Ideas to help avoid late night snacking?

For me, late night snacking is something that subconsciously happens. I'm happily watching America's Got Talent, look down and wonder how that rice pudding got in my hand.

I set a rule--nothing after 8 pm (due to work dinner is late). I made a sign that I hang on my fridge and pantry. One side says 'Open--what are you grabbing?' (another way to make me think before I reach) and the other side says 'We are Closed!'. I hung it right where my handles to my fridge and pantry are so I have to touch it to open it. Just that little bump from the sign causes me to stop and think before I open.

My husband and I also hold each other accountable after 8 pm when the kitchen is closed. He's had a blast calling me out when I start to walk into the kitchen after it is closed...I haven't had to hold him accountable (yet).

Go to bed earlier?

lol, just kidding, sort of. But, by nature I'm an early-to-bed-early-to-wake-up person so that isn't hard for me.

My downfall was about an hour after dinner, as I would sit on my laptop just browsing around the internet, I'd pour a glass of wine and something salty and crunchy. And you know that anything salty and crunchy isn't particularly calorie-friendly. And we won't even discuss that wine. ugh.

So now I brush my teeth right after dinner (we eat at around 7:00 or so). Then later if I get an urge to eat something I ask myself "are you really hungry?" The answer is always no because we just ate dinner not too long before. And since I've brushed my teeth I'm not likely to go eat.

Also, I chew sugarless cinnamon gum. And sometimes I'll drink hot tea with a little bit of honey. For some reason i can drink tea with only a teeny amount of sweetener, but not coffee -- I need that to be creamy and sweet. lol

Anyway, those are my strategies. No wine and chips, brush teeth, drink something (and not a beer, lol), and sugarless gum.

Like Monklady123, brushing my teeth really helps curb any late night snacks. Mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to go through the effort of brushing them again if I eat something.

Just grabbing a glass of water is probably the easiest thing you can do. If you're already up and in the kitchen, it's just as easy to grab the water as it is to grab a snack.

I save a significant amount of calories for a snack every night because I love late night snacking. I have 4 young children so it's a relatively stress-free time for me and I like to sit down, relax, and actually enjoy my food. I've lost over 40 pounds eating 300ish calorie snacks at night before bed!

I just went into the kitchen wanting something sweet n turned around n said "nope I'm going to bed"
Sometime u just have to drink some water n go to bed lol ! Working for me at the moment

MamaBirdBoss wrote: »

Why avoid it? Eat when you're hungry. Rearrange calories accordingly. I don't even eat until the afternoon, anyway!

Yep, this.

Eat a bit less in your daytime meals.

Another tip would be to save dessert till just before bed.

I too allow calories for snacks, too many at times, but i crave food and if I don't give in to the craving I usually end up eating way too much other stuff until I just eat what I craved. A churro or ice cream have been top choices for awhile now. I have a big problem if there is candy in the house that I know of, I will actually wake up in the middle of the night feeling the need to eat all the candy. I don't know why or how to stop that other than I can't have more candy in the house that I know of (family will hide it from me & this works) that was figured into my day.