Late night snacking!

For myself, I love late night snacking because my 4 young children are in bed and I can finally chill out with some food by the TV by myself. So I don't deny myself that. I tend to save up calories during the day to have a larger snack in the evening. I don't just sit with a bag of chips and eat mindlessly though. I plan out what my snack will be and just eat that and then I'm done. Sometimes it's a healthier snack, depending on what the rest of my day looked like. But most of the time I eat well during the day so I can eat treats at night, since I enjoy it more then. A serving of ice cream is only 120 calories, a serving of mini chocolate chips on top is only 70 more, lol.

I also tend to want to go hard on the snacks at night when I'm finally chillin on the couch with my boyfriend. What helped me to stop snacking too crazy at night was to A) research and make a list of healthier or low calorie snacks and buy some different things when you go shopping plan out your meals/snacks for the day ahead of time so you know what you're going to eat and how hard you need to go at the gym to make up for it C) eat dinner as late as possible... 7-9 pm is great because there's a lot less time to get hungry and start over the top snacking afterwards D) don't stay up too late to give yourself more time to over indulge and mess up all your hard work for the day. Obviously adjust according to how early/late you go to sleep. I try to keep my snacks around 100 calories so they're all interchangeable depending on what I'm craving. Hope that helps!

I go to bed pretty early on weeknights (because I get up at 4:30 for work), so that cuts out the temptation for me most of the time, but when I do feel like snacking, I have some go-to favorites that don't generally put me over much like:

-popcorn (1/4 cup popped in oil and seasoned with butter and salt comes in around 250 and both takes a while to eat and is satisfying)
-homemade popsicles on hot evenings (I found a mojito popsicle recipe online that's practically saved me during this heat wave. All you really need, though, is juice or pudding. Popsicles take a while to eat, and you can make them however you like so they fit in your goals)
-toast. I don't eat a lot of breads because gluten-free breads are expensive and generally nutritionally inferior to the wheat variety I can't have, but I usually have a loaf of Udi's in the freezer to calm my stomach if I still want something to eat after dinner

I don't eat in front of the TV often unless it's specific snacks we bought to munch on while we watch a movie. Usually such movies have been planned, so I've already accounted for the snacks in my day's log. Eating is for the dinner table, and I can't see the TV from there, so that cuts down on some mindless eating. TV shows don't deserve dedicated snacks. Logging before grabbing a snack, measuring out the amount logged, putting away the package, and then eating only what you measured (and logging again before grabbing seconds if you feel the desire to do so) may slow you down. I would advise against sitting on a couch in front of the TV with an entire bag of chips or nuts or a full plate of cheese or whatever it is you like to snack on unless you're okay with eating all of it.

You might also consider another way to wind down after dinner. Maybe a walk around the block or thirty minutes of stretching could give you the same chance to zone out as TV does without you associating the activity with snacking as it's possible you do with TV.

I save up some calories for TV snacking and also go for popcorn. Usually Boom Chicka Pop - 35 calories per cup

I know I will want something to snack on at night so I always save calories for it. I also keep options around depending on how many calories I have left. If I don't have many, I'll have a frozen no sugar added fruit pop...if I have a few more, I might have a Yasso frozen greek yogurt bar or a couple candy bar minis (I get the mini size so if I have that chocolate craving, I can have one without it ruining my day!)