Exam/Paper writing time! NEED MUNCHIES!!!!!!
 

Hello All,
As some might have noticed but my lack of posts, it is exam time!! More scary, its law! Have to meet a lot of tight deadlines and on top of that write exams. Needless to say, the best sleep I can get on most nights is 6 hours, although I try to sleep in during weekends. So here's the thing I need advice. I am one of those emotional eaters and when I am busy/stressed I snack a Lot. I have lost 5 pounds in a little over three weeks since joining fitday and I am terrified:eek: absolutely, that I would gain it all back before exam is done on the 21st because I just have to have my munchies while I am reading/writing. I want to know what are the healtheir, preferably low carb, low cal snacks I can indulge in???
I would really like to at least maintain my weight, if I cannot lose during this time, but I worked so hard to eat healthy and exercise this past few weeks and I am loving my new lifestyle. But I just cannot resist the urge to graze while I am reading, so I need ideas!
Sorry for rambling but ya...

Cucumber slices, carrot sticks, celery sticks fit the description...but how bleh! Dip in fat-free yogurt, maybe.

Air popped popcorn is carby but good for you and low cal.

Anything that takes a long time to eat, like nuts in the shell (I love pistachios), dry cereal (choose carefully), pomegranates.

Good luck on the exams and deadlines ;). It's all worth it.

Gum, I swear by it for studying. It takes the edge off the munchies, makes you feel like you shouldn't eat because you have toothpaste breath and it's cheap. 94% fat free micro pop corn, also good.
Strawberries, watermelon, oranges, all good.
sugar free pudding cups - frozen, they take forever to eat and only have 60 cal.
flavored water

adderall... multipurpose, helps you focus and kills cravings. But seriously, just try to find healthy snacks, if it's a matter of putting something in your mouth, as stated, popcorn and gum sound good to me.

Celery sticks, sliced really thin lengthwise, works for me. I like crunchy for stress. Pomegranates are great for tv watching but kinda messy for studying, same goes for pink grapefruit peeled not sliced, you have to peel the segments one at a time too. Definitely don't take a container of anything to your desk, measure it out in a bowl so you have to get up to get more. Cup of ice maybe?

Cassie, good luck on the exams. I graduated from law school 10 years ago and had the munchies at exam time too. I constantly ate Peanut M&M's, spearmint leaves, bridge mix and nibs. At Easter time, I'd go to Walmart or some such place and buy chocolate bunnies for .99 And I wondered why I couldn't sleep. I thought it was "exam anxiety". Stupid me! But I got through. If I had to do it again, I'd eat bananas, rice crisps/thins, healthy high protein energy bars (not the ones pumped full of sugar and additives you can't pronounce), nuts, turkey pepperoni and maybe sneak in some candy sweetened with Splenda or another low sugar impact sweetener. I would use the hard candies so they last a long time.

The most important thing is to do well on your exams. Don't worry about regaining the 5 pounds you just lost. When your exams are done, you can return to eating well and exercise your brains out and lose any weight you put on. Make sure you fuel your body and your brain properly. That in itself will help curb the cravings and probably maintain your weight. If you eat junk, you'll just be hungry again in an hour and your brain will be starved. It will make studying harder. I loved law school but I don't miss exams!

Good luck on your exams!

I seed my pomegranates and put the seeds in small containers to avoid the mess when I need to. I like to freeze the seeds, grapes, pineapple, etc. I also like to get the single serving size bags of sunflower seeds in the shell, they take forever to eat! A HUGE salad works great too!

Fresh vegetables are carbs. So if you are avoiding carbs, you're going to be snacking on beef jerky, deviled eggs, and string cheese!

But if you're working carbs into your diet (vegetables are not evil, in my opinion, and they ARE carbs), I suggest measuring out a small storage bag of Cheerios, keeping it with you and if you have to snack, eat a Cheerio at a time. They will give you some good fiber, which is filling, they are low in fat, and, without milk, they're a portable snack that doesn't stick to your teeth!

Fruit and veggies are the good carbs and have natural fiber. :) Cereals, crackers, etc. are the bad carbs. I low carb (normally between 80-100g a day) and most of my carbs come from fruit and veggies.

Here's a link with the carb rating scores. It's kind of interesting. :)

Glycemic Index of Foods, GI Value

Thanks for that link:)

Good luck on the exams! Hey listen, if you are really feeling the urge to "munch" you may just be a little stressed and not really hungry. If that is the case, possibly find something that you can hold and/or squeeze in your hand that is going to let you release some of that frustration, fear or anxiety. If you truly are hungry then have a meal. Also, eating some brocolli, celery, apples etc. will be ok to munch on.....and while they are carbohydrates as someone else mentioned, they are water based and you will probably want to have them around to avoid having those craving thoughts in your head of other foods that may not be so healthy. So take a breath, relax and stay focused!:)

wow! thanks for all the great ideas guys! really feeling the encouragement for way over here! hehe:D

So after reading all your suggestions, I went out and purchased a huge fruit bowl filled with pineapples, cantaloupe and grapes! I also bought some celery sticks which I would spread a little peanut butter on for my salt cravings and some low cal popcorn. Annnd I got some high protein energy bars but I will try and save for when I actually feel hungry and cannot access any meals.

Then when I make my meals I will try to have some form of lean protein with boiled veggies and keep it under 300 cals for lunch and dinner. For breakfast it will be a boiled egg and a huge oatmeal bowl. If all goes according to plan, I should have about 900 cals coming from my meals itself and about 400 cals from healthy snacks! which would keep me around my fat loss range! Anywho I feel like I am more equipped now to tackle on the challenge and feeling also less stressed about it now that I actually have the food purchased. A group member brought tons of delicious ginger bread cookies today to our study group and I kinda ate a lot of that. :o so starting NOW I intend to stick to my healthy munchies and hopefully will at least maintain.

I know it is just five pounds but I have worked hard trying to do it the healthy way this time and really do not want to add a single one back! So thanks to your awesome ideas, it just might happen:D

Now off to studying/...... have a great weekend all!!

I did the adderall thing my first year because someone suggested that uuhhhh, NEVER AGAIN! lol

cubbyprincess, if you freeze your grapes, they'll take longer to eat, and taste great, too!

GOOD LUCK...wow, this time of year is crazy. I don't miss it. My college used to have "midnight breakfast" during finals, none of it healthy, always in the middle of the night <shudders>!

Thanks CJohnson, I will try that as well. :)

Hi Cubby,

Good luck with exams! I'm at the end of the semester as well so I'm in the same boat as you! Exams, projects, papers, plus interviews for the next two weeks. Add to that that I'm moving out soon and it's a complete nightmare. I feel for you.

I usually have the opposite problem in that when things get really busy I forget to eat, but when I get serious munchies while studying I usually sit with a cup of black coffee with just a teaspoonful of sugar. I find that as long as I sip fairly slowly it keeps hunger at bay while increasing my concentration a little too. That one spoonful of sugar doesn't stimulate my hunger much (too little sugar), so it doesn't make me a lot hungrier than I was before.

Thanks Nik! Ya I am finding coffee to be my good friend. Trying to limit myself to only two cups and then have another cup of green tea.

Healthier Snacks
 

Eat foods high in fiber and protein. Those will fill you up quite nicely so that you don't over-indulge.