Over calorie limit. What do I eat?

1. Meal timing doesn't matter. Stop worrying about the "late evening" food.
2. If you're binging on sugar and carbs, is it because you're restricting them too much?

As far as what you need to eat? Enough protein and fat to feel full. If you're not able to stay consistent, why are you trying to do something that's too un-stick-able in the first place? There's no magic food that makes you not want sweets.

Need to open your diary for one thing.....

Are you keeping some balance to what you eat?
Not totally cutting out carbs? or fat? or protein?

I feel I would say the same things about myself.

I can also get sweet cravings, I am fine during the day, but after my evening meal, for about 20 minutes I can crave something sweet.

I do not keep sweet things in the house as a rule. If I have had a lot of desserts or chocolate, I need to go 'cold turkey' on them. This is impossible to do if you have a 'goody drawer' or a regular supply of biscuits in the house.

For me I always feel better if I stop eating earlier rather than later in the evening.

What I have found helpful is to have friends with open diaries. I have seen what works for other people, and have experiemented for myself. I have learned a lot by looking at what other people do.

Try pre-logging your food for the day first thing in the morning - that way you can see if you're going to be over, and rearrange your plans.

I aim for three proper meals and two or three snacks - they need to be relatively healthy, but they are generally things like cereal bars, grapes, nuts/dried fruit (weigh it out into a small container). I also have a WW chocolate-covered biscuit with my last cup of tea, or else one square of Lindt dark chocolate - that is my "good girl" treat.

I make it a rule to only eat what I've taken into work, and then only eat all of it if I really want it - not because its there. So I do have a WW biscuit for "emergencies" which I've resisited since April!

Finally, if you "need" more calories then try upping your exercise - a Zumba class gives you 600 calories an hour, Aerobics about 400 (depending on intensity). I try to use my allocated calories for "good" stuff - meat, veg, fruit - and exercise calories for the less vital stuff (like wine). That way if I am naughty I've earned it by honest sweat!

One thing that I really like to eat when I want something sweet is frozen fruit. Some people like bananas or grapes but my thing is frozen sliced peaches. 1 cup of the 365 Whole Foods brand is 70 calories, but I only have a few slices.

Another snack which I love is air-popped popcorn.1 cup is 31 calories. Do you have an air popper? I get the corn kernals in bulk (again at WF) and then put them in my air popper. If i need a little flavoring, I might use a small drizzle of flavored olive oil and a pinch of sea salt or some other seasoning, like Chinese Five Spice or Cayenne.

I agree with the above post which says that if you're unable to stick with the calorie limit you set for yourself, perhaps you should up it a bit. If you consistently cannot meet it, it's going to make you feel bad about yourself, which I think will hurt your overall chances of being successful in your goal.

Could you perhaps incorporate more exercise instead? More walking? Parking farther away from the store, opting to take the stairs instead of the escalator, etc? Investing in either a heart rate monitor or pedometer has been SUPER helpful for me in terms of getting a realistic idea of how many calories I was burning in comparison to how many I was taking in.

Good luck!

I tend to crave sweets right after dinner. I think it's due to years of regular dessert...Not such a good habit. Now I drink a cup of mint tea sweetened with stevia after dinner if I really want sweets. It's similar to brushing your teeth right after a meal so that you have a mint flavor in your mouth which diminishes that sweet craving. The hot liquid also fills you up a bit and feels more comforting than just brushing your teeth.

What helped for me: plan, plan, plan. Plan your meals every morning and try to fill it up with foods that will keep you full. This means: protein, good carbs, healthy fats! I always start by planning my dinners (usually 100g of turkey breast and some veggies) and my breakfasts (always a protein smoothie with banana and berries - keeps me full for hours!) and then I plan the rest - lunch and whatever calories I have left I fill up with snacks. I really stick to that and over time I notice that my body gets used to the routine and I don't get hungry in between meals anymore.

Try making pots of low fat jelly with chopped fruit in them to fill you up and satisfy your sweet cravings.

Also the snack bags of sliced apple or carrots help me - something to munch on and low fat/calorie.

Drink plenty of water too.

Log everything that you eat and try and do a bit more exercise to work off the extra calories, I enjoy going for a walk and the more you up the pace the more calories MFP gives you

Good luck x

HMMM

---

you may need to rethink your goals. This is NOT a diet, this is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. People fail at diets all the time and end up gaining more weight back. Make this your life goal and something you DO for life. If you look around, there are lots of things to use to break your cravings. Healthy choice makes a frozen yogurt that is 100 cals. Dannon makes an 80 cal greek yogurt and something I love for a night snack is Fiber One makes an 80 cals, chocolate cereal that I keep bagged and ready for a grab snack and they also make 90 cal bars that I use for breakfast when I don't eat my yogurt. Now if it is bread, at Walmart in the deli there is JOSEPHS FLAX AND OATBRAN Lavash bread. ( they are wraps). They make tortilla size and big sheets that are 50 cals a serving. I use those for everything and I even cut into bite size pieces spray with some EVOO and seasoning a little and toast them on both sides. These are great for chips or a low cal snack at the theater. Just look at your diary and see where your holes are and then decide when your worse snacking time is. But most of all--change your way of thinking--this is your Lifestyle change.