Trying To Get My Evening Snacking Under Control

SoleTrainer60

I do pretty well with portion control during breakfast lunch and dinner, but when evening comes, all I want to do is snack. I know what I need to do, but yet I choose chips and candy. I guess I just need to quit bringing it into the house. I am so disgusted with myself.

kimny72

Is it possible your calorie goal is too aggressive and you are legitimately hungry?

I prelog my day as much as possible and pencil in a 150-250 calorie after dinner snack. I eat whatever I want, weighing out the portion and putting the container away before I eat. Maybe something like that would help.

If there are specific foods you have no control over, it might help to not buy them for awhile and stock up on snacks you can better trust yourself to eat a reasonable portion. Just make sure they are still things that will hit the spot!

kpetree2018

Yes. I think I have an actual carbohydrate addiction. I feel like im crawling the walls looking for some carbs at night. This is day five, and the first night I have resisted! Do you think there is a 12-step for this? Good luck!

bijarkhan

I just found a fantastic snack for after hours. I am a very late owl myself, and my snacking seems to have no end. But, now I have started snacking on any kind of melon imaginable. You can eat enough to fill up on and its very low calories. Even during the day 1 or two pieces stop my sugar craving!

kfly44244

I have been struggling with the exact same issue for years. It is definitely (for me) linked to food addiction. There are two 12-step programs for this, but unfortunately they are not located in most places, and the requirements for remaining "clean" are rather unrealistic. I am actually a recovering addict and attend NA. I didn't find success in my recovery until I recognized that addiction is addiction. If you want to connect with me for more info I'd be happy to share what is helping my journey. I did have to set some ground rules. For example I finally realized that one simple thing I could change was to go to bed earlier. I can't late-night snack if I'm not awake. But please know you're not alone, and you are not weak. You are fighting brain chemistry. It's an uphill battle, but one you can win. Friend me if you'd like support. I can always use some myself!!

OvershareUsername

Oh man, the late night snacking is so hard! Kudos to you for recognizing the problem and working on it! Don’t feel ashamed- you are making progress! I’m a lover of late night snacking too, in addition to being an emotional eater. This is what helps me:

I find that eating dinner earlier (like early-bird special style) before I get too hungry helps.

Check your calorie goals- I had to slow my weight loss because being too aggressive made me too hungry, then all bets were off.

Also, for me much of my late night snacking/eating was emotional in nature. I use the ‘ALT’ part of ‘HALT’ to check myself first. If I am not ‘angry, lonely, or tired’ and am truly hungry then I eat an ounce of nuts.

If I am ‘ALT’ then I do something easy for self-care. Hot peppermint tea is a favorite. It’s flavorful and the mint helps soothe me.

Brush your teeth. Swedish fish are much less tasty with the toothpaste taste in your mouth.

I avoid drinking alcohol because I like to eat tasty snacks the entire time.

And this one is hard- go to bed. For me sometimes I feel hungry when I’m really just tired. It’s like my body is protesting and saying, ‘if you’re not going to let me sleep, then I need energy (read-Empty calories).’

Sorry for the novel- I hope you find some of this helpful! You’re not alone in this! Great job!!

alicebhsia1

SoleTrainer60 wrote: »

I do pretty well with portion control during breakfast lunch and dinner, but when evening comes, all I want to do is snack. I know what I need to do, but yet I choose chips and candy. I guess I just need to quit bringing it into the house. I am so disgusted with myself.

i used to have the same problem until i started having 4 small meals a day instead of three. they are spaced out about every four hours. i get roughly 300 calories per meal. if i go over i just reduce the next meal. so i eat breakfast around 7, lunch at 11:00, afternoon meal at 3:00pm and dinner at 7:00pm. this helps me a lot. if i really need to nibble i choose crunchy vegetables or fruit.

countcurt

If you track your calories on a daily basis, you can try starting your tracking day at 6:00 pm. A lot of people I know tend to be much more cautious with their calorie usage earlier in the day because they worry about running out.

There is no rule that says you have to start your day at 1201am.

lettymartine

countcurt wrote: »

If you track your calories on a daily basis, you can try starting your tracking day at 6:00 pm. A lot of people I know tend to be much more cautious with their calorie usage earlier in the day because they worry about running out.

There is no rule that says you have to start your day at 1201am.

That’s a really good idea! Not heard that one before. Just wondering how that would work with tracking food on here and whether it would make it confusing?

countcurt

lettymartine wrote: »

countcurt wrote: »

If you track your calories on a daily basis, you can try starting your tracking day at 6:00 pm. A lot of people I know tend to be much more cautious with their calorie usage earlier in the day because they worry about running out.

There is no rule that says you have to start your day at 1201am.

That’s a really good idea! Not heard that one before. Just wondering how that would work with tracking food on here and whether it would make it confusing?

I think it would be pretty straightforward. At, say, 6 pm, you just flip to tomorrow's page. You can enter tonight's dinner under the dinner then tomorrow am pick up at breakfast then lunch. After a couple of days I think it would become pretty routine.


I track on paper, so I can do it any way that works without worrying about it.

Rocknut53

I feel your frustration. I'm going through that myself, but after seeing no progress, only regression on the scale I knew I'd better quit. Ya just have to do it. Ask me next week if I'm still on track!

elisa123gal

You need to fight through one or two nights and then you'll have it beat. Save 200 calorie and plate out a snack to eat in the fridge at night at 10 or 11. Just solve your problem ..figure it out. Say you have only $200 dollars to make it to next payday. Will you spend it in one night? Or will you put your thinking cap on and budget it out so you successfully make it to payday?

You Know what to do.. do it!

SoleTrainer60

Thanks everyone for listening. Sometimes we just need a little bit of encouragement. The next time I go grocery shopping, I am going to focus on healthy snacks, not junk food. If the junk food is in my house , I can’ t control myself.

SoleTrainer60

Today, I purchased apples, grapes and clementines. Oh, did I want to buy chips and candy, but I told myself no ! I am trying to get the right mind set. 😊

GreenValli

I am struggling with snacking, too. My husband went to the market to get some celery for a recipe I am making, Sure enough he brought home other items, including: 2 cartons of ice cream: one for himself and one for me. "Mine" was Breyers Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! I did eat some. 1/3 of a cup. That is all. I hope I have enough will power to limit myself to 1/3 of a cup until it is gone. 6 cups total, 18 days.

PAFC84

SoleTrainer60 wrote: »

I do pretty well with portion control during breakfast lunch and dinner, but when evening comes, all I want to do is snack. I know what I need to do, but yet I choose chips and candy. I guess I just need to quit bringing it into the house. I am so disgusted with myself.

Don't beat yourself up. That is the first and most important thing. Do you think that during the day you could be busy with work or errands etc but come the evening, you are winding down and so this is why your snacking starts? To put it another way, do you think that the snacking is your way of trying to find something externally to make you feel good?

I notice I have a tendency to eat junk food in the evening for this reason; I have an anxiety condition which I become more aware of when I'm not active I.e in the evening. So instictively because im not feeljng good in myself i look for something to make me feel good-snacks, the internet on my phone etc.

rheddmobile

I deal with evening snacking by snacking. I save calories for it and have foods I enjoy, which are reasonable in calories and in small portions. Tonight it was a caramel apple treat and some dark chocolate. Total calories: about 100. Plan ahead and figure out what you want to eat. A couple of slices of cheese or some peanut butter will tide me over sometimes, other times I want carbs such as berries and yogurt, and sometimes I just want popcorn, salted radishes, or pickles.

I don't buy food I don't want to eat. My husband doesn't have food I should not be eating in the house and he doesn't eat it in front of me. Fortunately he enjoys certain treats such as pop tarts which I hate, so he eats plenty of those.

SylviazSpirit

I agree with a poster above that you calories goal may be too low. Your body feels starved and so you reach for the snacks. It's a biological and psychological reaction. Allow yourself to have some chips here or there. Track the calories and move on. Also, dont be disgusted with yourself, you are human and eating chips here and there is really OK. Give yourself grace and forgiveness. Picture the person you love most in this world (mother, daughter, son, husband, friend) now, speak to yourself the same way you would speak to that friend who is struggling. You deserve that, you are worth that!

SoleTrainer60

Thanks everyone, I am getting there. Last night was a bag of 100 calorie popcorn and 1/2 of a bottle of Coke Life.

sksk1026

I have the same problem and have to use strategies to manage it! Half the time I feel like I'm wrestling an alligator! Some of these might work for you:
-No candy or chips in house. If I want them in the evening I have to drive to the store where I then buy 2 modest items (tiny bag of jellybeans kept at checkout and a small bag of flavoured popcorn) and a Diet Coke.
-Save 300 calories or more for evening snacking.
-Eat dinner later so there is less evening time without food. Go for a walk after dinner (reduces sugar levels in blood which means you need less insulin released - excess insulin in bloodstream contributes to cravings if you are insulin resistant).
- Keep my carb consumption lowish generally (see bit about insulin resistance).
- Make myself wait an hour between snack items.
- Eat breakfast and more protein earlier in day. Seems to have an effect on my evening cravings.
- Be aware that I associate the couch and tv with eating. These are powerful behavior triggers. So i can go to bed instead or read a book somewhere else in the house.
- Have apple slices dipped in peanut butter and then wait an hour.
- take the lowest calorie recommendation on mfp so if I overeat on snacks I still might be in the weight loss or maintenance range.
- figure out low calorie snack options that still make you feel as if you've had a treat e.g. 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds seasoned with black pepper are 60 calories and they take ages to shell, I have a recipe for southwest popcorn that is under 200 calories, kitkat and mars bars are my best lower calorie options compared to other chocs, glass of red wine is 70 cal.
- Know that if I manage to control my cravings for 5 days, they dissipate and don't overwhelm me so is that giant bag of popcorn going to be worth it? (Unfortunately the answer is sometimes yes so then I cycle back through the other strategies again!)

one_eight_five

I think the key thing is to figure out a way to do one of the 3 things

1. Distract yourself - Drink water. It helps me.
2. Enable the craving but stay within limits - Find out what you can eat that has the lowest impact on your caloric and fitness goals. This one is tough and I have yet to do this successfully but it's my goal.
3. Seek help by calling someone or posting it here/list]

countcurt

SylviazSpirit wrote: »

I agree with a poster above that you calories goal may be too low. Your body feels starved and so you reach for the snacks. It's a biological and psychological reaction. Allow yourself to have some chips here or there.

It's possible. But many night snackers eat mindlessly. They're getting plenty of calories but, for whatever reason, get pleasure out of nibbling the night away.

I'm all for allowing myself to have some chips here or there (or, sometimes, everywhere), but chips are not the answer here.


I generally will have a snack at night. Which will depend on what's in the house. But if I eat a [relatively] early dinner and don't snack, I wake up in the middle of the night full on hungry. Which never ends well.

countcurt

Also, some 'rules' help. In our house, there is no food allowed at the computer or in the bedroom. Ever. So, yes, retiring to one of these areas reduces mindless snack consumption.


I know somebody who took up crocheting because she can't crochet and eat at the same time.

LivingtheLeanDream

I am a night time snacker, always kept 200-300 calories for that, still do - works for me. I could easily eat more but I've got into the habit of not having more than that. Drinking water helps.

curwhibbles

I notice that high protein lunches curb my night snacking. Hope that helps...don’t give up. Everything is just a stage...