night time eating

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lsloper
lsloper Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have noticed that I do fairly well with how I eat when I am at work, but when I get home I have cravings to splurge on junk. Any tips on how to curb my appetite in the evening?

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  • JKolb72
    JKolb72 Posts: 15 Member
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    I do the exact thing! I have found that if I have an urge to eat I ask myself "am I hungry or bored/stressed/etc" If I am hungry I will try to grab some vegies, fruit, or something light (along with plenty of water). Then I make myself go do something, walk, do something with the kids, play ball with the dog, etc. If I can keep busy it keeps my mind off of food. It works most of the time but sometimes I falter.
  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
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    It's a habit. I had to really focus on not stopping by McDonald's on the way home from work (at 10:00 at night). A block or two before the turn off, I got in the right hand lane so I wouldn't automatically turn in. I would have a planned snack at home then brush my teeth. Food doesn't taste very good right after brushing/rinsing. Plus I didn't want to get my clean teeth all scuzzy.
  • Cchioles
    Cchioles Posts: 276 Member
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    keep the junk out of the house if possible.. My Strategy for overcoming this was to keep myself busy from the time i got home until bedtime.. for me this was not difficult because i have children lol and if you do youll understand. Than after my workout, id eat which ended up being within an hour or so before bed, sometimes less.. but i also learned that eating before bed did not affect weight loss as its always been thought.. so i didnt ever go to bed hungry, and if i did get hungry, i never knew it because i was sleeping lol... spreading out meals, scheduling meal timing as i did, and just being mindful of your choices over a long period of time will improve your progress.. pay attention to when you get hungry, and change meal timing accordingly!
  • mccraee
    mccraee Posts: 199 Member
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    Sometimes it is associated with another night time activity. I used to snack while watching TV. I moved the TV and have found a host of other things to do in the evening including reading, going for a walk (in summer), knitting, listening to books on tape, taking a tub, etc.

    Also, I have found that I just have to stay out of the kitchen. If I wander in there and start opening cabinets or the frig it isn't going to end well. We do the dishes and I pack my lunch for the next day immediately after dinner. And, then I just don't go in there again. At first I had to put a chair in the entry way to remind myself to stay out (I wish I had doors so I could close it off!).

    I eat at 6:00 or so and go to bed at 9:00 so I'm can't actually be starving hungry before bed. I sleep better when I'm not full anyway so all is good.
  • lsloper
    lsloper Posts: 17 Member
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    This is all very helpful, thank you!
  • DanerTee
    DanerTee Posts: 263 Member
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    I believe it is mostly a habit thing. For me, I always used to read and eat, so now, of an evening I will open my book and immediately want to eat something. When I feel like that, I must put the book away or suffer the results! One thing I found really helped breaking the habit was making myself an herbal tea every time a craving hit. That way I didn't have to give up my favourite pastime but my idle hands had something to keep them busy!
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    I'm the same. Watching TV seems to amplify the issue, so I try not to at all. Rather, I walk and sit outside and read. Chewing gums helps. Here's an article I saw today: http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/how-nutritionists-curb-nighttime-snacking
  • monicaw44
    monicaw44 Posts: 71 Member
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    I find if I don't bring junk food to the house, I wont eat it. so first, don't even buy it. even if you buy one candy bar, or a small bag of chips while you're out, that's okay...don't buy them to keep at home.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,108 Member
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    I don't eat much during the day but I am always super hungry at night. For me switching to 16:8 intermittent fasting works. I couldn't lose when I was trying to force myself to eat more small meals because I still always needed the big one in the evening.
  • Shana67
    Shana67 Posts: 680 Member
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    lsloper wrote: »
    I have noticed that I do fairly well with how I eat when I am at work, but when I get home I have cravings to splurge on junk. Any tips on how to curb my appetite in the evening?

    It sounds so super simplistic, but when I'm done eating for the day and feel tempted to continue.... I just go to sleep. LOL. True story.

    Also, I save most of my calories for the evening. I have coffee in the AM, and a very light lunch around 1p. Dinner and drinks and snacks around 7-8. Works really well :)
  • louise_gets_lean
    louise_gets_lean Posts: 24 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Also keep your water bottle handy! Take a drink whenever you feel like you're bored/hungry/snacky. Just be prepared for extra toilet breaks haha
  • Dano74
    Dano74 Posts: 503 Member
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    This may seem a little unorthodox but I tend to eat lightly in the day as it doesn't bother me as much and bank most of my calories for evening where I eat to my heart's (and macro/calorie ceiling's) content with big snacks before bed. Still lost weight, still progressed, no guilt and 100% satisfaction.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    lsloper wrote: »
    I have noticed that I do fairly well with how I eat when I am at work, but when I get home I have cravings to splurge on junk. Any tips on how to curb my appetite in the evening?

    A. Don't keep junk in your house
    B. Keep nutritious things in your house to snack on (there's nothing wrong with snacking)
    C. Make sure you're eating enough in general
    D. Make dinner and eat that
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 667 Member
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    SCoil123 wrote: »
    I don't eat much during the day but I am always super hungry at night. For me switching to 16:8 intermittent fasting works. I couldn't lose when I was trying to force myself to eat more small meals because I still always needed the big one in the evening.


    This^^^
    When I've tried to do the conventional breakfast, lunch and dinner routine I've always gained weight because I was still hungry at night.
    So now I fast during the day. I have my main meal at 6 or 7 and then planned snacking later.
    The snacks HAVE to be planned though.
    No cabinet/fridge raids.Dangerous territory.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    lsloper wrote: »
    I have noticed that I do fairly well with how I eat when I am at work, but when I get home I have cravings to splurge on junk. Any tips on how to curb my appetite in the evening?

    Honestly it would be to eat more during the day, space out your meals more evenly. Meal timing isn't the same for everyone but you might want to try having more meals more evenly spaced throughout the day. Typically the reason people "splurge" is because they allow their blood sugar to drop so low that they feel ravenous and lose some of their willpower as a result.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I always save calories for a snack at around 8:00pm. Why fight your body's instincts if you can simply work with them? What time you eat makes no difference for weight loss so eat at times when you're hungriest. As Aaron suggested, you might find that nights are better if you eat more during the day and don't allow yourself to get too hungry. I like to eat more small meals during the day rather than 3 large meals but other people are happier with only big meals. Do what feels best to you.
  • GHARBISHER
    GHARBISHER Posts: 1 Member
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    I had the same issue, my downfall was that once I was home for the evening i would automatically head to the kitchen. I would catch up with my GF whilst making a sandwich, then have dinner an hour after. That was my trigger, addressing that was easy, I went home with a plan to preoccupy myself.

    Hope that's in somewhat useful to someone x
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    Make sure you are eating three fulfilling meals throughout the day! I too used to be an evening snacker - I would feel absolutely ravenous! I started introducing a lot of protein into my meals and eating porridge (Oatmeal) with fruit for breakfast to fill my tummy until lunch. This worked so well for me and I no longer feel the urge to reach for a snack :)

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