How do you deal with late night cravings

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  • shrinkingletters
    shrinkingletters Posts: 1,008 Member
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    I just cry.
  • arkaycee
    arkaycee Posts: 25 Member
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    One thing that helps me is smaller bowls... we bought 4 little ice cream bowls that only fit about one scoop but look vaguely elegant. I figure the cereal bowl I used to use holds 3-4 scoops, so even if I go back for "seconds" (I try not to, but...), I'm still ahead. That's one that's been studied, that even if people eat out of smaller bowls/dishes and are fully aware of it and even if they think they don't eat less, on the average they do eat less.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    i don't starve myself during the day. i eat plenty of calories at night before dinner.

    OP, are you following some kind of "don't eat past 7pm" rule? because it's hogwash.
  • EternalRho1922
    EternalRho1922 Posts: 16 Member
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    I first try drinking a glass of water and waiting 15 minutes to see if my craving will go away. If it doesn't, I reach for a parfait. I keep small mason jars of parfaits in my fridge that I make up during Meal Prep Sundays each week. They have layers of vanilla greek yogurt (Dannon, .5 cup), raspberries (.25 cup), strawberries (4 small chopped), and indulgent trail mix (Wal-Mart, 1.5 tablespoon). I use the 8oz mason jars and spread the ingredients into 2 layers. They are about 140 calories each and a sweet delicious dessert.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
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    I have more than enough maintenance calories left over at the end of my day. If I wake up hungry I eat whatever looks good to me at the time. This doesn't usually happen, though.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    I eat dinner around 8:30...I'm in bed by 9:30 most nights.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    Eileen_S wrote: »
    I have more than enough maintenance calories left over at the end of my day. If I wake up hungry I eat whatever looks good to me at the time. This doesn't usually happen, though.

    this is very good advice. a lot of people put in their numbers for a 1-2 pound loss a week, and even still try and come in under that calorie allotment, creating an even bigger deficit.

    folks, do yourself a favor and find out what your maintenance calories are. lets just say that it's 2000, and you've set your deficit to be at 1700. that means that even if you have a late snack and eat up to 1850 calories, you're still 150 calories under maintenance, meaning that you've still had a deficit for the day.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    Holly_Wood_888 wrote: »
    you know where that ice cream is gonna go ! That refined sugar is going to turn into fat - so prep your mind and reach for some Sugar Free Jello that you ALREADY have prepared in the fridge for those late night cravings

    Um, no. If you are eating in a calorie deficit, that ice cream is going to go no where on your body. Eat the ice cream if you want it.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I like macadamia nuts, chocolate chips sweetened with xylitol, and some coconut. Yum
  • JBcat123
    JBcat123 Posts: 211 Member
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    I chew gum. I have like 2-3 pieces and have a glass of water. it usually works.
  • rawhidenadz
    rawhidenadz Posts: 254 Member
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    Feel free to ignore this long *kitten* post, but I noticed that my ticker wasn't working earlier. I don't know if it is now, but in case it still isn't, I'd like to add to my previous comment, in case it sways anyone in the "anything you eat after 7pm magically turns into fat" camp that I'm 90 pounds down from my highest weight.

    I lost that weight and kept (most of) it off eating my biggest meal right before bed most days. 1000 calories or so (I used to follow more of an IF pattern). I don't eat as large of a meal before bedtime nowadays due to my work and school schedule - now that I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning, I usually do end up eating breakfast aroud 7 am and then spacing out smaller meals throughout the day. I still eat my last meal late at night. No magical fat gain or slower rate of loss due to eating late here. It's about calories in versus calories out. That's it. Really. Weight loss and maintenance is a difficult enough thing to achieve long term, let's not make it more complicated than it needs to be.

    If you like to eat at night, just plan your day that way. You'll save yourself a lot of misery. For me personally, going to bed hungry is like the worst thing I could do for my weight loss because it leaves me unfulfilled and more likely to overeat at another time.

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