Want to try cannabis but you’re afraid you’ll binge eat? 5 ways you can control the marijuana munchies

In Learn, Wellness, Women by Weed MamaLeave a Comment


The dreaded munchies. THC stimulates the appetite, this is well documented, however it doesn’t have to be a problem.

Wine is worse than weed for calorie consumption

The main reason why so many of my wine drinking mom friends don’t want to try cannabis, is they don’t want to get the munchies. Thing is, wine is around 300 calories a glass and that can add up fast.  Wine also stimulates the appetite. I get way worse munchies after drinking wine than I do with weed. When you add up the calories from your glasses of wine plus whatever snack food you eat as well, it can be a lot of extra calories.

There’s nothing to fear about the munchies with cannabis, this is more of an exaggeration than the truth. Yes you can get the munchies but it’s easily controlled.

Here’s 5 ways you can control the munchies from cannabis:

1-THCV ( tetrahydrocannabivarin) also known as varin, is a cannabinoid that suppresses the appetite. But it’s hard to find strains high in THCV. They are working on breeding higher THCV strains in places like Colorado, so that’s something to watch for in the future.

2- CBD taken with THC. Another way to combat it is through CBD, taken as a 1:1 or higher, it will help reduce cravings. Usually higher CBD strains are also lower in THC, which also helps reduce cravings. I recommend keeping a CBD oil on hand so you can take a good dose (20mg or more) of CBD when using THC.

3- Eat proper meals. Eating proper meals in the day helps, if you’re relatively full and satisfied, you won’t feel the munchies as strongly as when you just ate off you’re child’s plate all day. I’m afraid those PB&J crusts you sustained yourself with all day, will only leave you ravenous at night. Eat a good sized meal before taking THC, will also help reduce cravings.

4- Keep low calorie snack foods around to munch on. Good thing with cannabis is everything tastes better, so you can enjoy a fruit salad and all its bursting flavors like you could a handful of candy.

5- Most importantly, it’s the cultivar (strain) that matters. Some cultivars will stimulate your appetite more than others. Write down the products you try that don’t give you the munchies and stick to those ones or the ones with a similar profile. The profile being the percentages of THC, CBD and other cannabinoids (if listed), also the terpenes. Terpenes can also play a role in stimulating the appetite.

Bonus tip: Brushing your teeth early on helps too as does sucking on a mint.

What I do to reduce the munchies

I rarely get the munchies from cannabis because I use it daily. However if I use cannabis throughout the day, I find I do get the munchies. What I do is eat a good sized meal for lunch and keep healthy foods on hand. If there’s a bag of M&M’s in the cupboard, it will be tempting to grab handfuls so I measure out the amount I can eat into a bowl. Same with any other snack food like chips, I then keep them out so I know that’s what I can eat, no more than that. I also recently invested in an air fryer (seriously, best thing that’s happened to my kitchen!) that way I can make my own chips or fries if I have a craving for those types of foods.

The days where I use cannabis throughout the day, I spend time cooking and enjoying the cooking process, I work that into my cannabis experience. Cannabis used with intention will ensure you have a good experience and avoid side effects like binge eating.

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