Original caption
I saw this and I wanted to leave it here for all my bariatric girlies dealing with food noise 1. The Plain Chicken Test When you suddenly feel hungry, ask yourself if you’d eat plain chicken right now. If chicken sounds awful but chips sound incredible, I give myself a minute before calling it hunger 2. The 20-Minute Rule A craving doesn’t need an immediate answer. I give it 20 minutes, leave the kitchen, and go do something else. You’d be surprised how often the thing that felt VERY important 10 minutes ago suddenly isn’t 3. The Kitchen Shutdown After dinner, clean the counters, put the food away, turn off the lights and leave. There’s something about physically closing the kitchen that tells your brain eating is finished for the night 4. The Water Check Before grabbing a random snack, drink a glass of water and wait a few minutes. Post-op, staying hydrated can be a challenge, and sometimes I need to check that before automatically reaching for food 5. The Toothbrush Trick Brush your teeth when you’re finished eating for the night. It sounds almost too stupid to work, but once my teeth are clean and minty, going back for something crunchy suddenly sounds a lot less exciting 6. The Out-of-Sight Reset When food noise gets loud, physically get away from the food. Go upstairs, take a shower, walk outside, fold laundry. Standing in front of an open fridge trying to practice willpower has never helped anybody 7. The Sit-Down Rule If you’re going to eat it, put it on a plate and sit down. No handfuls from the pantry, bites over the sink, or eating straight from the bag. Making food an actual event makes mindless eating a lot harder 8. The 10-Minute Walk Finish dinner and immediately go for a short walk. It gives the meal a clear ending and creates some distance between you and that little voice asking what else you could eat #bariatricsurgery