Late night snaking HELP

lizbeth436

I've noticed here recently that my weight loss has come to a slow down and I'm pretty sure it's bc all of a sudden I've been doing a lot of late night snacking. At first I was blaming it on TOM but that's been over for awhile.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to stop the need for late night snaking I would really like to hear it. I want to rekick start my weight loss again bc I am getting married in March and I still have a lot of weight to lose.

CNYKrista

Don't know if this will help or not- but i tend to just go to bed earlier to avoid the late night snack attacks.

Tigerfish62

I have the same problem. If I go to bed hungry, I will wake up and go downstairs to get something to eat. I try to figure the snacks in my calories but do go over sometimes. That's why the weight loss has been slow for me. I have no solution/suggestion just empathy. Good luck.

Limeinthecoconut

Try getting adequate amounts of fat and protein in your meals throughout the say, and drink lots of water.

Other things that may help include tea, sugarfree gum/brushing your teeth, or specifically saving some calories. Feel free to check out my diary- I love my after dinner eating.

Oh and don't keep junk in the house/within easy reach at night.

jreese5226

I drink water or if I need something flavorful, a cup of tea and then get myself ready for bed.

sophiessweets

I'm trying to get out of this rut too. I think it's super hard to change habits, but it can be done with some planning and troubleshooting. One thing that's been helping me is as soon as I feel the urge to snack I go for a walk or jog instead. I think about how by exercising instead of eating I not only didn't blow my diet, I actually burned some calories! That's a step in the right direction.

BeautyFromWithin

I've been telling myself that I am not eating anything after 8pm. Your metabolism starts to slow down at that time because its getting close to night time... I complete my daily log around that time and that's that. However, try drinking a waterbottle of Crystal Light or something.. It's flavored and it will fill in the empty spaces in your stomach and make you more full!

If you are worried about going to bed hungry... then how about snacking on a piece of fruit or some veggies? Stay away from leftovers and sweets though. It should be a low calorie snack that your body won't need to work hard to burn away!

sweetiepie31612

How late are we talking? Late night snacking isn't going to hurt you if you're snacking on the right foods. I tend to make 100 calorie popcorn (snack bag size) to munch on before bed if I'm still hungry. Or I'll munch on some almonds or peanuts. If the need to snack is waking you up at night, try adding more protein to your dinner and munching on nuts before bed. they'll keep you fuller longer. If you're just feeling the need to snack before bed and don't have the calories, try drinking 2 big glasses of ice water after dinner. You'll feel full for awhile after that. Again though, the problem isn't snacking at night (some ppl don't think eating late is a good idea, but I don't see the logic in that, if you have the calories, snack away...whenever) just be careful of what you're snacking on.

lizbeth436

After eating dinner I normally have between 150-400 calories left. I've even bought the 100 calorie packs to help with over eating calories but it doesn't seem to help any.

AUPerry

You should drink milk, it's thicker than water, and filling.

Or as other people said, go to bed earlier.

Whatever I do is think... "Am I really hungry?"
If I am I grab a banana and a tbs of peanutbutter (which is healthy and filling)

To avoid late night snacking make sure you are eating enough throughout the day.

bridetobe310711

I WAS GIVEN THE TIP OF BRUSHING TEETH...STOPS YOU WANTING TO EAT...AS IT WILL TASTE FUNNY..

ande2994

If you have up to 400 calories left after dinner, you probably HAVE to snack. As others have said, be sure to pick healthy snacks. You might also want to have a few more calories throughout the day so you don't have such a large deficit to make up at the end of the day, when you're more likely to reach for unhealthy choices.

SueInAz

The time of day you eat doesn't matter. Your resting metabolism is the same at every time of the day. However, for me, late night snacking is not usually about being hungry, it's about being bored or, at the very least, idle. I find that doing something with my hands helps. Often, I'll jump on my stationary cycle and watch a TV show or movie while I pedal away.

When the urge to snack after dinner hits, my suggestions are, in this order:

1. Have a big glass of water.
2. Grab a piece of sugar-free gum and start chewing. It'll give your jaws something to do and you get a nice taste in your mouth.
3. Find something to do with your hands. Sits ups, push ups, jump rope, whatever. If you don't feel like you need more exercise, take up stitching, scrapbooking, drawing, etc. If your hands are busy, they can't be pushing food into your mouth.
4. Brush your teeth and get ready for bed. We all know that we "can't eat anything after we brush our teeth".

DangerRanger

I have tried everything from drinking water to eating fruits, nuts, etc. If the body is hungry, feed it!


I usually don't eat my last meal until 1am. Yes, I know, everyone is going to say, eating after 7pm is bad or blah blah blah blah!!!

jabbogurl

Usually late night snaking is out of bordem. Try to have something to do, besides just watching TV. Maybe fold some laundry or pick up a simple hobby that you can do while watching TV. This will keep your hands busy and you won't think about snaking. Also, if you think its hunger, drink a glass of water first and see if you are still hungry.

DangerRanger

The time of day you eat doesn't matter. Your resting metabolism is the same at every time of the day. However, for me, late night snacking is not usually about being hungry, it's about being bored or, at the very least, idle. I find that doing something with my hands helps. Often, I'll jump on my stationary cycle and watch a TV show or movie while I pedal away.

When the urge to snack after dinner hits, my suggestions are, in this order:

1. Have a big glass of water.
2. Grab a piece of sugar-free gum and start chewing. It'll give your jaws something to do and you get a nice taste in your mouth.
3. Find something to do with your hands. Sits ups, push ups, jump rope, whatever. If you don't feel like you need more exercise, take up stitching, scrapbooking, drawing, etc. If your hands are busy, they can't be pushing food into your mouth.
4. Brush your teeth and get ready for bed. We all know that we "can't eat anything after we brush our teeth".

I agree, but really?!?! "2. Grab a piece of sugar-free gum and start chewing. It'll give your jaws something to do and you get a nice taste in your mouth."<--- when I am hungry as hell, a piece of gum will only piss me off..lol

AtomicDarling

I like the brushing teeth idea.

I always try to drink a full glass of water and then wait ten minutes before I snack on anything after 8pm.

The water makes you feel full and helps the food craving subside while at the same time being very good for you and your weight loss.

Also I always keep a good supply of fresh vegetables and fruit on hand. Carrots are a fantastic snack food, they're sweet when raw and crunchy which is satisfying for me. Also oranges and citrus always satisfy my sweet tooth. I try to stay away from anything resembling a "chip". I can never eat just a few.

Maybe try to figure out what your snack weaknesses are and replace them with things you know you can control how much you eat?

I hope you find the answers you need. Remember to stay positive! Even if you mess up one day, there's always the next day to redeem yourself! You can do it!

lisa_lotte

If i want something sweet I have a low calorie ice lolly. The ones I buy only have 29 calories, and I find it satesfies my craving.

I also brush my teeth if I start getting a sweet tooth, the minty taste puts me off food!! )

SueInAz

After eating dinner I normally have between 150-400 calories left. I've even bought the 100 calorie packs to help with over eating calories but it doesn't seem to help any.

100 calorie packs are usually made up of almost all carbs that aren't going to satisfy you. When I have extra calories at night, I look at my diary and try to figure out whether I have carbs, protein or fat left over. If it's carbs, I have fruit, a Weight Watchers ice cream bar or a peanut butter sandwich. If it's protein, I'll cook a chicken breast in the microwave with some garlic and onion powder, slice it up and eat it, either alone or with some salad greens and a low fat dressing. Tuna is also good. If it's fat calories left, then I eat almonds or other nuts.

Late night snacking isn't wrong when you have the calories left. Just be sure you're snacking sensibly and aren't allowing yourself to go over your calorie limit for the day.

SueInAz

I usually don't eat my last meal until 1am. Yes, I know, everyone is going to say, eating after 7pm is bad or blah blah blah blah!!!

No, enough studies have been done to debunk the theory that you shouldn't eat after a certain time of day. Eat when you're hungry, no matter what time of day it is.

fiat

sometimes after i try all the suggestions, and it still doesn't work, then i know its just a matter of will power. in the end thats the wild card. i just want to eat more, but i can't do that and still lose weight; its a mind endurance kind of thing. its like someone trying to quit smoking- theres a bunch of practical ideas and suggestions that can help, but in the end it comes down to overpowering the impluse to overeat, battle of spirit kind of thing. i believe we all have it in us to succeed. probably i sound all nutty preach-y but thats my take on it... having a hard time myself, and just had this conversation with my sister who is trying to stop smoking

Mixmode

Late night eating has always been horrible for me. But I am totally over it now. I just brush my teeth and rinse. Then I grab a few pieces of SF gum. Particularly, Orbit Bubblemint.

Janet39

I would advise a late night milky drink, as milk is good for a good nights sleep and also has enough cals so that your body has a little something to process.

People have been doing it for decades, there must be something to it. I like Green and Blacks hot chocolate, and Horlicks.

By the time you have made and drunk it you will be ready to go to or back to bed.

graysmom2005

I've noticed here recently that my weight loss has come to a slow down and I'm pretty sure it's bc all of a sudden I've been doing a lot of late night snacking. At first I was blaming it on TOM but that's been over for awhile.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to stop the need for late night snaking I would really like to hear it. I want to rekick start my weight loss again bc I am getting married in March and I still have a lot of weight to lose.

If I'm needing a snack I grab a sugar free jello and put some redi whip on it. It's about 20 calories and it gives me something to eat..or I try and think about weigh-in the next morning and how my number could be lower if I don't snack. It's hard. I do it because I'm bored!

mabug01

I watch something inspirational on TV, like biggest loser, or Ruby. It helps me refocus on my goal.

doublexhelix

i do the brushing teeth thing... it works for me!! for example, i was done with my calories last night and i brushed my teeth before heading to my boyfriend's house... he pulled out some chips that i otherwise would have joined in with but i didn't because of my clean teeth! i also make sure to fill up on water.

Minnesnowtagurl

Yes GUM! I alwayssssss have chewing gum in my purse and at home ; )
and also chocolate with low fat or non fat skim milk before relaxing for bed helps (I also work out late too, Chocolate milk is proven to rebuild muscle after workouts) Also once you have reached your calories and worked out you need to eat your deficit in calories back. This is how you train your body to burn the calories even after you are off your diet. This should help stop the late night snacking.

AshDHart

I always eat within the last hour before bed. I plan my calories for it. So far I am steadily losing weight. I think if you can find a light snack and just budget for it it would be fine. But drinking lots of water and keeping busy are also good ideas!