After dinner snacking! Help!!!!
Got2beme7
Posts: 23 Member
So, I can eat well all day, keeping to my caloric intake and still having lots of room for dinner. But it's the after dinner/after kids in bed snacking that kills me. My husband gets out the crap he eats (crackers and cheese, chips etc) and I'm done. I won't choose the terribly bad stuff, but I tend to go over! It's what thwarts my efforts. Any ideas to help me stay away? Things to think? etc. (please don't tell me to change my husband's habits - won't happen and I believe I need to change, not him). Thanks for any advice!
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Replies
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Go floss and brush your teeth after dinner! Then you can have some water or herbal tea. I have the same problem and it helps me.0
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You have three choices.
- Fit an after dinner snack in to your calorie/macro goals
- Willpower
- Eat them and don't change
Option #1 for me every day.0 -
Im håving thė såme problem! Kills me. Only suggestion either.....plan healthy alternatives such as make your own kale chips or plain yogurt parfait using...plain yogurt..light whip cream..and fruit and or cinnamon n granola....orrrrrrr practice not eating after hours! Ugggghhhh. Im goin to practice intermittent fasting!0
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I eat a protein bar for "dessert" just about every day. It really fills me up and I have no desire to snack.0
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Prelog your day to include the evening snack.0
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I exercise to give me a few more calories and then treat myself.0
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I second trying to fit things you enjoy into your calorie goals for the day.
Also consider whether or not you're getting enough calories and the right macros throughout the day. It's much easier to resist temptation if you're not terribly hungry. Don't cut your calories so low that you feel insanely deprived while you're watching someone else eat all the things you want.
Also, drink water after dinner and find something else to do that doesn't involve watching your husband eat. I like to play video games to unwind at night (keeps my hands busy).
Good luck!0 -
I /always/ leave calories for after dinner, or rather prelog a snack, the thing is just work them into your daily intake rather than as a 'mistake'. I have a whole host of ~100 cal snacks that serve this purpose depending on whether I'm after sweet/salty/hot/cold/crunchy. Some healthy, some are just chocolate.0
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I don't have to deal with my partner snacking late at night, fortunately. But when I have the late night munchies, I try a) brushing and flossing, as others have mentioned, or b) chewing some gum. It makes your mouth feels like it's doing something, and frankly wears my jaw muscles out to the point I don't feel like eating anything else.0
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Eat a little less for dinner and leave room for a snack later. If I don't have room for dessert I'll usually take a glass of water with me to the living room and sip on that. My husband is notorious for late-night snacking, especially on the weekends. I just have to ignore him and not give in no matter how bad I might want what he has. And I feel better about it the next morning. If you really don't want to go over and you know you don't have room for something you just have to have the willpower to refuse.0
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You have three choices.
- Fit an after dinner snack in to your calorie/macro goals
- Willpower
- Eat them and don't change
Option #1 for me every day.
...Or eat dinner late. I'm not sure if this is an option for you because many like to eat with their family, but it's what I do. It's also the meal that makes up the majority of my calories for the day. I have always been a night time eater, so this just works for me. I usually don't start eating until about 11 a.m. or noon for the day. Sometimes it's earlier if I'm hungry but usually a very small meal. I have a snack at some point in the afternoon, and then have lunch about 5 or 6. Then I eat my supper around 9 or 10. I usually make sure I have about 800 calories left for my supper so it's a good sized meal. This works for me, and has eliminated my night time snacking altogether.
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An evening snack is perfect for the active person and will stave off late night hunger. I tend to go for something more protein and/or fat laden like a Natural peanut butter smoothie, cottage cheese and berries, stuff like that. Works great and causes NO problems. Dont buy into the "you shouldnt eat after 8pm" BS.
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One of the things that I do if I have a hunger attack is to take a walk. Even if it's 15 minutes, it gets me away from the thought of food. I purchased an MP3 player and listen to this while I am walking. Also, we are encouraged to eat raw foods so make yourself up a plate of cut carrots, celery, grapes, cantaloupe. I use either salsa for the veggies or a low calorie salad dressing. It makes me feel that I don't have to deprive myself. The other thing I like is the 40 calorie popsicles. It takes a longtime to eat them and I am adding extra fluid to my body. Hope this helps.
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I have the same problem so I go to the gym when my kids go to bed around 8:30. This way I'm not vegging on the couch which makes me want to eat. Plus I just earned extra calories for a snack if I really want one.0
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Lostcoastline wrote: »Go floss and brush your teeth after dinner! Then you can have some water or herbal tea. I have the same problem and it helps me.
This is what I did at first; adding mouthwash helps too, because literally nothing tastes good after that. It was really hard for me to adapt to not snacking in the evenings when I first started MFP, especially when so much of my socialization with friends and bonding time with my ex-husband was over snacking (and drinking) at that part of my life.
Nowadays I find it a lot easier to fit in smaller portions of snacks in the evenings if I need them, even though I have fewer calories to work with. So you can learn it as a habit! It just takes time.
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Unlike some of the commenters that eat light at dinner to leave room for a snack, I try to eat a little heavier at dinner and then observe an eating cut-off at about 7 or 8 p.m. I started this a few years back as both a weight loss tool and to cope with reflux. The first week or two was brutal, but then it sort of retrains your body not to want anything at night and I think it has saved me from gaining back a ton even when I'm not focused on losing weight. And believe me, I know the situation- my husband is fit and has a high metabolism and can and does eat anything any time. It's not always easy sitting there next to him while he's got his bag of m&ms or big bowl of ice cream, but for the most part I've become indifferent. I also agree with the brushing your teeth thing... it helps me because I'm too lazy to do it twice 0
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I always have an evening snackie!0
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Please don't think this insensitive (it is not meant to be)...(please don't tell me to change my husband's habits - won't happen and I believe I need to change, not him).
Your husband may need to change, but he didn't write in, you did (he's there, you're here)
The variable you have the greatest chance of being able to affect in this equation is you.
You got some great advice here (I especially like @Lostcoastline's Eat/Brush/Sip one) I hope something here resonates that you can adopt, for your health/sanity.
Cheers!
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lisafrancis888 wrote: »I exercise to give me a few more calories and then treat myself.
Truth!0 -
I Love late night eating and tried the substitute fake chips etc. and I only end up eating them all and still left unsatisfied and go over cals. I try to have a few calories left after supper and then about an hour after supper I have a skinny cow drumstick. YUM. Then I tell myself I am done for the day. Its not easy I can tell you that but having that treat after supper when im not soo hungry seems to help from going crazy. And if all else fails later then sometimes I just have to go to bed to stop the pantry voices from calling me.0
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Ug, evening snacking is the worst for me too. However, I've been working out a lot and so I have extra calories to play with. As mentioned could you do that? Sounds like you are really busy....maybe after kids are in bed you could do some exercise (even go for a walk) and that might distract you. Or try some tea or broth instead of eating. Mostly just wanted to let you know you're not alone in this! lol0
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I drink water, or hot tea. My husband does this too, he loves tv/movie time snacks after the kids are in bed. If I sip on something, I'm normally not too tempted.0
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I save 100 calories for a popsicle at night. If I'm really hungry, I'll have a small apple.
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You asked for things to think. I tell myself "You've had that food before. It's OK but is it worth trading for reaching my goal sooner? It's not as you'll never have a chance to eat this again when in maintenance.".
If it's more about the social aspect of sharing food with your husband, save calories for a late night snack with him but don't eat the same things. Make a small plate of something for yourself - maybe some cubed cheddar & apples.
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There's something some weight watchers use that they call "reverse tracking". Basically, you are tracking 24 hours, does it HAVE to be from wake up time to bedtime? How about you record LAST night's dinner and following snacking into your tracker, then use today's breakfast and lunch to add up to your calorie goal. What you will find is that you won't be able to eat very much for breakfast and lunch, so there are negative consequences to the snacking, which might motivate you to change your snacks. When you get to dinner, you are starting the "next day". This seems to work wonders for after dinner snackers.0
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I skip breakfast and dont usually snack during the day so that I have enough calories left over at night when I usually binge. It keeps binges to a minimum. It works for me.0
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First of all, don't deprive yourself. Drinking tea, chewing on flavored toothpicks (you can buy online, e.g. Amazon), eating popcorn or having a popsicle are some options. Of course, you can have a protein shake/smoothie or drink water to feel some fullness. Another option I like is frozen low calorie/sugar free cool whip mixed with some graham crackers. It's so yummy. Good luck.0
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Wow you have all given me some good tips. Thank you all! I think I will look at a combination of things - brush my teeth and mouthwash, tell myself "it's just food - I've had it before and not having it now, doesn't mean I'll never get it again". AND budgeting something in. Thank you all for your comments. I do appreciate you taking the time. 0
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