When work is over and it's time for supper...

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Hi everyone, I am getting back onto My Fitness Pal and logging my calories, etc. and want to really do well this time around! I have noticed I am doing great through the day I eat a lunch that is very healthy at work and don't snack (since it's easier not to at work) but once I get home and want to relax I find myself wanting to eat everything in my pantry! I know I am coming home a little hungrier than I was used to because I am eating less at lunches, I was eating far too much before. But was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on keeping motivated once you get home and the day is over, to avoid late night snacking or overeating at dinner time? Thanks so much!

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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    work the snacks into your calories...

    I always snack at night sitting and relaxing...when I was losing weight and now that I am at maitenance.

    As for avoiding over eating I always prelog days in advance...usually Mon-Thur then on Wed I do up my Friday through Sunday. That way I know what I am eating and if I am in goal daily/weekly.

    If you are hungry enough to overeat at dinner time chance are you aren't eating enough through the day or the food you are eating aren't staying with you. Try more protien/fiber with all your meals.
  • 4daluvof_candice
    4daluvof_candice Posts: 483 Member
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    Hi everyone, I am getting back onto My Fitness Pal and logging my calories, etc. and want to really do well this time around! I have noticed I am doing great through the day I eat a lunch that is very healthy at work and don't snack (since it's easier not to at work) but once I get home and want to relax I find myself wanting to eat everything in my pantry! I know I am coming home a little hungrier than I was used to because I am eating less at lunches, I was eating far too much before. But was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on keeping motivated once you get home and the day is over, to avoid late night snacking or overeating at dinner time? Thanks so much!

    eat a piece of fruit on the way home
    make yourself accountable at home just like you do when you are surrounded by your co-workers or in front of people (everyday)
  • jllytle21
    jllytle21 Posts: 1 Member
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    We just try to stay really excited about losing together and talk about it a lot to keep us pumped up. We try to leave calories for snacks or dessert- protein is great because it keeps you more full. We also just joined Planet Fitness so getting excited about working out at night and the endorphins make it easier. Motivation on here is pretty freaking great though- I'm glad we are doing this together!!!! :-)
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    What worked for me was to eliminate snack time entirely and just eating my 3-4 main meals every day (currently 5 though while eating at maintenance for a week). if i snack it just makes me want to eat and eat.. so eating until i'm thoroughly full helps me not want to snack.

    that being said, i also eat a lot in general: 2100 calories for fat loss. I'm not a huge woman either, nor overly active (4x a week). But a smaller caloric deficit makes losing weight much more bearable and helps with snacking to excess since you won't be trying to ignore hunger all the time.
  • jadethief
    jadethief Posts: 266 Member
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    I struggle with this too. I guess the "easy" answer is just to stay busy so that you aren't thinking about food. But if you're anything like me, after working all day the last thing I want to do is be busy when I get home. That being said, I find that as long as I don't sit down when I first get home, I'm more likely to find something to do like mowing the yard, housework, taking a walk, etc.

    Also, if I'm hungry before I leave work, I'll eat some Greek yogurt and that will keep me from being ravenous by the time I get home.
  • TexasDarling09
    TexasDarling09 Posts: 210 Member
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    First off - WATER WATER WATER. Drink it, tons of it. It will keep you fuller longer.

    Second - Lots of extremely healthy foods - foods that have genuine nutritional value. 100 calories of broccoli will fill you much longer than 100 calories of cookies or ice cream.

    Third - try to focus your attention on something else/productive at home. Not necessarily work, but play a game, work out, spend time with family/friends, SLEEP lol
  • miz_ppyn
    miz_ppyn Posts: 118 Member
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    you can try drinking more water, and eat snacks that fit your daily calorie intake, which would probably be lots more healthy snacks. good luck with your weight loss journey :-)
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    What time do you eat supper? Think about having it as soon as you get home if that would help you. Have it prepared and ready to heat up and eat.

    Set up the hime environment to suit your goals.
    Get rid of stuff in the kitchen. Add other stuff.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,266 Member
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    what i do is plan for that before bedtime snack and portion out the dinner to only two plates (one each for me and my hubby) then if there is food leftover i freeze it immediately. I freeze all leftovers so i can pull it out on no dinner plan or low grocery money days. If its not staring at you in the face and frozen, you cant eat more. add in a salad and an extra vegetable side so dinner fills you up. drink a big glass of water with your meals too. this helps me. I always plan out the dinners when i do the grocery shopping. I also do a lot of the dinner prep in the morings or the night before so its easy to put together at dinner time. For instance i am thawing out the chicken breasts right now at 7 am and am going to cut up the salad stuff and and precook the breast in a bit so the dishes can already be cleaned up and all i have to do at 4:30 is just put it together and serve hot. THis has helped me so much. Preplanning goes a long way. Getting in a walk after dinner helps out too. I feel it helps us to digest our dinner.
  • FisherGT
    FisherGT Posts: 55 Member
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    I stopped eating dinner and it fixed my supper issues. Not the healthiest option but i always binge at night, always.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    work the snacks into your calories...

    I always snack at night sitting and relaxing...when I was losing weight and now that I am at maitenance.

    As for avoiding over eating I always prelog days in advance...usually Mon-Thur then on Wed I do up my Friday through Sunday. That way I know what I am eating and if I am in goal daily/weekly.

    If you are hungry enough to overeat at dinner time chance are you aren't eating enough through the day or the food you are eating aren't staying with you. Try more protien/fiber with all your meals.

    This...

    OP, are you eating within your calories or trying to come in under? There's no need to come in under as a deficit is already included. Trying to eat too little is very likely the reason why this didn't last for you before. As you're already noticing, if you're too hungry, you will be tempted to overeat and that's a good way to really mess up your weight loss efforts.

    There's nothing wrong with snacking in and of itself, it just gets a bad name because most people think of junk food (chips, cookies, etc) as snack food. But you can have healthy snacks - nuts, fruit, yogurt, veggie sticks and hummus, even those 100 cal packs of popcorn, cookies etc. Just make sure it fits in your daily calorie goal and is portioned out so you're not tempted to go overboard.
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
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    Yes to drinking water - it's easy to misread thirst as hunger.

    Yes to planning your snacks - so you get the treat without damaging your weight loss goal.

    It sounds as though you could be eating out of boredom or habit. I do this. Acknowledge it and decide to do something different. I find the gym a very good distraction, or if all else fails I go out for a walk.