How do I break the cycle??

jelleigh
jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I weigh my food. I measure my macros. I eat healthy filing nutritious food all day long. I have committed to doing something active every day for 30 min and have stuck to it. I do great all day long and then hit night and figure....i did burn am extra 600 calories today. I could have a small treat. So it's a100 call fudgsicle. But then maybe some chips? Maybe a glass of wine. Well I can maybe eat back all my exercise cals instead of half. Ok well maybe if I at least leave 500 cal deficit (currently set to 750 deficit). And before I know it I've eaten up to maintenance and figure ok it's only one day. Except its not. It's getting to be more days than not.
I'm not hungry when I do this. In fact when I grey home in not even really hungry for dinner until I start eating and then it's like I just keep going!!
What is wrong with me!! I really want to lose the weight. I've been disciplined in the past. But as soon as my husband suggests snacks its like all my willpower melts. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has dealt with this - what worked for you?

Replies

  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
    So you are very hungry at night or you just can't stop snacking but aren't hungry? Maybe you aren't eating enough in general or maybe what you eat isn't satiating for you.

    How many calories do you eat each day? How many pounds are you trying to lose? How much have you lost? What type of exercise is earning you 600 calories?

    If you set up your calorie goals through MFP then you should be eating back at least a portion of your exercise calories.

  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
    I'm similar - do great during he day and after dinner it's snack after snack after snack. What has helped me is to read. I use to watch TV more after my kids went to bed, but now I read and drink water. I'm not sure why, but it has lessened my need to snack.
  • liz0269
    liz0269 Posts: 139 Member
    Chew gum. I find that sometimes I just want something to chew on.

    Or, leave yourself enough calories for your nighttime snacks. It sounds like it's a ritual with your husband. These things can be important for our relationships. My husband and I watch stupid natural disaster movies on Saturday nights. They're corny and it's part of our love language.

    The idea is to make permanent lifestyle changes. Can you sustain giving up your nighttime routine with your husband for the rest of your life? Or would it be easier to adjust your daytime routine?
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    Loads of great ideas here. I would like to mention one more possibility. I find when my resolve starts to slip I have often started to eat less veggies and protein and more refined carbs. It always seems when I am struggling if I look back I see way more bread, sugar, potato and rice in my diet. Nothing wrong with some but when the balance leans too heavy that way I find I can't stop eating. Try getting more unrefined foods and proteins into your diet it may make you feel more sated.
  • jelleigh
    jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
    Thanks for all the suggestions. I think it probably is a bit mindless eating and also alcohol makes me crave stuff.

    In answer to the question - I'm 5'8", 200 lbs. Goal weight is 140. SW was 215 and last year I got back down to 180 but it's crept back up. I track my activity with my fitbit and it says I typically burn between 2800 and 3200 calories a day. I have a job where I walk a lot so I always hit about 12-14000 steps and am trying to do 30 min of actual purposeful exercise a day. I do something different every day - maybe just a45 brisk walk extra, a C25K, A beachbody video. My profile is set to lightly active and 1.5lbs per week loss. My MFP goal is about 1500 cal but with exercise calories I'm usually more like 1800-2200.

    I really feel like it's not hunger and more just bad habits. The times when I don't give in and stop eating at dinner, I wake up the next day and I might get hungry maybe at like 11 am instead of 12.

    I'm trying hard to set up long term maintainable WOE but it seems like my best success comes from following something fairly strict for awhile and breaking habits and cravings. Like when I do a Whole 30 , by the end I don't have good cravings at all and can control things. So I could do a month like that and then just do normal MFP CICO but I'm trying not to get into a yoyo "diet" cycle .
  • sgoodsel1
    sgoodsel1 Posts: 1 Member
    A few ideas to break the bad habit - go to a different room than usual to spend your evening time (and not the kitchen!), brush your teeth early, just go to bed early for a couple of nights to avoid the temptation.

    I find alcohol makes me make poor night time choices. I have been drinking fancy sparkling water in a wine glass to avoid my habit of drinking with my husband in the evenings when I'm craving the ritual of relaxing but don't need the alcohol to relax.
  • TheRealSlim_Shelly
    TheRealSlim_Shelly Posts: 66 Member
    I hear you sis. I’ve had days like this in the past but I can tell you...sometimes you have to literally put yourself in a different room (alone!) to break the chain. I get the husband thing because I have a sister who makes me want to snack when I see her snacking. What I did to break the habit of eating (and eating!) after dinner is force myself to go upstairs (basically to the complete other end of the house), brush my teeth, put on pajamas, and hang out in my room. For some odd reason if I’m in my room with my bedtime routine done, I’m a million times less likely to go back into the kitchen to eat (or even leave my bed). Even sitting on the couch downstairs (next to the kitchen) makes me want to snack. Just avoid the whole area at night until you get 3 days under your belt, then 4, then a week, and take the time to refocus on your goals. After you’ve had a solid week of breaking the snacking, you will have more motivation NOT to fall back into those ways.


    I agree with what another user said. Reevaluate the types of foods you’re eating. Even though your are eating at your target, the food choices may not be satiating enough.
  • MelodyMomof2
    MelodyMomof2 Posts: 45 Member
    Nights are when I have the most trouble sticking to my goal. I am fine all day long and if I'm awake about 1030pm I start to get snacky. I do much better if I just try to get to bed a little earlier. Nothing good happens for me after 10.
  • OooohToast
    OooohToast Posts: 257 Member
    Hello OP - lots of great suggestions here. Evenings are when I am sitting for longer too - is it possible for you to squeeze in another form of exercise in the evening at home or outside ? Also, I find a higher carb day is not as satieting as a more hflc day but that could just be me. I went through a stage of being snacky in the evening - I started eating a whopper pile of cooked low carb veg first (cauliflower, chard etc)- if I could still even contemplate anything after that, I had it. I also started with only having booze on the weekend but found that I actually generally resent spending my calories on things I dont chew - the only calories I drink now are from the sugar in my tea. Good luck ! Once you find what works for you, you will lose and it won't be so hard. xx

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