No More Diets

I keep picking at food all day. What can I do to stop doing this?

When you pick at food all day it’s generally for one of two reasons:-

a) you are not eating satisfying meals (maybe thinking that this will help you lose weight)
b) you are bored (or stressed or lonely) and picking at food gives you a lift or something to take your mind off things

What can you do about it?

1. Eat enough food at mealtimes. I don’t mean stuff yourself full - I just mean eat enough so that you feel you’ve had a meal and not a light snack.

2. Include all the food groups. If you include some lean protein (such as chicken, eggs or fish) you will generally remain satisfied for longer after your meal. A small portion of slow-release whole grain carbohydrates such as whole meal bread or brown rice will help there too. And you need to also add some healthy fat (such as avocado or a little olive oil) to make your meal more satisfying and slower to digest.

3. Cut down on sweet and starchy foods (desserts, sweets, white bread and pasta) if you want reduce the nibbles because they cause a sudden rise and then fall in your blood sugar levels and your body will crave more sugar or starch to plug the gap (even if you ate not very long ago).

4. Keep food out of sight. Sometimes we pick just because food is THERE tempting us. Don’t buy it in the first place and don’t have it on display/in easy reach.

5. Look at what feelings (boredom, stress etc) are creating the need to nibble and tackle the root cause of the problem rather than allowing yourself to mask them with food. What else could you do to help because food is not the answer for more than the two seconds it is on your lips and it surely is not helping once it turns to fat on your body?

6. If you can’t stop yourself picking, limit the damage with the foods you choose. Picking at chopped vegetables, dill pickles, hard boiled eggs and so on is much less damaging than nibbling on cookies, cake and lumps of cheese.