Strategies to avoid hunger and boredom

Distract yourself

If you feel that you are hungry the first approach is to try and distract yourself for 15 minutes - for example you could:

Play with a pet
Go for a short walk outside
Phone a friend for a chat.

Have a drink of water

Often people confuse thirst for hunger so try having a drink of water to see if that helps manage your hunger. You could also try one of the 'free drinks' listed below.

Free drinks
diet cordial	sparkling mineral water
diet soft drink (choose sparingly)	plain mineral water
Bonox™	vegetable juice
soda water	tomato juice
tea or coffee with a dash of milk

If the distractions and a drink of water or another 'free drink' do not reduce the desire to eat after 15 minutes then you can use your imagination to prepare a 'guilt free' tasty snack or small meal to go with your shake from the 'free foods' listed below.

Use the 'Free Foods' to make great snacks and side dishes

An important key to successful weight loss and weight maintenance is finding ways to avoid feeling hungry or getting bored and to manage the desire for snacks YET STILL control your total daily 'energy in'. 'Free foods' are a great way to help you achieve this.

'Free foods' can be eaten freely because they do not contain enough food energy (kilojoules or calories) to have a significant impact on body weight.

You can use your imagination to prepare a 'guilt free' tasty snack or side dish to complement your KicStart™ meal by choosing from the 'free foods' listed below. You can also check out our great selection of free food recipes.

Vegetables - eaten on their own or made into a hot salad, cold salad or dry roasted
alfalfa sprouts	carrot	garlic	radish
artichoke hearts (fresh or in brine)	cauliflower	ginger	silver beet
asian greens	celeriac	green beans	spinach
asparagus	celery	kale	spring onions
bamboo shoots	chinese mixed veges	leeks	squash, button
bean sprouts	choko	lettuce	sweede
broccoli mushrooms	cucumber	mushrooms	tomato (fresh or tinned)
brussel sprouts	dill pickles	onion	water chesnuts
cabbage	eggplant	peas	watercress
capsicum (green, red or yellow)	fennel	pumpkin	zucchini

Fruit	Drinks
blueberries / blackberries (fresh/frozen)	water	sparkling mineral water
lemon / lime	diet cordial	plain mineral water
passionfruit	diet soft drink (choose sparingly)	vegetable juice
raspberries (fresh/frozen)	Bonox™	tomato juice
rhubarb	soda water	soup made from free vegetables
strawberries (fresh/frozen)	tea or coffee with a dash of milk

Condiments		Some Snack Suggestions
pepper	low sodium soy sauce	vegetable dip (e.g. eggplant)
herbs (dry / fresh)	fat free salad dressing	vegetable sticks
spices	vinegar	salsas
horseradish	sweet pickles	soups made from free vegetables
Worcestershire Sauce™	mustard	diet jelly

Can I have additional fruit?

Whole pieces of fruit (NOT fruit juice) are an important part of a long term healthy diet however they do contribute to your overall energy intake. During phase 1, the Motivational Weight Loss Phase, it is preferable to limit your snacks to 'free foods'. The 'free food' fruits include strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, lemons and passionfruit. If it is not possible to utilize these 'free foods' then an apple, orange, pear, peach or plum can be used as a mid-meal snack during phase 1, as long as you counteract the additional energy input with a little more energy out.