Have you ever caught yourself suddenly eating something you normally wouldn’t as you never acquired a taste for it growing up or you just forgot about it all together? Then BAM! Your licking the spoon while making PB & J for your child (or yourself – yes there are ways to stay young besides drinking diet pepsi) and something got triggered!
I find this happens with fitness enthusiasts as well, especially ones that diet very hard for extended periods of time. Whenever you get the chance to have something that is sweet & sometimes salty you turn to your little brown, smooth or chunky friend.
This is the case with myself, after competing in my first 2 fitness shows back in 2006-2007 I became a peanut butter addict, I cleaned my act up slightly when I moved to Natural but adding it to everything I possibly could was still a big issue & still is at times. Now in moderation natural/organic peanut butter is fine to have incorporated into your diet but there are optimum times when this source of fat is best which will be explained later. Now I have tried cashew, almond and everything else possible but nothing compares to regular old peanuts for me. So there are definitely times where I will take the plunge and purchase a different type just to keep my consumption down. There have also been times where I have put the jar in the freezer or ate so much of it throughout the day that I put myself in a peanut butter coma! But still days later I am back at it and can’t get enough!
After talking to others with the same problem and reading others pages on the subject I have came to the conclusion that: If you can limit the amount by incorporating it into shakes or other foods such as celery or an apple you will get a much more filling sensation. But you need to eat the natural/organic type (you should know why) no fake stuff! And once you have your servings do NOT leave the jar out lingering as you will just continue eating it further. If eating it is almost life threatening as you are gaining too much weight, you need to remove it from your life! Refrain from buying it obviously, which is easier said than done. Often if you live with others get them to hide it from you and not eat it when you’re around.
One thing I have done for awhile now to avoid the high levels of fat and calories in nut butters is to just buy a big bag of unsalted natural nuts “in” the shell. This way you have to take the time to break them open and actually work for your food, so by the time you eat 20-30 you feel slightly fuller or just annoyed! LOL You can always make your own nut butters as well in a blender and a little olive oil which is fairly easy and won’t leave you with a whole jar staring at you when you finish (unless of course you blend the whole bag!). Hope this helps some of my fellow peanut butter addicts! And don’t be afraid to comment on my Facebook Fanpage below.
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Pictured Below My Favorite Peanut Butter from Kraft 
