Dinner Time

CausticRed

I usually eat pretty well during the day, log everything like I should, a reasonable amount of calories for lunch and dinner.

But when I get home it's like, I eat everything in site. I have no self control. Even when I go to the gym and workout, I still just go home and eat whatever.

Any ideas on how I can stop this destructive behavior? Does anyone else do this?

tlflag1620

I use a couple strategies for the evening. I'm hungrier later in the day, so I usually skip breakfast, eat a small lunch, and don't snack, or eat a very small snack, during the day so I can save up calories for the evening. That way I can have a large dinner and a good size evening snack. It's just what I prefer. I also plan out my dinners for the week - it helps keep me from just grazing all evening if I have a good dinner planned out (I get to look forward to it all day) and I can make sure I have a good deal of veggie sides available (they bulk up my meal with few calories). I keep filling snacks on hand so I can have a bedtime snack and feel satisfied (and less likely to keep going back for more) on less. I don't log anymore (I've been at maintenance for quite a while now), but prelogging meals and snacks so you can see how much you get to eat is very useful too.

Basically, plan, plan, plan, and if you find your appetite is highest at night, go with it - save calories for the evening. Good luck!

Lounmoun

Why do you think you do this? What kind of foods are you eating when you get home?
Are you getting enough protein, fats or fiber in your day?
Are you going over your calorie goal every day? How much over?
Is your calorie goal really reasonable? Maybe this is a sign your goal is too aggressive and you dial back. Are you eating some of your exercise calories?
Have you made big changes in the type of food you eat?

Plan meals. Make sure you are getting enough protein and such.
Log before you eat.
Prepare food in advance so you can pull it out and eat if the issue is not having something ready.
Have less food in your house.
Get out of the kitchen. Chew some gum. Drink some water. Get busy with something else.

CausticRed

I'm not even hungry, I think I'm just bored. I don't know what to do to stop the eating when I'm bored habit...

mikebesurfing

What about a hobby, or adult coloring books. Crossword puzzle etc. I have some yard work you can do.

ogtmama

CausticRed wrote: »

I'm not even hungry, I think I'm just bored. I don't know what to do to stop the eating when I'm bored habit...

After dinner brush your teeth and floss and then go for a walk

MommyMeggo

CausticRed wrote: »

I usually eat pretty well during the day, log everything like I should, a reasonable amount of calories for lunch and dinner.

But when I get home it's like, I eat everything in site. I have no self control. Even when I go to the gym and workout, I still just go home and eat whatever.

Any ideas on how I can stop this destructive behavior? Does anyone else do this?

This is me. Im a rockstar 7:30-4:30 - when I walk in the door Ill nibble on everything. Or just eat whatever.

So now to combat that I eat a LATE pm snack before I leave work- or eat a banana on my drive home.
No nibbles whatsoever until my meal is ready. *pats self on the back*

brb_2013

I've found it to be based on two things: habit, and feeling deprived. When I only eat 600 calories from 8am-5pm I get home and feel entitled to eating whatever because I'm hungry darn it! And I have always been one to snack.

Breaking this is tricky, first make sure you're having enough through the day. I don't just mean if you're hungry, truly make sure you have had plenty of protein and calories at lunch and perhaps add in a good snack at 3 or 4 before the gym. The rest is mental willpower. I don't keep treats in the house except yogurt anymore, occasionally mini lara bars. But I log it before I eat it to make sure it fits in my calories. If there is room, I eat until there isn't anymore haha. But I don't see THAT as negative.

mis1022

Yes sounds like time for a hobby. And a plan. I find planning dinner makes days way more manageable. Good luck.

ReneeDawalga5100

CausticRed wrote: »

I usually eat pretty well during the day, log everything like I should, a reasonable amount of calories for lunch and dinner.

But when I get home it's like, I eat everything in site. I have no self control. Even when I go to the gym and workout, I still just go home and eat whatever.

Any ideas on how I can stop this destructive behavior? Does anyone else do this?

This is me. Every single day.

arditarose

Yeah. I save my dinner until 7:30. I eat something low calorie and high volume, then have anotIher high volume dessert around 9. I used to have two desserts but I have to go to sleep earlier now. Just be more wise about how you break up the calories throughout your day. I'm only eating 1300 today but I have a huuuuuuuuuge bowl of popcorn calling my name. And I just finished dinner.

nowine4me

I have the exact same problem. On track all day and once I get home, before dinner, BAM, I ransack the pantry. Crackers, peanut butter, anything. I've been trying to get dinner ready earlier, no later than 7, and have been having a protein shake when I walk in the door and start prep. No great solution, but I understand.

Dekayla13

I do the same on the days that I work because I don't eat all day and the end up eating a ton before I even finish making dinner. I've started keeping snacks with me (cocoa roast almond 100 cal packs recently) so I can eat them on the way home and save myself from a before dinner disaster. My late night solution is drinking hot tea, there are so many kinds that I never get bored. Hang in there and be kind to yourself

JeromeBarry1

I go home from work and prepare my meal. The effort of preparing my meal involves chopping and weighing a lot of vegetables and takes too long, but the 'busy work' of it seems to build up a mental expectation of food such that the final product of all that bulk, fiber, and nutrition fills my belly with satisfaction while my regularly scheduled dessert of sweet prunes serves to satisfy any sweet cravings and top off the tummy. It's actually pretty easy for me to stop eating after all that effort.


I have a cardio machine in my living room called a "strider", which provides a low impact and fairly low intensity burn. I can finish dinner then use the strider for 30 minutes. That keeps my feet and hands busy and gets me tired enough to sleep well.

dmspurli

One solution that has helped me is to stop buying snacks. When I get bored or start craving stuff like cookies, chips, etc, I go to the pantry and look at what I DO have and then walk away bc it's all healthy stuff and I don't want that!

arditarose

dmspurli wrote: »

One solution that has helped me is to stop buying snacks. When I get bored or start craving stuff like cookies, chips, etc, I go to the pantry and look at what I DO have and then walk away bc it's all healthy stuff and I don't want that!

Ditto. Or I eat some tomatoes and do way less damage than I would have with chips or oreos. There is not really a single easily accessible snack in my apartment. Ever.

molepigeon

I'm the same! Doesn't really matter what I eat during the day but as soon as I get home I'm the Queen of grazing. So I try to leave as many calories as possible for the evening and make sure I have things to have a healthy snack as soon as I get in. Wholemeal toast with cottage cheese and marmite and a mint tea was last nights treat.

mari5466

If your bored try to find a few things to keep you busy. When I get bored I sip on water or tea to stop my self from going over.

cross2bear

I used to find that when I raced home from work or from work to chores to home, that I would feel very rushed. Feeling rushed made me lose focus, and I would make inappropriate decisions, like snacking on peanut butter sandwiches before dinner (and then a full on dinner). Now, regardless of how hectic the day is and how rushed I am feeling, when I get home I sit down and just relax for about a half an hour, sort of to get my poop in a group as it were, maybe have a drink (water, tea, diet soda) read a chapter or two of my latest book, or watch a bit of tv, just to decompress and catch my breath. this helps me to focus again and make better choices - I dont have kids that have to be rushed out to activities any more, so this works for me.

cwolfman13

It's just habitual behavior. ..habits are hard to break, but it can be done. .you just have to do it. ..if it's boredom you have to find other things to do. I have a long to do list and tackle bits and pieces of it every evening when I get home to keep me occupied.

tcunbeliever

First, I try to get plenty of fat before dinner so I don't feel hungry when I get home!

Second, I keep my hands busy when I am home...puzzles, sewing, coloring, ANYTHING that keeps me occupied.