sarahnevin

I consider myself to be a full blown peanut butter addict. I can eat it all day long, even until it makes me sick, and still the cravings never cease. Does anyone else find it hard to resist peanut butter? My worst cravings come at night and I don't want to gain weight by eating too much of the stuff. Any suggestions?

desireebu

I had the same issues. Any kind of nut butter/nuts actually. I ate over 3600 calories in shelled peanuts in one sitting. I purposely bought shelled as conventional wisdom relayed that would “slow me down” – it didn’t. It did how ever give me raw fingers, a messy shirt, and an upset tummy. I googled it a bit myself…there didn’t seem to be a smoking gun, but peanut butter is an incredibly common binge food. It’s also probably where my diet/personal life-stress-induced bulimia probably initially manifested. (I would “just lick the spoon” of peanut butter…this became eating a few spoonfuls – which lead to frantic tallying of the ridiculous amount of calories I just ate etc etc) At the risk of sounding overly lame – I’m in “recovery” with my own binging issues – but it will probably always take a conscious effort to STOP when I’m full. I don’t know what point you’re in at the moment– but I’m assuming that as you're using an online calorie tracker, posting on the forum, AND asking how to avoid peanut butter you may have some of the same issues My personal advice would be to NOT KEEP IT IN THE HOUSE. I’m finally at the point where I can keep a jar around; but I don’t allow myself to ever have “just a little taste” – I always measure my servings, and I only use it as a condiment. It took a long time before I could keep it (or any nuts/nut butters) in the house at all.

mecompco

Let me tell ya', I love PB as well and it is dangerous to have around. I'm OK with it, usually, but after a few drinks when my food conscience is low I sometimes get into it.

By coincident, today one of my coworkers brought in some PB2 for me to try, and it's pretty good. Basically it is PB with most of the oil removed so it makes a powder. 2 Tbs is 45 calories, and when reconstituted with water, it's really pretty good. Is it as good as the "real thing"? Nope, but I think it is "good enough" (and I've tried low cal PB substitutes that are pretty disgusting and not nearly "good enough").

Anyway, it might be worth a try if you can't totally eliminate the delicious stuff entirely from your diet. I ordered some on Amazon for myself.

Here's a link to the company's website: Bell Plantation - PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter and More!

Regards,
Michael

cjohnson728

I love peanut butter, too. I always have it here; everyone in my house eats it, and I use it as a quick way to get healthy fats (tried the P2, but as it sort of defeats that purpose, I didn't ever get on board). I keep it in the back of the pantry, only eat it if I've logged it into my food log, and measure it out and put it away before I start eating it.

Some tricks I use to combat the addiction are to use one that's not quite as tasty (the natural, fresh-ground kind is good, but not as good as the jar stuff), or to use almond butter. Keeping it in the fridge also decreases the yummy gooey factor.

There are some other things that I don't keep in the house, not trusting my willpower. I guess, rating those foods as a 10, PB would be about an 8 for me.

Michael, I love the concept of a "food conscience." Very astute!

01gt4.6

I am a huge PB addict. I eat 1-2 PB&J sammich a day. If it has PB in it, I want it. Reeses PB cups, Reeses Pieces, Butterfingers, 5th Avenue, put any of those in ice cream and it's even better.

lcriswell0421

mecompco, thanks for the info on the PB2 from bell plantation. i too love pb, but i feel like it's a taboo food because of the fat and calories in just 2 Tbsp. i had just 1 Tbsp earlier today and i was mad that the little bit was 95 calories. so i checked out their website and put in an order. can't wait to get it! wish i could have ordered just 1 or 2 jars instead of 4 being the minimum, but hopefully i'll like it. if i do i'll try the choc pb2 also. thanks again for the heads up on a product i have not heard of before!

cjohnson728

I just remembered, Justin's Natural Nut Butters (they make a number of flavors, including chocolate!) comes in single-serve packs. Probably not the most cost efficient, but sometimes self-control is worth the cost .

sarahnevin

Thank's for all the good ideas. Cassie I really like the idea of buying the natural healthy stuff with out the added yumminess. I don't like it as much as the Jif, but that might help me to 'mindfully' eat it. I'm recovering from bulimia and peanut butter is one of my trigger foods for a binge. I love it so I don't want to cut it out of my diet, but I just can't stop at 2 tablespoons. I've tried having my boyfriend hide it, but we can't get rid of it completely because there are others in the household (with out food issues) that like to eat it. Nuts, in general, are another food I've tried to eat in moderation, but it just never happens. It starts with a sensible amount and ends with the whole bag gone! My therapist said I shouldn't ban it from the house because it will make me want it more and then I will just binge... but then I'm binging on it either way. Sometimes I'm good at keeping my portions okay, but when I can't it's a sucky feeling.

Gnatt

I can second the vote for PB2. They also make a peanut butter/chocolate powder. It is good too, but the plain PB2 is my fav. It's great to have with celery, and I also put it on banana ice cream. (Have you ever made banana ice cream? Freeze a sliced banana, stick the slices in the blender for a few minutes, and MAGIC, banana ice cream)

1dwing

The best I've had (no not calorie friendly) is Peanut butter and co. I eat the dark choc. dreams and white choc wonder. Best pb I've ever had. I found to get the most bang for the calorie is to make a pb/protein shake. 2 cups ice, 1 serving of PB2, 1 scoop of pb/choc protein powder, some stevia and 3-6 oz of lowfat milk. I drink it as one serving but could make 2. It is great for a sweet tooth.