How can I break this habit?

Do you log EVERYTHING you eat on MyFitnessPal? I find that really helps me keep control. I log everything before I eat it....that gives me enough time to think "do you really want that? do you need it?"

My worst time of the day is in the evenings and snacking is a bad habit of mine. It's just that....a habit. I used to look in the fridge within moments of walking through the front door. It takes time to kick habits, but starting new ones should help change your routine.

Hope that helps.

You should try exercising in the evenings. You need to occupy your mind so that it doesn't concentrate on food. The first week or so is going to be really hard you just need to get a mindset. You'll be glad you did.

I too tend to munch late afternoon. By logging everything and realizing how much I have to exercise to make up for that ...beer, chocolate, cookie, etc I really think twice about partaking. You are the only one who can change that habit. Try walking, drinking some water, chewing some Trident, or brushing the teeth. For a couple of hours after I have brushed teeth, I have a hard time eating or drinking anything but water

Get rid of the bad food so when you do eat, it's good for you. Find something to take your mind off of food. I know if I'm just sitting around that is all I can think about so find a hobby. Also, they say it takes 2 weeks where a new routine starts to become a habit. If you break the cycle and not overindulge for 2 weeks it will become a norm and it will be easier to not give in.

ok let me try to explain, sorry if I ramble or don't make much sense but it is early and I have not had much coffee yet lol.
I have a terrible habit that I need to break. I start each day great - I work out, eat super healthy, have all these great plans, then at about 3pm I basically just give up. I start eating junk food, drinking beer and basically give myself permission to "start over tomorrow". I gorge on a bunch of junk and ruin everything. I can easily eat an extra 3000 calories in an afternoon/evening. This habit has become so ingrained that I don't even think about it half the time...it just happens.. I know this is stupid because it's my own doing but it is actually a really big obstacle for me. This happens almost every day! I don't understand why I keep doing this. Can you offer any advice? Thanks :-)

What are you eating earlier in the day? Are you getting enough protein and healthy fats? If you're eating primarily carbs, you're going to have big energy dips when your blood sugar comes back down and feel tired and snacky.

The alcohol is a double-whammy. Not only will your body burn the alcohol instead of food (storing all that food as fat), it makes it much much easier to just eat whatever is around and way too much of it.

Until you can get through a few weeks of a good eating plan, I'd cut out the alcohol entirely. Then see if you can add it back in moderation and still maintain control of your eating plan.

I too tend to munch late afternoon. By logging everything and realizing how much I have to exercise to make up for that ...beer, chocolate, cookie, etc I really think twice about partaking.

So true! Yesterday was a TERRIBLE day for me food wise and I remember leaving the restaurants(!) thinking, crap I have to log this into MFP and I'm going to hate what it says...

Try taking alli, with the potential for those side effects, :sick: you won't cheat!! LOL

I too was an afternoon eating machine! What helps me is having coffee around 3pm. It's filling and holds me over until dinner.

this used to happen to me too. What I've done different is:

1: I log every single thing that goes into my mouth and I make my journal public so that anyone in the world can see what I ate..this helps me to stay on track a LOT

2: Breakfast is a must. if i'm getting ready to workout then it's a lean shake, if not then it's an egg sandwich. If I skip breakfast the rest of the day is spent thinking of food

3: sugar free jello has been my go to meal in the evening! Someone on this board suggested it....If I think I'm gonna die if i don't have something sweet then I mix a box up and have to wait for it to set so by the time it has set and I've eaten, I'm tired and it's bedtime I was eating jello every night for a while but now it's just once or twice a week. it's very low in calories.

4: DISCIPLINE: there isn't a pill, a food, a key to make you not cheat in the evenings. You have to mentally decide that you will not do it and then don't walk into the kitchen in the evening. If you have to toss the beer and bad food that will help too.
If i can do it, you can do it!! i promise

ETA: getting up and taking a walk, jogging, going to the gym will also help...once you work out you don't want to waste all of the calories you just burned and after a hot bath it's usually bedtime anyway. if it is REALLY bad, i just go to bed early

If you exercise hard in the morning you may be putting yourself in a mindset that is self-destructive: "I can eat this - I exercised hard this morning and I will again tomorrow". That, in and of itself, is not a bad thing... the part that destructs our work on our physical bodies is that our mind doesn't fully calculate the equality of the number of calories burned during exercise and the number of calories being consumed in the "reward food". So we tend to over-reward ourselves.

Try NOT working out hard for a few days so you don't feel like you deserve to have whatever you're having at 3pm until bedtime. This could stop your destructive habit.

You can still exercise, just don't go hog wild on it for a couple of weeks. It's been said that a habit takes 3 weeks to form... and 3 weeks to break... so give yourself 3 weeks to create a new healthy habit for yourself.

I am similar, but a late night snacker. Extercise hard at lunch and 8-9 eat a ton. You probably can't stop the snacking part, but you have to find lower calorie snacks to fill you up. As soon as I get home I frequently have a pickle (yes high in sodium, but low cal and filling). I have tried and love snap pea pods and hummus. A few almonds before I go to bed give me some protein. Also a small bow of cereal and low fat milk is very filling and lowish in calorie. Just find something that works for you.