Help! I overeat at dinner!

rachmeeks
rachmeeks Posts: 1 Member
in Motivation and Support
All day I do so good. Healthy breakfast, snacks, and good lunch but them dinner comes and I have ridiculous cravings and then I wayyyy overeat! I am so tired after work that usually I don't want to do anything (I workout before I go to work) so I get fast food! I've tried meal prepping to have easy dinners ready but then I still crave those burgers or nachos!

Help! Does anyone else have this problem? Any tips/advice??

Replies

  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
    I wonder if it would help if you drove home via a different route -- so you didn't go near the fast food places?
  • ettaterrell
    ettaterrell Posts: 887 Member
    I'm the same way, but what I learned to do was have a snack right before dinner, like 1 hr or less. I've realized that if I'm not hungry at dinner (I eat what ever I cook for husband and kids) I tend not to make bad choices at dinner. a few weeks ago I got on a celery and peanut butter kick. 1TBS peanut butter and celery is less than 100 cals and it will help cravings at dinner.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    I don't know where you live, what your fast food options are - but I understand! Time is precious. What helps me? Having go-to meals that I know I can turn to at a variety of places. Subway is good for a variety of 6" subs, though I am not big on chips so a 12" is sometimes a good choice. (Personally I'm stuffed after about 9" of the sandwich...) Zaxby's has great salads w/ grilled chicken. Wendy's has some good salads now, though ask about what sauces they put on. McDs, a cheeseburger happy meal w/ apples is ~400 calories for the burger, apples, and tiny serving of fries. I even had a salad at Steak N Shake the other day.

    On the other hand, nothing wrong with having nachos - but you'd be better off making them at home so you can control what goes in. Doesn't have to be a major project. Cook chicken w/ taco seasoning in the slow cooker while you're away. Spread over a controlled portion of chips, add veggies. Not a bad meal at all. Even burgers are fine, but go for smaller ones rather than larger. A Whopper Jr without mayo but with cheese is 300 calories. Instead of a mayo+cheese whopper for 710. Go for mustard, more flavor and no fat compared to mayo.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    I'm a big believer in eating what you eat. It sounds dumb but exclusion diets don't seem very effective. I'm in total agreement with homemade nachos (nachos....yummy!). I will nosh on low cal fruits and veggies while cooking to fill up. This is especially true if I'm famished, have low blood sugars, tired or moody.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Are you over hungry? If I have a big gap between lunch and dinner I get that way. Try to plan a healthy snack between.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Eat less during the day to leave calories for dinner, and make your own burgers or nachos. Seriously, I can make a burger that's better, healthier, and more filling than McDonald's in about 4 minutes with my foreman grill. It's faster than standing in line and waiting for my food too. Nachos I haven't figured out yet but I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard.
  • __hannah_
    __hannah_ Posts: 787 Member
    I had the same problem with overeating at dinner. Having a snack within an hour before dinner definitely helps curb the urge to eat large portions. In addition, you could eat a snack to hold you over until you have time to prepare a meal for dinner. Nachos can be healthy if you make them at home :)
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    I agree that you should make you own burgers and tacos. You could fit the calories into your limit. Otherwise, find a way to fit the fast foods into your daily calories limit.
  • jillian_fan2425
    jillian_fan2425 Posts: 167 Member
    I don't know where you live, what your fast food options are - but I understand! Time is precious. What helps me? Having go-to meals that I know I can turn to at a variety of places. Subway is good for a variety of 6" subs, though I am not big on chips so a 12" is sometimes a good choice. (Personally I'm stuffed after about 9" of the sandwich...) Zaxby's has great salads w/ grilled chicken. Wendy's has some good salads now, though ask about what sauces they put on. McDs, a cheeseburger happy meal w/ apples is ~400 calories for the burger, apples, and tiny serving of fries. I even had a salad at Steak N Shake the other day.

    On the other hand, nothing wrong with having nachos - but you'd be better off making them at home so you can control what goes in. Doesn't have to be a major project. Cook chicken w/ taco seasoning in the slow cooker while you're away. Spread over a controlled portion of chips, add veggies. Not a bad meal at all. Even burgers are fine, but go for smaller ones rather than larger. A Whopper Jr without mayo but with cheese is 300 calories. Instead of a mayo+cheese whopper for 710. Go for mustard, more flavor and no fat compared to mayo.

    Yes! This.

    A slow cooker is God's gift for those of us with busy lifestyles.

    When I know I'm going to be going out to eat somewhere, I look up the menu online beforehand and try to plan for my calories. I usually find it's possible to eat the kind of food I enjoy without going overboard. The key is portion sizes and small substitutions (like the mustard for the mayo). Even getting light sauces when I go to a burger joint saves me a few calories. It all adds up.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    You say you stop for fast food even when you have a healthy dinner prepper ahead of time. So, is the real problem that you can't seem to break the fast food habit?

    You say your breakfast, snacks and lunch are healthy, but what do yo mean by that? Are you being too strict? Cutting fat too low? Eating foods you don't particularly enjoy?

    It's fine to have nachos and burgers as part of your diet, but if you are overeating these things every day, I would suggest looking at the rest of your diet to see what is making you want to overeat at night.
  • tautailgate
    tautailgate Posts: 26 Member
    If all else fails, many of the big fast food chains have meal planners on their websites. You can build your meal before you order- play around with sizes and toppings. By making your meal and forcing yourself to look at the calories and nutritional information BEFORE you order and eat it, that might just help give you the extra PUSH to drive past and just go home to make yourself something healthier.

    This tactic has helped me find the motivation to turn down some "half-priced app" invites from friends. I saw the amount of calories for one of the appetizers I liked, and realized it was almost my entire day's intake of calories! I just couldn't do it. Give the meal planning option a try

Categories