Using Psyllium Husk to Curb Afternoon Cravings!

Discover how psyllium husk helps curb appetite, control cravings, and support intermittent fasting. PLUS my exact 2–3 PM routine and favorite products.

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If you’re trying to reduce snacking, manage cravings, or stay in a calorie deficit, one of the simplest and most effective tools you can add to your routine is psyllium husk powder.

Psyllium husk is a soluble fiber derived from the seeds of the Plantago ovata plant. It’s best known as the primary ingredient in Metamucil, but its benefits extend well beyond digestive health. When used strategically, it can become a powerful appetite-control tool, especially if you practice intermittent fasting like I do.

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Why Psyllium Husk Helps Curb Appetite

1. It Expands and Increases Fullness

Psyllium absorbs water and forms a gel-like substance in your stomach. As it expands, it increases volume and promotes physical fullness without adding significant calories.

That expansion helps:

• Reduce between-meal hunger

• Decrease mindless snacking

• Make fasting windows easier to maintain

The key is hydration! Psyllium works best when paired with plenty of water.

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2. It Slows Digestion

Because psyllium forms a gel, it slows gastric emptying. This helps regulate how quickly nutrients are absorbed and can:

• Prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes

• Reduce intense cravings

• Promote steadier energy

When blood sugar is stable, hunger feels manageable instead of urgent.

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3. It Helps Support a Calorie Deficit

I’ve personally found intermittent fasting to be one of the easiest ways to stay within my daily calorie goals — or maintain a calorie deficit when needed.

Intermittent fasting helps me:

• Stay structured with eating windows

• Avoid grazing

• Reduce “just a bite” habits

Those small bites throughout the day, a handful here, a nibble there, can quietly add up. Psyllium gives me a buffer so I don’t give in to random snacking.

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My 2–3 PM Appetite Control Routine

Around 2–3 PM is when I usually start getting hungry. Instead of reaching for snacks, I mix:

• 1 serving of Orange Passionfruit Bloom

• 1 serving of orange psyllium husk powder (I use Metamucil)

• 12 ounces of water

I personally use the Orange Passionfruit flavor from Bloom Nutrition because it makes the fiber drink taste refreshing and enjoyable instead of thick and chalky.

You can grab the exact one I use here:
Bloom Orange Passionfruit → https://amzn.to/4tXBCl0

And the psyllium I use here:
Metamucil Orange → https://amzn.to/476pUua

Here's the blender bottle I use too 
Pink Blender Bottle → https://amzn.to/40oH56C 

I drink it right away before it thickens too much.

Then *and this makes a huge difference* I follow it up with at least 8 ounces of additional water.

Since psyllium absorbs liquid and expands, that extra water significantly enhances the fullness effect. I notice a much stronger “I’m satisfied” feeling when I hydrate afterward.

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Why I Love Adding Bloom to My Fiber Drink

Mixing psyllium alone can feel bland or overly thick. That’s where Bloom makes this routine sustainable.

Here’s why I personally love it:

✔ It Actually Tastes Good

The Orange Passionfruit flavor makes the drink refreshing and easy to look forward to. That matters for consistency.

Grab it here → https://amzn.to/4tXBCl0

✔ It Contains Digestive Enzymes

Bloom includes digestive enzymes that support nutrient absorption and gut comfort. Pairing that with psyllium creates a balanced digestive support combo.

✔ It Includes Pre & Probiotics

Supporting gut health can indirectly support appetite regulation, bloating reduction, and overall digestion.

✔ It Mixes Easily

It dissolves smoothly and helps offset the thickness of fiber, making the whole drink more pleasant.

When something tastes good, you’ll actually stick to it, and consistency is everything when it comes to managing hunger and staying on track.

If you want to try the exact flavor I use, you can find it here again:
https://amzn.to/4tXBCl0

And the psyllium I mix it with:
https://amzn.to/476pUua

Plus the bottle I use to mix it: 

 https://amzn.to/40oH56C 

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How This Helps Me Stay Consistent with Intermittent Fasting

This small afternoon habit helps me:

• Take the edge off hunger

• Control cravings

• Avoid random snacking

• Stay within my calorie goals

Instead of feeling deprived, I feel steady and intentional.

For me, intermittent fasting works because it removes decision fatigue. I’m not constantly negotiating with myself about whether to eat. Adding psyllium and Bloom at 2–3 PM gives me structure without feeling restrictive.

It bridges the gap between meals in a way that feels supportive and not extreme.

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Important Notes

If you’re new to psyllium husk:

• Start with a smaller amount and increase gradually

• Always drink plenty of water

• Consult your healthcare provider if you have medical conditions or take medications

Fiber is powerful but hydration is essential.

I may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this post — at no extra cost to you. I only share what I personally use and love! 

How to Catch Yourself From Falling Off Your Weightloss Plan

Lately I have been really screwing up. I had my first day that I went over my maintenance calories since June just a few days ago. I have gone over my goal calories a few times, but never over my maintenance calories. That is really bad. On top of going over, I was majorly slacking on working out. I was starting to hear myself tell myself the same excuses I used to say when I wasn't serious about losing weight. 
I did the worst thing I could've possibly done, I stepped on the scale. Rather than giving me the push I thought it would to get in the right direction, I immediately felt defeated and like all my hard work the past few weeks had gone down the drain. I even thought about going to eat something! How terrible is that? Luckily, there was still a little voice of wisdom in my head that said simply "Don't Stop!" . I told myself, you know what, just because the scale says I gained 2 pounds it doesn't really mean I gained two pounds. Let me elaborate... my body all together weighed two pounds more, but that doesn't mean I gained two pounds. That would be impossible since I only barely went over my maintenance calories one day and just slacked a little on working out. I probably have a bunch of junk stuck in my digestive system because I was stuffing myself with carbs.
So what am I going to do to reverse this? Yesterday, I got in a good one hour workout that burned a whopping 770 calories. I used that extra food I had eaten the day before as fuel to get in a good workout.  I have to admit that eating more does give me more energy the next day. I still ended up eating over my goal calories yesterday, but not by much. Now, today I am going to eat lightly and very healthy. I will make sure that I get at least 100 oz of water in as well. My next official weigh in is on Saturday and I want to make sure that my day or two of weakness doesn't result in a gain for my weigh in. My goal is to lose a pound a week.
It's always good to have goals, but I think sometimes we take them too literal. For instance, " I MUST lose 2 pounds this week or I'm going to cry!". What if you lost 1.5 pounds that week? Is that not worthy of a pat on the back? I think it is. Sometimes we need to look at things in a bigger pictures. I am not talking months or years, I am talking life. We have one life. Think about how much weight you can lose before your 40th birthday or if you are 40, think how much better you will look at your 50th! I have mini goals, but if  I don't meet them, I just move on to the next and I always think about the big picture which is life. I still have the rest of my life ahead of me and that is the real time-frame I have to reach any goal.

The best advice I can give is to always find a way to turn a negative into a positive. For me, I think it's engrained in my DNA since I have been doing this my entire life. I slip up sometimes, but I generally tend to find a silver lining in everything.

Now catch yourself from falling off your plan and stick too it! You're the only one that can keep yourself on your plan.

10 pounds in 10 weeks

First off, I want to point out that you will most likely NEVER see a book with that as the title. I mean really, who wants to wait a whole 10 weeks to lose a measly 10 pounds? It's not a very alluring title and definitely doesn’t satisfy the need for instant results. However, that’s how long it took me to lose 10 pounds. I started changing the way I thought about food and incorporated exercise into my plan to change my lifestyle on June 8^th, 2013. It’s now August 20^th, 2013 and I have finally lost the first 10 pounds.

Being a chronic yo-yo dieter, losing this first 10 pounds is not a new feeling to me. Many times in the past I would take losing 10 pounds as a “well that’s good enough” stopping point. There are a few problems with that fuzzy logic. First, when I started “dieting” I had a goal to lose 40-50 pounds not 10 pounds. That means I didn’t actually meet any kind of goal, yet I was using this small triumph as an excuse that I achieved something. Second, you can’t simply stop when you get to a goal. There is no stopping. This is your new life and your new relationship with food an exercise. If you want to stop, then you will actually rewind and go back to the body you had before (or even worse!). Third, if you  think that you deserve some kind of body breakthrough because you lost 10 pounds, you are in for a rude awakening. Losing your first 10 pounds won’t suddenly get rid of your thigh cellulite, you won’t be able to feel amazingly confident in a bikini, and you won’t have a 6 pack. The first ten pounds is going to be different for everyone depending on how much they have to lose. For me, my first 5 pounds made a significant impact on my back (Click here to see the picture) . I honestly had no idea that is where my fat would mostly be lost from. It was a nice surprise that I welcomed and embraced. I can assume that with continuing to work out I will eventually have substantially less cellulite in my legs. I know that when I am around 145 pounds I feel relatively confident in a bikini, but I may feel confident at a higher weight. Confidence is a feeling which means I can’t directly relate it with any specific weight. There are some women who are tiny and are still too self-conscious to wear a bikini and there are also larger women who radiate tons of confidence in their swimsuits. Be realistic in what you can expect to gain from the 10 pounds that you have lost. I haven’t even lost a jean size yet. I remember someone once told me that the difference between jean sizes is 10 pounds. I now consider that a myth. We are all made up differently and we should embrace what we can’t change. There’s no reason to walk around hating yourself. It will only bring you down and everyone around you.

So, why did it take me 10 weeks to lose 10 pounds? Well, the short and sweet of it is that I wanted to make sure I was making a lifestyle change. It is going to take me a longer time to lose weight but I am much more confident that it will stay off this time. I have deprived myself of very little. There have been many times that I have passed on cake, pizza, and other fatty foods. Sometimes it was easy to pass and other times I had to really hone in on my self-control.  There have also been some times in these past ten weeks that I have allowed myself those very same foods. I wouldn’t binge or constitute it as a “cheat meal” or “cheat day”. I simply allowed myself to have a smaller portion than I would normally. I would also consciously think about whether using my calories for the day towards this particular item would mean I would feel hungry later. I would consider the nutrition that I would be missing out on by using my calories towards a sugar filled cupcake. I would think of another, healthier, food item with the same calories and determine if I should just tell myself now that I could have that later in exchange for not eating this particular item now. The key is to be completely conscious of what you are eating. Think of the implications it will have on not only your ability to lose the weight but also on your overall health.

Exercise is something I have always had mixed feelings for. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I think it is so pointless. I finally thought long and hard and made the decision that I was going to have to include exercise in my life. I thought of it this way, I drive to work to a desk job, drive home and sit on the couch to watch T.V. The only time I was even moving was to go from one place I was sitting to another place I was sitting! I don’t completely blame myself. This is what society has done. My thought process led me to thinking about the fat people in scooters in the movie Wall-E. It’s sad, but parts of that movie aren’t as far-fetched as I once thought. Just look around. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to work out every day or I would give up on it. Rather than saying to myself “I must workout 3-4 times with week or I’m a failure!” I said “I’m just going to work out whenever I can and quit making excuses of why I can’t workout”. Basically, I make an attempt to work out after work every day except if I worked out the day before. Some weeks I only work out twice and other weeks I work out as much as four times. My workouts are normally 45-60 minutes long and I put in a very good effort. If you are going to work out less, then you really need to make the best of it . My workouts vary depending on my mood. I do a mixture of  High Intensity Interval Training, Zumba, Biking, and house cleaning. Yes, I said house cleaning. I was so sedentary that vigorous house cleaning can burn quite a few calories. For the most part I don’t count house cleaning as an actual exercise but if I know I will be cleaning for a good two hours, I will put on my heart rate monitor and make an additional effort to clean at a quicker rate or throw a few hundred jumping jacks in or even sprint between tasks. Since I have been working out for 10 weeks now, I make my goals based off of what I know I am capable of. My goal this month is to work out 13 times and to burn more calories than I did last month. I have a free app on my phone called Cardio Trainer that helps me keep track. I’ve worked out 9 times so far this month so I still need to get 4 workouts in before the end of the month. I am going to make every effort I can to make one of those workouts be tonight. If I can’t do it for some reason my world isn’t over. I will still have 10 more days left in the month to get it in. The main point is to quit making excuses and make a real effort to get your work out in. When you do get the chance to workout make sure you are giving it all you’ve got! 

I believe to be successful you must first have the knowledge required and believe in what you are doing. You may want to check out some of the books I have been reading which are shown on the right of my page. Eat to Live, The China Study and Salt, Sugar, Fat have all made a huge impact on how I think about food.  If anything I have said here has helped you, please don’t be shy! Leave me a comment!

Weightloss Progress Update. Slowly but Surely!

Since it's been a little while since my last progress update, I though I would check in. Normally if there is a lapse between posts it meant that I fell off my diet. That's not the case this time. I am just really busy with life! I am still very active on Instagram and I feel like it's helping me a ton this time. The best part is that it's free :-) . Here are the results from my last weigh in on Saturday the 27th :

As you can see, there's not much of a difference, but I am still happy. I had a few less than healthy items last week, but overall I stayed close to my calorie goals for the day. I majorly slacked on exercising though. I am happy with the decrease and tomorrow I am going to do my official end of the month weigh in. Maybe I'll be at 186?! By the way, the percentage you see on the scale is my body fat. Pretty scary, huh?

I appreciate my slow and steady weight loss. I know that it means I have a pretty good chance that I will stick with the changes I've made. Everything so far has been manageable and I don't feel like I've sacrificed very much. Below is one of my new mottos:

To see my progress on a daily basis and for motivation, follow me on Instagram. My username is @lazygirldiet .

On a side note, I found the next book I want to read! I haven't finished The China Study yet, so I am going to have to wait, but here is a link to the new one I found. #1 New York Times Best Seller, Salt Sugar Fat:

It also got voted by Amazon as one of the best books of 2013 so far! The reviews on it are great too. Check it out!

Weight Goal Chart

Hey everyone! I made a Weight Goal Chart today to help me see if I am on track. I am using this strictly as a guide since I am more interested in what my body looks like and how many inches I've lost rather than a particular weight. I think this will help me see if I am on track along with taking pictures and measurements. I might pick a few weights in here to be a mini goal. Also, one of my close friends is looking for people to do a 5K Run in September and I told her if I am in better shape I will do it with her. It's time to get serious!
Here's my chart in case you want to take a peak!

Update of my Failure

Of course, once again, I have failed. I'm back up to a whopping 188 pounds! I started using Calorie-Count.com and my app on my phone again today. I would like to say I am committed, but I am not sure that I am any more committed this time than I was the other times. I plan to do Zumba tonight. I get to use some of the new workout clothes I bought off Hautelook. Yay! I also just bought some Puma Shoes off there today. I am a little addicted to shopping. Anyways, I have been doing pretty good on my food today. Working out is going to feel great . I also purchased a Weight loss Stack off Amazon. No, it's not a miracle solution. I know that. I only purchased it in hopes that it would give me the "umph" I need to get off my booty and do Zumba. I am always so exhausted after work and this vicious cycle is killing my dieting and exercise plans. I am too lazy to cook and too lazy to workout. GRR! Too bad that stack won't be here for another week. Anyways, I will continue to update. Hopefully not with more failures :(

Quick Update

I just wanted to let anyone who reads this know that I have not given up. I have still been eating pretty well. The reason I have not updated since week three is because I have still been dealing with stomach pains and some days I would be well under 1,200 calories since I was scared to eat dinner. I knew eating dinner meant I would most likely have stomach pains and be up all night. Even though I have been dealing with this for many weeks now, it hasn't helped me lose weight. It's frustrating enough to deal with the bloating, constipation, stomach cramps, gas, etc. I thought maybe one little bit of a silver lining would be weight loss. Nope, not for me. I just get stuck eating way less and get to be in pain with no silver lining. I've gone to the doctor and they took urine and blood. I even got an ultrasound and I am waiting to hear back about the results. I'll keep updating the blog. I can't even begin to explain how frustrating this is since I am trying and not getting anywhere.