If you’re new to weed, you’ve likely discovered munchies. It can strike moments after smoking a joint and leave you devouring any snack you can get your hands on. You find yourself digging into your fridge late at night and feeling guilty about it afterward. If you’re wondering how to avoid the munchies, stick around, and we’ll share some tricks we’ve learned over the years.
First, let’s take a look at why we get the munchies. Then, we’ll share tips on how to prevent and stop them afterward.
Why Do You Get Munchies?
The cannabinoid responsible for munchies is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This is the active compound in weed and the cause of many of its mind-bending effects.
I can remember one of the first times I got serious munchies as a teenager. A few of my friends and I had smoked a joint of a strain called Strawberry Cough. However, it wasn’t a regular joint. This was a monster of a joint rolled with 12-inch rolling papers.
Needless to say, none of us could see straight, and we all ended up raiding the kitchen. Fortunately, it wasn’t my house.
Anyway, I broke into a box of strawberries, and to this day, I have never had a better-tasting strawberry. It was as though I could taste each strawberry’s journey, from a little seedling to the delicious fruit I had in my hand.
I didn’t just taste the strawberry; I tasted all the experiences that came with it.
Yes, I was that high.
Beyond making you reflect on the deeper meaning of food, there are a few scientific factors behind the munchies.
(If you didn’t come here for complicated information on why weed causes the munchies, feel free to jump down to the top ten ways to avoid the munchies.)
When you consume marijuana, cannabinoids like THC bind to specific receptors in your brain. These send out signals through your neurons. These receptors are part of the endocannabinoid system. This system plays a role in keeping many physical processes in check.
This includes processes like stress control, memory, and, of course, metabolism and hunger.
The receptor responsible for hunger is the CB1 receptor. THC binds to this receptor, works its magic, and promotes the release of a hormone called Ghrelin.
Also known as the hunger hormone, Ghrelin creates that hungry feeling you feel when you have an empty stomach.
In essence, weed tricks your brain into thinking you’re hungry. So, next time you’re pigging out in a weed-induced munchie state, try to remember that your mind is tricking you into thinking you need to eat.
There are a few other reasons why cannabis causes the munchies. You can avoid these causes, so keep reading to find out what exactly they are!
List of Ways To Avoid Munchies
1. Change The Taste In Your Mouth
Sometimes avoiding the munchies can be as simple as getting as chewing on a few mints or brushing your teeth.
Let’s be honest; the aftertaste of weed can be quite nasty. So, it’s no surprise that we want to put something in our mouth that actually tastes good.
I know I start to crave something sweet, especially after a bong.
Your munchies may be a desire to change the taste in your mouth. If you feel the munchies sneaking up on you, it’s a better idea to reach for your toothbrush instead of a fatty, salty snack.
This can work for a few reasons. Firstly, the overpowering taste of mint can kill your cravings and leave your breath minty and fresh!
Secondly, have you ever eaten oranges or chocolate after brushing your teeth? That bad taste is enough to destroy any desire for food.
On top of that, there’s also the matter of cottonmouth to worry about. If you don’t know what that is, cottonmouth is the worst case of dry mouth you could ever have. It will leave you grasping for the nearest drink without any thought.
Milkshakes, alcohol, and even that three-month-old bottle of water under your car seat are at risk of consumption.
Making this a habit won’t only help you avoid the munchies. You’ll thank yourself in a few years when your teeth aren’t destroyed by sugary foods and a dry mouth.
2. Choose Healthy Snacks
Eat snacks such as homemade popcorn. Guacamole goes well with almost anything. Eggs are also tasty and a great source of protein. Make sure they’re boiled or fried in avocado oil.
Going cold turkey on your eating habits can be a sure way to fall back into them. You might find yourself successful the first few times. However, it’s very easy to relapse into your old ways once the munchies strike.
So, instead of denying yourself any food when you have the munchies, swap out the bad snack for something healthy.
This way, you don’t have to sacrifice chowing down when you get the urge to eat. And I know what you are thinking. Healthy snacks don’t taste as tasty as pizza or McDonald’s.
You may be right; a nacho pizza is damn hard to beat.
Although the truth is, you want to avoid the munchies. Your bad eating habits are possibly another cause for the munchies.
Foods high in unhealthy fats and sugars are known to cause resistance to Leptin. Leptin is a hormone that signals to turn off your appetite when you are full. As a result, the more unhealthy your diet, the less efficiently leptin will do its job, and your body will keep craving those tasty treats.
Eating healthy will keep your leptin levels at the right level and your munchies levels down.
And let’s be honest, there are some great-tasting snacks that don’t pack extra weight around the belly.
If you can’t stay away from chips, real, home-popped popcorn is a great alternative to avoid the munchies.
3. Distract Yourself
Ever worked a whole day and then realized you skipped lunch? If you answered yes to this question, you may be one of three people who are overworked. Dial it back a bit, buddy.
Either way, hunger normally fades if you keep yourself busy. Just find anything to do that will keep you from opening the fridge. Play a sport. Paint a picture. Read a book.
Video games are also an awesome distraction when you’re high. If you’re so desperate for food, go pickpocket someone’s bread in Skyrim.
You know what distracts you best, so make sure everything’s lined up before you jump into your weed stash.
You also don’t have to laze about when you’re toking up. Cannabis can spark your creativity and help you see the world in a different light. Consider doing something productive or creative to avoid the munchies.
If you need an extra boost, take a look at some great strains for focus and productivity.
4. Apply Self-Discipline
Anything great that’s ever been achieved was done through discipline and consistency. Smoking weed is great. Eating food is great. But if you allow these habits to overcome your dreams, you will get nowhere in life.
You will never avoid the munchies without making some sacrifices.
It’s a good idea to set some goals. Whether it’s losing weight or getting a new promotion. Learning to overcome munchies is one step towards becoming more disciplined in all areas of your life. A small goal, like avoiding the munchies, turns into something greater, like climbing Mount Everest, if that’s your thing.
There are many ways to practice discipline. If you just feel like watching something, there is a wealth of good YouTube content that you can apply to real life.
Setting up a routine is also a great way to form rock-solid habits. Reward yourself by sticking to your goals. An unhealthy snack now and again will keep you from devolving into a pantry-robbing gremlin.
Activities like martial arts and meditation are known to build discipline. Find something that you enjoy doing, and you will avoid the munchies.
Every time you feel the desire to chomp down, remember the future you could have.
5. Consume Beverages
When I say fluid, I don’t mean Coca-Cola and Mountain Dew. I’m talking about pure tap juice.
Nothing beats an ice-cold glass of water on a hot day, and it’s a sure way to cure that evil cottonmouth I spoke of earlier. On top of that, if you’re getting serious munchies, it’s likely that you are just thirsty.
You might also be tempted to reach for some fruit juice to avoid the munchies. It’s made from fruit, so it’s healthy, right?
While it’s better than soda, fruit juice still has a lot of sugar. Research has found that fruit juice is stripped of most of the fiber and nutrients that make fruit healthy. Stick to no more than one glass a day. Try an orange instead, just not after brushing your teeth.
Go to the kitchen. Drink five glasses of water. Still have the munchies? Try repeating one or more of the other steps in this article.
6. Strains That Don’t Cause Munchies
There are a few strains that won’t make you hungry. Check if your weed dispensary stocks any of these:
- Durban Poison (A personal favorite)
- ACDC
- Silver Haze
- Elektra
Pretty much any strain high in THCV or CBD.
Every strain is different; therefore, every effect is different. Remember when we spoke of THC being the main culprit behind the munchies?
Well, THC is just one of about a hundred cannabinoids that exist in Marijuana. All these cannabinoids serve a different function and, in turn, change the high you experience. Some strains turn you into a couch-locked potato. While others make you feel like an energizer bunny that can’t stop bouncing off the walls.
If you want to curb your munchies, it’s a good idea to select a strain that doesn’t turn you into a cookie monster.
Some studies suggest that strains higher in a cannabinoid called tetrahydrocannabivarin can inhibit the properties of THC. Otherwise known as THCV, this compound can block certain receptor sites, like the CB1 receptor that controls appetite.
This means strains higher in THCV could help you avoid the munchies. Thanks to its appetite-suppressing abilities, people have come to know this as “diet weed”.
There is also some good evidence that THCV can amplify the effects of THC to be much more energizing and euphoric. THCV is still new to the market, so it might not be readily available where you are.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, may be easier for you to get your hands on.
It has similar appetite-control benefits without a mental high. CBD is now legal in many countries, including the United States. Take a few drops of CBD before your smoking session to avoid the munchies.
7. Smoke More Weed
This little piece of advice comes from personal experience, so take it with a pinch of salt.
Either way, there’s no such thing as too much weed, right?
The logic behind this is that if you smoke enough weed, you may be too zonked to do anything. Frying a double bacon and avo cheeseburger becomes a bit impossible when you can’t stop staring at the weird spot on the wall.
This is a good time to ponder some mind-blowing stoner questions or get lost in your favorite TV shows.
While this is one of the fun ways to ease the munchies, I wouldn’t recommend doing it often. Smoking too much is a sure way to get greened out and smoke through your whole supply.
And you won’t avoid the munchies for long.
On top of that, research has found that smoking weed can lead to some mood problems. Keep in mind that weed affects everyone in different ways.
It’s important to find a balance in your own lifestyle, and for some people, that means smoking several joints a day.
8. Exercise
Falling into bad habits is a part of being human. Beating yourself up about them will only keep you there, so it’s helpful to develop a good habit to counter the bad.
You know that once you smoke some icky, sticky green stuff, it can be difficult to say no to that inner voice that cries out for some fries. Exercising before you smoke will allow you to give in to that inner voice without all the guilt that comes with it.
On top of guilt-free binge eating, you will also keep your body healthy. Now, it won’t be in tip-top shape if you keep stuffing yourself every time you get the munchies. But you can rest a bit easier at night knowing that you’re not eating yourself to an early death.
It is a good idea to link exercising to your munchie habit. That way, you can use munchies as a reward for exercise. If you don’t exercise, then you don’t get to eat up.
If you can stick to this, you will only get munchies after exercising. Since you have programmed your mind to believe munchies are a reward for exercise.
You don’t have to avoid the munchies completely.
This is a great place to start if you are stuck in a rut and want to develop a consistent exercise routine.
9. Avoid Food Altogether
If none of the tips on this list work for you and you just can’t keep the munchie demon inside for any longer, try avoiding food all together.
Now, you don’t have to empty out your kitchen every time you want to get blazed up. You can save your smoking sessions for when you are at a friend’s house. I’m sure they won’t be too happy with you if you go and raid their fridge.
Also, when you go shopping, try to buy the precise amount of food you will be eating for the week or month. Set up a meal plan so you know what you will be cooking for each meal. This way, if you happen to get the munchies, you know you will be robbing yourself of lunch at work the next day. Even more, depending on how much you eat.
You’ll soon realize that starving is not worth a weekend of binge eating.
But this brings us to our next problem. Takeouts. Takeouts can be a serious financial black hole. It will leave you scraping the bottom of your Dunkin Donuts box, like you’re some sort of cocaine addict.
Remember, fast food doesn’t have the nutrients of a home-cooked meal, making it the worst thing to eat if you want to fill your hunger.
And to make matters worse, your phone is a gateway drug to the world of junk food. It’s an addiction, so the first place to start is to delete any delivery apps you may have.
You won’t want to drive up and down to the shops, considering you are stoned enough to have the munchies.
Learn to make takeouts a reward, and you will appreciate them so much more.
10. Have A Cheat Day
And this brings us to our final point. If you have read this far, then you have a problem with the munchies you want cured!
Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to let go of the habit altogether. Consider setting aside a day where you can cheat and go ham with whatever food you like. It’s best to do this while you have a healthy eating plan in place. You can’t eat unhealthy food the whole week, then have a cheat day where you eat even more.
Try sticking to the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of your food should be wholesome and well-balanced, and 20 percent can be complete junk.
The experts also agree with having a cheat day. Research shows that your metabolism speeds up after heavy eating, allowing you to process food better. On top of this, it increases Leptin, the hormone that regulates hunger levels.
If you incorporate cheat days into a regular exercise regime, munchies will become a thing of the past!
It’s human to fail, and you’re going to fail plenty. But this doesn’t mean you should give up. After eating enough real, healthy food, you will notice that takeout and oil-filled treats don’t have the same appeal.
TLDR: Avoiding Those Munchies
Avoiding the munchies is a real challenge, but with time and consistency, you can get it right.
It helps to recognize that munchies are part of a deeper problem. Find out where your lifestyle isn’t balanced, and you will enjoy your smoking sessions a lot more.
If you are lacking nourishment or sleep, the last thing you want to do is keep eating bad food.
THC releases dopamine into your body, a hormone responsible for pleasure and satisfaction. Simply put, this tells your body it is being rewarded. Make sure you are actually rewarding yourself for something.
Sleep regularly. Always stay hydrated and incorporate a healthy exercise and eating regimen into your life. It’s the only way you’ll cure the munchies for good.
Whatever you do, it helps to start off slow. Take a few of the points on this list into consideration and see how you can bring them into your lifestyle.
All it takes is one or two small changes that will start you on your journey to avoid the munchies.