Easy ways to stop grazing after a sleeve

Feeling “nibbly”? Hunting through the cupboard or the fridge for something to eat, even though perhaps you’re not really hungry? Grazing throughout the day because it’s been long enough after surgery now that you can? Try these few tips to keep your hands busy and your head out of the kitchen.

Check the clock

Fist things first, keep an eye on the time. If it’s been less than three hours since you last ate and you’re stalking around the kitchen, it could be one of three things:

• you’re not physically hungry, but head hungry
• what you ate last time wasn’t filling enough
• your last meal was too small so it didn’t sit with you for long. Maybe because you ate too fast and filled up early and felt uncomfortable, or maybe because you just didn’t serve yourself enough

Once you know what your tendencies are you can trouble shoot with the following tips.

Check your main meals

Make a conscious decision for your main meals to be good quality. Go for foods that are high in protein and fibre with some good fats as this is the key combination for satiety after meals. Eat your meals slowly (20-30 minutes), taking small mouthfuls so you eat the right amount without filling up because food is stuck (but your stomach is actually empty) or overeating and making yourself uncomfortable. If you can get this right, you’ll maximise your satiety between meals.

Use the 5 minute rule

Do you find that when you eat something delicious, you immediately want to get up and get a little more? Use the 5 minute rule! If you can wait just five minutes, you give you stomach a chance to tell your brain that you’ve had enough. So, delay delay delay! Phone a friend, read an article, start a conversation on the members Facebook group. You’ll be surprised how many times you choose not to eat more!

Move your body

When we eat for emotional reasons, we’re looking for a serotonin hit to give us a pick-me-up. Give your body that pick-me-up using endorphins instead. Set up a home workout, head out for a walk, phone a friend for a zoom circuit, head out to the gym, do 20 squats or push ups. Whatever floats your boat. It only takes a few minutes of movement to get that boost in endorphins, so don’t over complicate it. Read this post for more ideas on exercise.

Remove yourself

This one ties into the tip above – GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN! Out of sight, out of mind. If you can, move yourself to another portion of the house, get outside, go for a walk around the block, just sit on the front step – anything to help you get away for a few minutes until the urge to eat passes (see the 5-minute rule above).

Playing a drinking game…

Often we can mistake thirst for hunger. Especially if you are craving sweet, cold or wet foods like ice cream, sweet yoghurt, or chocolate. So, play “drinking games” throughout the day to make sure you get enough fluids. Doing it is easy! Pick a word or an action that will be your “drink trigger” (for example, every time someone at your job says a certain word, or every time your children ask for something!) and then take a sip of fluid (NOT alcohol!).

Alternatively, if you feel the nibbles coming on, before you reach for a snack, drink a glass of water or a cup of herbal tea. You’ll find you feel full and often the delay keeps the craving at bay.

Set up your supermarket

Finally, all of these tips above are fine, but if you’re in an environment where food is everywhere, you’re making it difficult for yourself. So, if you have a kitchen door, keep it closed. If you don’t, instigate The Supermarket Rule. If you live with others, organise your fridge and cupboards so that food in the house you don’t want to eat, but others might, is kept either on the highest or lowest shelf.

Why? Companies pay big money for their products to be right at eye level – where you’ll notice them and buy them! The same rule applies here. Make the tempting stuff harder to see and you’ll be less likely to try to eat it.