I eat well the first half of the day then...

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lordlensherr
lordlensherr Posts: 6
in Food and Nutrition
I snack and overeat when I get home.. Any suggestions?
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  • darianrenay
    darianrenay Posts: 5
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    We are in the same boat! That is my downfall, and it totally sucks. One thing I would suggest is to eat plenty of meals (snacks) throughout the day, and drink plenty of water! Sometimes your cravings or hunger is actually thirst. That is something I have learned over the past month. It takes time, but we will get through this! :)
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    One option, if you just prefer to eat more later on, is to plan/arrange your eating to reflect that. I personally prefer to eat lightly during the day, and I usually don't like to eat breakfast. I like to have a large evening meal though and snacks afterwards until I go to bed, so that's what I do. I eat lightly for lunch and save the bulk of my calories for 7pm onwards. That suits my hunger/energy levels and preferences. I go to bed feeling full and satiated.
  • LumpySpacePrincess1
    LumpySpacePrincess1 Posts: 388 Member
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    Don't.
  • Featherweighttt
    Featherweighttt Posts: 23 Member
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    If you think you can handle it, try setting a dead line for eating to prevent you from mindlessly snacking. I set 8pm, finding myself for about a month just CONSTANTLY eating all night insatiably. I've always been a night snacker, mostly from boredom. I was very strict with it, which made social eating a little hard but in three weeks I'd broken the habit completely.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    get out and go, do not be around food.
  • ailbheoconnell
    ailbheoconnell Posts: 48 Member
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    One option, if you just prefer to eat more later on, is to plan/arrange your eating to reflect that. I personally prefer to eat lightly during the day, and I usually don't like to eat breakfast. I like to have a large evening meal though and snacks afterwards until I go to bed, so that's what I do. I eat lightly for lunch and save the bulk of my calories for 7pm onwards. That suits my hunger/energy levels and preferences. I go to bed feeling full and satiated.

    totally this. i love nothing more than eating in the evening, watching a good movie or whatever. So i skip breakfast (i do intermittent fasting, leangains style), have a good lunch with lots of protein, then a protein snack around four while still in work. that see me through til dinner, which is around seven. I have as much protein as I can at dinner, with lots of veg, then have my remaining day's cals to spend on snacks in front of the telly.

    If you eat too much or too often during the day there will be very little cals left over for the evening, and if that is when you prefer to eat, you will find it very difficult to abstain. which means using willpower, and not many of us on here have much of that.

    try a few different routines and find what makes you feel less deprived, cos that's the first step to throwing the diet out the window
  • SkinnyWannabeGal
    SkinnyWannabeGal Posts: 143 Member
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    One thing that has really helped me is to not have anything unhealthy in my home. So if I do snack, I'm putting low fat/low cal healthy things in my body. I try to eat a decent sized breakfast, have a snack, then a big lunch, eat another snack and then dinner. If I eat more during the day, I eat much less at night. But if u must go crazy on snacks when u get home, it would help to snack on fresh veggies. I like red, yellow and orange bell peppers alone. Even fresh blueberries are a good choice. Or some oatmeal would help to fill you up. I know this sounds weird, but I snack on a tossed salad sometimes before dinner and then eat more salad with my dinner.
  • soontobeskinnytbird
    soontobeskinnytbird Posts: 10 Member
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    I did exactly this too. I find that eating more protein heavy snacks and meals during the day helps. As does staying well away from alcohol - my biggest problem is that small glass of wine (even if it is within my cals allowance) that leads to salty snacks (and going WAY OVER my cals allowance!!)
  • estey89
    estey89 Posts: 104 Member
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    Do you like/drink protein shakes? Ice cream? Iced Lattes?

    for me a killer is ICE CREAM eek! but I've been mixing cookies and cream water ( or milk) and lots of ice to make a chocolate milk shake. Then i'm TOO full to have yummy things like chips, crackers, toast, 2nds... etc

    Also if you by chance like Latte's I'll make a 1/2c of hot water with instant coffee ( or any tea like chai... pumpkin spice etc) and mix that with my vanilla shake and lots of ice. sprinkle with cinnamon. yum!
  • LaserMum
    LaserMum Posts: 133
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    Same problem here. I decided to try IF but didn't get on with it. What I did find out was, on fast days, I didn't eat breakfast and just had a couple of biscuits in work along with loads of water and green tea. That was fine but when I got home I suddenly became very hungry and my OH and DD didn't want dinner until 7:30pm. So now I arrange my eating so that I have hardly anything until I get home then have a reasonably hefty sandwich or salad with plenty of protein which keeps me going until dinner. Sometimes, I don't even want dinner! Eat when you feel comfortable eating. Don't get too hungry or you'll binge and always have a glass of water if you feel hungry - just in case it's thirst not hunger.
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
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    Drink lots of water during the day. Also, up the fat and protein and lower the carbs in general.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    A few ideas:

    - drink more water...lots....mucho lots!
    - eat more high fiber and good-fat foods so maybe you won't be as hungry later (choose more nutritionally dense calories)
    -or, the opposite, eat lighter during the first half the day to have more calories available for later
    - buy healthier snacks, get rid of the less healthy snack for now, till you get a better hold on your eating habits.
    - pre plan your food the day before and put all snacks I to pre-weighed individual baggies.

    It takes a while, some trial and error, to find what works for you. Good luck!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    I plan my whole day out...I put it in my diary in the morning while I'm eating my breakfast. If it's not in the plan, it usually does not get in my belly. Best part is I can plan for things like beer and what not for when I get home. Having a plan is always good for most things in life.
  • sarah3436
    sarah3436 Posts: 26 Member
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    Same here. I plan my whole day out the night before. I weigh and put everything into baggies and even plan out my sinful dessert or a treat if I want it. I plan the night before I go to a restaurant so therefore I am more likely to choose the better option. I also suggest increasing your exercise routine. If I want a 300 calorie piece of pizza. I earn it through exercise!
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
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    I snack and overeat when I get home.. Any suggestions?

    Start tracking......
  • NonnyMary
    NonnyMary Posts: 982 Member
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    Plan for more food toward the end of the day, if you budget your MFP numbers, it will be ok.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,269 Member
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    How many calories are you eating per day?

    What are you eating when you get home?

    Why are you eating so much when you get home? Hungry? Boredom?
  • jconnon
    jconnon Posts: 427 Member
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    I snack and overeat when I get home.. Any suggestions?

    Same here, its my downfall. No excuse really. But I do find if I have some decent food made when I walk in the door I do better.
  • endoftheside
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
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    There is nothing wrong with having snacks or eating more in the evening as long as it fits in your macros/micros and doesn't set you up for binging.

    I usually have problems with my protein if I don't hit it hard early in the day, so I concentrate on that for breakfast and lunch and try to leave enough space for a snack after dinner.

    The thing I used to do was try to eat as little as possible as long as possible and then break down and eat the house eventually. That is a completely different thing and I had to break myself of that habit by spacing my meals and eating when not yet at the ravenous stage.

    It boils down to what your definition of eating "well" is. If it is too low in calories and fat, you might just be setting yourself up for the snacks and overeating later. Try playing around with your macros for each meal and see if adding more protein/fat earlier helps, or if leaving extra calories for a late snack does the trick.
  • dmbjewel
    dmbjewel Posts: 17 Member
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    I do this too! I eat lightly while I'm at work, and save the bulk of my calories for the evening. On days when I feel particularly peckish, I'll have a small snack right before I leave work (handful of almonds/piece of fruit). This takes the edge off so I don't feel so insanely ravenous when I get home that I eat the entire house. Also, I make dinner as early as possible. That way I have less time to snack. When I've reached my calorie limit for the day, I have a peppermint or piece of gum or brush my teeth. Overtime, this habit has become my eating "off switch".

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