mental hunger

The last couple of weeks, I have been eating lots of snacks. They have been healthy choices, but not needed really. I know it is just mental hunger.

How do yall handle this?

David

Here is the stupid answer. I don't keep them around. Even if it's healthy, I still eat too much if it's there.

If you are snacking and unable to stop, I suggest that you write down everything that you eat during the day.  Keep track of your calories and protein.  You can do it using calorie counting books along with notebooks or via several online sites.  This way you are accepting responsibility for your eating.  If you are honest with yourself, you will see how much you are really eating during any given day.  It's easier to lie to yourself if you don't keep track of what you're eating.  That way you can pretend that 400 cal of Ice cream was only 150 cal.  You can even under evaluate the caloric content of hearlthy foods while over stating their protein values.

Most of us were really good at lying to ourselves while we were becoming obese.  I'm not saying you have to do this every day for the rest of your life, but if you find yourself slipping, keep track of what you are eating for a while.

Some things may be deceptive as far as weight loss is concerned.  While you are morbidly obese, you can still lose a substantial amount of weight even if you are not eating properly.  That is, it does take quite a few calories to maintain our morbidly obese weight.  Eventually,  your weight will get low enough that you will need to be more careful with caloric intake.  Of course, there's the other argument of building muscle and muscle weighing more than fat.  We're not likely to see any weight gain due to a change in our musculature. 

I agree with Scott.

If it is in the house or around work I am much more inclined to eat it when the mental hunger rears it's head.

The other thing you can do is to drink something.  Make a mental challenge out of it.
If I want something to eat. I try to get myself to drink a large glass of 0 cal something.  Water or Crystal light something like that.  Then if 30 minutes after that I am still hungry, I allow a healthy snack.

I also log everything I eat.  As long as I am honest with the above proceedures and keep my calorie content in the range I have set for myself it all works out.

Good luck

Scott