How to not snack after dinner and blow your calorie intake.

brittmcleod123

I find it really hard in the evenings not to snack. Does anyone have any methods to refrain from doing this? I also have to make my partners dinner and I end up snacking on his ( as he gets home late ) and then end up about 200 over my calorie goal ( 1700 ) every day. I am not sure how to do my evenings better as I find I just snack and snack after dinner. How do others avoid this? If I try to eat more protein through the day it doesn't help as then my calories are even higher as it doesn't stop me snacking.

kommodevaran

I just have to decide not to. Simple, not easy.

georgieamber2

If you're snacking because you're hungry...eat more ((of the right things)). If you're not hungry and are just bored waiting for your husband, do something else, watch tv, go for a walk, shower... drink a glass of water and sit for 5 minutes, ask yourself if you're actually hungry or not? It's a hard habit to break but you can do it. x

Sayanogo

Since you're making his dinner late at night, is it possible you could save a bit of your dinner to snack on at that time?

AnnPT77

Above ideas are good . . . or save up calories by eating a bit less earlier in the day, to offset the snacking. Is there something lower cal you could snack on than your partner's dinner?

malibu927

I save calories to eat after dinner. Or you can wait until he gets home to eat.

RoxieDawn

Protein alone may not be satiating to you. Maybe try to add in healthy fat as well. Finding the right balance in your foods that satiate will go a long way.

That said, I pre-log an evening snack. That way I won't go over during the day and it gives me something to forward to.

Annie_01

I make jello w/fruit cocktail...sometimes put a blob of Light cool whip on top. Two servings are about 55 calories. I use the sugar free jello and no sugar added fruit cocktail. Black Cherry is my favorite. No...it is not a cookie or a doughnut but it occupies me. I'd rather have a big bowl of reduced fat Cheezits but...oh well.

brittmcleod123

Thanks so much for all the replies so far guys, so appreciate it

claritea1

I always save about 200 cal for my nightly cup of hot tea and bedtime snack. Every single night. It’s the first thing I put in my food diary and plan the rest of the days calories around it.

JJordon

Gallon of water, in a jug. Keep on sipping or chugging. That's how I do it.

Momepro

What are you snacking on? Aside from your second meal with your partner. Why are you eating? Be very specific; hungry, habit, bored, tv zombie snacking, sweet craving... How are you measuring it?
Start weighing out servings of your snacks and logging why you are eating them. Once you do that, you can work on figuring out alternatives and solutions that are good for you. Can you make yourself just a small snack at your "normal" mealtime to tide you over until you can eat with your partner? If not, can you prepare a carefully budgeted snack to eat with your partner? Only you can come up with solutions that will work, but only after you figure out why you are eating in the first place.

TonyB0588

brittmcleod123 wrote: »

I find it really hard in the evenings not to snack. Does anyone have any methods to refrain from doing this? I also have to make my partners dinner and I end up snacking on his ( as he gets home late ) and then end up about 200 over my calorie goal ( 1700 ) every day. I am not sure how to do my evenings better as I find I just snack and snack after dinner. How do others avoid this? If I try to eat more protein through the day it doesn't help as then my calories are even higher as it doesn't stop me snacking.

What time are you having dinner? Could you try having it a bit later so there's not so much time after for snacking?

mjbnj0001

I save up a few cals for evening snacking. I try to limit the snacks to something constrained, such as citrus fruit (orange, clementine, grapefruit [that I eat as if it were an orange]), apples, celery, or --- prunes). In addition, esp. in these cooler months, I like warm decaf tea at night rather than coffee (reg or decaf). Or even various herbal teas. The drinks seems to satisfy my impulses for snacking. And of course, there's the occasional "real treat" ...

My usual pattern is a good breakfast, light lunch, regular dinner, and evening snack.

ceiswyn

If you know you snack in the evening, then just eat a little less during the rest of the day to save up some calories for your evening snacks.

It’s a lot easier to work with your habits than to try to change them!

auroralite2

I found my weakness is chocolate so I just indulge without over doing it. I have a hot chocolate made with cocoa powder (barely a tsp) and two sugars a small amount of milk and mostly hot water. I found this way I have something without going crazy.

quiksylver296

ceiswyn wrote: »

If you know you snack in the evening, then just eat a little less during the rest of the day to save up some calories for your evening snacks.

It’s a lot easier to work with your habits than to try to change them!

This is me. I push breakfast back as far as possible, usually 9:30 or 10:00, lunch around 1:00, dinner around 8:00, and I save 200-300 calories for dessert every night.

Lounmoun

I plan to have a snack.
Are you bored? Hungry?
Maybe chew some gum, drink tea or a big glass of water. Get busy with some other activity.
If you want to snack you could munch on some low calorie vegetables.

Chunkahlunkah

Is the additional snacking harming your weight loss? What MFP is giving you is just a generic estimate based on some personalized info. It’s possible that you don’t need to limit yourself to 1700 a day to lose at your selected pace. And even if it’s slowing you down a bit, is the snacking worth the slower pace? Sometimes it is.

If it’s not, good suggestions here to try out. My vote would be to cut out some calories earlier in the day to save them for at night. Unless you don’t even like snacking at night all that much. Then it would make more sense to just stop it.

Way back, I used to snack at night. It wasn’t causing a calorie issue (I was fine with my weight), but I wanted to break the habit. So I started having tea at night and reading instead. After a month or so, the night snacking habit was broken. Basically all that ended up happening though is I moved my calories from night time until during the day. Since I’d always eaten at night, I wasn’t a breakfast eater back then. Ending the night eating turned me into a breakfast eater bc I’d wake up hungry.

Iamnotasenior

I have the same cravings to snack while watching TV in the evenings (a lot of food commercials on TV). A hot drink helps tremendously (as does watching something without commercials). I'll usually have a cup of sugar free hot cocoa and measure out a serving of pretzels or something salty and crunchy to have with my sweet drink.

bobshuckleberry

Preplan your day and include a snack or snacks.

saragd012

Like most PP suggested, I would just plan for the snack by eating less during the day. I always save enough calories for a treat at the end of the night.

BethClicks

After I eat dinner, I brush and floss right away. I find that if I do that, then I don't want to eat again and have to brush/floss again. Simple little mind-trick if you don't want to save daytime calories for night-time snacking.

lightenup2016

I skip breakfast and have 300-400 calories planned for after dinner. If I know I have it set aside, I enjoy it more, and try harder to keep it to 300-400 and not go over. What do I have after dinner? Really, whatever I feel like! But it's usually 1-2 drinks, and/or cheese and crackers, toast with butter, or a real treat in the form of a cookie, chocolate, or lately, Cadbury eggs or Reese's peanut butter eggs! Yes, I did just stock up today at our Kroger's half-off Easter sale!!

I do this with a calorie budget of 1450-1850 per day (avg1550). It's been working much better for me than what I used to do, which was blow through all my calories halfway through dinner, and then just say whatever and go way over everyday.

lucerorojo

Eat dinner later. I tend to eat between 8-10 pm. So snacking at night usually isn't an issue since I'm not hungry. My dinner is generally a lighter meal--my lunch is more substantial.

JeromeBarry1

The other way I have of maybe not blowing my calorie budget is to do some cardio at night to earn calories.

seltzermint555

BethClicks wrote: »

After I eat dinner, I brush and floss right away. I find that if I do that, then I don't want to eat again and have to brush/floss again. Simple little mind-trick if you don't want to save daytime calories for night-time snacking.

I do this always. Works great for me. I think it helps if you (like me) are a little obsessive about dental hygiene and prone to cavities and stuff...so you have that added motivation not to eat/drink anything else. My husband can brush/floss right after dinner and he still snacks later anyway. hehe

rheddmobile

First, I wouldn't make my partner's dinner if it sabotaged my weight loss, he could make it himself or reheat a plate made when I made my own dinner. Second, why not wait and eat dinner with him when he gets home, having a small snack earlier to tide you over? It's no fun to sit hungry and watch others eat.

You might also try having plenty of low calorie snacks such as vegetables and popcorn available, and planning to eat something when you get hungry.

laceyf53

Typically I do my workout in the early evening for this reason, then I'll have an extra 200 calories for snacking. I do something streamable like blogilates on Youtube, usually a15 minute targeted area blast that doesn't require shoes or weights.

Also, hot beverages. Hot lemon with water or green tea or even a few ounces of coffee help curb the desire to snack. Sour foods in general help with sugar cravings, I am a ravenous sugar eater and this has helped me tremendously. I typically start my day with a shot of apple cider vinegar and hot tea with lemon and I generally have another hot tea with lemon in the evening.

For sugary fix, I really like Lakanto drinking chocolate which is 10 calories per serving and sweetened with monk fruit. I was dyyiinngg last night for peanut butter cups that have been in the pantry, so I made some drinking chocolate with almond milk so I'd get both the hot beverage and the sweet chocolate and it worked! So experiment with liquids, particularly hot ones. Chicken soup with chicken breast, shiratake noodles, and veggies like carrots and celery is another one I make a lot. It's like 20 calories for a full cup. Make some each week and eat when hungry, then drink a glass of water and re-evaluate if you really want to snack.

hope25

I read a little about intermittent fasting so this week I have been skipping breakfast and waiting to lunch to eat. I have noticed this hems me have more calories for afternoon snacking which is my weakness. I also have been cutting my self off right after dinner. Brushing my teeth helps keep me from reaching for more snacks.