How do you talk yourself OUT of late night snacking?

Definitely a hard habit to break. I too have recently threw all snacks in garbage, not buying anything bad...If it's not here I will not eat it:)

I usually have calories left for a snack, sometimes I go for a walk JUST to have some peanuts or whatever. I have to eat a snack after dinner, like HAVE TO... so I account for it in my day. If I know I will need 200 calories to get me through Walking Dead, then I will make sure to budget that in my day. I have about 1800-2000 calories I can play with so this makes it easier for me... not sure what you're eating but that's my system.

floss and brush my teeth after dinner.

If you are engaging in out-of-control eating late at night, then I'm sorry, but you are not "eating right" during the day. If you were, you wouldn't be feeling those urges to keep eating, even after your calorie allotment has been used up. So the first thing I would recommend would be taking a closer look at your diet and figuring out what isn't working for you (you're not getting protein or fat or whatever).

Then look at more specific behavioral issues:

Get rid of all the "snacks" or foods you could potentially binge on, and stop buying them.

Create a menu for the week, and only buy the things you need for those meals.

Log all your food in advance so that you have a game plan every day and you can see how each food you eat fits into your overall goals. That way, you aren't just blindly making one wrong choice after another.

Go to bed earlier. Simple, but effective.

And you're right that you've got some work to do mentally. You are going to have to convince yourself that food is supposed to keep you alive, not provide entertainment value. Find other things to cure your boredom.

I don't, by the end of dinner if not the end of lunch I've planned out my food for the day including my late night snack. If I want to snack on something more caloric, I work it into my exercise for the day... I have a full gauntlet of snacks, mostly healthy, that are of varying calorie amounts and varying carb/fat/protein amounts. I am capable of not eating everything just what gets me to and keeps me under my goals.

I would agree with lots of these suggestions:
1. Try drinking water....I find that a cup of hot tea really helps too. Sometimes the warmth curbs my appetite.
2. Brush your teeth...I often don't want to brush again, so it's a good mind trick. Or I'm lazy like that
3. Make sure you are eating enough calories throughout the day with plenty of protein.

Eating late at night, even when you have calories left, is always a bad idea. I usually don't eat past 7PM unless it's a special occasion of some sort. You just need to have the willpower to say no. Remember why you're trying to lose weight and ask yourself what you would rather. Would you rather snack on that bag of chips or would you rather reach your goal weight? That's what I try to do. Food is a tempation to all of us but it's just a matter of saying no. I stopped buying any foods that are going to tempt me so kudos on getting rid of them. If they're not there, you can't eat them. It's a hard habit to give up but it can definitely be done. Good luck!

Why is it a bad idea if you have calories?

It's considered a myth and there's been a lot of discussion over it but here's a link that sort of explains:

http://life.dailyburn.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-real-reasons-you-shouldnt-eat-after-7pm-if-you-want-to-lose-weight/

Clearly it's a myth because I've lost all of my weight snacking at night, within my calorie goals of course.

Go back to sleep or find a chore to do.

A combination of eating a semi-late dinner, and a planned snack at bedtime.

On my days off I find it nearly impossible, but managing a late night bar its easy as I have my break at 2am and get home for 4/4.30am and take my multivitamin and go to sleep.

Days off for me its all about will power, oh and the other easy option. Getting rid off all the **** in your cupboards and fridge, then when you need to snack, there aint nothing bad to eat!

Eating late at night, even when you have calories left, is always a bad idea. I usually don't eat past 7PM unless it's a special occasion of some sort. You just need to have the willpower to say no. Remember why you're trying to lose weight and ask yourself what you would rather. Would you rather snack on that bag of chips or would you rather reach your goal weight? That's what I try to do. Food is a tempation to all of us but it's just a matter of saying no. I stopped buying any foods that are going to tempt me so kudos on getting rid of them. If they're not there, you can't eat them. It's a hard habit to give up but it can definitely be done. Good luck!

Why is it a bad idea if you have calories?

I don't know if it's sound advice to do something just because you can. It doesn't help of course that willpower tends to drop at the end of the day.

There is precisely no need to snack. If you do it, it's for other reasons. If you snack at night and you say it's because you want to, then why do you want to? There is no science to back up that you lose weight because you eat at night.

When all is said and done, there is far more to health than weight and calories. When I woke up the other morning, my weight was lower than it has ever been in my adult life. I thought it was amusing. It would have been tragic, if not for being healthy too.

Snacking throughout the day keeps your pancreas busy. A pancreas that doesn't rest regularly may decades from now be so overworked that it gives up, leaving you with an insulin problem. And the thing about late night eating conflicting with the growth hormone during the first hours of sleep is a concern too.

In short, I can't find a single redeeming quality about late night snacking.

I usually have tea with stevia and maybe a sugarfree popsicle. It really works and the tea puts me right to sleep..zzz.

I ritualistically tie myself up with a wire hanger. Then I tape my mouth shut.

I drink a glass of water then hit the rack.

hit the rack...:laugh:

i know what you meant