Trying to kick night time snacking

wilsoje74

Set a time like 7pm and that is your cutoff time for eating no matter what

freemystery

I have this issue and found some stuff helps:

I don't keep food in my living room. Sounds stupid but I was guilty of having a little bowl of candies or treats out on the coffee table. That's basically a disaster waiting to happen. All food lives in the kitchen.

I do not keep delicious snack treats in the house in big quantities. If I want a candy bar that badly I can walk the ten minutes to the store to get it. No convenience snacking.

I eat my dinner later than I used to- from 7pm to about 8:30. And I drink a lot more water with my meal- about 750ml.

I save some calories for the end of the day, say 100-250 and before I go to bed I'll have a big mug of peppermint tea and a corn thin with peanut butter or a mini candy bar or two salted caramels... whatever it is. There's a small ritual around making the tea, putting whatever you chose into a little dish, bringing it into the living room and curling up with a blanket and a book/ good TV.

Not sure how transferable this is but it helped me and I hope it's at least a little useful to you!
Good luck!

3laine75

Just keep enough calories for night time

Michelle_Padgett13

1. Knitting
2. Sugarless gum
3. Hot tea or sugar-free cocoa
4. Sugar free jello

Jello notes: I like the 10 calorie cups with a tablespoon of cool whip. It's a dessert-y thing I can eat with a spoon. If I need finger food, Food Lion sells bags of firm little jello squares you can put in a bowl and eat like popcorn. You can also make jello yourself this way, you just make it with less water, then cut it up however you want.

For a savory snack, I get Annie Chun's seaweed snacks. They're toasted seaweed sheets that you eat like chips. 20 calories per serving, 60 for the whole package.

Final note: For me, snacking at night was just a habit. I had made it my evening hobby. I would just start grazing and not stop until I was hurting. It took months, but I've finally broken the habit of immediately cramming food in my face once my kid was in bed for the night. It doesn't feel like torture anymore to say no to eating at night.

This is what worked for me. Hope some of it helps.

belleamore1234

Save some of daily calorie allowance for your evening snack there is nothing wrong with doing that, if you feel deprived in the evening your more likely to come off your plan. So shave some calories off lunch and dinner so you can still have an evening snack

Nix143

One thing that is helping me this time around is making my evening meal really big by using loads of veg. Current fave is half a white cabbage sliced and roasted. When that is filling up your plate, with whatever else you are having, it takes you ages to eat and fills you up. I like that feeling of having had a 'big' meal without the calorie intake. It then makes it easier to listen to the signals from my belly - which are generally, nope, still stuffed thanks

serendipity57

Save calories for night time snacking. I eat up till 11:30pm every night.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Me too

BoxerBrawler

Yup, I think most people have this problem and I think it's just comes from the fact that all we do is think about food and count calories all day long. By the end of the day, mentally, I can't stand it anymore and get the urge to just throw caution to the wind and eat whatever the hell I want. But once it starts it goes from one thing to the next to the next, small thing here, small thing there, salty/crunchy, sweet, salty/crunchy, sweet. For me it is usually due to the fact that I am super low on calories and my body wants them. Other times I am just bored or it's just a craving. The water/gum/tea thing doesn't work for me at all. It has to come down to discipline and will power (for me) and eventually, not snacking at night becomes a habit... just like snacking at night is a habit. I also save up some calories for snacking at night sometimes. I am a snacker anyway and would much rather snack my way through the day and night vs. having one big meal so it was important for me to let myself snack... If all else fails, I jump on the elliptical for a quick 10 or 15 minutes, the workout always takes my urge away. If that fails I just go to bed and forget about it hahahaha. Also, I am a breakfast person and almost always go with an egg white omelete, turkey, one slice of 35 calorie whole grain/oatmeal bread, spinach and a triangle of laughing cow light swiss. This works wonders for me... enough protein/veggie/fiber/carb, etc. to get me through the morning and well into the afternoon. Then I switch to Shakeology for lunch and dinner with raw veggie snacks in between. This works for me, may not work for you...
But hope it helps.

BoxerBrawler

OH, I almost forgot, there is one thing that helps me tremendously with the sweets and it is a drink mix (packet). It's sweet and yummy and contains a ton of vitamins/minerals, no stimulants, no calories or sugar. I mix it with a tall glass of ice water and sip on it through the night... it works like a charm! Message me and I can give you the name of it. I am not naming products here for fear of being accused of a salesperson

ahamm002

Save calories for night time snacking. I eat up till 11:30pm every night.

Yep, IMHO that's the best way to do it. Why try and struggle with willpower every night? Just save up a couple hundred calories for a good night time snack!

kristinegift

I usually will budget most of my foods in the morning, so I'll add in my snacks early on so I know they're already accounted for. Usually my go-to for a late night snack is a cheese stick (salty, cheesy goodness) or a mini-chocolate (those smaller-than-fun-size ones), so those run me less than 100 calories. I also try to drink a tall glass of water at night so that I'm not as tempted to snack.

If you want to cut out snacking at night all together, I've found that if I brush my teeth earlier, I won't snack because I don't want to brush my teeth again

111grace

For the last week or so I have been doing fruit, especially peaches.

dollydemise

At night when I start to feel munchy, I open a book and start reading. Before I know it the craving has passed, and I'm out of the "danger zone."

cvillegal03

This is a constant issue for me. I've gotten *better* but tt does depend on the night. The BIGGEST issue is meantally, I have to not talk myself into it. I usually tell myself "oh it's not that much" or "just tonight" or whatever. But I'm trying to be more conscious of my efforts.

My biggest piece of advice is to create a new routine at night. Replace the sugar with something else.

Here's some things that have helped me:

- 5 min of meditation or yoga (youtube videos)
- Teeth whitening kit- can't eat after that!
- Brushing teeth
- Tea, the Aveda herbal tea is truly the best
- Dark dark chocolate, 1-2 squares as something to look forward to.
- Just going to be early
- sex! lol. My sugar addiction is my husbands best friend
- milk with cocoa powder warmed up. so like hot chocolate without the sugar.
- just going to bed early. I've gone to bed even at 8pm some nights! I have no regrets in the morning. and my reward is not feeling bloated.

Things I'd like to try but haven't yet
- reading more, hard to eat while reading!
- when the weather is better, going for a short walk. I find when i move, I have less cravings.
- keeping sweets out of the house. my husband loves them.

Come up with a list like this and keep it on your phone. When you have a craving, do 2-3 off the list, and if you're still having that craving, maybe give in a smidgen.

katherine_startrek_fan

I tend to work out 1-2 hours after dinner. The only thing I want after that is a big glass of water!

DeWoSa

My last meal of the day is right before I go to bed, so I go to bed on a full stomach. When I first started a food plan, having that bedtime meal really helped me not snack after dinner. The added benefit is that I don't get hungry during the night, nor do I wake up starving.

Kate5283kate

I started going to bed earlier - worked for me! Bonus is that I'm less tired too. I go upstairs at 9pm, putter around/ get my outfit ready for the next day/ read and turn the lights out at 10pm.