Getting over the initial hump

cwolfman13

You're likely going to have to change your diet somewhat to be more satiating with less actual food.

Late night eating and cravings are largely habit and have very little to do with actually needing nourishment...you just have to break those habits.

Don't take an all or nothing approach....you're not going to turn things around 180* overnight. Baby steps...try to establish smaller goals along the way. An example for myself was soda...I was a huge soda drinker...3-5 cans daily at least and more if I was having cocktails. I didn't just eliminate soda overnight...I started of cutting it back to one per day....a couple week later I cut it back to Monday, Wed, and Fridays...a couple weeks after that and Friday became soda day. I just kept taking baby steps...now I drink a soda maybe once every few months...if that.

You will also start to know what kind of eater you are...I, for example, am a volume eater...I like my plate to be piled high and full...I like eating a lot of food. As a result, I eat a ton of veggies for volume while enjoying more calorie dense aspects of my meals in smaller quantities.

This has actually been a tremendous benefit to my overall nutritional profile...I get tons of fiber and somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 servings of vegetables per day. I also credit my veggie intake for my substantial reduction in LDL cholesterol over the last two years...I started out around 160ish and today my LDL is 96....and yeah...I still eat plenty of meat and fat, etc. I really credit my veggie intake as well as regular exercise for my improved health markers.

CrunchyDad

Regarding your urges for late night snacks, this might sound stupid but I find that it helps if right after dinner, I brush my teeth

That way, I can't give in to the late night cravings because I'd then have to brush my teeth again. Way too much work for me.