Cravings

Catiec76

Honestly how do you stop the cravings at night. My husband works 3rd shift so we eat dinner at 5:30 then when he leaves at 9:30 all I want to do is eat. Doesn't even matter what it is. I also work two part time jobs. Monday through Wednesday I work 9-5 and then the rest of the week I work 2nd shift waitressing. PLEASE HELP!

LoraF83

What are you eating at night?

If you know that you will be hungry then, could you save some calories for an evening snack?

kjones3535

I have a hard time with that too and my cravings are always for junk. One days that I am able to resist I justbrush my teeth and go to bed. Unfortunately I usually talk myself into eating whatever it is "I can just have one piece" but I cannot do that. I end up eating the whole bar, or whatever it is.

Catiec76

I am eating wheat thins candy bars ice cream. Any kind of junk food I can find. This is horrible. I do awesome during the day and then that happens. I think that I am going to try brushing my teeth and going to bed. That might work. I hate how things taste after I brush LOL.

Catiec76

40 LBS lost. That is amazing by the way!!

nikkitodhunter

I have a similar problem, what I do is plan my meals the day before - breakfast is always the same, but I go check the fridge and plan lunch, and dinenr if I'm making it (if someone else is cooking or I'm going out I allow around 45--500cals) then I plan for one or two small snacks. I log it all the day before in my diary. Since I started doing this I've hardly gone over my target a single day.
Also, make sure you're eating right, eating enough, and getting plenty of protein and fiber in your evening meal especially to fill you up

nikkitodhunter

I am eating wheat thins candy bars ice cream. Any kind of junk food I can find. This is horrible. I do awesome during the day and then that happens. I think that I am going to try brushing my teeth and going to bed. That might work. I hate how things taste after I brush LOL.

Somehow for me, brushing my teeth always makes me feel less hungry - I think my body is conditioned into knowing that brushing teeth = bedtime, no more food now! haha!

suziecue66

What about doing a yoga DVD or similar instead. A relaxing type DVD beore bed. When do you go to sleep?

taylor5877

First off, eating at night isn't the devil the media cracks it up to be.

If you're hungry and it fits into your daily calories do not in the slightest feel guilty about it. Our bodies don't just magically turn on the fat storage switch when we sleep.

I find I like eating fruits (especially raw strawberries which are like 145 calores for a POUND) and protein cures my late night cravings. I either eat some leftover meat or chug a casein shake (milk protein).

Remarkable1

Save some room in your day for a serving of good fat after dinner! A tablespoon of natural peanut butter, almond butter, a handful of nuts, a piece of string cheese. Wait 15 minutes and your cravings for sugar/starch should be gone! Also, drinking warm liquids helps you feel full.. try drinking some soothing tea with a bit of stevia. I like peppermint tea, myself. Hope this helps!

jcpmoore

Try doing a mini workout after he leaves. It can be as simple as 20 push ups and 20 crunches or make it more if you want. I find that, followed by a glass of water, helps me kick that need to feed. After that, a nice cuppa tea helps too. I like something spicy, like cinnamon spice, because it tastes like a treat.

Beyond that, just don't keep the junk food around. Then "whatever you can find" won't be so bad.

magerum

Save your calories for the night. I enjoy eating in the evening and night so I do 2/3 of my eating then. I typically eat 2000+ calories between 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm, then off to bed. Timing of your eating doesn't matter as long as you're within your caloric plan.

Cgrnlaw

Sweets.........#bad

MegdKel

I have the same problem, eating in the evenings is the hardest thing for me to get under control. Going to bed earlier helps, especially now that I am getting up early to go the gym, and grabbing water, hot tea, or sugar free hot chocolate, something that feels like a treat and fills me up (usually some kind of drink) without a lot of calories.

LoraF83

That could work - there are a lot of people who do that.

I personally know that I am going to be hungry at night, so I have about 300 calories reserved for after dinner snacks. Last night I had 2 T of Philidelphia Indulgence spread on 2 graham crackers, topped with raspberries. Sometimes, I make a big bowl of air popped pop-corn drizzled with butter. I just generally let myself have whatever I want, as long as it fits within my calorie goal.

Your metabolism doesn't stop after 7pm, 9pm or whenever.....IMHO, eat when you are hungry. If you plan your day ahead of time, you can hold on to some calories for night time snacks.

And thank you! :happy:

Catiec76

These are awesome ideas thatnk you so much for your support. Add me and you can see my diary to help me even more. I am so thankful to have myfitness pal. I am going to try the string cheese and nuts that's a great idea!

HappyHealthyCrafty

Your cravings could be out of habit or that your body might be missing some sort of nutrient. Usually protein makes my cravings better because I can realize that I'm not physically hungry, but mentally hungry.

Maybe you should not buy junkfood for a while and see if that helps? Or do what I do, if my husband wants junk in the house I'll buy something that he likes but I don't (like chipsahoy, I'm a cookie snob) Usually if there is more effort for me to eat something (such as having to go buy it) then I tend to just ignore the craving, have some herbal/fruity tea and go sulk for a while. Sometimes I sulk for hours and sometimes just for a few minutes until my brain gives up the craving.

MrsB123111

If you're craving something sweet, and it fits in your macros; try a bowl of chocolate Special K with vanilla almond milk, or Skinny Cow ice cream. If you're out of calories, go for a walk or just go to bed! That usually keeps me from eating.

kattbyrd67

Go to bed earlier. You're probably eating because you're either bored or lonely...or both. Sleep takes care of bored and lonely, and adequate sleep aids with weight loss.

Amanda_Grace25

i have the same problem i eat dinner between 5 & 5:30 but don't go to bed until around 12. It makes sense to be hungry at this time because throughout the rest of the day I rarely go more than three hours without eating something!! I work out around 7 and use the cals I earned back from my exercise to have a snack afterward, just make sure it's not junk that won't leave you feeling satisfied
Good luck!
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/healthy-late-night-snacks.html#b

Catiec76

Tonight I am going to do 10 minutes on the eliptical and have some tea that sounds like a great plan. Thank you guys!

jjmnet

I have a friend and sister-in-law that stay up late, so I call them to chat about their day - no one can eat chips over the phone and get away with it! It works to get my mind off food.....another thing I do is send a text or two to my husband who works nights, I know it's a distraction, but again it works for me

PinkyFran

I am eating wheat thins candy bars ice cream. Any kind of junk food I can find. This is horrible. I do awesome during the day and then that happens. I think that I am going to try brushing my teeth and going to bed. That might work. I hate how things taste after I brush LOL.

get all those things out of your reach/way/house!.....i find to stop the sweet cravings, sugar free jelly( or sweet jello for u.s.a?) and strawberries...i eat a lot of strawberries but it cures that sweet craving! and i dont have anything snacky in the house extra than exactly what i need for my calories ....u can do it!

HelenSwithenbank

I have the same problem with cravings.... I have half a tub of fat free cottage cheese with a scoop of whey protein, sweetener and lemon juice for taste and 100g of mixed frozen berries.. fills the GAP!

WhatDoesLisa

This is my coping mechanism. I have to have 100 calories packs of a sweet and a salty snack in my house. I know that I am going to eat something after dinner so I decide on sweet or salty and have the snack. Those calories are factored into my plan so I am not doing any damage. Also, I know what I can't have in my house or I will binge and that is peanut butter and hummus.

My snacks are Skinny Pop 100 calories bags, Pop Chips 100 calories bags and for sweets, either a single piece of dark chocolate or I cut Kind bars in half and only eat one half. Store the Kind bars in the fridge, they are harder to eat when cold!

I don't know about anyone else but knowing I have a treat in the house makes me calm down and think LESS about food.

Freyja2023

I use sunflower seeds when that happens. 2/3 of a cup run me about 190 calories but it takes me so long to crack through them that I normally find that I don't eat them all before bed. They really curb that need to munch.

Catiec76

Sunflower seeds good ides. What do you think about pistachios?

lil_pixie

I have the same problem. My husband often works nights so we eat early then he goes out at 7 and i'm alone the rest of the night and found myself picking and snacking. Now I've taken up knitting which i can do whilst watching TV or listening to music, but it keeps my hands busy and because I'm concentrating on that I'm not thinking of my cravings. It's working really well and my friends love it as I'm making cute cardigans/jumpers for their kids.

Sappy320

I do the same exact thing, which I think is mostly due to habit. But, i have found that I can curb those cravings by substituting. If I can potato chips, I eat the Mt. Olive pickle snackers, because I want the salt. If i want something sweet or choclate, I eat a square of really dark choclate. It's all about training yourself to find a satisfying alternative. (even though, there really isn't one for ice cream lol) And even if you feel hungary, you might really just be thirsty, so drink a big glass of water.

pattyblair51

I have cravings, I think we all do. I will some times give in. I count the calories than later usually realize maybe it wasn't worth it. I had strawberry shortcake last week and it really did not hurt me at all. I just counted the calories and went on. If we don't give in once in a while we will go off completely. I was told that and it really is true.

mulcahya

Similar problem!

I usually try to reserve a lot of calories for night-time, as I prefer to eat at night rather than during the day (or rather, I'm not as good at resisting cravings at night!).

I recently found a recipe for double chocolate cookies which are 51 cals per cookie. They are small cookies (a few bites) but flavour is great and they fill me up! The recipe is on my blog Add me if you'd like!

Tonight I had terrible cravings so I had a small turkey burger (homemade - turkey mince, parsley, onion) in one slice of wholemeal bread. The protein helped me feel fuller but it's also something I enjoy, so it seemed like a treat! I also had 3 of my double chocolate cookies, making sure I kept under my calorie goal.

I suggest maybe have ready some food you enjoy that can fit with your calorie goal - a protein based one as well as a sweet one for when you're really craving sweets! Also - drink more water. Even if you decide to have a snack, make sure you drink water before and during. Helps fill you up!