Evening Eating Weakness !!

orlandogirl97 · July 2014

I eat my largest meal for lunch. I eat dinner (a bit smaller) between 7-7:30. Then I go for a long walk. I make a deal with myself that once I leave the house----> no more food. I am usually not hungry when I come home----> sleep!

The only time I am still hungry after my walk is when I did not eat enough calories throughout the day!

gaylebodine · July 2014

Yes, I have to allow for a "bedtime" snack of some kind of carb like slice of toast, rice cakes, banana (honorary carb) or I can't sleep. When hungry in evening earlier sometimes I eat vegetables.

JustFindingMe · July 2014

I do have very little knowledge as to what my macros should be at. When I originally joined here about half a year ago it was with the intent to eat keto. That didn't work for me personally but I did like that my ratios were figured out for me. Now that Im looking at calorie intake and health, im really at a loss as to what percentage each should be at. I will try either eating more or eating more protein. Im thinking upping my protein will make me stay full longer.

Going to cook some chicken right now!

:flowerforyou:

JCE0129 · July 2014

Do what works for you. Chicken and turkey breast are low fat, if that's what you're into. But like I said, there's no reason to stick to 24 grams of fat, if you want more and your doctor hasn't told you to lower your fat intake. Just my 2 cents. YMMV.
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Thanks! I appreciate any suggestions people have. Lately, I haven't been staying that low with my fat intake. Most days in the last couple weeks I am in the 30s to 40 just because something like a handful of nuts is something quick & easy to grab. Chicken or some sliced turkey is a good option, you're right about that.

kimny72 · July 2014

I'm no expert, but I've heard that .7 or .8 times your weight in lbs is the number of grams of protein you should eat to preserve muscle. I view the MFP goal as a bare minimum for me.

Eggs, turkey, chicken, nuts & seeds, string cheese, yogurt, quinoa, brown rice, protein powder, peas, and edamame are all great sources of protein. Eggs really aren't that high in fat unless you have some kind of a health issue, and for me at least they really fill me up. Nuts & seeds are high in fat, but you need some fat to keep your body working properly and they pack a ton of good stuff in a small package!

rkcampbell · July 2014

I am definitely an evening eater. I just plan for it. I log my entire day the night before and go ahead and log usually at least 300 calories for evening snacks. Then I spread the rest out throughout the day. If you know you are a nighttime eater, try this.

lmr0528 · July 2014

Night time is the worst for me too.. I always find myself craving salt at night. I could eat perfect all day long but then as soon as 8:00 pm rolls around, I want junk. I resist as long as I can but if I really feel like I need something, I just take a serving of crackers. I don't buy junk food.

h9dlb · July 2014

I tend to keep my meals small because I like to snack at night. I usually still have 300 other so calories left after dinner for snacks!

same here - I like to snack on almonds, prawns and reduced fat cheese at night when I'm watching tv so I try and make my evening meal lower in calories to stay within my daily allowance

arussell134 · July 2014

This is also my issue!! I don't have any tips, just want to chime in to add this to "my topics" to bookmark for later.

I find I too can eat perfectly all day, but then the end of the day comes and all bets are off. I've identified at least part of the problem is that's the time the kids are in bed and finally "my time." I think psychologically, I feel like I deserve some sort of "treat."

WBB55 · July 2014

I wanted to add another something to this.

It took me about 2 years to lose 100 lbs. And nearly every day I ate a square of dark chocolate as my afternoon treat at work. And every night I ate a small bowl of ice cream (eventually I switched to sugar-free, to cut the calories further). Almost every day. Of course, I'd obviously fit those "treats" into an overall calorie goal for the day. But I got to "look forward" to the planned treat. And this helped me not snack on other things, knowing I had ICE CREAM waiting for me at home if I didn't run thru that McDonald's drive thru to get a shake or some fries.

Sprinkling cocoa or cinnamon on top of the sugar-free ice cream helped make it seem more of a treat.

Honestly, any craving or quirk you have, many of us have been thru it and either (1) worked thru it until the urges passed, (2) found a substitute, or (3) just fit the craving into our day. We all have different personalities and different hormonal/emotional needs.

Charcharlottey · July 2014

I had this problem. What worked for me was I decided to stop eating anything other than water after 7:00 pm. This "no exception," rule I made for myself helped me tremendously with my late night overeating. I always made sure I ate all of my daily macros before that so I wouldn't be hungry.

BGuti60 · July 2014

Oh man, this is me too! I think it's because I get tired and I think about every delicious thing I could eat. Have to read through this post to see what ideas people have.

becomingbeautifultoday · July 2014

I get this when I stay up too late. Lucky for me, I’m up at 5:30 every morning, which puts me in bed no later than 9pm, only about 2 hours after dinner. This means I’m in bet just before those snacky urges kick in! One trick I did find that worked for me is to keep your hands busy. If you’re just watching TV, it’s so easy to put things in your mouth, but if you’re playing video games, or sewing, or doing anything where your hands are moving, it focuses your mind to your hands, and not your stomach. Try timing yourself and find out when you start to get cravings. Make sure you’re doing a “busy hands” activity 30 minutes before that time every night.

hearthwood · July 2014

You're definitely not alone, lots of nighttime smackers on this board, including me. You just keep those calories in mind, not in your mouth and you'll conquer it.

stephielee88 · July 2014

Nigh time is my worst as well. As soon as the kids go to sleep I want to do homework and stuff my face! I amtruly trying to stick to my calories (1200) a day but it is so hard.

ShallyG · July 2014

My night time go to snack is usually cereal. Something like rice crispies or Special K. I'm hoping to try and get rid of the snack all together!!!

becomingbeautifultoday · July 2014

I get this when I stay up too late. Lucky for me, I’m up at 5:30 every morning, which puts me in bed no later than 9pm, only about 2 hours after dinner. This means I’m in bet just before those snacky urges kick in! One trick I did find that worked for me is to keep your hands busy. If you’re just watching TV, it’s so easy to put things in your mouth, but if you’re playing video games, or sewing, or doing anything where your hands are moving, it focuses your mind to your hands, and not your stomach. Try timing yourself and find out when you start to get cravings. Make sure you’re doing a “busy hands” activity 30 minutes before that time every night.