Late night snacking a problem for you?

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sarndorman
sarndorman Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Here are some tips to prevent yourself from late night snacking:

• brush your teeth
• do a short workout until you no longer feel hunger
• read a book
• look at photos that motivate you to be a fitter, healthier versio of yourself, and remind yourself that late night snacking is never a good idea
• take a shower
• look back at your log and remember all the calories, sugars, and sodium you have already taken in that day
• drink a glass of water
• if you MUST snack on something: fruit fruit fruit -- bananas and apples especially.
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Replies

  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
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    Good topic.

    I had a problem with late night snacking. What helped me was to switch my tablet time from first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to taking them at bed time. So I find that is motivation enough for me sticking to just dinner and no after dinner snacking. Yey, it's worked a treat.
  • Mondoweft
    Mondoweft Posts: 49 Member
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    I allocate calories for dessert. I am always going to snack at night, so I make it work.
  • tbilly20
    tbilly20 Posts: 154 Member
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    If late night snacking is your problem, find out why. Cravings are your body's way of telling you something.

    Are you worried about something else in your life? Sometimes we get restless when worried. That can lead to eating in order to self-sooth.

    Are you eating enough calories for dinner? Dieting is about being at a caloric deficit. You are basically trying to starve yourself. If nights are hardest, switch around your calorie intake at dinner so that you can eat more and feel full.

    Is your body craving a certain thing? Our bodies are complex. Yes a calorie in sugar is the same as a calorie in fat, but if you aren't getting enough sugar, or fat , or salt, your body is going to let you know! If you always crave sweets at midnight, try eating a small bowl of frosted cereal before you go to bed. This way you can choose the calories before the craving hits.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
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    Somewhat. I simply allocate 150-300 calories for my bedtime snack. I'm in the middle of losing the "last few pounds" (I want to see how I look 5-10 pounds lighter before I determine where I want to maintain), so I have my calorie goal set to maintenance and leave 0-250 calories leftover as my daily deficit. If I'm not satisfied after my bedtime snack, I might use 100 calories from my deficit for an additional yogurt/pudding/hot chocolate. Some nights are going to be hungrier nights, while other nights are going to be spent with little appetite -I noticed that they balance out, so it's not going to be the end of the world if I have to cut into my deficit a few days a week for that additional snack.

    Honestly, snacking isn't the devil. If you're hungry (and have the calories for it), eat. If you're not hungry, don't eat. If you're constantly super hungry around a certain time (and don't have the calories for a snack), then reassess your food choices and meal timing to see if there's places where you can save the calories for that snack.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    Why only bananas and apples?

    I save calories for night snacking. Problem solved. :)
  • kissedbythesunshine
    kissedbythesunshine Posts: 416 Member
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    I have a problem with night time snacking. I have started saving calories specifically for that.
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 668 Member
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    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    Why only bananas and apples?

    I save calories for night snacking. Problem solved. :)

    THIS^^^^^
  • Shells918
    Shells918 Posts: 1,070 Member
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    My problem with nighttime snacking is that I feel like it just lies in my stomach. Even if I have the calories saved from heavy exercise and eat an apple, it seems to derail me. I'm going to make tea my nighttime ritual to fill me up and
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    An apple or banana has as many calories as the chocolate I pre-log in my day.
  • RetroPolkaDot
    RetroPolkaDot Posts: 83 Member
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    When I have enough calories I have a snack at around 8pm any later and I can get heartburn. if I don't have enough calories set aside then I drink tea. I finding more and more that I am not actually hungry at night. For me night time snacking seems to be both a habit and a mindless activity. I am finding other ways to fill the void. Knitting is good because it's hard to nibble on things when you have needles and yarn.
  • starwhisperer6
    starwhisperer6 Posts: 402 Member
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    night snacking is one of my favorite me times! I save calories and usually have dark chocolate hersey kisses and coffee while I read or what Netflix. Somehow an apple with my coffee sounds like much less fun... and my Netflix without a snack sounds like a total downer.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    I too save calories for late night snacks....generally 50-75% of my calories are consumed between 5pm and whenever I go to bed. Tonight I plan on having cold stone ice cream around 9am (while watching a movie in bed). I have the calories set aside (usually my night snacks are much more reasonable. ....around 300cals), but I had a very high calorie burn day today (ran a half marathon ), so I'm going to indulge!
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    Late night snacking isn't a problem at all for me. I thoroughly enjoy it!
  • Strawblackcat
    Strawblackcat Posts: 944 Member
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    I usually save my breakfast calories to eat at night. Eating in the morning makes me feel sick, and I tend to get hungrier later at night. Works for me.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,390 Member
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    The only problem I have is often my late nights turn into early mornings. So I don't know if I should log it today or tomorrow. But I often have several hundred calories in hand to eat at 10 PM or so. Sometimes enough that I can have some peanut butter and chocolate, still hit my loss goal, and have zero guilt or concern.
  • alittlelife14
    alittlelife14 Posts: 339 Member
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    I like smart pop 100 calorie popcorn, a serving of a half cup of oatmeal with a half cup frozen mixed berries with some sugar free syrup mixed in, or nonfat fage with a fourth of a cup of fiber one cereal mixed in.
  • Karik928
    Karik928 Posts: 1 Member
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    PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
    Late night snacking isn't a problem at all for me. I thoroughly enjoy it!
    lol^^ love it.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    sarndorman wrote: »
    Here are some tips to prevent yourself from late night snacking:

    • brush your teeth
    • do a short workout until you no longer feel hunger
    • read a book
    • look at photos that motivate you to be a fitter, healthier versio of yourself, and remind yourself that late night snacking is never a good idea
    • take a shower
    • look back at your log and remember all the calories, sugars, and sodium you have already taken in that day
    • drink a glass of water
    • if you MUST snack on something: fruit fruit fruit -- bananas and apples especially.

    What is wrong with late night snacking? It's neither good nor bad. Eating at any time is neither good nor bad either, it's all about preference.

    If I want a late night snack, I work it into my calorie goals. My only restriction is if I eat 2-3 hours prior to bed, I have problems due to acid reflux, so I either don't eat that late or I stay up later. One or the other, but I'm having my late night snack.

    Also, eating fruit at night has no bearing on weight loss.

    I strongly disagree with looking at photos of other people to motivate myself because then I am comparing myself to other people. I am not other people, I am me. I don't need to compare myself to others.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    I normally save a few hundred calories for a pre-bed snack and don't have any problems with digestion.

    Last night, pie and ice cream were weighing heavily in my stomach so I did some household chores I'd planned to put off until today and was fine by the time I actually lay down.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I prelog and plan a snack or two every day/night. Nothing wrong with snacking.
    The time you eat or what you eat does not matter for weight loss. The calories do matter. Work a snack into your calories. It doesn't need to be fruit which could contain as much or more calories than an egg, dish of popcorn, or a sandwich.
    If you are often reaching for snacks and have eaten an adequate amount of calories then I would suggest looking at if you are getting enough protein, fats, fiber and water. Maybe changing up the type of food you eat during the day would make a difference.

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