Late night tips needed

eurotrashcc
eurotrashcc Posts: 26 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hello. Has anyone else had issues with late night eating/high calorie intake?
What did you do to either curb it? If you found a lower calorie alternative snack food, what did you use? Thank you in advance for your help.

Replies

  • ashleyih
    ashleyih Posts: 76 Member
    I always have an issue with this!
    I love the 98% fat free popcorn! It’s filling and about 120 calories total!
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I eat lighter during the day so I can plan to have some food in the evening. I basically have "first dinner" at around 6pm and "second dinner" at around 8:30-9pm so I can go to bed satisfied. I absolutely hate going to bed hungry and will wake up in the middle of the night if I don't eat.

    In terms of cravings or mindless eating, I make sure I stay busy on projects and don't go to bed until it's time to sleep. I try to only do inactive stuff (watching youtube/tv) in small increments as breaks rather than the main activity. I'm still new at trying that, but it seems to be helping a lot with grabbing food just to eat it rather than any actual hunger.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,419 Member
    I go to bed much earlier than I used to. I get up a lot earlier, too. I'm not hungry in the mornings, but when I was staying up late I had food/snacking problems too.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    I go to bed much earlier than I used to. I get up a lot earlier, too. I'm not hungry in the mornings, but when I was staying up late I had food/snacking problems too.

    I need to shift my schedule now that the sidewalks aren't ice anymore so I can go for a morning walk. I really enjoyed them last year. Still a bit dark but light enough for bright clothing to be seen by cars.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
    edited March 2019
    I'm there with you brother. The lower calorie choice is a great idea. Also, not having the unhealthier options available.
    My go to snack while not an unhealthy snack is high calorie and fat. I like a big spoonful of Skippy natural PB and a tall glass of milk. I also keep a low carb yogurt in the fridge.
    However, there's times that all the bad options that are around the house tempt me. The rest of the fam doesn't subscribe to a healthier lifestyle and they stock up on bad choices. This is where I fail often, I know it's a matter of me just being more diligent and I need to dig deep and find better ways to avoid those bad choices.
    One thing I did when I was younger was to brush my teeth after dinner, this kept me from eating and drinking. I need to start trying that again as well.
    Also, when I was younger I kept a pic of me at my worst and best shape on the fridge with a captions under them to motivate me with better choices.
    Good luck brother (and sister) you got this.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,534 Member
    I don’t know that I can give you a meaningful response in a vacuum. My whole approach was a bit different. Sorry I don’t have a link, but there was an article linked here about a month ago that basically had it- I was trying to find the number where my eating was as satisfying as possible and I could still lose weight.

    Some folks may want to substitute “as much as possible” for satisfying. Long way to say I don’t think I can’t help with staying the course with a strict eating austerity plan.

    So are your overall calories too low to live with? You gotta answer this for you. Can you roll back dinner a bit later? I moved mine back to 7. Bedtime was 10:30.

    My evening snack- some sort of diet modified ice cream. Currently about 120 calories worth of Breyer’s No Sugar Added Vanilla. I feel like I get more bang for my calories with frozen treats. And it helps keep my sweet tooth in check. Give in to some other treat during the day- no ice cream. For quite a while I was eating Weight Watchers fudge bars, knocking them off the stick and eating them with a spoon because it took longer to eat. Hope this helps. I know that some folks can’t have ice cream in the house because once they start, they don’t stop. Good luck.
  • emmies_123
    emmies_123 Posts: 513 Member
    I keep myself busy with whatever is keeping myself awake (usually video games), and make sure there are no snacks within range of where I'm at. I set myself a "dessert o'clock" that is about 1 hr before bedtime (go to bed around same time each night as I have regular work schedule), and don't let myself eat any food after that.

    May help knowing why you are up at late night to be eating/snacking. Are you on a night-owl work schedule? Insomnia? What is a full waking day to you? If "late night" is your dinner time, maybe watch other key habits, like grazing throughout the day.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
    88olds wrote: »
    I don’t know that I can give you a meaningful response in a vacuum. My whole approach was a bit different. Sorry I don’t have a link, but there was an article linked here about a month ago that basically had it- I was trying to find the number where my eating was as satisfying as possible and I could still lose weight.

    Some folks may want to substitute “as much as possible” for satisfying. Long way to say I don’t think I can’t help with staying the course with a strict eating austerity plan.

    So are your overall calories too low to live with? You gotta answer this for you. Can you roll back dinner a bit later? I moved mine back to 7. Bedtime was 10:30.

    My evening snack- some sort of diet modified ice cream. Currently about 120 calories worth of Breyer’s No Sugar Added Vanilla. I feel like I get more bang for my calories with frozen treats. And it helps keep my sweet tooth in check. Give in to some other treat during the day- no ice cream. For quite a while I was eating Weight Watchers fudge bars, knocking them off the stick and eating them with a spoon because it took longer to eat. Hope this helps. I know that some folks can’t have ice cream in the house because once they start, they don’t stop. Good luck.

    Actually an earlier bed time is a great idea as well. I use to use that as well, which on the backside of that was also a bonus. I would wake up earlier with more energy and I would do more in the morning starting my calorie burning earlier. I also eat healthier in the morning.
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    I refuse to go to bed hungry but I can manage hunger during the day. Therefore I am really strict during the day and eat the same breakfast, lunch and snack nearly every day, therefore I leave room in my late afternoon and evening for a more hearty meal so I feel satisfied at bed. Anytime I went to bed hungry I felt deprived and triggered my eating disorder. I do try to think ahead though and make popcorn or have make sure I leave room for ice cream etc.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
    kelsully wrote: »
    I refuse to go to bed hungry but I can manage hunger during the day. Therefore I am really strict during the day and eat the same breakfast, lunch and snack nearly every day, therefore I leave room in my late afternoon and evening for a more hearty meal so I feel satisfied at bed. Anytime I went to bed hungry I felt deprived and triggered my eating disorder. I do try to think ahead though and make popcorn or have make sure I leave room for ice cream etc.

    This is also a good tip. Planning a head for those late night cals by leaving room during the day. I just can't always do it well enough.
  • RavenStCloud
    RavenStCloud Posts: 366 Member
    This might be a little off the wall, but two women in my crochet class started learning just so they had something to keep their hands occupied with during the evenings while they were watching TV. Now, granted, they also changed their eating and exercise habits, but they were both big proponents of crocheting instead of mindless eating. Or crocheting until cravings passed. Good luck!
  • AmyC2288
    AmyC2288 Posts: 386 Member
    Personally, I make sure to save 150-200 cals per day to have a late night treat. Low Fat popcorn or some low-cal ice cream bar option.

    I have seen some people mention before that brushing your teeth when you get the craving can help because once you have that minty taste in your mouth you don't really want to eat after.
  • rod61miller
    rod61miller Posts: 3 Member
    A handful of raw baby spinach can usually curb my need to feed .
  • snowprincess502
    snowprincess502 Posts: 103 Member
    Drinking whey protein works for me.
  • nomoreflakybiscuits
    nomoreflakybiscuits Posts: 2 Member
    When I have the late-night munchies, there are three go-to's of mine that I fall back on. 1) Roasted seaweed. 2)Momma Chia Chia Seed Squeeze pouches 3) Decaffinated, non-sweetened hot tea

    Bonus points if that hot tea is decaf green tea. I like the Taja Tea brand a lot, especially because they have a Saffron-Mango Green Tea that is absolutely delightful. In addition to having the appetite-killing power of green tea, the saffron also elevates my mood.

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