I can't control my evening snacking ):
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I can't control it either, for me its more late night than evening. So.. simple. I just log some food for the evening/night as soon as I wake up, and use only the remaining calories/macros during the day
. Ice cream is even more tasty when you know its already accounted for! 3 -
- Find something else to do in the evenings besides sitting in front of the TV
- Change up when and how much you eat so you've got some free calories available in the evening. I usually allot myself 1000 kcal or more to have after 10 PM.
You don't find that eating that many calories that late at night affects your weight loss? I'm just curious because I've heard that eating too late and when you go to sleep, your more likely to store those calories then burn them off.0 -
jammer1963 wrote: »- Find something else to do in the evenings besides sitting in front of the TV
- Change up when and how much you eat so you've got some free calories available in the evening. I usually allot myself 1000 kcal or more to have after 10 PM.
You don't find that eating that many calories that late at night affects your weight loss? I'm just curious because I've heard that eating too late and when you go to sleep, your more likely to store those calories then burn them off.
No. Complete myth. As long as you are in a calorie deficit, it doesn't matter what time you eat them.
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mandybullock2015 wrote: »I'm fine all day, I can easily eat well and healthy then when I get home from work I have a nice healthy and filling dinner where I'm NOT hungry after but then we sit down for the evening or get in bed and watch TVs, then it all go to pot and I can't help snacking or I get the most overwhelming craving for rubbish food and I fail
All my hardworking ruined every night ):
How can I stop this???
Your diary is closed, but I do have a few questions. How many calories do you eat at dinner? And what is your total for the day? And what time do you eat dinner? I eat a decent meal at 7:30 or 8 and it would never occur to me to snack at night. I think because I eat so late. That long stretch between lunch and dinner is the toughie for me!
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jammer1963 wrote: »- Find something else to do in the evenings besides sitting in front of the TV
- Change up when and how much you eat so you've got some free calories available in the evening. I usually allot myself 1000 kcal or more to have after 10 PM.
You don't find that eating that many calories that late at night affects your weight loss? I'm just curious because I've heard that eating too late and when you go to sleep, your more likely to store those calories then burn them off.
Complete myth. As long as you are in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight regardless of what time you eat.2 -
Plan a snack for the evening. Save enough calories for it. Portion it out.
If you are not hungry then try chewing gum, drinking water, brushing your teeth and waiting 20 minutes. Mint gum works for me.
Keep busy. Maybe change up your activities.
Are you eating enough protein and fats during the day? Are you eating all your calories and some calories earned from exercise?
Is your goal realistic and reasonable? You aren't trying to lose 2 lbs a week when you are less than 50 lbs overweight are you?
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I eat 90cal Chapmans ice cream bars (Tiger Paws are my new fave) after dinner, or air popped popcorn with some popcorn flavouring. Save yourself 200cals for after dinner and reduce your snack size.
NEVER take a whole bag of chips to the couch. Always always weigh a portion, log it, and put the package away.2 -
vivmom2014 wrote: »Somehow seeing it written is keeping me compliant, and I'm not reaching for more. So schedule a favorite snack.
I agree with this. For me, being consistent with the logging is key; if I have an impulse to have an evening snack, I log what I anticipated having. If that number is red at the bottom, it's enough for me to remember how much I'd regret eating it, knowing beforehand it was over my goals. If I'm still fighting my brain for something, I just make sure it'll still keep me at a deficit. That snack tastes so much better when you're not resenting every bite for making you 'fail' that day.1 -
if I feel the urge coming on to snack I hit a glass of water, walk around for a few minutes so that the boredom goes away (my problem is eating when I'm bored at night lol) and if all else fails, snack on something small like under 100 cals or a 100 cal bag of popcorn. if it fits your macros!0
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I seem to have a lot more will power in the mornings. Skipping breakfast has hepled me a lot, I think it's because I know that I have plenty of calories that I get to eat that day. If I use up most of my calories through out the day then after dinner is harder because I know most or all of my calories are gone. So when I want a snack I tell my self I just going to eat one serving of cookies, or one serving of whatever (it won't hurt) and by the time I'm done I've eaten the whole row or "sleeve" and then I feel guilty. I feel like I've ruined every thing and I'm going to stuck being fat for the rest of my life. Now if I save most of my calories until the end of the day I can eat until I'm stuffed and don't want to snack, being stuffed before bed may sound bad but it feels better than going way over my calories because I just couldn't stop eating the dang cookies. Also if I do accidently binge I just count the calories I ate that night and dividie them by the number of days I have left to work out for the week and tack them on to my next few workouts. So when I'm walking that extra 20 or 30min after I'm already soo tired it reminds me of what that whole row of Oreos actually cost me.
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If you're not hungry enough to eat some carrot sticks; you're probably not really hungry. And if you are, there you go 2
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A lot of great advice here. I'm not sure what more I can really add.
I just try to keep plenty of healthy snacks on hand for evening. Journal every bite and stay accountable. If you desperately need a few more calories, go take a walk first and earn them. If all else fails, turn the light out and go to sleep. LOL.
When I'm hungry or bored at night, I try to drink hot tea (black), coffee (black), or water. I've been keeping yogurts and fruit stocked up for snacking on, and I haven't even been buying chips or cookies. If you're craving something in particular, like cereal or bread or crackers or something, portion out a small amount and then put the box away.1 -
Moving some unnecessary calories from breakfast to a small snack after dinner worked for me. Frozen blueberries are sweet enough to satisfy cravings but don't have many calories. I used to put them in my oatmeal every morning and would rush to eat it while running out the door. Then realized that a bit of cinnamon is good enough in the oatmeal...the blueberry calories are much more enjoyable in the evening. If I'm craving a bit of a savoury snack after dinner instead, then a few spoons of spicy salsa or kimchi are great. Packed with flavour but few calories. If I'm still feeling a little peckish after that, then as others suggested, tea or coffee does the job!0
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Do you think it is that binge eating disorder that there are tv commercials about lately? I have the same problem but I have trouble sleeping if I don't snack late at night. I don't even feel hungry just want to sleep so sometimes I have to snack and wreck everything. So I guess in my analysis of myself I think my cravings are due to being tired because I always crave high sugar foods. Then I make plans to go to bed earlier but that never happens. I'm going to really try to stick to a consistent reasonable bedtime to see if that helps. I have not talked to a doctor about the binge eating disorder but I wonder if I have it.0
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Fold the laundry while you watch tv. I don't want food on my clean laundry so I don't snack.
I also cross-stitch or paint my nails. Anything that requires me to keep my hands clean.
If it's really, really bad I walk the dog.0 -
jammer1963 wrote: »- Find something else to do in the evenings besides sitting in front of the TV
- Change up when and how much you eat so you've got some free calories available in the evening. I usually allot myself 1000 kcal or more to have after 10 PM.
You don't find that eating that many calories that late at night affects your weight loss? I'm just curious because I've heard that eating too late and when you go to sleep, your more likely to store those calories then burn them off.
No. Complete myth. As long as you are in a calorie deficit, it doesn't matter what time you eat them.
This is true.1 -
I am the same way, since I have been making myself be aware of what I am doing I have had smart pop popcorn or munch on carrots.0
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Viewing the pictures in the success stories tab has also been a huge help for me. It reminds me of where I want to be and if I don't go over my calories I can obtain it.1
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omg, I am right there too. There are many helpful suggestions that I will try. Right now I just go to bed to stop from snacking.0
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jammer1963 wrote: »- Find something else to do in the evenings besides sitting in front of the TV
- Change up when and how much you eat so you've got some free calories available in the evening. I usually allot myself 1000 kcal or more to have after 10 PM.
You don't find that eating that many calories that late at night affects your weight loss? I'm just curious because I've heard that eating too late and when you go to sleep, your more likely to store those calories then burn them off.
As the others have said, no it doesn't affect my loss or maintenance, depending on where I am.
One aspect that I think is sometimes overlooked: When I eat a lot in the evening it tends to show up more on the scale the next morning. What I mean is, if I have two days with the same calories, and one day I eat a lot of it late and another day I don't eat late, the scale is lower the next day. That's because of the food and water in my system, not because I gained any fat. My suspicion is that many people see a large jump in the scale on the days they ate late and think "Eating late caused me to gain weight".0 -
I found the Say "No" to Late Night Snacking challenge thread here helpful. Decide on a cutoff time for eating, and join the challenge. I also found saving the majority of my calories for the afternoon and evening helpful. If you are a snacker during television watching, find another activity to do with your hands; I found crochet is a good substitute, but petting the dog or jigsaw puzzles are possibilities too.
Sometimes you just need to change your mind, though. Saying something is difficult, or too hard, or uncontrolable, pretty much makes it true. Watch the words you think and say. Treat your impulsive behavior like you would treat a child you were responsible for. If you had an overweight child, and they said "I want a snack, it's too hard not to eat, I can't control myself," after they had eaten their calories for the day, what would you say? Here are some options:
"No. You are done eating for today."
"But you made a promise. You've promised yourself to eat in a responsible way, for good reasons, and now you have to keep that promise."
"You know better than that! Don't try to con me - go do something else you like, and wait to eat again tomorrow."
"Sure you can snack! Have some celery with a big glass of water. Nothing else." (I actually said this out loud to myself, and rolled my eyes at myself and wandered back out of the kitchen.)
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I save my best meal for last 0
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I found out that my night eating is just boredom eating and if I have a small snack near bed time, like a hundred calorie snack pack or something, I'm fine.0
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dopeysmelly wrote: »When I get the evening munchies I just go straight to bed with a book. I won't eat/drink in bed because of crumbs and spills and I love reading more than watching TV.
I used to do needlepoint (haven't done it for a while), which keeps both hands busy and you can't have greasy fingers. An alternative might be to paint your nails. I think anything which keeps both hands occupied might work.
Willpower is a myth. You have to think in terms of structuring new habits which take the place of old ones.
This!
I found that my late night snacking was because I was tired and bored. Now when I start getting those urges I know they're BS. I don't NEED to munch on something. I know I've eaten enough already because I've been tracking all day. So, when I get that urge I'll drink some water or tea, and then go to bed and read. It typically results in me being asleep before I even read a single page.0
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