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"  It happens invariably at 4 p.m., and always suddenly, as if it has been lurking in a dark corner nearby and just decided to pounce. Hunger. It blinds me: Like in an old Looney Tunes cartoon, the iMac I stare at all day shape-shifts into a Big Mac; I begin rummaging through drawers looking for cookies\u2014I don&amp;#039;t care how stale\u2014or squares of chocolate I might have forgotten to eat (as if that would ever happen). The feeling is akin to panic or lust in the force of its urgency: I need food, and if I have it\u2014oh, delicious panacea!\u2014 everything is going to be okay. I&amp;#039;ll be able to finish writing the feature I&amp;#039;ve been struggling with all day; I&amp;#039;ll finally make that important phone call; I&amp;#039;ll be struck with a genius idea destined to bring me riches and delirious happiness. But on the rare occasion when I have the force of will to stop and think about what&amp;#039;s happening, I realize that what I&amp;#039;m experiencing isn&amp;#039;t starvation as much as it&amp;#039;s a craving, which is by its nature a bit of a rogue. That&amp;#039;s why I, an otherwise fairly conscientious eater, will suddenly devour literally anything that&amp;#039;s lying around. Even goats have higher standards.  There are many complex factors\u2014both physiological and psychological\u2014that contribute to compulsive snacking. Causes include depression, boredom, and force of habit, but the chief trigger tends to be that old bugbear, stress: When we&amp;#039;re under pressure, our bodies produce excess cortisol, which stimulates insulin production. Insulin causes blood sugar to drop, prompting a dip in the brain&amp;#039;s serotonin levels. This can make us crave sugar and simple carbohydrates because they hit our bloodstreams instantly, stimulating a surge of serotonin and that other feel-good neurotransmitter, dopamine. Also, studies have shown that wild animals, when in danger, seek high-fat foods to boost their energy and agility\u2014so my desire for that Kit Kat could be an evolutionary throwback response to stress, even though I&amp;#039;m just trying to meet a deadline, not outrun a predator. (It would also explain why I never get cravings on my days off.)  I&amp;#039;ve decided it&amp;#039;s time to kick the habit\u2014 not because I want to lose weight, but because I don&amp;#039;t want to gain it. I&amp;#039;m realizing that my metabolic fire\u2014much like my desire to go to warehouse parties in Brooklyn\u2014 is dampening with every passing year, and that sooner or later my afternoon junk-food jags are going to result in a thickening of the thighs no oversize cardigan can disguise.  The question is, how\u2014short of duct taping my mouth at 3:55 p.m.\u2014can I overcome something that possesses such irresistible force? I&amp;#039;ve tried eating larger, healthier lunches and smaller meals throughout the day with no effect. This time, hoping for a quick fix, I decide to stock up on a few new diet aids that purport to arrest appetites not with heart attack- inducing stimulants but by imparting a feeling of satiety. These products fill the stomach\u2014just not necessarily with food\u2014and their methods range from the straightforward (fiber pills) to the downright bizarre (algae that expands in the stomach). While most of them are designed to be taken before a meal to prevent gluttonous chow-downs, I don&amp;#039;t see any reason why they can&amp;#039;t also be used to deter snacking.   I begin with the Fill Pill (procured over the Internet for $39.95 a bottle), a supplement based on glucomannan, a plant-derived fiber capable of expanding up to 50 times its size when mixed with H2O. Banishing childhood memories of tablets that grow into gigantic dinosaur-shape sponges when wet, I take the as-directed four pills with a glass of water the moment I begin to feel peckish. My hunger vanishes. It is, however, replaced by nausea\u2014 followed by, well, some gastrointestinal distress. The Fill Pill site references a study showing that subjects taking glucomannan lost an average of 5.5 pounds over an eight-week period; it does not, however, mention that glucomannan is also on the FDA&amp;#039;s watch list of &amp;quot;questionable weight-loss products&amp;quot; (along with appetite-suppressing eyeglasses and acupressure earrings\u2014gimmicks of dubious efficacy that aren&amp;#039;t actually dangerous). Turns out, although we need fiber (most Americans fall far short of the recommended 25 grams daily), it&amp;#039;s not such a good idea to take it this way for weight loss. &amp;quot;Fiber does fill you up,&amp;quot; says American Dietetic Association spokesperson Keri Gans, MS, RD. &amp;quot;It breaks down much more slowly than a simple carbohydrate, which helps steady your blood sugar and keeps you from getting hungry. But eating a fiber-rich food with a piece of protein such as cheese is more likely to fill you up than taking a pill. Also, if you&amp;#039;re not used to a lot of fiber, concentrated doses can cause bloating.&amp;quot; In other words, swallowing a Fill Pill might not give you the sort of gas you were hoping for. Next, I try CM3 Alginate capsules\u2014a favorite of celebrity nutritionist Oz Garcia, PhD\u2014which contain a marine algae that expands into a gel-like cube in the stomach. Though there are no studies to support claims that substances that swell in the stomach enhance weight loss, CM3 appears to be the first of a wave of expando- gels on dieting&amp;#039;s horizon: In 2007, Italian researchers announced the development of a pill made from a hydrogel compound\u2014 originally used in making disposable diapers\u2014that expands up to 1,000 times its weight. The gelatinous tennis ball- size glob shown in published reports looks like something from a &amp;#039;50s horror movie and might give new meaning to the term jelly belly. As for CM3, the warning label on the box\u2014&amp;quot;Taking this product without adequate fluid may cause it to swell and block your throat&amp;quot;\u2014freaks me out, and worse, they don&amp;#039;t work: 30 minutes later, I scarf a bag of Doritos. The most viable of the satiety-based products\u2014because it involves actually eating\u2014might be the FullBar, a 150-calorie &amp;quot;hunger management tool&amp;quot; that has been selling like hotcakes (mmm...hotcakes) at GNC since its introduction last year. Created by bariatric surgeon Michael Snyder, MD, the FullBar tastes like a bland Rice Krispies Treat. When taken with a glass of water 30 minutes before a meal, its puffed wheat base expands, theoretically diminishing your appetite. &amp;quot;I still want you to eat,&amp;quot; Snyder says. &amp;quot;I just want to eliminate your sense of ravenous hunger, because that&amp;#039;s what causes you to go for a bacon cheeseburger.&amp;quot; He alleges that the bars mimic the effects of gastric bypass surgery by hoodwinking the stomach into signaling to the brain that it&amp;#039;s full. &amp;quot;When the top of your stomach stretches out,&amp;quot; he explains, &amp;quot;it sends hormonal and neurological impulses to the hypothalamus saying it&amp;#039;s time to stop eating. The FullBar, when mixed with water, impacts those fullness centers.&amp;quot; Makes sense, and when I try one it does keep me from snacking\u2014but I also feel like I&amp;#039;ve eaten something unhealthy, and those empty calories could add up.  Plus, feeling full still isn&amp;#039;t quite the same thing as being craving-free. As Gayl Canfield, PhD, of the Pritikin Longevity Center, tells me, &amp;quot;snacking isn&amp;#039;t inherently bad\u2014it&amp;#039;s what we snack on that matters.&amp;quot; Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, a plucky Manhattan dietician who has devised an eating plan she calls the F-Factor Diet (no, the f doesn&amp;#039;t stand for fear), confirms that the trick is in combining fiber with protein\u2014 the fiber fills you up, and the protein, which is slow to digest, keeps you full. On her suggestion, I try nibbling GG Bran Crispbreads with natural peanut butter, but it tastes woefully like prison fare. I do find a few other combos (mmm...Combos) more palatable\u2014tuna and string cheese? Sure! Apple and almonds? Totally doable!\u2014but that&amp;#039;s not to say I want them. When I get that 4 p.m. snack attack, it&amp;#039;s not fuel that my body is after, it&amp;#039;s gratification. Like a dog that has mastered the sit and stay commands, I have learned to work diligently at my desk even though I yearn to roam free, and I need a reward. The FullBars and Fill Pills and icky crackers don&amp;#039;t work for me because they still smack of deprivation. What I really need to do is try to rewire my brain. According to emotional eating expert Denise Lamothe, PsyD, I must first &amp;quot;diminish stressful lifestyle habits&amp;quot; in order to stabilize my hormones\u2014that, in turn, will banish cravings. This means getting more than six hours of sleep every night, avoiding alcohol (ouch), and steering toward foods rich in magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids, which have calming properties. Also, a recent study shows that simply getting out and going for a walk can curb cravings: Like comfort foods, bursts of physical activity take the edge off stress by raising serotonin levels. The desire to eat between meals is wily and complex, and the human will is weak. But knowing that there&amp;#039;s no magic bullet (or pill) only strengthens my resolve. This is something that will require focus and time, and I&amp;#039;m prepared to begin with a few small steps. I&amp;#039;ll get more rest, try not to mentally pressure-cook the minutiae of my job, and even if it&amp;#039;s just for a couple days a week, I&amp;#039;ll convince myself that GG Bran Crispbreads are both satisfying and food-of- the-gods flavorful. The other days? You&amp;#039;ll see me striding purposefully down Seventh Avenue. And if I look like I&amp;#039;m running away from something, well, that&amp;#039;s because I am. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/beauty/health-fitness/advice/a9975/emotional-eating-312626/>