How on earth do I stop the after dinner snacking?!

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  • Flabulousss
    Flabulousss Posts: 106
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    Are you a pot smoker? I suggest cutting out the green first, then seeing how your munchies improve.

    Me, I just have a snack because I'm hungry. No need to overanalyze it.. You're probably just pissed off at your diet by the end of the day and racking up 400 because you can. Try eating something more filling & limited, rather than mindlessly popping more & more cheetos!
  • rosanna421
    rosanna421 Posts: 65 Member
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    usually if i feel like snacking, i'd go for something crunchy like cucumbers so i dont go over by much. i'd also make some hot chocolate using hersheys unsweetened cocoa and unsweetened vanilla almond milk and truvia, very low calorie snack yet satisfies my cravings for sweets/chips. sometimes its cravings and not hunger, so i'd go with something like that, or some tea as well.
  • SpookyElectric
    SpookyElectric Posts: 56 Member
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    Find something to keep your hands occupied! I took up cross-stitch as it keeps my hands busy, they have to be clean (so can't even sneak a square of chocolate in!) and it doesn't take much concentration, so it's easy enought to do whilst watching tv or having a conversation.

    It's not exactly rock 'n' roll, but it definitely works for me.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
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    If you snack mindlessly while watching TV, quit watching TV for a while and see if that helps. Do something else instead, such as reading a book.

    or play a video game! I find having a controller in my hands makes it hard to use them for anything else. .. okay, and I always reserve calories for my hummus and wheat thins because I like them and they make me happy.
  • staceymae19
    staceymae19 Posts: 63
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    I eat dinner, play with the kids and get them ready for bed and then I workout.... no time for snacking... maybe you just need to keep busy and drink lots of water! :)
  • staceymae19
    staceymae19 Posts: 63
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    Doing your nails is another great activity for killing a particularly bad episode of snack obsession. All the chemical smells will make you lose your appetite, plus your nails will need to dry, making it harder for you to just grab a snack.


    This also works for me as well :)
  • BoubouChan
    BoubouChan Posts: 163 Member
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    You don't have to stop. You can eat less during the day leaving you enough cals to fit those snacks in.
    THIS!
    I always try to reserve 1000-900 calories for dinner and beyond - it makes for a lean day but honestly I know myself - I like to eat a big dinner (Like 1000) and then I wont snack because I am full or a little dinner (like 500 calories) and I will snack. Either way it works out in the end... think lean throughout the day and eat at night.

    Same here. I like to eat at night while relaxing and watching TV and what not. So I just plan my day accordingly. Before dinner time I try to have about 800 calories left, 400 for dinner and 400 for night time snacks. It never had an impact on my weight loss. I think everyone runs on a different schedule. Some people like to have a large breakfast, others not so much (my breakfast is usually around 250). Do what works for you !
  • HeartsintheHighlands
    HeartsintheHighlands Posts: 10
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    posting error
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    You don't have to stop. You can eat less during the day leaving you enough cals to fit those snacks in.

    This.
  • HeartsintheHighlands
    HeartsintheHighlands Posts: 10
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    " Wake: 6:00a
    Breakfast: 9:30a
    Lunch 1:00p
    Snack: 4:30p
    Dinner: 8-9:00p
    Small Snack: 11:00p
    Bed 11:30p

    Adopting this schedule kept me from cleaning out the cupboards at 10:30 every night ...."

    My new schedule is close to this one-- I get up about 9:00 and fall asleep about midnight. Having dinner at 9 pm is very helpful. I also try to remember to take a tryptophan or 5-HTP as soon as I get in bed; I eat my chewable vitamins and calcium, drink a 20-calorie cocoa or two, drink an herbal tea, and if my mind is spinning and the cravings are monstrous, I take an OTC sleep aid. So far sleep-eating hasn't been a problem. ;-)
    I've tried a supplement called Crave Be Gone...I don't think it helps me, but I'll look for the one another poster mentioned.
    Evening snacking is a beast...probably best conquered with gentle trickery than brute force.
  • dlkingsbury
    dlkingsbury Posts: 90 Member
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    i'm a night snacker too. now, i'm just (a) not keeping it in the house, and (b) hanging a photo of my goal in the kitchen.
  • shaketwistjump
    shaketwistjump Posts: 6 Member
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    This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much! :flowerforyou:
  • ksuh999
    ksuh999 Posts: 543 Member
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    I find that if I exercise at night, it drastically reduces my appetite. I actually have to eat a surplus and then work out if I go at night because I feel like gagging if I try to eat afterwards.
  • jess17587
    jess17587 Posts: 153
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    omg that's exactly how I feel after breakfast! I just want to rave the house but what I do is keep busy for about half an hour then I don't feel so Munchy or you can just have something really cold like a low calorie ice Lolly or a very warm cupa soup but watch out for the salt!!!!!!
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
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    Self control. There are no tricks. It is just plain determination. Eat them or don't, only you can control what you put in your mouth.
  • fultimers
    fultimers Posts: 153 Member
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    It's very important for me not to go to bed hungry. I ALWAYS plan my calories so I have plenty to eat in the evening. A bedtime bowl of cereal is something I have almost every night before I go to bed. I'd rather have five-six smaller meals than three larger ones anyway.

    The poster who told OP to get some self-control doesn't get the point of why most of us are on MFP. Everyone struggles with self-control--you can't just turn a switch and you have it. It's a matter of gradually adopting better habits that work for you personally.
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
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    I have an after dinner snack every night & sometimes it's more calories than my actual dinner & I've lost over a hundred pounds. Your only problem with having an after dinner snack will be if you don't accurately measure how many crackers, how many cups of ice cream, how many chips, etc. you eat. If you're not sure then I would suggest buying a food scale & measuring out a portion of whatever snack you want.
  • Kennesaw24
    Kennesaw24 Posts: 50 Member
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    Anything I don't want to eat I don't have in the house. If it's not good for me, it's usually not good for anyone else, either. Just turn off the lights in the kitchen and make it an off-limits zone for everyone. :-) Good luck.
  • AngWest1
    AngWest1 Posts: 1
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    I find it interesting, "Get some self control."Just don't do it", Just say no.
    It kinda upset me, while i believe intentions were to help i found the ones that replied that actually gave tools, did you eat enough at dinner, would a protein snack help, preparing cut up fruits and veggies.
    I would say especially the one who said :Get some self control, wonders to myself, if you have such self control why are you here?
    What a self righteous attitude!
    After dinner snacking is a hard one, alot of times it happens because we have not ate enough during the day and our blood sugars have dipped up and down, causing hunger and cravings. try eating small to med meals Q 2-3 hours.
    Plan an eating journal. be really real about what you are eating and when? Are you working out? Are you working out at night?
    If so afterwards have some whey protein, such as a shake, i like to make mine freeze them and then it feels like i am having a milkshake.
    Hope this helps and good luck!
    Angie
  • septembergrrl
    septembergrrl Posts: 168 Member
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    Leave the kitchen, turn off the lights, and don't go back in for anything short of an emergency. I read somewhere to say aloud, "The kitchen is closed," which feels REALLY silly but seems to help me on nights when I really want to snack.

    I don't know how your house is laid out -- could you spend your evenings in a place where you can't see or get to the kitchen quickly? Our main TV is in the basement, so snacking requires going alllll the way upstairs.Usually I don't make the effort.

    Alternately, you could accept that you need 200-400 calories of snack in the evening and eat that much less earlier in the day.

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