Night Time Munchies

mborckardt2

What do you do when you get night time munchies? This is my biggest challenge. I eat healthy all day. Then I come home tired from work and all my discipline shatters. What motivates you to finish well? How do you satisfy cravings in a healthy way?

babs49

Thinking about getting on the scale usually keeps me from eating something I shouldn't. I like to be sure there is a fun low calorie snack after dinner.

vvww88

I have found intermittent fasting helps me with this- I only eat from 2-10 and by the time 10 rolls around I’m stuffed from all my food that my “snacking” is just now my eating time

iKapuniai

UUUGGGHHHH Night time munchies are the WORST! I have the same problem. My food diary will be perfect up until about 8pm when I know I should stop eating, but my brain and tummy are like "NEED.FOOD.NOW". Mostly junks too. Sometimes when my stomach starts to growl I will give in because I'm weak, but other times I know it's not because I am actually hungry.

Here are some of the things I do:

- Fill up on water. This is extremely hard to do because you're only full for about 2 minutes, but sometimes your body is actually just thirsty so I always do this first. Sometimes I'll even flavor it with whatever I have on hand.
- Drink a cup of Metamucil (or other brand) fiber.
- Eat a pickle. Vinegar is supposed to help curb appetite/cravings/hunger.
- Sometimes I'll drink a cup of water with 1 TB lemon juice and 1 TB apple cider vinegar, for the same reason as above.
- Eat a small salad.
- As my last resort, I'll drink a Diet Root Beer with 1 TB of heavy whipping cream as a low-calorie version of a root beer float. The fat from the cream and the carbonation from the root beer tends to help me feel full, and also helps my sweet tooth since that is usually what I'm craving at night.


I stay motivated by reminding myself that it's all about balance. If I am truly hungry, I will eat, and then do better tomorrow, or go for a walk the next day (or even that night). I also have to remind myself that if I keep messing up and giving in to my cravings, I will never make the progress I need to make.

Hope this helps.

Danp

I eat "junk" every. single. night.

Depending on how many calories I have left over that might be 1, 2, 3 or even 4 fun-size chocolates, it might be a 20g, 30g or even 60g serving of these awesome prawn chips I found or pretty much anything else I feel like indulging in at the time.

This has never stopped me losing weight and this has never negatively impacted my health. The only things this has impacted is improved my happiness and enjoyment, and my ability to consistently and easily stick to my calorie targets without any struggling, since I never feel like I'm "on a diet" or that I'm being deprived or denied.

ncfitbit

mborckardt2 wrote: »

What do you do when you get night time munchies? This is my biggest challenge. I eat healthy all day. Then I come home tired from work and all my discipline shatters. What motivates you to finish well? How do you satisfy cravings in a healthy way?

Two things. Most important is having a plan for it. Like @Danp I like to allow myself some chocolate, but for me it's important to decide ahead of time how much I will have. I can't let myself decide in the moment, especially if I'm tired. The second I have found helpful and continually trying to improve is being more aware of those thoughts that lead to eating at night. If being tired or upset lead you to say "I deserve X treat etc." it's really worth addressing that issue instead and finding other ways to unwind and relax and truly treat yourself.

oceaneyes0204

I drink herbal tea at night and if I have a sweet tooth I add some stevia and unsweetened almond milk I'm really enjoying this and its helping me to have another healthy late night option.

jan110144

I prelog (both diet and exercise) for the day. I always plan an evening snack. (Yogurt and berries, a bowl of popcorn (3 TBS of corn + 1 TBS oil = 146l7 calories), fruit, celery stuffed with babybel cheese).

Panini911

I pre-log my food most days and that includes a snack before bed.

i used to eat a 100 calorie pack of cheetos. now i eat a small bowl of greek yogurt and protein cereal. the other day I had an apple and powdered pb. I use a food scale for all these foods (or rather all foods).

Try not to label foods too much. once you get enough fruit, vegetable, and protein in your diet, there are no bonus points for finishing off your daily calories with more brocoli. start habits now that you would maintain for life including a balance of foods.

floofyschmoofer

Pickles, cucumbers, carrots in ranch, canned peaches in water or juice. Orange Cream greek yogurt (Chobani) is my current go-to. Turkey pepperoni. Sugar-free popsicles.

neugebauer52

Plenty of good advise above - I have learned to check if I am "hungry" or "thirsty" or just peckish. Usually a nice cuppa tea will do the trick. A bit of extra protein (as in: an egg, some yoghurt, a slice of cheese or some cottage cheese) helps me if I had an early dinner and I feel hungry - and not thirsty - later on.

grimendale

Pre-logging is super helpful. If you know you're going to get munchy before bed, set aside some calories for it. I tend to eat until more or less right before bed, and I've gotten pretty good at spacing everything out so that I'm out of calories right before bed time.

kenyonhaff

I found that eating more high protein really helped curb the snacking

But I embrace the snacking! Just plan ahead of time, and have great selections available. My current favorite is yogurt with mix ins with a little whipped cream.

sweetbe44

I have a bowl of fruit (melons, or mixed berries, whatever) and either cottage cheese or yogurt as a snack most nights about 1 to 1.5 hrs before bed. I love it.

kimny72

I try to save 100-250 calories for an evening snack. I can usually get my calories and macros looking good for the day with dinner. Then that evening snack could be ice cream, Oreos, kids cereal, fruit and cheese, cashews. If I don't manage to save enough calories I'll have one or two Dove Dark Chocolate Promises (45 cals each) with a cup of mint green tea. All snacks are removed from the package, weighed out for portion size, package closed and put away, and snack eaten outside the kitchen. If a few minutes later I'm snacky again, I brush my teeth.

Your diet doesn't need to be 100% stereotypically healthy foods. I eat plenty of nutritious foods in my meals, my snacks are for my psychological health :drinker:

Zhatan

kenyonhaff wrote: »

I found that eating more high protein really helped curb the snacking

But I embrace the snacking! Just plan ahead of time, and have great selections available. My current favorite is yogurt with mix ins with a little whipped cream.

This! Switching out some carbs for more protein will help you stay satiated for longer and will reduce your cravings over time.
Or you can just plan ahead and make sure you have room for some snacks in your daily calories

AprilMLowe

I eat small meals and snacks threw out the day! Never hungry! I always have a bed snack that fits in my calories. Sometimes if I want chocolate I use sugar free hot cocoa with pack of carnation instant breakfast which fills me up. The. Ore protein I eat the less hungry I get. Sometimes it's a half of cup of cereal and a half cup of 2% milk. I hope that helps! Play around with your food and eat a thing in moderation. I hope that helps!

lalalacroix

Zhatan wrote: »

kenyonhaff wrote: »

I found that eating more high protein really helped curb the snacking

But I embrace the snacking! Just plan ahead of time, and have great selections available. My current favorite is yogurt with mix ins with a little whipped cream.

This! Switching out some carbs for more protein will help you stay satiated for longer and will reduce your cravings over time.
Or you can just plan ahead and make sure you have room for some snacks in your daily calories

This may be true for some but not for all. I find carbs very satiating and all of my meals are carb based.

As far as snacking I almost always have calories cause I enjoy a late night treat. Sometimes it's fruit, sometimes it's crackers or cereal and fruit. I always sleep better when there's something in my belly.

1BlueAurora

I just sat myself down and looked up the calories for everything I wanted to snack on, and kept that list handy. Then I planned for these snacks. One day, I'd come home from work and have cucumbers and carrots. The next night, I'd come home to a slice of pie. Or a 100 calorie serving of chocolate pudding. Or a 74 calorie hard boiled egg. Find out how many calories one ounce of cheddar cheese and 6 of your favorite crackers have, and plan your day's calorie intake around that for tomorrow. It's doable. I always have to snack before I make dinner or I completely lose my mind and discipline and eat the entire pantry.

Zhatan

lalalacroix wrote: »

Zhatan wrote: »

kenyonhaff wrote: »

I found that eating more high protein really helped curb the snacking

But I embrace the snacking! Just plan ahead of time, and have great selections available. My current favorite is yogurt with mix ins with a little whipped cream.

This! Switching out some carbs for more protein will help you stay satiated for longer and will reduce your cravings over time.
Or you can just plan ahead and make sure you have room for some snacks in your daily calories

This may be true for some but not for all. I find carbs very satiating and all of my meals are carb based.

As far as snacking I almost always have calories cause I enjoy a late night treat. Sometimes it's fruit, sometimes it's crackers or cereal and fruit. I always sleep better when there's something in my belly.

Well it has been show in studies that protein is more satiating but I guess in some cases it might not be true. Doesn't hurt to try though.

LyndaBSS

Brush your teeth after dinner. Drink water.

I believe that munchies are a want, not a need.

panshee

I do a kinda-sorta intermittent fast by skipping breakfast except for a coffee with 1 tbsp of heavy cream. I find that pushing my calories to later in the day works for me best. If I do have cravings at night, I pour a 10 calorie Spindrift seltzer into a fancy wine glass with ice, pretend it is a cocktail and sip on it If I need to, I even have two of them. By the time I'm done no cravings left!

mborckardt2

Thanks everyone for all the tips!! Pre-logging is a great idea and I do love pickles. I bet they would curb my cravings! 😀

csplatt

I sip hot water.

smaerose

Water. You probably don’t get enough of it during the day anyway. I also like crushed ice cubes because they are more like food. Sometimes I remind myself that this is just a primal urge, it is not real hunger. It is like a lot of things, you have to distinguish between needs and wants.

bobbyb2959

I like to have a healthy smoothie like a raspberry or blueberry, it is low calorie and fulls you enough to stop the cravings. Here is the recipe for the blueberry smoothie I have, https://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/view/125241028234749

Danp

Zhatan wrote: »

lalalacroix wrote: »

Zhatan wrote: »

kenyonhaff wrote: »

I found that eating more high protein really helped curb the snacking

But I embrace the snacking! Just plan ahead of time, and have great selections available. My current favorite is yogurt with mix ins with a little whipped cream.

This! Switching out some carbs for more protein will help you stay satiated for longer and will reduce your cravings over time.
Or you can just plan ahead and make sure you have room for some snacks in your daily calories

This may be true for some but not for all. I find carbs very satiating and all of my meals are carb based.

As far as snacking I almost always have calories cause I enjoy a late night treat. Sometimes it's fruit, sometimes it's crackers or cereal and fruit. I always sleep better when there's something in my belly.

Well it has been show in studies that protein is more satiating but I guess in some cases it might not be true. Doesn't hurt to try though.

This is the second or third post I've seen where you've used the phrase 'it's been shown in studies' to bolster your claims. This is always a bit of a red-flag to me as it's so commonly a hollow term used legitimise a claim that really isn't backed up by evidence.

To that end, if you're going to use 'studies' to back up your posts it's probably a good idea to link to the studies to which you're referring.

kzboncak

I literally go to bed if the munchies start to kick in! Even if I’m not tired, I’ll lay in bed and read or something. I’m usually too snuggled in to get up to get something.

BuffaloChixSalad

I give in once in a while. Maybe I'll have a few pretzels, some fruit, ice cream... lol.
But....Mostly drink water.

AnnPT77

Others have mentioned saving calories for a snack, eating something low cal but taste/voluminous, drinking water or tea, getting more protein: Good ideas!

Satiation has some very personal and individual quirks, so I'll mention this, as another possible experiment:

For me, my evening cravings are greatly reduced if I get a solid breakfast, with adequate protein, then spread more protein through the day (lunch, snacks if I have any).

That made a big difference, for me. I think that what happens is that determination can carry me through the early part of the day, but as fatigue starts to set in later, I get crave-y. Adequate calories & nutrition counteract this, to a decent extent, by letting me arrive at evening with less of an energy deficit.

May not work for everyone, but it's another thing to experiment with, if needec.

(It goes without saying that setting too aggressive a calorie goal (trying to lose too fast for practicality) can cause the same problem, of course.)

minnelizzy

I save 100-200 for evening just in case. I also pretrack so I have my plan in place. I love sparkling water and only drink in the evening as a treat to myself. It’s tough though sometimes for sure.