Keep From Eating at Night

I definately struggle with eating when I get home from work! My problem is more while I'm making dinner for the family. I want to sometimes eat everything!!! I have been now choosing to eat some fruit or a yogurt while preparing dinner and feeling good about that. I do not usually want anything after dinner, but if my sweet tooth comes out I have a Skinny Cow ice cream bar or SF jello cup or pudding.

I would suggest that you try eating fewer calories during the day and saving those calories so that when your preferred eating time hits (night time) you have calories to spare and you can then eat them without going over your calorie intake goals.

I struggle with this constantly. a few thoughts that have helped me:

Carbs are a huge problem for me. if i have something savory and carby in the house (pasta leftovers, crackers, chips, etc.) then i am risking making some POOR food choices. Same thing with dried fruit (apparently i'm not picky haha.) It's carbs both before and during eating at night that are dangerous for me: the more carefully i chose my carbs early in the day, the better i'm able to control myself at night. if i had a bagel for breakfast, i'd be screwed for the whole day. a breakfast of leftover beef stir-fry (skipping the rice) sets me up much better for good choices.

On days i really binge, i could usually just have gone to bed. there was no reason i "needed" to be up eating. i was up so that i could eat. So getting ready for bed after dinner and "closing" the kitchen helped me somewhat (i stay in my room with a book, it helps). If you're worried that you're bored, just go to bed (with a huge glass of water).

When you say you do "amazing" on days when you overeat at night, are you actually eating too few calories? I did this, it's basically a cycle: you eat too much, the next day you are resigned to do better and are EXTREMELY strict with yourself, and then when 6p rolls around, you still have 1,000+ calories kicking around to spend. if i'm letting myself eat 1,000 cals, it's easy to accidentally eat 1,300! i think having the extra calories tempts you to go back to that "pre-lifestyle change" way of thinking and eating more permissively.

I do better when i eat protein and fiber as an afternoon snack. i'll just mechanically put some celery in my mouth (at this point i'm thinking of it as medicine rather than food!), then i'll have some light string cheese and a hard-boiled egg with hot sauce. This fiber-plus-protein snack really helps me keep things under control in the eveining. Takes the edge off, so to speak.

Exercise. Seriously, just get some, esp. a walk after dinner. it's so helpful for soaking up some extra cals (not many but better if it's substituting for eating time) and generally just investing in your body. knowing you put in the hard work might help nudge you away from the late-night eating. also, working out just makes me calmer and more even-tempered, so i'm more in control at night.

Lastly, i'm a binger, and i know it. i haven't made it a week without bingeing, probably in my adult life. maybe someday i can afford therapy and i'll deal with whatever the root cause is (no idea, i can't put my finger on any real "problems" that could have screwed me up with food besides my mom's obesity and yoyo dieting). In the mean time, i have to budget for it if i want to reach my goals. so i get as much crap OUT OF MY HOUSE as possible. i still struggle with bingeing, but it's not so scary to pig out on an orange, 4c of popcorn, and scrambled eggs with salsa. sure i would eat chips and ice cream, if i had them. but i don't.

at the end of the day, you have to work with yourself. change the habits you can control, learn about and budget for the habits you can't change right now. if you were not a binger or a night eater before your weight loss journey, then this behavior may be the product of your weight loss. our bodies are MEAN, they play all sorts of hormonal games on us to resist losing the weght. track it, study it, learn from it, and be happy!

well I have the same trouble, I could not manage , IT is still with me , my friends told me eat apples, carrots or do exercise, but I am still not doing it , sometimes I can, sometimes I can not,

I suck on jolly ranchers.

I space my calories out to have more at the end of the day when I'm more hungry.

Pop Chips have been a great snack for me. They come in many different flavors and can be found at wegmanns in the specialty foods section. Also, i think Target may sell them as well. Most flavors are about 120 calories for 16 chips which is plenty to help with a craving.

To help with late afternoon and evening cravings, i also use Chia seeds. When you put a couple teaspoons in water and let sit for a few minutes, they swell and then when ingested, with the water, they help fill you up. It's a little odd because of the concept of drinking them but they have no taste and they do help fill you up a bit. Plus, they are heart healthy and omega-3 rich.