Late evening snack ideas

Blair2374

Morning all,

I started healthy eating on Monday. I have lost 3stone of 4stone of baby weight. 16lbs to reach target. Hoping to get all (or at least most) off for a hen party in Portugal in 7 weeks time.

My problem is evening eating and what to eat. A normal day is :

Morning - 20mins HIIT
Breakfast - Fruit salad or 2 Weetabix with semi-skimmed milk or 2 hard boiled eggs with 1 toast
Snacks - Fruit or celery sticks
Lunch - Salad with eggs/meat, small portion of dinner from evening before
Snacks - Crispbread, natural yoghurt, rice cakes, breadsticks
Dinner - Spaghetti Bolognese, meat/potato/lots of veggies/500-600 calorie dinner
Exercise - Take baby 30min walk or go a 5k walk/run with sister

Evening - after baby off to bed and hubbie and I relax, he brings out the junk tub, crisps/chocolate/jellies. I've managed to eat fresh pineapples/kiwis/strawberries with yoghurt instead or a small kinder chocolate bar at 70 calories. Any other tips/ideas what's nice to eat late evening? I've always felt that's my time to relax with a cuppa and get stuck into the bowl! Thanks

PS already going over carbs due to fruit!

rutheglen

I have lost about 18kg in total, over the last 18 months (some before joining MFP. You have a similar day to me - except I go for 10k hikes, instead of running, and I have my main meal at lunchtime (it's a French thing I think - main meals were always evening, when I lived in the UK), and soup or salad for dinner. My husband is also an evening junk food muncher, and, although I used to eat cookies or chocolate with him, it was never really because I was hungry; it was just habit. Now, when he offers, I ask myself if I am really hungry...usually, the answer is no, so I don't bother. I occasionally say yes, and have a cookie ( this is lifestyle change, rather than diet forever, after all), But I no longer feel I have to eat. Just took a bit of brain re-training. My snacks of choice, during the day, are carrots - I have a huge box in the fridge, ready to munch - so if I feel I need something, that's what I usually have

Katleskin

Have you tried just not having anything? I mean, are you actually hungry or are you snacking out of habit? I think it's important to recognise when you *need* food and when you just *want* food. My Husband likes to munch crisps or chocolate when we're watching TV on a night, I used to join him but now I don't. OK, so I may help myself to ONE crisp or a square of his chocolate but that's it. While there's nothing inherently wrong with snacking, it might be a case of breaking the habit (or modifying the portion sizes), rather than automatically looking for something else to fill the gap. I'd rather have a small bit of chocolate that I really want than a banana that I don't particularly fancy.

On the occasions I do want to nibble I go for plain popcorn, Nakd bars or a piece of fruit, but it's tough because it's so easy to rack up the carbs. Sometimes I'm happy to gnaw on a chunk of cheese as I LOVE cheese, probably even more than chocolate! Options hot chocolate can be good for curbing any sweet cravings too.

Blair2374

Thank you both Normally the answer would be 'no I'm not hungry', therefore just eating out of habit and a 'feeling off I've had a busy hard day so time to relax and reward myself'. I guess the reward will be when I loose the excess weight instead :)

I also LOVE cheese so cheese on toast is a favourite supper treat but staying away! The Options Hot Chocolate is a good idea. Thanks