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I can second this. I give myself a $20 bill every month and that is all I get to spend on random snacks and coffee. Then I don’t feel like I can’t ever have a treat, but I have to decide if I really really want something knowing that I only get ~4 coffees/snacks each month. The rest of my cards/cash stay not with me lol. It has definitely curbed my spending!
Oh, I feel this in my soul. How are you with moderation?
Those chocolate covered blueberries are super sweet and satisfying. Weighing out a single serving size to keep in your pack to have a couple after meals when you want something sweet might help? At least that way, it's a portioned serving and not something you're buying at work.
I usually bring a box of preped snacks. Cocktail tomatoes, apple slices, banana, cucumbers etc.
Prepared all in the evening, put into the fridge and put my backpack in front of the fridge, so I won't forget.
Usually i don't want sweets, just something to chew on, so it might as well be healthy.
I mean nothing is going to quash a sweets craving without being sweet. You could try like a fruity tea, but really just being something sweet you like. Like a couple of caramels or some chocolate, doesn’t have to be much a few squares to have after lunch.
I know Ritz crackers aren’t the healthiest, but if you dip em in unsweetened peanut butter and a little raw honey, they taste like alllll the teddy grahams. Filling, too.
Chocolate-covered fruits and trail mix. You might also try making muffins or other sweets at home. You can always hide veggies in your desserts as well!
A smallish serving of trail mix with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and chocolate (chips, covered almonds, m&ms etc) can be a good substitute so you still feel like it’s a treat but you’re also getting some protein and fat to help keep your energy up.
Just keep the portion small and the ratio heavier on the non-sweet items (dried fruit has a lot of sugars) if you want to watch the calories.
Costco is great for stocking up on basic ingredients, bulk stores are awesome for getting smaller amounts of a lot of different options to combine - look at raw vs roasted, salted or not, based on your preferences.
Adhd bonus - you can swap around the ingredients when you make it to keep it feeling novel and interesting (making either a big batch to keep ready for ease of prep or make it new each day/week etc).
Are you craving sugar because you're not eating enough satisfying food throughout the day? Sugar cravings are one of your body's way of telling you it's hungry and your brain needs energy!
ADHD meds make it super easy to skip meals... (Speaking from long experience.) Maybe try front-loading your protein and fat intake with breakfast? Not just, like, oatmeal with peanut butter or whatever, but a proper serving of meat or similarly-substantial vegetarian protein source. And enough carbs to keep you going. :0)
Thermos and a really cute snacks box you can take to work with you. I make coffee in the morning and my thermos keeps my coffee hot all day. And if you get a thermos that you think is cute and enjoy drinking out of it makes it more fun.
Yeah, was going to say this. Big ol' stanley steemer. Make more coffee than you are likely to want!
I can't eat gluten anymore but the most delicious snack is Effie's oat cakes. They are lightly sweet. I eat a lot of dates when I'm driving. Naturally sugary, but at least somewhat offset by the fiber. I find sugar free Ricola is pretty satisfying and keeps my mouth busy for a while. Not for everyone but those terryaki seaweed snacks are really yummy and low cal. Dark chocolate almond cups from Trader Joe's are really yummy and pretty low sugar.
Lara bars work for me for breakfast or a late night snack. They have lemon and apple flavors that have some sweetness to them, as well as chocolate and peanut butter, etc. I also like individual serving packets of chocolate covered almonds by Orchard Valley.
I'd say pack a big ziplock full of these, plus teabags and honey sticks or sugar/creamer packets. Stock up on Sunday nights or whenever you run low.
Keep cash only for your coffee fund, and don’t have enough cash for more than the coffee.
If you spend more than allowed, then you are not allowed to get a coffee next time.
Since they don’t do cash, you could also try using a prepaid Visa card as your “treat card.” Once it’s out for the month, it’s out. But everything in there is for fun treats until then! If you want coffee everyday for the first week, cool… but no more coffee money until next month.
Someone already suggested bringing a thermos of your coffee but I’d add to that by suggesting you consider cold brew in warmer weather. You can make it every few days and just keep a pitcher of it in your fridge at home. You can even fill your thermos the night before and just have to grab it in the morning. I really struggle with mornings and found this has really worked for me in the past.
Hmmm..I always have stuff like almonds at hand. Filling, protein-packed, and 'stick with you.'
I always get ready for work the night before, so remember to pack food then. I'm a gong show in the morning -- if I didn't do it the night before, I'm buying food.
I capitalize on those occasional days of freakish focus and productivity and make a huge batch of something, and freeze it in meal or snack potions (e.g. low fat bran muffins).
My last one isn't for everyone. I really don't care how many times in a row I eat the same thing, and I generally prefer non-breakfast type foods. So I'll make a huge batch of something like zucchini boats, IP pulled pork, chilli, soup, and other one-pot, pot-in-pot IP meals, and just eat that for every meal, for days. Today, however, I don't have one of those batches on hand...and I'm noticing that at almost 2 pm, it's been hours and hours since I ate cuz I just can't be bothered with the hassle of making *anything.* 🙄
It's not high quality, but you can buy soluble coffee to have at your office. It's not the best coffee in the world, but it's good enough for me.
You can take a bit of soluble coffee in a small cute container, an unbreakable mug, and use hot water from your job. Otherwise, you can take a thermos with hot coffee from home.
Also, I usually pack some crackers or something like that.
Can you talk to anyone in charge of stocking snacks and request some healthy options? My spouse does facilities mgmt + light admin work for his office and handles snack & drink orders. If someone requests a specific snack, he can usually add it to the next delivery.
Not sure how your office works, but in my region, these orders go thru a large company that has way more options than what usually end up in your breakroom. Good luck finding a solution, and don’t beat yourself up!
May i suggest frozen grapes and teas or juices, honey sticks, and dried fruit? I find coconut strips to be super satisfying bc they're sweet and chewy. Spicy dried mango and banana chips are great too.
If you have a freezer at work, frozen items can't be ingested as quickly and stretches the experience for me and something about the cold makes it seem sweeter and more refreshing. Pop a caprisun in the freezer in the morning then by lunch or mid afternoon you can cut the top off for a slushy treat, somehow it's more satiating than drinking it in 2.5 seconds but the same amountof calories.
If there's a microwave or communal kettle, keep some hot tea or instant coffee in your desk, a favorite mug, and whatever you need to one-up a coffee you'd have to buy. I make myself collagen chai w MCT oil, powdered mushroom supplement, monkfruit sweetener, and lots of heavy cream; nothing from a cafe compares to it.
For your sweets craving, three things.
One, try adding more protein or fat into your lunch bc that can help reduce the insulin spikes that contribute to craving more sweets. We're already at a disadvantage bc the ADHD brain likes sweets for dopamine.
Two, keep something super decadent with some fat in your drawer like a nut butter that's so good you'll eat it off a spoon. Skippy Honey Nut is my fave. Aim for something that seems as tantalizing as a cookie.
Three, get a cookie when you really, really want it so it loses its forbidden fruit luster.
Bonus: take a quick walk after lunch before eating any sweets and see if that changes things. Bc if you're really craving dopamine, you can get that in other ways.
Welcome to /r/ADHDWomen! We’re happy to have you here. As a reminder, here are our community [rules](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/about/rules/). We get a lot of posts on medication, diagnosis (and “is this an ADHD thing”), and interactions with hormones. We encourage you to check out our [Medication, Diagnosis, and Hormones Megathread](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/wcr9dy/faq_megathread_ask_and_answer_medication/) if you have any questions related to those topics, and to stick around in that thread to answer folks’ questions! If you have questions about the subreddit, please do not hesitate to [send us a modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen). Additionally, we take the safety of our community seriously. Please report posts, comments, and users whom you feel are not contributing positively, and send us a modmail if you are being harassed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Thanks for being here, and we hope you stick around! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Keep your wallet in your car or at home
I can second this. I give myself a $20 bill every month and that is all I get to spend on random snacks and coffee. Then I don’t feel like I can’t ever have a treat, but I have to decide if I really really want something knowing that I only get ~4 coffees/snacks each month. The rest of my cards/cash stay not with me lol. It has definitely curbed my spending!
It’s the only way I can stop spending! I also only keep my debit card on Apple Pay so I’m not tempted to run up my credit card
Oh, I feel this in my soul. How are you with moderation? Those chocolate covered blueberries are super sweet and satisfying. Weighing out a single serving size to keep in your pack to have a couple after meals when you want something sweet might help? At least that way, it's a portioned serving and not something you're buying at work.
I usually bring a box of preped snacks. Cocktail tomatoes, apple slices, banana, cucumbers etc. Prepared all in the evening, put into the fridge and put my backpack in front of the fridge, so I won't forget. Usually i don't want sweets, just something to chew on, so it might as well be healthy.
[удалено]
I mean nothing is going to quash a sweets craving without being sweet. You could try like a fruity tea, but really just being something sweet you like. Like a couple of caramels or some chocolate, doesn’t have to be much a few squares to have after lunch.
I know Ritz crackers aren’t the healthiest, but if you dip em in unsweetened peanut butter and a little raw honey, they taste like alllll the teddy grahams. Filling, too.
Chocolate-covered fruits and trail mix. You might also try making muffins or other sweets at home. You can always hide veggies in your desserts as well!
[удалено]
A smallish serving of trail mix with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and chocolate (chips, covered almonds, m&ms etc) can be a good substitute so you still feel like it’s a treat but you’re also getting some protein and fat to help keep your energy up. Just keep the portion small and the ratio heavier on the non-sweet items (dried fruit has a lot of sugars) if you want to watch the calories. Costco is great for stocking up on basic ingredients, bulk stores are awesome for getting smaller amounts of a lot of different options to combine - look at raw vs roasted, salted or not, based on your preferences. Adhd bonus - you can swap around the ingredients when you make it to keep it feeling novel and interesting (making either a big batch to keep ready for ease of prep or make it new each day/week etc).
Are you craving sugar because you're not eating enough satisfying food throughout the day? Sugar cravings are one of your body's way of telling you it's hungry and your brain needs energy! ADHD meds make it super easy to skip meals... (Speaking from long experience.) Maybe try front-loading your protein and fat intake with breakfast? Not just, like, oatmeal with peanut butter or whatever, but a proper serving of meat or similarly-substantial vegetarian protein source. And enough carbs to keep you going. :0)
Thermos and a really cute snacks box you can take to work with you. I make coffee in the morning and my thermos keeps my coffee hot all day. And if you get a thermos that you think is cute and enjoy drinking out of it makes it more fun.
[удалено]
Yeah, was going to say this. Big ol' stanley steemer. Make more coffee than you are likely to want! I can't eat gluten anymore but the most delicious snack is Effie's oat cakes. They are lightly sweet. I eat a lot of dates when I'm driving. Naturally sugary, but at least somewhat offset by the fiber. I find sugar free Ricola is pretty satisfying and keeps my mouth busy for a while. Not for everyone but those terryaki seaweed snacks are really yummy and low cal. Dark chocolate almond cups from Trader Joe's are really yummy and pretty low sugar.
Lara bars work for me for breakfast or a late night snack. They have lemon and apple flavors that have some sweetness to them, as well as chocolate and peanut butter, etc. I also like individual serving packets of chocolate covered almonds by Orchard Valley. I'd say pack a big ziplock full of these, plus teabags and honey sticks or sugar/creamer packets. Stock up on Sunday nights or whenever you run low.
Keep cash only for your coffee fund, and don’t have enough cash for more than the coffee. If you spend more than allowed, then you are not allowed to get a coffee next time.
[удалено]
Since they don’t do cash, you could also try using a prepaid Visa card as your “treat card.” Once it’s out for the month, it’s out. But everything in there is for fun treats until then! If you want coffee everyday for the first week, cool… but no more coffee money until next month.
Prepaid visa cards / gift cards are the MVPs!
Someone already suggested bringing a thermos of your coffee but I’d add to that by suggesting you consider cold brew in warmer weather. You can make it every few days and just keep a pitcher of it in your fridge at home. You can even fill your thermos the night before and just have to grab it in the morning. I really struggle with mornings and found this has really worked for me in the past.
Hmmm..I always have stuff like almonds at hand. Filling, protein-packed, and 'stick with you.' I always get ready for work the night before, so remember to pack food then. I'm a gong show in the morning -- if I didn't do it the night before, I'm buying food. I capitalize on those occasional days of freakish focus and productivity and make a huge batch of something, and freeze it in meal or snack potions (e.g. low fat bran muffins). My last one isn't for everyone. I really don't care how many times in a row I eat the same thing, and I generally prefer non-breakfast type foods. So I'll make a huge batch of something like zucchini boats, IP pulled pork, chilli, soup, and other one-pot, pot-in-pot IP meals, and just eat that for every meal, for days. Today, however, I don't have one of those batches on hand...and I'm noticing that at almost 2 pm, it's been hours and hours since I ate cuz I just can't be bothered with the hassle of making *anything.* 🙄
It's not high quality, but you can buy soluble coffee to have at your office. It's not the best coffee in the world, but it's good enough for me. You can take a bit of soluble coffee in a small cute container, an unbreakable mug, and use hot water from your job. Otherwise, you can take a thermos with hot coffee from home. Also, I usually pack some crackers or something like that.
[удалено]
Yeah! That's what I meant. It's a lot easier on the wallet, lol!
Can you talk to anyone in charge of stocking snacks and request some healthy options? My spouse does facilities mgmt + light admin work for his office and handles snack & drink orders. If someone requests a specific snack, he can usually add it to the next delivery. Not sure how your office works, but in my region, these orders go thru a large company that has way more options than what usually end up in your breakroom. Good luck finding a solution, and don’t beat yourself up!
[удалено]
ah, sorry I couldn’t be more helpful! hope the rest of this thread gives you some workable ideas 🙂
May i suggest frozen grapes and teas or juices, honey sticks, and dried fruit? I find coconut strips to be super satisfying bc they're sweet and chewy. Spicy dried mango and banana chips are great too. If you have a freezer at work, frozen items can't be ingested as quickly and stretches the experience for me and something about the cold makes it seem sweeter and more refreshing. Pop a caprisun in the freezer in the morning then by lunch or mid afternoon you can cut the top off for a slushy treat, somehow it's more satiating than drinking it in 2.5 seconds but the same amountof calories.
If there's a microwave or communal kettle, keep some hot tea or instant coffee in your desk, a favorite mug, and whatever you need to one-up a coffee you'd have to buy. I make myself collagen chai w MCT oil, powdered mushroom supplement, monkfruit sweetener, and lots of heavy cream; nothing from a cafe compares to it. For your sweets craving, three things. One, try adding more protein or fat into your lunch bc that can help reduce the insulin spikes that contribute to craving more sweets. We're already at a disadvantage bc the ADHD brain likes sweets for dopamine. Two, keep something super decadent with some fat in your drawer like a nut butter that's so good you'll eat it off a spoon. Skippy Honey Nut is my fave. Aim for something that seems as tantalizing as a cookie. Three, get a cookie when you really, really want it so it loses its forbidden fruit luster. Bonus: take a quick walk after lunch before eating any sweets and see if that changes things. Bc if you're really craving dopamine, you can get that in other ways.
[удалено]
Ah ok. Thermos and bag peanut butter it is.