Trying To Get My Evening Snacking Under Control

Is it possible your calorie goal is too aggressive and you are legitimately hungry?

I prelog my day as much as possible and pencil in a 150-250 calorie after dinner snack. I eat whatever I want, weighing out the portion and putting the container away before I eat. Maybe something like that would help.

If there are specific foods you have no control over, it might help to not buy them for awhile and stock up on snacks you can better trust yourself to eat a reasonable portion. Just make sure they are still things that will hit the spot!

I just found a fantastic snack for after hours. I am a very late owl myself, and my snacking seems to have no end. But, now I have started snacking on any kind of melon imaginable. You can eat enough to fill up on and its very low calories. Even during the day 1 or two pieces stop my sugar craving!

If you track your calories on a daily basis, you can try starting your tracking day at 6:00 pm. A lot of people I know tend to be much more cautious with their calorie usage earlier in the day because they worry about running out.

There is no rule that says you have to start your day at 1201am.

lettymartine wrote: »

countcurt wrote: »

If you track your calories on a daily basis, you can try starting your tracking day at 6:00 pm. A lot of people I know tend to be much more cautious with their calorie usage earlier in the day because they worry about running out.

There is no rule that says you have to start your day at 1201am.

That’s a really good idea! Not heard that one before. Just wondering how that would work with tracking food on here and whether it would make it confusing?

I think it would be pretty straightforward. At, say, 6 pm, you just flip to tomorrow's page. You can enter tonight's dinner under the dinner then tomorrow am pick up at breakfast then lunch. After a couple of days I think it would become pretty routine.


I track on paper, so I can do it any way that works without worrying about it.

You need to fight through one or two nights and then you'll have it beat. Save 200 calorie and plate out a snack to eat in the fridge at night at 10 or 11. Just solve your problem ..figure it out. Say you have only $200 dollars to make it to next payday. Will you spend it in one night? Or will you put your thinking cap on and budget it out so you successfully make it to payday?

You Know what to do.. do it!

SoleTrainer60 wrote: »

I do pretty well with portion control during breakfast lunch and dinner, but when evening comes, all I want to do is snack. I know what I need to do, but yet I choose chips and candy. I guess I just need to quit bringing it into the house. I am so disgusted with myself.

Don't beat yourself up. That is the first and most important thing. Do you think that during the day you could be busy with work or errands etc but come the evening, you are winding down and so this is why your snacking starts? To put it another way, do you think that the snacking is your way of trying to find something externally to make you feel good?

I notice I have a tendency to eat junk food in the evening for this reason; I have an anxiety condition which I become more aware of when I'm not active I.e in the evening. So instictively because im not feeljng good in myself i look for something to make me feel good-snacks, the internet on my phone etc.

I agree with a poster above that you calories goal may be too low. Your body feels starved and so you reach for the snacks. It's a biological and psychological reaction. Allow yourself to have some chips here or there. Track the calories and move on. Also, dont be disgusted with yourself, you are human and eating chips here and there is really OK. Give yourself grace and forgiveness. Picture the person you love most in this world (mother, daughter, son, husband, friend) now, speak to yourself the same way you would speak to that friend who is struggling. You deserve that, you are worth that!

I have the same problem and have to use strategies to manage it! Half the time I feel like I'm wrestling an alligator! Some of these might work for you:
-No candy or chips in house. If I want them in the evening I have to drive to the store where I then buy 2 modest items (tiny bag of jellybeans kept at checkout and a small bag of flavoured popcorn) and a Diet Coke.
-Save 300 calories or more for evening snacking.
-Eat dinner later so there is less evening time without food. Go for a walk after dinner (reduces sugar levels in blood which means you need less insulin released - excess insulin in bloodstream contributes to cravings if you are insulin resistant).
- Keep my carb consumption lowish generally (see bit about insulin resistance).
- Make myself wait an hour between snack items.
- Eat breakfast and more protein earlier in day. Seems to have an effect on my evening cravings.
- Be aware that I associate the couch and tv with eating. These are powerful behavior triggers. So i can go to bed instead or read a book somewhere else in the house.
- Have apple slices dipped in peanut butter and then wait an hour.
- take the lowest calorie recommendation on mfp so if I overeat on snacks I still might be in the weight loss or maintenance range.
- figure out low calorie snack options that still make you feel as if you've had a treat e.g. 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds seasoned with black pepper are 60 calories and they take ages to shell, I have a recipe for southwest popcorn that is under 200 calories, kitkat and mars bars are my best lower calorie options compared to other chocs, glass of red wine is 70 cal.
- Know that if I manage to control my cravings for 5 days, they dissipate and don't overwhelm me so is that giant bag of popcorn going to be worth it? (Unfortunately the answer is sometimes yes so then I cycle back through the other strategies again!)

SylviazSpirit wrote: »

I agree with a poster above that you calories goal may be too low. Your body feels starved and so you reach for the snacks. It's a biological and psychological reaction. Allow yourself to have some chips here or there.

It's possible. But many night snackers eat mindlessly. They're getting plenty of calories but, for whatever reason, get pleasure out of nibbling the night away.

I'm all for allowing myself to have some chips here or there (or, sometimes, everywhere), but chips are not the answer here.


I generally will have a snack at night. Which will depend on what's in the house. But if I eat a [relatively] early dinner and don't snack, I wake up in the middle of the night full on hungry. Which never ends well.

I am a night time snacker, always kept 200-300 calories for that, still do - works for me. I could easily eat more but I've got into the habit of not having more than that. Drinking water helps.