Tips for holding your resolve in the evening?

weavsworld

Hi all,

I'm almost 42 now, and through most of my life I was able to exercise away bad eating habits.

With some injuries and arthritis issues, not to mention running a couple of businesses and four young kids, exercising for a couple of hours a day just isn't an option anymore, and I'm just now realizing how poor am I eating habits are and have put, on weight really quickly.

I seem to be able to eat super healthy all day and have for months, all the way through.

Maybe 5 or 6 dinner for us, and afterwards my resolve just completely melts away when I have a little craving and there happens to be chocolate around or halloween candy and there feels like there's no repercussions of eating it but it's not doing me any good..

I've tried setting alarms on my phone saying "hey just stop eating at 7:00", but frankly in the evenings, I'm pretty much a different exhausted person and just don't care...


Any ideas? Morning me wants to *kitten* slap evening me 🤣

weavsworld

Kitten slap... Really?

collinsje1

This is just a suggestion and maybe it wont work for you, but what I would do is one of two things to try and start and see how it goes.

1. Cut 100 or so calories out of your earlier in the day meals and save them so you have calories left over for your evening snack.
2. Make dinner a bigger meal volume wise. Add things like more veggies, lettuce, low cal foods that you can have a lot of to keep you fuller longer.
3. Or if you simply don't have the will power/resolve ...whatever you want to call it to say no to candy/treats etc..... maybe don't have them in the house for a while and see if you can break the habit/cravings because they won't be available to you.

ninerbuff

weavsworld wrote: »

Kitten slap... Really?

The f word doesn't register and "kitten" is the replaced word for curse words. FYI.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Eat less calories in the day to save some for evening snacks. Personally I don't eat breakfast and save my calories for the evening.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

COGypsy

What is it about night time that makes you so susceptible to snacking? That’s what you really have to address. Are you tired? Go ahead and go to bed. Are you bored? Find something to keep you busy-hobbies, books, puzzles—whatever entertains you. Are you stressed after a long day? Maybe some stretching or a little self-care. The point is, address the need and the behavior will take care of itself.

AnnPT77

weavsworld wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm almost 42 now, and through most of my life I was able to exercise away bad eating habits.

With some injuries and arthritis issues, not to mention running a couple of businesses and four young kids, exercising for a couple of hours a day just isn't an option anymore, and I'm just now realizing how poor am I eating habits are and have put, on weight really quickly.

I seem to be able to eat super healthy all day and have for months, all the way through.

Maybe 5 or 6 dinner for us, and afterwards my resolve just completely melts away when I have a little craving and there happens to be chocolate around or halloween candy and there feels like there's no repercussions of eating it but it's not doing me any good..

I've tried setting alarms on my phone saying "hey just stop eating at 7:00", but frankly in the evenings, I'm pretty much a different exhausted person and just don't care...


Any ideas? Morning me wants to *kitten* slap evening me 🤣

Given the bolded, if improving sleep quality or quantity is possible, that may help.

Fatigue increases as the day goes on, and last night's sleep gets distant. When fatigue increases, the body is likely to seek energy, and food (especially sugar) is quick energy. Voila,
cravings! If you can get better sleep, reduce stress, avoid over-exercise, or something like that, it may help.

I like others' suggestions about planned snacks from planned snack calories, or other activities that distract. Since fatigue is in the picture, some kind of stress reducing activity might help as a distraction. (Examples: Stretching, walk around the block, meditation or prayer, relaxing bath or shower, journaling . . . .)

Changing an eating habit is hard, but it's like training a puppy: If you keep giving in, nothing will change. Usually, it's easiest to break an unwanted habit by replacing it with a new one. (See paragraph and posts above for possibilities; add other ideas like herb tea.)

You might also experiment with eating habits the rest of the day to see if that helps. Do you have fewer or more mild evening cravings if you rearrange timing or size of meals/snacks, the nutrient distribution in those meals/snacks, or specific food choices?

Appetite management tends to be very individual. Just as an example, I found that I needed a good bit of protein at breakfast then protein through the day, and volume (usually veggies) in at least one meal. That pattern reduced evening snack cravings. (Your pattern would likely be different. Experiment. Pay attention to your food diary, plus to stress, sleep and exercise, and how those correlate with more or fewer cravings. Adjust habits accordingly. Don't beat yourself up: It's a process.)

Personally, I found that my sugar craving specifically decreased when I made it a point to get at least 3 servings of fruit daily. It took a small number of weeks, but I did lose evening cravings for higher calorie, lower nutrition sweets like candy and baked goods.

Best wishes!

cwolfman13

My wife and I eat dinner later in the evening...usually around 7:30 or 8. I usually have a late afternoon/early evening snack around 4 or 5 which is planned into my day. I'm not usually home until around 6PM at the earliest and sometimes as late as 7 or 7:30 if I go to the mediation center or the gym.

After dinner I typically also have a small desert of Ghirardelli 72% dark chocolate chips as my end of the day treat. It's all planned into my day along with breakfast and lunch, etc. I'm usually in bed by 9:30 (9PM if I intend to read more) to do some reading and then it's lights out at 10 and up at 5:45AM.

If I were to eat dinner earlier as you do, I'd probably plan a later evening snack into my day...say dinner at 5 and a light snack around 8PM or so while I'm watching a show and winding down for the evening.