me until lunch time. Then I eat a good, healthy lunch (keeping portion sizes in mind). Then in the afternoon, I do the same thing as in the morning. Sometimes I don't eat anything else, because my lunch carries me through. However, sometimes I am really hungry so I have something before I leave the office to go home. I don’t allow myself to ever get too hungry, because then when I do get near and unlimited amount of food, I will over eat.
In the beginning of my journey I limited myself to these snacks and nothing else. I actually used to bring 7 or 8 items in the beginning, but I have cut that down, but it was a natural thing, I didn’t make a conscious decision to do it. My body just stopped craving so much. I am never starving any longer. On the days I have something to do after I get out of work, I will be sure to keep something from my snack bag to hold me over until I can eat dinner. This way I don't have out that of control eating until I can get my dinner prepared (or ordered if I am dining out).
Of course, this takes a little pre planning. A trip to the produce store or produce section of the grocery store once or twice a week. It literally takes me less than 5 minutes to toss these snacks into a bag in the morning). Eventually, your body stops expecting you to keep giving it useless calories, but lets you know when it needs more energy. My suggestion is to try it for 1-2 weeks, and see how it goes for you. Your body will adjust to this type of controlled eating.