Evening and Late Night Sabatoge

alazio

Anyone else struggle with this? I'll be doing great all day, then evening strikes and it's like my whole attitude changes to, "bah, don't be so uptight...eat and chillax..." Logically I know this is terrible rationale, and if I do this most nights, which I do, then I will never realize my weight loss goals. But though I'm telling myself, "have a nice hot tea, read a book, go to sleep..." the motivation is just not there and I find myself at the computer/tv munching and not tracking and not caring, until morning when i'm like why the f did I do that??

lessismoreohio

I have this problem as well. I'm working to change this behavior. I'll eat healthy all day and then blow it all up at dinner or after dinner.

BigT555

used to, i switched to intermittent fasting so i can eat pretty much as much as i want at night and not go over my limit

dont eat until 12 or 1, and its just a small sammich, then i get home by 4 and i have 4 or 5 hours to eat 1700 cals, which keeps me full when im home and normally cant resist snacking

JessieMin

I struggle with this each and every day. I don't know why it happens. Last night it attempted to rear its ugly head again, and I had to tell myself "you're not hungry... you can watch tv without snacking on those cookies in the cabinet." I actually won yesterday and didn't do it! I had a plum and then after my show was done went to bed. That's not to say that the cookies weren't still on my mind when I went to bed - because they were. But you just need to take it day by day and tell yourself "no". I think that's what a lot of us have a hard time doing. (at least for me, it is)

gardnerkennedy

Yup. It's the hardest part of dieting for me. I have found two things work:

1. Brushing my teeth after dinner
2. Logging my food right after dinner, then nursing a bottle of sparkling water the rest of the night (it's bigger than a soda and feels like a treat)

It's a discipline issue for me, and logging my dinner right afterwards keeps me mindful of my goal, a mindfulness I can hold onto the rest of the evening.

Cheeseburger85

used to, i switched to intermittent fasting so i can eat pretty much as much as i want at night and not go over my limit

dont eat until 12 or 1, and its just a small sammich, then i get home by 4 and i have 4 or 5 hours to eat 1700 cals, which keeps me full when im home and normally cant resist snacking

Same, this worked for me also. I use http://www.leangains.com/

Pipsg1rl

It sounds like your evening relaxing habits need eval.

You said you get on the computer and munch. Are you working? Do you need to actually be on the computer?

I personally don't like to eat on my couch and don't like to be on the computer at night (unless it's with my family for a nice MMORPG, but I can walk away from that at around 10pm.)

ruffnstuff

Maybe this just means you need to save yourself more cals for late night? I definitely like to snack after dinner, so no I just make sure I have a few hundred cals (or whatever) for my snacks. Yes, I'd like to keep snacking, but I can usually restain myself if I know I've already left myself some space and even pre-log the snacks I'm gonna eat.

shanlivestrong

I have this problem, especially when it comes to weekends (which I'm still working on) For the evenings, I find that exhausting myself helps with my overeating. I get off work, go to the gym for 1 1/2-2 hours, shower, do my hair, cook, and eat. By the end of all that I'm hungry but exhausted as well. After dinner, I just want to relax until sleep consumes me or if I do get hungry I'll pick up a book or write. Try keeping yourself busy so you don't think about it.

sophysings

I do this too, all the time! I've found that getting out of the house and having a little wander (away from the kitchen) really helps, either that or having a sugary tea or two - sometimes I go over cals with the sugar but I think it's better to do that than to munch on cheese or choccies!

aaron296

your problem lies with in the cabinet......if its availbe its gonna be gone!! I struggle with this as well maily penut butter and cereals somtimes chips. when i buy these things i only buy what i intend to eat in one sitting. And when i do buy them they are for a reason and or controled refeed meal. when its done its done and its not a big deal. watere wight goes up then comes down and i usaly look better then when i started. example i diet all week and friday i go get myself a medium blizzard xtra stuff before bed. no lie when i wake up my metobalic state is cruising and im cut to the bone in the mirror and my week starts over. moral of the story go buy what u intend to eat and dont have it in your cabnits teasing you. Junk food is a tool not a crutch.

HappyAnna2014

Anyone else struggle with this? I'll be doing great all day, then evening strikes and it's like my whole attitude changes to, "bah, don't be so uptight...eat and chillax..." Logically I know this is terrible rationale, and if I do this most nights, which I do, then I will never realize my weight loss goals. But though I'm telling myself, "have a nice hot tea, read a book, go to sleep..." the motivation is just not there and I find myself at the computer/tv munching and not tracking and not caring, until morning when i'm like why the f did I do that??

I could have written this post almost word for word. I will be eagerly watching this thread. Sigh.

365andstillalive

Weight loss is all about a calorie deficit, which you can still have while feeling like you're pigging out a bit in the evenings. I always leave room in my macros for a snack after dinner, because I know I like to snack, but I also make sure I snack on things that are filling, like a piece of whole grain toast with peanut butter.

delgoodwin

This is my biggest problem, I usually stay up later than everyone else in my house to play a little video games after everyone is asleep. I have been terrible lately, 2 days ago i ate 3 PB and J sandwiches. I have been trying to drink 2 or 3 glasses of water while i an playing games. this at least makes my snack smaller. I know i am not going to cut the night snack out completely, but hopefully the water in my belly will tell my brain i don't need 3 sandwiches @ 11:30pm

AceCC86

I really struggle with this. It's helped me to have a lot of healthy snacks around the house. Carrots, veggie cups and snap peas are my go-to's when I get a craving for Doritos! Plain or light popcorn is also a lower calorie alternative to a lot of the other crunchy snacks out there. I've been keeping a bag of Skinny Pop or Boom-Chika-Pop in the pantry lately.

I know intermittent fasting works for a lot of people as well (as a few other posters mentioned).

What works for me is grazing throughout the day rather than eating huge meals. Kind of the opposite, but everyone's different! It's helped me learn healthier habits in regards to keeping track of portion size and snacking appropriately rather than binge eating Funyuns at 1am like I used to.

You'll figure out what works for you! Most importantly, don't get discouraged. Just because it happened last night or the night before or the night before that does not mean it has to happen tonight. Keep your head up.

catjrow3

I struggle with this as well. I find I do better when I exercise, as I feel like I accomplished something, but still its a constant battle to stay out of the kitchen after dinner time! I sometimes walk after dinner or before it, and then take a bath, eat dinner, etc. Helps, and I plan on 2 popsicles as a night snack after, which helps a little but its still a constant battle, one that I dont always win

GoTeamMeaghan

I have also struggled with this big time...doing great all day and then it's a free for all at about 11:00. Here's what works for me:

1. Plan some extra calories for an evening snack
2. Know your limits...if you can't stop at one portion, just don't have it around. You could also buy things in single serving packs or measure out single servings when you get home from the store
3. If you do have any evening snack, don't just eat it standing in the kitchen because it's too easy to just grab more. Measure out your serving, put it in a dish and go sit down to eat it.
4. Decide if you're truly hungry or if you're just tired
5. Drink a glass of water first then reevaluate if you're really hungry
6. Keep yourself occupied instead of just staring at the TV...try reading or iPad games...something like that
7. Make yourself wait 10 minutes before you go get a snack...if you're like me, you'll get busy doing something else and forget you were even hungry
8. Eat a carrot...I'm talking like one you actually peel and cut into sticks...just having to go to the effort will kind of make you rethink if you're really hungry. Also since it's crunchy and takes a while to eat and is a little sweet it can be fairly satisfying. Not to mention...if you aren't hungry enough to eat a plain 'ol carrot, then you're not really hungry

Just some ideas...hope this helps!

enterdanger

This is totally me. Instead of relaxing and watching TV with a snack I now go to the gym around 8 or 9pm most nights. It's really the only time I have for the gym anyway and I hate to eat after exercise. Just makes me feel blah.

The nights I don't go to the gym I find myself straying to the dark side of the late night snack attack.

Chain_Ring

All I can think of right now is that song Sabotage by The Beastie Boys........ha ha

TiberiusClaudis

Yup...this is me. I call it evening grazing. When I get home from work around 4 pm, I cook a good healthy clean meal. Everything is on track...after dinner my two girls (wife and teenage daughter) start the assult. They are both as thin as rails and can eat 3 times as much as me and not gain an oz...really. They will snack on potato chips, brownies, cookies and worst of all...ice cream. My wife will also have a couple glasses of red wine. I've pleaded and begged them not to eat in front of me...but they "don't remember".

The best thing I've found to battle this is to actually have some type of workout at night. Luckly my wife is a Zumba instructor, so I usually go to her class...otherwise, I may go for a jog or walk the dog.

But yea...trust me, there are a LOT of us like you out here in the world

Pupslice

Yup. It's the hardest part of dieting for me. I have found two things work:

1. Brushing my teeth after dinner
2. Logging my food right after dinner, then nursing a bottle of sparkling water the rest of the night (it's bigger than a soda and feels like a treat)

It's a discipline issue for me, and logging my dinner right afterwards keeps me mindful of my goal, a mindfulness I can hold onto the rest of the evening.

ooooh, I really like the sparkling water idea, gonna try it myself! thanks!

dopeysmelly

DH has this problem. He watches more TV than me and the urge to graze is right then.

I seemed to have solved it by not really watching TV any more. I'm too busy doing other things and am generally exhausted by the time it's evening.

Cutting TV time is a big commitment and a big change, but, hey, this is all about lifestyle choices, right?

321debo

My saving grace for after dinner/before bed is 5 or 6 cups stove top popcorn. (100-120 cal) I make sure and save at least 150 calories at the end of every day so I don't panic, thinking I can't have anything to eat after dinner. For the popcorn, I use 1 TBSP oil and 2-3 TBSP popcorn and land o lakes butter seasoning (5 cal). Works good for me. Maybe will help you too.

CleanUpWhatIMessedUp

This happens to me all the time. I can relate so much. It's really just a mental thing that you have to overcome, but it's just so hard. It's just so hard to overcome those mental barriers and those habits that you have built up.