Feeling like you need to be full

Do you ever have that feeling that you just need to fill yourself? You don't want that nice satisfied feeling you get from eating a balanced and moderate snack or meal; you want to be full. Then you start looking through your fridge and pantry trying to find something that will fill you up. You might eat a piece of fruit, but it still isn't enough. You need to find something more.

Where does this feeling come from?

Today, this hit me, and I found a 2 part solution - for this time. First of all, I figured out a snack that would be really satisfying. Then I blogged about it. :) Because putting something in writing on my blog makes it more real. It makes me feel like I need to live up to it.

To deal with this longer term though, I need to figure out what triggers this feeling. Today, I have a pretty good idea. I'm in the process of cutting myself off from sugar again.

What's that? You didn't know I was back on it? Well, after being mostly off of sugar for a month, I slowly let it creep back into my diet. Even though I wasn't eating excessive amounts, I was starting to have trouble with cravings. And, I was starting to slip into bad habits: like eating my kids' snacks. Crackers. I've taken almost all other trigger foods out of the house, but crackers are so convenient to feed my kids.

So, I'm on day 2 of going sugar free and this is the day that the cravings are hitting hard. The idea of having a small indulgence to get myself past it doesn't work for me. I won't be satisfied with it and I will want more... and more. I know once I get past the next couple days, it gets easier, so I'm hanging in for that.

So, speaking of making things real with blogging, I have an apology to make. In
this post I mentioned that I'd be doing a week long series where I post a daily snack. Then I lasted one day. Today, I'll begin making it up to you, and will continue it for a week.

So, the snack that worked to fill my void today was bigger then what I usually eat for a snack and is usually something I have for breakfast:


Steel cut oats with a tablespoon of peanut butter, half a banana and a bit of milk.

This worked for a few reasons. For one steel cut oats take a while to cook; even in the microwave, it's about 15 minutes. This gave me time to step away from the kitchen, knowing I would have something to eat, but not dwelling on finding something to fill.

The fact that it's warm seems to help fill me up better. I also had it with a cup of tea, which helped that effect even more. I think hot food just makes your stomach feel good. At the same time, you tend to eat it slower.

Oatmeal is just known as being a filling food and a sustaining food.

Like I said, it is a bit more then I usually would want for an afternoon snack, but if it keeps me from eating half a box of crackers, then it's all good.

How do you deal with that feeling of needing to fill?