Cutting out evening snacking

andrea_nichol

I sometimes have a bad habit of snacking in the evening - usually in unhealthy stuff - but I'm trying to break that habit. Just brushed my teeth to deter any urge to snack. Any other tips for managing food cravings?

andrea_nichol

*on* unhealthy stuff

JeromeBarry1

Plan better. Go to bed earlier. Keep jicama handy. And if you do keep the jicama handy, eat 100 g of it when you start thinking you want a snack. It's sweet and crunchy and way lots of fiber. It's also very low calorie. 100 g of it will quench your appetite for snacking.

KateTii

I have five strategies;
1) Plan to have a snack in the evening & leave calories for it
2) Plan to have a low cal/"healthy" snack in the evening & leave calories for it
3) Eat more at dinner to feel less like needing a snack
4) Brush Teeth
5) Have a zero-calorie soda instead - get a sweet fix without calories

ogtmama

I save a couple hundred calories for an after dinner snack

Angierae75

I, too, work snacks into my day. I always save a little bit, unless I know I'm having a big dinner.

bmele0

I'm totally a night snacker. I totally just leave calories for my night snack and exercise for a little more. I usually have about 500 cals to eat. I still portion and weigh all my food for snacks.

I like to munch on a serving of popcorn, makes me feel like I'm eating more just because it takes longer to eat it. Lol Like vanilla Greek yogurt and peanut butter protein granola- soo good, tastes like dessert. I get my snacking fix and feel full. I never go to bed hungry

queenliz99

My biggest meal is dinner, too stuffed to jump!

Asher_Ethan

I save myself 300 calories every night for right before bed because I can not go to sleep hungry.

SideSteel

As others have mentioned I would try to just save some calories for night time to see if that helps. There's nothing inherently bad about eating at night as long as you are able to meet your daily calorie and nutrient targets.

It can become problematic if it messes up your sleep, or if you just tend to make worse choices at night which cause you to then over-consume calories. And if that happens is the excess calories causing the problem.

dlkfox

I snack on air popped popcorn pretty much every night. I prelog it when I log breakfast.

KECrawford71

I struggle with this as well. Especially sweet stuff.

arditarose

I dunno. I plan for two desserts every night. Dinner at 7:30. First dessert at 9, second around 10.

lulalacroix

I love nighttime snacking and always save calories for it.

kommodevaran

EITHER
plan to have a snack in the evening and leave calories for it,
OR
don't buy snack foods and stick to regular meals only.

YOU are the only one who can figure out the best strategy for YOU.

SibylDiane

I don't keep unhealthy stuff in the house. If it's not there, I can't snack on it. After I've gotten home, had dinner, changed into my jammies, well, I'm too damn lazy to change back into real clothes and drive to the store just because I have a craving.

SezxyStef

I used to prelog my snacks in the evening now I am never sure what it will be...but I typically have calories left so it's not an issue.

Last night lime and cracked pepper kettle cooked chips and a mini bar.

Need2Exerc1se

Eat dinner later so you aren't hungry or don't have time to snack before bed, or save some calories for a late night snack.

kgirlhart

I eat about half of my calories for breakfast and lunch and save half for dinner and an evening snack. My go to snack is Chobani Flips Greek yogurt. They are basically greek yogurt with candy in them. It satisfies my sweet tooth and gives me a lot of protien.

jbee27

If I eat dinner later, it cuts down on my cravings for a late night snack. Sometimes I feel like I want to eat dinner the second I get home, but if I start a project (laundry, dishes, etc) or go for a walk, usually I'm able to delay by an hour or so, which seems to be enough to keep me full later.

tlflag1620

I'm hungrier in the evening than I am in the morning, so I either don't eat until noonish, or have something very small for breakfast, saving calories for the end of the day when I am hungrier. We eat dinner pretty early (young children with early bedtimes, and I really enjoy us all sitting down for dinner at the same time), so after they've gone to bed, I'll have a pretty substantial snack. I just make sure I have room for it.

oolou

andrea_nichol wrote: »

I sometimes have a bad habit of snacking in the evening - usually in unhealthy stuff - but I'm trying to break that habit. Just brushed my teeth to deter any urge to snack. Any other tips for managing food cravings?

Do you snack out of habit, or boredom, or because you enjoy a little snack, or because you are hungry?

beaglebrandon

A large shrimp is only 20 calories. I can have a huge snack of 8-10 shrimp with a cocktail sauce made of a 50-50 ketchup/horseradish mix, and it's less than 250 calories and fills me up.

I do this like once a week. You can't make snacking a habit - or it's much harder to lose weight. You have to learn self control. Think about the snack this way: I've been good all day. Without that snack, I'll lose 4 more pounds this month. WITH this snack, I won't lose those 4 pounds.

kgirlhart

You can make snacking a habit if you fit the snacks into your calorie goal.

WBB55

Dinner at 6pm, pre-planned snack at 8pm. Also, make sure your overall deficit is appropriate. Having too big of an overall deficit can lead to urges to eat at unplanned times or eat more you'd planned.