Starting anew on MFP, how do you quit night time snacking?

voitdancer

I started MFP about 2 years ago loosing around 15 pounds. I got away from it going back to school, career change and all and now I need to throw out the snacks stop with the wine! I am SOOOO weak with nighttime snacking and having a glass of wine. I am meeting with a personal trainer tomorrow morning and just joined 3 different forums, time to get to it! I thought I could get back on MFP and just monitor the calories and do my workouts but that alone is not working for me. Need some friends, support if anyone is willing to give any! I just snacked needlessly the last 3 night in a row, that's such a waste of all my efforts! HOW DO YOU NOT SNACK AND GIVE IN...? What is your motivation to stay strong with the commitment? Thanks all and good luck to each and everyone of you in your personal journey toward great health!

danasings

Honestly? I go to bed pretty early. I love wine, but I have also been avoiding alcohol except for special occasions. No booze since May.

Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

jstavix

I stay out of the kitchen, literally! It is the only way I can avoid snacking. And, we have decided that we won't have trigger foods because it just isn't worth it. I am given 1200 calories for the whole day, I look at it like this. I am banked 1200 and I am not willing to blow 300 of it on junk! I have been on here 32 days and I have done pretty well. In all that time, I have fallen once and I got right back up again.

Feel free to add me as a friend. I have been uber emotional this week and it used to be, I would emotional eat. But, I have resisted and I feel good that I have. Old habits die hard. Before you go to snack, ask yourself is it really worth it? Why are you eating, are you bored,sad? Look inside and ask yourself the hard questions, even if you won't like the answer

Spiderkeys

Night time snacking was the reason I was once obese, couldn't get a good nights sleep without a full stomach, I trained myself to stop night time snacking, and fast after dinner, it's becomes easy after a while, and you no longer think about it, but now im a maintance and have returned to night snacking, but just fruit and maybe a few nuts, nothing big in calories and it hasnt affected my weight, and even lost motr weight I didn't want to lose, so night time is okay, but keep it low on calories.

FeraFilia

I go to bed pretty late and like to have a snack before bed. I just budget it into my calories. I plan for my snack at the beginning of the day when I pre-log all my food. If you can handle limiting your snacks to what you plan into your calories, you might try that.

itsbasschick

i budget my daily calories so i can have a bowl of cereal before bed every night - once in a long while an ounce of potato chips, but usually cereal with xylitol and non-fat milk because i like sweets to fall asleep to.

Aemely

This is a killer for me as well, but you're obviously doing better than I am! I don't know the answer. I wonder if you should leave enough calories to account for this late meal (eat small earlier)? Of course other options are to go to bed earlier. And of course, if you do snack, you could restrict yourself to only healthier snacks, like the kelp chips (see thread of recipes elsewhere on MFP), edamame, or maybe air-popped popcorn. I also find it helpful to just hit the darn complete button on the diary and then really don't eat anything after that.

I also think drinking any alcohol weakens my ability to stay away from bad stuff, so I'm trying to keep that in mind.

Ehhh, good luck!

sarahwilson12

I think starting with different types of food you snack on will make a difference. It takes time, but strawberries with a bit of sugar sprinkled overtop is surprisingly low in calories (especially when compared to packaged cookies or other junk food). I also find that simply chewing a piece of gum is beneficial too, since it's like no calories but convinces me I'm not hungry. It also makes me thirsty sometimes when I chew gum, so I drink water & that fills me up/removes my cravings. Another thing that helps me is doing abdominal crunches, as then I often don't feel hungry afterwards. All the best with it. Realize it often is a slow, tedious process, but definitely worth it in the end

amandzor

My trick to combating late night snacking is water.

Use a flavored, no calorie "water enhancer" (I like Tangerine Mio) and fill yourself up a bottle to take with you to bed.

The sweetness combats that urge, and the water fills up your stomach/hydrates you.

TechNerd42

I budget them in, or I go walking around Wal-mart for an hour, and earn another 100 or so calories. I'm a night owl, I'll be up playing video games until I *have* to go to bed because I either have to work in the morning, shuttle my daughter somewhere in the morning, or I'm just too tired to stay up anymore, so snacking does happen occasionally.

That said, I think I stopped having the urge to snack later as often when I upped my protein to 30%, from 20%. Protein makes me feel full longer, so I make sure I have some at every meal. In fact I'm one of those that tries to go a little over on my protein, on target on fat, and let carbs fall where they may, as long as I am at or less than my goal (if I go over a bit, I don't sweat it... it's a target, not a wall.) Good luck. Remember though, make sure your methods are something you won't stop doing. And if you know you are going to have a bit of wine and food at night, then add it in at the beginning of the day. That way you have nothing to feel guilty about later.

MissJay75

I'm trying to only to things in my weight loss journey I can continue to do when I hit my goal. For me I could never permanently give up an evening snack. So as others have stated, I plan my calories for the day to leave me 200-300 for a hefty evening snack. One thing that helps is I try to burn an average of 500 calories a day, which means I don't have to totally skimp on calories all day long to leave myself a few hundred in the evening.

AllonsYtotheTardis

I save some calories for a planned late night snack. Because I know I'm going to snack at night - that's when I get hungry. So I plan for it, and that solves the problem, because I make it fit my calories.

babydaisy81

I try to avoid opening the cupboards, I will have a cup of tea, but sometimes (not as much when I am logging) it happens. I eat snacks. In bed.

F00LofaT00K

If you like to snack at night, why try to change it? I try to allow myself calories in my days just for night snacking. It's midnight and I'm eating ice cream as I type this. I do snack less often at night now that I've gained self-control over my eating, but I sure do like to do it from time to time. It's kind of related to stress for me. The more stressed I am, the more I want to stuff my face once I'm home for the night and have some downtime.

SnuggleSmacks

I budget my calories to allow snacking, because I work very late and I know I'll want something when I get home.

georgiagreeneyes

What are your motivations for weight loss? Consider writing down some of these motivations or posting a picture on the inside of the snack cupboard in your home. That way you're reminded of what you're fighting for when you're tempted by junk food. Motivation boards are a great way to visually remind yourself of your goals and what you wish to attain.

The easiest way to keep yourself from snacking is to avoid purchasing those items in the first place. What do you like to snack on? Perhaps try making some healthy snack recipes that fit better into your nutrition goals? It's perfectly fine to have a glass of wine in the evening-- but make sure you budget enough calories to account for it. If you're unable to budget or if you're tempted too much, it may be better to save alcohol for special occasions.

At the end of the day it really comes down to mind over matter. Weight loss is never easy and it's a true test of your mental resolve. Are you really hungry at the end of the night, or do you find that you're snacking at the end of the night because you're bored or it's mindless? If you're not really that hungry, then this is definitely something you want to identify. Try doing something else, if you find you're tempted by food when you're bored--- reading, enjoy a hobby, perform a tabbata series, etc.

Feel free to add me if you're still looking for friends!

mom2rpkp

In my home, we plan on a small snack before bed, and I budget those calories in. Sometimes it's super healthy, sometimes it's just yum. After that snack, everyone in the house knows "The kitchen is closed." Then I go brush my teeth - the fresh feeling reminds me I don't want to eat more. Like another posted mentioned, I also submit my MFP diary after logging dinner and dessert, before eating the dessert. I hate going back to add food to my diary after it's submitted, so it's a deterrent. Another posted mentioned going ot bed early - getting a good night's rest is important, so, when all else fails, hit the hay! Good luck! You got this.

cspinato

For me, I either pre-plan my snacking and keep my calories lower, or I make myself work it off after. At first I didn't keep track at night and knew I wasn't being accountable and also wasn't losing. So now I keep some extra calories for snacking or work them off. I am not willing to ruin a great day by having the second glass of wine or extra cheese spread.

fallingtrees

Get rid of high-calorie snackish stuff.

Budget yourself a light late meal. Make it nutritious, and light so you don't lose sleep.

Don't drink alcohol.

LAT1963

Not sure what MFP is.

In a normal non-fat person, by day they run on carbohydrate, and by night they go into protein-burning ketosis (like people on the Atkins diet) and lose whatever excess they stored up during the day.

When you snack at night you are keeping yourself on a carbohydrate metabolism.

When your body goes for awhile without using a particular protein, it tends to ramp down production of that protein. It's likely your ketone metabolism has been down-regulated because of the night-time snacking. You don't have a lot of the enzymes around to run on a ketone metabolism, so every time your body goes into a normal nightly ketosis, you are ravenous because you didn't have enough of the enzymes on hand to make enough ketone to meet demand.

Basically you feel starving because you don't have sugar to run on, and your ketone-using ability is impaired.

Stop snacking on carbs like alcohol at night, because this means your ketone metabolism never gets a chance to work out and up-regulate. Instead, snack on proteins that have no carbs.

If you go onto a low carb diet you will be more miserable than most for the first two weeks, but once you have ramped up your ketone-burning metabolism your night-time cravings should disappear.

hearthwood

Me too, I loved my night time snacking, it was almost like I could go to the fridge mindlessly just to grab a nighttime snack without even realizing what I was doing. And nibble all night before bedtime probably consuming another 300 to 400 calories I didn't need, nor was I even hungry when I did it.

I just stopped it. I finally realized it was nothing more than a bad habit, like any other bad habit. It especially helped me when I joined MFP, because now I have to log in all these calories, and if I don't have enough room in my daily calorie count for a snack it doesn't go in my mouth.

Anyway feel free to add me as your X night time snacker friend.

voitdancer

Great advice from everyone and thank you. I definitely need to not buy the trigger foods and stay out of the kitchen. Mention was also made about going to bed earlier which is another great idea! I do great all day and then bomb out at night. Will definitely rethink my choice of snack and how to work it in my calorie budget if I feel I want a snack. Much to think on in this discussion, I get bored too easily and I eat when stressed, I have work to do here and again thank you all for your thoughts! Have a great 4th Holiday weekend!

micinoh

Two things seem to be helping me.
1. I do all the shopping so I am buying low cal snacks and things I like instead of only buying for my guys and husband.

2. Read! I go to bed early with my husband and read since I stay up later. Reading takes my mind from snacking. Watching tv makes me want to eat but reading puts my mind in another world.

VeryKatie

You should get red "DANGER" tape and put that over the door to your kitchen after dinner every night hehe.

eleanorhawkins

If I'm relatively tired I go to bed early and as someone else said read for a while if I'm not ready to sleep. If I'm full of energy and don't feel like bed I go for a late evening walk, no snacking AND some extra exercise! Not sure that one will work in winter/bad weather but at the moment it's great.

vanginmi

I always snack at night - I make sure to leave cals for that, knowing that is just how I am. My tummy would be growling and Id be grumpy Good luck.

mimmish

I think a lot of the late night snacking is as much about comfort as the food, so perhaps you could find a very very low calorie snack food that takes a lot of chewing, like celery? Sounds pretty harsh to substitute celery for wine, but it might be fun to tell yourself you can eat as much celery as you want.
I quit drinking altogether. It gets easier with time.

maryjay52

its an awful time for me ..i dread evenings because thats where i tend to goof up most the time.. now im working out and working so much and eating healthy meals all day that i just want to go to bed and not sit up and eat ..im getting to that point where i eat my meals because its necessary .. i like the food i make but just not so hungry anymore because my body is getting fed right

vanillacoffee

Nighttime snacking is my kryptonite as well, sadly/

I STARE at my fitness tracker and say "I can win!"
And I try drinking lots of water.

My go-to is a 60 calorie popsicle if I really need something.

AshLEE52112

I know, i am the exact same way. I have all these cravings when its abut time for sleep, right b4 my night workout. i run in the a.m. walk the dogs multiple times a day, then life weights at night. however i am never hungry in the day time, only at night. and the worst part is, that i only crave carbs. so i bought this carb suppress pill and it works, but im still craving at night and not hungry in the day time. i have a history of eating problems so i constantly have to remind myself to eat, eat eat so my body doesnt go into starvation mode. but the night time cravings are a bust. i need advice with that too! please and thanku everyone...ps and when i do snack, its always healthy like carrots and celery and daves killer bread lol.

voitdancer

Two things seem to be helping me.
1. I do all the shopping so I am buying low cal snacks and things I like instead of only buying for my guys and husband.

2. Read! I go to bed early with my husband and read since I stay up later. Reading takes my mind from snacking. Watching tv makes me want to eat but reading puts my mind in another world.

Great tips micinoh! Thanks.