sticking to your diet, in the evening

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  • Celuwen
    Celuwen Posts: 80 Member
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    I get the evening munchies, so I tend to have a light lunch (I have a good breakfast!) so I can splurge a bit more in the evening. It all works out well. Maybe something similar might be useful for you?
  • runningonvegetables
    runningonvegetables Posts: 14
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    For me it's a matter of I don't eat breakfast and I eat a lighter lunch with an additional small snack. I am never hungry in the morning so I don't eat. I eat a lunch that consists of two eggs, two cups of broccoli, and one greek yogurt with two-three teaspoons of chia seeds. That's about 400 calories, and it's really filling. The snack is more because I feel like eating and it's usually a protein shake, an apple, or another greek yogurt. I usually will save 900-1000 calories for dinner, just because I really love the feeling of that big meal in my stomach. After dinner if I have any calories left I will eat something along the lines of an ice cream or a candy bar. Throughout the day I drink a total of a gallon of water, sometimes more if I am still thirsty, as well as additional drinks such as seltzer and tea. I eat 1500 calories a day.
  • runningonvegetables
    runningonvegetables Posts: 14
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    skip breakfast, use appetite suppressants, drink green tea, try intermittent fasting, eat more fiber... etc

    skipping breakfast is really BAD advice ! Healthy eating all the way.

    I think it depends on the person. If I eat breakfast, it makes me more hungry - like I am almost immediately desperate for the next meal, and I will be desperately snacking and eat a huge lunch and have no calories left for supper, so I go over my calorie goal for the day. On the other hand, if I skip breakfast, I have more control through the rest of the day, less hunger, less snacking and more moderate portions, and then the best part is when I get to supper, I can get a really full happy belly, and still be within my goal. If I have breakfast, I am going to be hungry and headachy all day. On the other hand, I know some people love/gotta have a substantial breakfast, but I can't do it and stay on my diet.

    This happens to me as well! If I eat in the morning I will want to eat all day, and it won't stop! No matter the size or the nutritional matter of the breakfast it still occurs! I will just keep on thinking about food all day.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    skip breakfast, use appetite suppressants, drink green tea, try intermittent fasting, eat more fiber... etc

    skipping breakfast is really BAD advice ! Healthy eating all the way.

    He was being "funny". :)

    The only thing that works for me is to Just Say No. No eating after supper. After a few nights, the habit seems to disappear for me. I'll often have a cup of tea in the evening. I also crochet to keep my hands/mind busy.

    There comes a point where you just have to deny yourself. You're likely "hungry" out of habit. And if you met your calorie and macro goals that day, whatever hunger you think you're feeling will not kill you.

    However, if it works out better for you to do your eating late in the day in order to meet those goals, I see nothing wrong with that, either.
    Why would you say he was being "funny?" Those are all perfectly valid suggestions. For some people who tend to be hungrier at night, skipping breakfast and eating more for dinner/after dinner snacking helps.
  • tannyb
    tannyb Posts: 131 Member
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    My strategy has been to keep very busy in the evenings - run, aquacise, errands, housecleaning, bike, walk in the park with a friend, etc. I do something every night to fill up those evening hours. Then when I get home, I'm usually sufficiently tired to go to bed earlier than in the past, when I would sit in front of the TV (sometimes till midnight.) That was when snacking was problematic for me but if I'm sleeping, then I'm definitely not snacking. I won't say it works all the time, but it does work more often than not and that has been enough for me to have some success.
  • featherbrained
    featherbrained Posts: 155 Member
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    Why would you say he was being "funny?" Those are all perfectly valid suggestions. For some people who tend to be hungrier at night, skipping breakfast and eating more for dinner/after dinner snacking helps.

    My apologies. I thought he was being funny. That's the problem with message boards, can't hear intonation, and astronomicals is an amusing guy.

    The "appetite suppressants" is what threw me. Hey, if it works. ;)
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
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    skip breakfast, use appetite suppressants, drink green tea, try intermittent fasting, eat more fiber... etc

    skipping breakfast is really BAD advice ! Healthy eating all the way.

    The debate on how good or bad skipping breakfast is will rage on for eternity! All I know is that if I skip breakfast, I get hungry and really irritable so it is a complete no-no! Sometimes I have to leave the house at 5:30am to get to my first appointment by 9:30, and I don't eat before I go. I get to about 7:30am and have to stop for breakfast otherwise I cannot concentrate.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    I try to budget at least a few calories for an evening snack. 100 calorie popcorn is a good one, because it's a lot of volume for not a lot of calories, and it takes a while to eat, lots of chewing.
  • laursoar
    laursoar Posts: 131 Member
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    One of my big habits from before I started this journey was eating way too much in the evening. I've found that the only way to deal with that has been to revamp my whole daily routine.

    Instead of skipping breakfast, I eat a relatively low calorie but intentionally filling breakfast (usually oatmeal, pb2, and either blueberries or pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie spice). Then, I've had the most success with immediately planning out my snacks for the day so there's rarely a time I'm not somewhat full. I tend to have a snack in between every meal. At work, I usually eat granola or graham crackers before and after lunch. I eat a normal lunch in the middle. After work, I generally have a smoothie/shake with a base of coconut milk, half a banana, and raw spinach with whatever else I feel like adding. I eat dinner normally too. I generally choose to have one planned snack after dinner, delaying that snack a couple of hours if I can. Then, if I get further cravings, I drink unsweetened herbal or green tea.

    So far, it's been working well!
  • keeptehpeace
    keeptehpeace Posts: 189 Member
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    I always always always want to eat loads in the evening, no matter how much I've eaten in the day. What I find help is keeping busy so I don't think about it; brushing my teeth soon after dinner as this makes me feel like it's time to stop eating; and drinking lots of hot drinks (normally tea) to keep me full for the sacrifice of a few calories for sugar, or green tea if I'm feeling it.
  • littlepinkhearts
    littlepinkhearts Posts: 1,055 Member
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    if you're eating a set cal number every day, then spread your cals out over the whole time that you're awake. That way you won't go over by the end of the day. Plan ahead, since you know you're probably gonna be hungry in the evening.
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
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    Definitely me...although I found a solution...I have a cut off time for food, about 4 1/2 hours before I go to bed. Just before that cut off, I have 2C of popcorn, which helps keep me full longer, then I try to drink a couple of cups of water, because often "hunger" is just dehydration. Doing that AND going to bed on time, really helps keep me from evening "binges."
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    I just make sure to save a enough calories for a bedtime snack which for me is usually 500 calories... Best of Luck
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
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    I'm one of those people who eats the bulk of their calories in the evening. Breakfast is usually black coffee. Lunch, if I have it, tends to be around 200-300 calories. I often just grab a clif bar or eat some oatmeal while at work, because both are quick and more than enough to keep me going til I get home. Then I eat around 1500 calories between 6pm and bedtime (and usually some sort of 1am snack >.> ) Many people have had success with this type of intermittent fasting, and as others have said, meal timing itself is irrelevant to weight loss. The only reason timing would matter is if someone tends to overeat if they skip a meal or make bad decisions out of hunger.

    ETA: A useful read regarding meal timing: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/820577-meal-frequency-rev-up-that-furnace-lol

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