How do I stop eating snacks after 6pm?

245

Replies

  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Eat dinner later.
  • medennison123
    medennison123 Posts: 191 Member
    Plan a healthy snack. That way you can eat and it fits within your numbers.
  • Lidenbrock
    Lidenbrock Posts: 47
    You don't - I lost 4,5 stone last year on MFP - and I didn't stop snacks - I just made sure I had the calories left to eat anything I wanted - Wii great for that (if you can't get outside for walk/cycle). Don't know where you live - so you may not be able to get - but visit graze.com for a selection of tasty snacks that are healthy. :-)
  • footiechick82
    footiechick82 Posts: 1,203 Member
    I have the same problem... I walk in the door from work, walk my dog, get home about 5:45-6 and am starving so I grab something to eat that's quick... I make myself snacks. yesterday I had homemade banana cookies (just bananas and oats - i add chocolate chips) and then I relax for a bit, watch some tv... make my dinner, eat and i'm done by 7-7:30pm and that's it for the night and I go to bed about 10:30. If you have a snack ready for you that's "healthy-ish" and satisfies whatever cravings you usually have (for me it's freakin' chocolate :P), you should be ok.
  • divijverma
    divijverma Posts: 7
    just eat everything before 6pm. if you eat all the snacks you would eat after 6pm before you wont have any snacks left ;)
  • SlowlyShrinkinginCA
    SlowlyShrinkinginCA Posts: 12 Member
    I drink tea and go no where near the kitchen!
  • Iron_warrior33
    Iron_warrior33 Posts: 45
    It's not a myth. Calories are energy. If you provide your body with energy you body needs to use that energy to burn it off.
    If you eat before you go to bed without exercising, then that energy isn't utilised.
    Good snacks for the evening are clear chicken soups / broths.
    True, food is energy. On the other hand, it takes 24 hours for food to digest, therefore, you have 24 hours to burn the calories you eat for energy. So, again, it doesn't matter when you eat.
  • busywaterbending
    busywaterbending Posts: 844 Member
    get yourself a workout partner, have at it until you are exhausted and fall asleep.
  • ashleen7
    ashleen7 Posts: 258 Member
    Try to leave some calories to allow for a snack, I always have a snack around 9pm and it hasn't affected my loss. Sometimes I don't finish work until 10pm and it could be 11pm by the time I have dinner, meal timing is irrelevant, overall calories consumed vs calories out is what matters.
  • rocket_ace
    rocket_ace Posts: 380 Member
    I have this problem too - its like I've been good all day and then I am apt to pig out at night, despite not being hungry really. its a mental comfort thing I think. Lately what has worked for me is going to the gym at night. For you, I think you should eat dinner a tad bit later (basically before 8pm)....or if not dinner (which may be easiest and more natural at 6pm, then follow dinner w/ a planned healthy snack closer to 8pm (like cottage cheese, peanut butter, protein shake, etc). Then workout!! I've found it helps tire me out and let's me go to sleep easier. I also otherwise tend to watch alot of tv at night too -- and consider that equally toxic junk food (for the mind).....working out gives me something constructive to do rather than veg out or eat. when you get back (I usually get back around 930pm), you can still have a protein shake or the like if you are hungry w/o messing w/ your mojo....but at least you have taken yourself out of the zone where you are bored and looking for things to do to kill time (eating, TV, games).
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    What's wrong with eating after 6? I hate going to bed hungry. It doesn't matter when you eat as long as you stick to your calorie goal. The whole "eating right before bed is bad thing" is a myth.

    its not a myth if you eat crap before bed.

    Not a myth if you eat most of your calories before bed.

    YEP

    Um...still a myth. I eat close to (or over) 1000 calories within the hour before I go to bed (including a healthy dose of crap just before I go to sleep). I don't go over my calories for the day. See ticker for how it's working.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    Are you sure my body doesn't know what time it is? cuz my biological clock is ticking !
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    It's not a myth. Calories are energy. If you provide your body with energy you body needs to use that energy to burn it off.
    If you eat before you go to bed without exercising, then that energy isn't utilised.
    Good snacks for the evening are clear chicken soups / broths.
    True, food is energy. On the other hand, it takes 24 hours for food to digest, therefore, you have 24 hours to burn the calories you eat for energy. So, again, it doesn't matter when you eat.

    Not just that, but your body needs energy even when not "exercising". You are going to be moving - even if it just rolling over in bed. Your brain is still functioning, as is your liver etc. All those organs need energy. Your BMR is the calories your body needs to maintain itself even if your were in a coma, and it isn't zero.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    It's not a myth. Calories are energy. If you provide your body with energy you body needs to use that energy to burn it off.
    If you eat before you go to bed without exercising, then that energy isn't utilised.
    Good snacks for the evening are clear chicken soups / broths.
    True, food is energy. On the other hand, it takes 24 hours for food to digest, therefore, you have 24 hours to burn the calories you eat for energy. So, again, it doesn't matter when you eat.

    Not just that, but your body needs energy even when not "exercising". You are going to be moving - even if it just rolling over in bed. Your brain is still functioning, as is your liver etc. All those organs need energy. Your BMR is the calories your body needs to maintain itself even if your were in a coma, and it isn't zero.

    Exactly. I don't die every night. I keep on breathing and my heart is beating and all that jazz. Plus my brain needs extra energy so I can have sexy dreams.
  • KittenTikka
    KittenTikka Posts: 93
    I want to snack when I get bored/sit still for too long. Try doing exercise in the evening, going to see friends, taking up a hobby that is either non-sedentary or involves you getting out of the house. I find these things work, especially in combination with not having any high-calorie snacks in the house. Once you get into a routine of not snacking, it becomes easier to achieve. HTH :)
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
    One other thing you can do is try to be busy. Have something to distract you, especially something that's not condusive to eating because it either takes you away from the food or occupies your hands.

    I know we're supposed to be careful about sedentary activity, but when I'm playing a computer game, I'm usually distracted enough to not venture into the kitchen. Also, when I'm playing my saxophone, it's not only inconvenient to eat, but it becomes a genuinely bad idea (don't want stuff growing inside the horn).
  • Bethbr00tality
    Bethbr00tality Posts: 36 Member
    What's wrong with eating after 6? I hate going to bed hungry. It doesn't matter when you eat as long as you stick to your calorie goal. The whole "eating right before bed is bad thing" is a myth.

    its not a myth if you eat crap before bed.

    Not a myth if you eat most of your calories before bed.

    YEP

    Um...still a myth. I eat close to (or over) 1000 calories within the hour before I go to bed (including a healthy dose of crap just before I go to sleep). I don't go over my calories for the day. See ticker for how it's working.

    What i'm saying is If you're not spacing out your calorie consumption throughout the day and eating 600-800 empty calories before bed (ie:junk food), you're not doing yourself any favors.
  • T1mH
    T1mH Posts: 568 Member
    Plan for it and eat it. Timing is irrelevant.

    Calories in < calories out = weight loss

    Think of your calorie goal as your budget. That's how many calories you can spend on eating food per day. Either make your day fit into your budget or work out to add more calories to spend.
  • nack_23
    nack_23 Posts: 154
    AS LONG AS YOU ARE UTILIZING THE CALORIES IT SHOULDNT BE AN ISSUE. If you eat some potato chips or something crappy like that i would say its probably not a good idea.
  • Jenoutofcontrol
    Jenoutofcontrol Posts: 2
    Eat things that will stick with you well into the night. Carrots help me. Nuts have worked also. Then if I find myself dying for something I drink a cup of 1% or 2% milk.
    I just joined this site today, I'm excited, Im tired of feeling fat.
    good luck
    Jen
  • lasmit4477
    lasmit4477 Posts: 308 Member
    What's wrong with eating after 6? I hate going to bed hungry. It doesn't matter when you eat as long as you stick to your calorie goal. The whole "eating right before bed is bad thing" is a myth.

    its not a myth if you eat crap before bed.

    Meal timing is of no importance. As long as you are in your calorie goal, it doesn't matter when you eat! It's all about personal preference!
  • T1mH
    T1mH Posts: 568 Member
    What i'm saying is If you're not spacing out your calorie consumption throughout the day and eating 600-800 empty calories before bed (ie:junk food), you're not doing yourself any favors.
    The OP wants a snack, they didn't mention that they wanted 600-800 calories. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a bowl of ice cream before going to bed if it fits into their goal for the day. If goals are properly set then not only is the goal the max you want to it, its also your target that you want to get up to.
  • Mummyadams
    Mummyadams Posts: 1,125 Member
    choose healthy snacks or brush your teeth
  • MariaMariaM
    MariaMariaM Posts: 1,322 Member
    AS LONG AS YOU ARE UTILIZING THE CALORIES IT SHOULDNT BE AN ISSUE. If you eat some potato chips or something crappy like that i would say its probably not a good idea.

    I sometimes eat ice cream before going to bed. It fits my macros and daily calorie (sometimes it doesn't but I still do it)
  • fausto412
    fausto412 Posts: 100 Member
    I have a BAD habit....I get this feeling of wanting a snack in the evening after 6ish. I eat a balance dinner and throughout the day I manage what I eat. What can I do to help to control this?


    water...lots of it...till you can't drink no more...you will feel bad and won't want to put anything in your mouth...after a few weeks of this your habit should be broken. It's what I have been doing to stop myself from eating junk after dinner.

    Someone also said it...brush your teeth after you eat....should reduce the chances you eat again...because doing so means brushing your teeth again.
  • nack_23
    nack_23 Posts: 154
    AS LONG AS YOU ARE UTILIZING THE CALORIES IT SHOULDNT BE AN ISSUE. If you eat some potato chips or something crappy like that i would say its probably not a good idea.

    I sometimes eat ice cream before going to bed. It fits my macros and daily calorie (sometimes it doesn't but I still do it)

    I dont agree with doing it this way. But thats just my opinion. Everybody does it differently
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    You can plan your day so that you have calories left after 6. There is nothing wrong with eating after 6. All that matters is that, at the end of the day, you are at a calorie deficit and your have met your macronutrient (carbs, protein, fat) goals.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    dont
  • DuhhMuffin
    DuhhMuffin Posts: 198
    I drink a looooot of water when I crave snacks after I've told myself I need to stop eating for the day.
  • Tilran
    Tilran Posts: 627 Member
    AS LONG AS YOU ARE UTILIZING THE CALORIES IT SHOULDNT BE AN ISSUE. If you eat some potato chips or something crappy like that i would say its probably not a good idea.

    I sometimes eat ice cream before going to bed. It fits my macros and daily calorie (sometimes it doesn't but I still do it)

    I dont agree with doing it this way. But thats just my opinion. Everybody does it differently

    Noone is going to question your fitness, you are obviously in great shape and doing things correctly, however it is a myth about eating before bed. That energy if not utilized is going to be stored away...then used again when you need them....meal timing is irrelevant as long as you stay in a deficit. The only confusing thing about eating a whole bunch of calories before bed is which day do you then log it in? But assuming you dont micromanage yourself that much...when it comes to weekly and monthly totals...it all works out. Meal timing is irrelevant and body metabolism doesnt shut down after a certain time or while sleeping.

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