Night Time Munchies

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mborckardt2
mborckardt2 Posts: 8 Member
in Getting Started
What do you do when you get night time munchies? This is my biggest challenge. I eat healthy all day. Then I come home tired from work and all my discipline shatters. What motivates you to finish well? How do you satisfy cravings in a healthy way?
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  • babs49
    babs49 Posts: 1 Member
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    Thinking about getting on the scale usually keeps me from eating something I shouldn't. I like to be sure there is a fun low calorie snack after dinner.
  • vvww88
    vvww88 Posts: 21 Member
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    I have found intermittent fasting helps me with this- I only eat from 2-10 and by the time 10 rolls around I’m stuffed from all my food that my “snacking” is just now my eating time
  • iKapuniai
    iKapuniai Posts: 594 Member
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    UUUGGGHHHH Night time munchies are the WORST! I have the same problem. My food diary will be perfect up until about 8pm when I know I should stop eating, but my brain and tummy are like "NEED.FOOD.NOW". Mostly junks too. Sometimes when my stomach starts to growl I will give in because I'm weak, but other times I know it's not because I am actually hungry.

    Here are some of the things I do:

    - Fill up on water. This is extremely hard to do because you're only full for about 2 minutes, but sometimes your body is actually just thirsty so I always do this first. Sometimes I'll even flavor it with whatever I have on hand.
    - Drink a cup of Metamucil (or other brand) fiber.
    - Eat a pickle. Vinegar is supposed to help curb appetite/cravings/hunger.
    - Sometimes I'll drink a cup of water with 1 TB lemon juice and 1 TB apple cider vinegar, for the same reason as above.
    - Eat a small salad.
    - As my last resort, I'll drink a Diet Root Beer with 1 TB of heavy whipping cream as a low-calorie version of a root beer float. The fat from the cream and the carbonation from the root beer tends to help me feel full, and also helps my sweet tooth since that is usually what I'm craving at night.


    I stay motivated by reminding myself that it's all about balance. If I am truly hungry, I will eat, and then do better tomorrow, or go for a walk the next day (or even that night). I also have to remind myself that if I keep messing up and giving in to my cravings, I will never make the progress I need to make.

    Hope this helps.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
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    mborckardt2 wrote: »
    What do you do when you get night time munchies? This is my biggest challenge. I eat healthy all day. Then I come home tired from work and all my discipline shatters. What motivates you to finish well? How do you satisfy cravings in a healthy way?

    Two things. Most important is having a plan for it. Like @Danp I like to allow myself some chocolate, but for me it's important to decide ahead of time how much I will have. I can't let myself decide in the moment, especially if I'm tired. The second I have found helpful and continually trying to improve is being more aware of those thoughts that lead to eating at night. If being tired or upset lead you to say "I deserve X treat etc." it's really worth addressing that issue instead and finding other ways to unwind and relax and truly treat yourself.
  • oceaneyes0204
    oceaneyes0204 Posts: 1 Member
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    I drink herbal tea at night and if I have a sweet tooth I add some stevia and unsweetened almond milk I'm really enjoying this and its helping me to have another healthy late night option.
  • jan110144
    jan110144 Posts: 1,270 Member
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    I prelog (both diet and exercise) for the day. I always plan an evening snack. (Yogurt and berries, a bowl of popcorn (3 TBS of corn + 1 TBS oil = 146l7 calories), fruit, celery stuffed with babybel cheese).
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    I pre-log my food most days and that includes a snack before bed.

    i used to eat a 100 calorie pack of cheetos. now i eat a small bowl of greek yogurt and protein cereal. the other day I had an apple and powdered pb. I use a food scale for all these foods (or rather all foods).

    Try not to label foods too much. once you get enough fruit, vegetable, and protein in your diet, there are no bonus points for finishing off your daily calories with more brocoli. start habits now that you would maintain for life including a balance of foods.
  • floofyschmoofer
    floofyschmoofer Posts: 209 Member
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    Pickles, cucumbers, carrots in ranch, canned peaches in water or juice. Orange Cream greek yogurt (Chobani) is my current go-to. Turkey pepperoni. Sugar-free popsicles.
  • neugebauer52
    neugebauer52 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    Plenty of good advise above - I have learned to check if I am "hungry" or "thirsty" or just peckish. Usually a nice cuppa tea will do the trick. A bit of extra protein (as in: an egg, some yoghurt, a slice of cheese or some cottage cheese) helps me if I had an early dinner and I feel hungry - and not thirsty - later on.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,154 Member
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    Pre-logging is super helpful. If you know you're going to get munchy before bed, set aside some calories for it. I tend to eat until more or less right before bed, and I've gotten pretty good at spacing everything out so that I'm out of calories right before bed time.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    I found that eating more high protein really helped curb the snacking

    But I embrace the snacking! Just plan ahead of time, and have great selections available. My current favorite is yogurt with mix ins with a little whipped cream.
  • sweetbe44
    sweetbe44 Posts: 195 Member
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    I have a bowl of fruit (melons, or mixed berries, whatever) and either cottage cheese or yogurt as a snack most nights about 1 to 1.5 hrs before bed. I love it.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    I try to save 100-250 calories for an evening snack. I can usually get my calories and macros looking good for the day with dinner. Then that evening snack could be ice cream, Oreos, kids cereal, fruit and cheese, cashews. If I don't manage to save enough calories I'll have one or two Dove Dark Chocolate Promises (45 cals each) with a cup of mint green tea. All snacks are removed from the package, weighed out for portion size, package closed and put away, and snack eaten outside the kitchen. If a few minutes later I'm snacky again, I brush my teeth.

    Your diet doesn't need to be 100% stereotypically healthy foods. I eat plenty of nutritious foods in my meals, my snacks are for my psychological health :drinker:
  • Zhatan
    Zhatan Posts: 45 Member
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    kenyonhaff wrote: »
    I found that eating more high protein really helped curb the snacking

    But I embrace the snacking! Just plan ahead of time, and have great selections available. My current favorite is yogurt with mix ins with a little whipped cream.

    This! Switching out some carbs for more protein will help you stay satiated for longer and will reduce your cravings over time.
    Or you can just plan ahead and make sure you have room for some snacks in your daily calories
  • AprilMLowe
    AprilMLowe Posts: 447 Member
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    I eat small meals and snacks threw out the day! Never hungry! I always have a bed snack that fits in my calories. Sometimes if I want chocolate I use sugar free hot cocoa with pack of carnation instant breakfast which fills me up. The. Ore protein I eat the less hungry I get. Sometimes it's a half of cup of cereal and a half cup of 2% milk. I hope that helps! Play around with your food and eat a thing in moderation. I hope that helps!
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
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    Zhatan wrote: »
    kenyonhaff wrote: »
    I found that eating more high protein really helped curb the snacking

    But I embrace the snacking! Just plan ahead of time, and have great selections available. My current favorite is yogurt with mix ins with a little whipped cream.

    This! Switching out some carbs for more protein will help you stay satiated for longer and will reduce your cravings over time.
    Or you can just plan ahead and make sure you have room for some snacks in your daily calories

    This may be true for some but not for all. I find carbs very satiating and all of my meals are carb based.

    As far as snacking I almost always have calories cause I enjoy a late night treat. Sometimes it's fruit, sometimes it's crackers or cereal and fruit. I always sleep better when there's something in my belly.
  • 1BlueAurora
    1BlueAurora Posts: 439 Member
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    I just sat myself down and looked up the calories for everything I wanted to snack on, and kept that list handy. Then I planned for these snacks. One day, I'd come home from work and have cucumbers and carrots. The next night, I'd come home to a slice of pie. Or a 100 calorie serving of chocolate pudding. Or a 74 calorie hard boiled egg. Find out how many calories one ounce of cheddar cheese and 6 of your favorite crackers have, and plan your day's calorie intake around that for tomorrow. It's doable. I always have to snack before I make dinner or I completely lose my mind and discipline and eat the entire pantry.
  • Zhatan
    Zhatan Posts: 45 Member
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    lalalacroix wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    kenyonhaff wrote: »
    I found that eating more high protein really helped curb the snacking

    But I embrace the snacking! Just plan ahead of time, and have great selections available. My current favorite is yogurt with mix ins with a little whipped cream.

    This! Switching out some carbs for more protein will help you stay satiated for longer and will reduce your cravings over time.
    Or you can just plan ahead and make sure you have room for some snacks in your daily calories

    This may be true for some but not for all. I find carbs very satiating and all of my meals are carb based.

    As far as snacking I almost always have calories cause I enjoy a late night treat. Sometimes it's fruit, sometimes it's crackers or cereal and fruit. I always sleep better when there's something in my belly.

    Well it has been show in studies that protein is more satiating but I guess in some cases it might not be true. Doesn't hurt to try though.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
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    Brush your teeth after dinner. Drink water.

    I believe that munchies are a want, not a need.

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