AGH! Ruining my day be eating at night - HELP!!!

Oh and make sure you eat 3-4 food groups in your three meals, so you are satisfied. If you are feeling hungry, you probably need to up your calories or put more healthy, satisfying foods in your meals. Take a look at my diary. I have 5 or so go to meals that I always eat, but it keeps me on track. I'm a vegetarian, so no meat in my meals though

Find something to do with your mouth and hands. Floss your teeth. Squeeze a ball. Chew on gum. That sort of thing. That can reduce the urge to snack. Also, try keeping one of those water bottles with the suckable top with you, so when you want something in your mouth you can both not eat more fat and calories and help your water intake and make your mouth busy.

I agree with everyone... totally a habit. I used to bake 3 mini chocolate chip cookies every night and have them with the little cups of vanilla ice cream as my way of ending the day in front of my favorite show. I loved those times until I realized that my day wasn't complete until I had them.

Try to take a couple of days off from the snacking and find some really good relaxing tea. Chamomile is great. Or if you must have a snack due to hunger and you have a Trader Joes in your area, try some Pumpkin Butter added to some plain ff greek yogurt (140 calories and about 23 grams of protein) place in the freezer for a really good treat. You could possible add some crushed graham cracker crumbs and turn it into a parfait. DELISH!!! and very filling!!!!

I do the exact same thing. I usually don't eat until about noon or 1 pm and then eat like a bird until about 8 when I'm off work. After that I just gobble down the rest of my calories. If you're as hungry as you say you are you're diet may also be off.

This works for me too! And I sabotage my eating all of the time. THIS ONE WORKS!

Actually, let me rephrase this. For me, I go as long as I can between lunch and 7pm without eating so that when I have that one meal that is a little more late in the evening, it holds me over through the night.

Might sound lame but consider something like knitting or needlepoint-once you've got the hang of it your hands are occupied but your mind really isn't-you can still watch your shows but will be consistently busy throughout so you're not tempted to go back into the kitchen for more and more snacks.

Honestly, this has helped me a LOT with tv eating, lol. I took up knitting and it's kinda hard to eat and knit at the same time. Plus, once you get the hang of it, you can choose a simple enough pattern to just knit while you watch tv. Other than that, I try to prelog my food as much as possible and save 200-300 calories for after dinner snacking.

I find chewing gum helps me. When I have a sweet tooth I find that I am better off eating something I enjoy. If I try to just eat something healthier I will over eat anyway. I have a recipe for a great little treat. It has chocolate,nuts peanut butter, etc... It's about the size of a ping pong ball. I have one every night as my treat and one with a banana before I workout. Since I started doing this I don't crave sweets anymore. If you would like I could email you the recipe.

Yes, I saw the treats on your diary.. please send me the recipe too!

Lower your calories for breakfast and lunch so you can indulge more in the evening time. I like a big dinner so that's what I do.

YEP..

i have coffee for breakfast, and save the majority of my calories for a few larger meals and some snacks later in the day.
Makes me VERY happy and fits in my calories.

I had this issue when I was starting out. So I upped my cals and upped my exercise. Now I very rarely overeat--and it's not that I'm hungry, it's just that I'm craving something really unhealthy (or I'm on vacation and eat out at restaurants for every meal). I'd recommend either upping your cals a little to start with and make sure you get exercise in, or just make better choices earlier in the day to allow yourself a little bit of "veg" time.

And try to switch to healthier things--carrots and hummus, fruit, popcorn (surprisingly not as horrible for you when it's not movie theater...)

ETA: I also found that for a long time artificial sweeteners made me munchy. Once I broke myself of that habit, I can have a diet coke or a crystal light without turning munchy. If you drink diet drinks, try cutting back and see if it changes.

Lower your calories for breakfast and lunch so you can indulge more in the evening time. I like a big dinner so that's what I do.

YEP..

i have coffee for breakfast, and save the majority of my calories for a few larger meals and some snacks later in the day.
Makes me VERY happy and fits in my calories.

Me too! I have small amounts of food for BF and lunch and then a bigger dinner and a nice evening snack.

I HAVE to have something to keep me busy while watching tv. Do you knit or crochet or anything like that? My friend swears that it keeps her busy enough to avoid snacking. I drink tea or water, or chew gum. If late night cravings are a serious problem for you, you could try talking to your doctor about medication to help. I'm trying Topamax, which is used off-label to curb food cravings. It's certainly not an easy fix and it won't replace diet and exercise, but it can help with overpowering cravings.