How to Cut Snacking After Dinner!?
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jaydutchie wrote: »Thank you guys! I like the brushing teeth idea and maybe opt for a protein heavier snack. I usually don’t go over my calorie limit but it’s definitely a bad habit that I wanna kick.
Out of curiosity what makes you think that after dinner snacking is a bad habit? What do you see as the downside or negative consequence of consuming a part of your daily calorie target later in the day?5 -
Intermittent fasting is how I cured my nighttime snacking habit. I was a habitual snacker in the wee hours and I'm quite sure 95 % of my excess tonnage was consumed between 9 pm and 3 am. It was hard to imagine ever conquering it, because it wasn't based on hunger but just flat-out chip, queso, Oreo, Kitkat, and Combo craving. When my wife and I started dieting, nighttime snacking remained a problem so we had a "do over" and got on the IF train. We resolved to eat all our calories between 11 am and 7 pm and for some reason that just took hold and we've never looked back.
I think the difference between zero calories and 1 calorie after dinner is fairly huge. Once you have that first calorie, it's very easy to make excuses for the next hundred. But zero means zero, and you get used to it. A couple/few weeks of IF and my hunger at night and then my interest in food at night pretty much disappeared, and now I never eat anything after dinner. This allows me to have much larger dinners without worrying about calorie budgeting for afterwards; I can (and do) use every single remaining calorie for dinner and desert, which is a nice plus.7 -
jaydutchie wrote: »Thank you guys! I like the brushing teeth idea and maybe opt for a protein heavier snack. I usually don’t go over my calorie limit but it’s definitely a bad habit that I wanna kick.
Out of curiosity what makes you think that after dinner snacking is a bad habit? What do you see as the downside or negative consequence of consuming a part of your daily calorie target later in the day?
I'm curious too. For me, stopping late-night snacking resolved some reflux issues. Not sure if there's another reason it'd be necessary if it doesn't cause you to go over calorie goal.
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If you enjoy the snacking and are not over cals, I don't see any reason to worry about it.
Personally, I much prefer eating my cals at meals, so made a decision to do so. Cutting out late night snacking was more about not snacking in general, which I prefer, and that I tend to eat dinner late anyway.
Deciding the structure you prefer for your meals/snacks and then sticking to it will work, whatever the schedule chosen, IMO (I have nothing against IF, but it's hardly unique in being helpful for this). If mindless evening snacking is just a bad habit, maybe try to replace it with something else -- I used to have herbal tea in the evening which substituted for a desire to snack at times.4 -
I personally cannot sleep on an empty stomach, I know for others it’s the opposite. Because of this I have my largest meal of the day at 7-8pm and usually have a treat or snack after just before bed. I’m in maintenance so it did not hinder my goals.
If it is affecting your goals though than I have two basic suggestions
1. Restructure how your calories are consumed during the day so that you save some for your night snacking
2. Maybe eat dinner later closer to bed so there isn’t a large time window between your last meal and sleep to snack during5 -
I’ve developed a tea habit in the evening. For me it’s part of the winding down process that helps signal that bedtime is coming, and it’s something that I can keep up when I’m traveling for work. Something very satisfying about the ritual of sitting down with a hot beverage and a tv show or a book.
I’ve never been an evening snacker, but sometimes will have treats which my tea. I’ve been into the the brookside açaí dark chocolate things..or crack berries as I call them. They are easy to portion and satisfy my want for a snack.
So I guess I’m with the others that say find a substitute ritual/habit to replace the snacking with. Plenty of non food ones available, such as hand intensive hobbies that can be picked up and set down without a lot of effort (knitting, paracord item making, etc.), light activity (dish washing, counter cleaning, mail sorting/shredding).
I find that it’s the mindless activities that are the dangerous ones, internet surfing, tv watching, game playing.
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I like to keep a few calories for a small snack, like a serving of low-cal ice cream or a small bowl of popcorn. If I'm out of calories and fighting an urge, then I do something to busy my hands like work on my art or play a video game.0
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I grew up with chips being a nightly routine. Nowadays I reach for a perrier.2
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jaydutchie wrote: »Thank you guys! I like the brushing teeth idea and maybe opt for a protein heavier snack. I usually don’t go over my calorie limit but it’s definitely a bad habit that I wanna kick.
Why do you think this is such a bad habit? I snack on popcorn after dinner when my wife and I are watching t.v. before bed...I don't see anything wrong with it at all. If it's not taking you over your calorie targets, I don't see the issue. Having some popcorn after dinner isn't treating your body badly.2 -
This was also my struggle. For me it was non-stop evening snacking. I stopped buying chips and things I didn't control very well and substituted with cheese and crackers and fruit. I always plan for 1 large snack in the evening 2-3 hours after dinner and fit it into my calories. Knowing I have 1 big snack in the evening greatly helped me stop the constant evening snacking.3
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Love the recommendation to brush your teeth after dinner - that's a sure habit breaker.
We recently moved from the suburbs to a very rural setting where internet went from high speed cable to satellite. At first the kids hated this as their routine was to watch something. While we were camping in the new home while packing/unpacking I introduced the kids to charades. The kids enjoyed this so much it became a nightly routine and they can't wait to act out their favorite scenes.
Now we still have snacks during this time, but it is drastically reduced. Another poster mentioned in a different thread that they started reading more than watching TV and noting the difficulty in snacking while reading. Clearly one tactic is to engage our brains and distract us from mindlessly snacking.0 -
I don’t think that having a snack after dinner is a bad thing. It’s that I’m eating when I know that I’m not hungry—just out of habit. So I’d like to listen to my body more and what it needs4
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jaydutchie wrote: »I don’t think that having a snack after dinner is a bad thing. It’s that I’m eating when I know that I’m not hungry—just out of habit. So I’d like to listen to my body more and what it needs
Fair enough. You have to do what you feel is right for you.
For what it's worth thought, there's also nothing at all wrong with eating for pleasure. Food, eating, taste. It's all a sensory experience which can be enjoyed for the experience alone, rather than just to achieve nutrition and sustenance.
If you're in the habit of having a late night snack is it perhaps because you enjoy your late night snack? If that's the case and, as mentioned previously it's not having a negative effect why deprive yourself that enjoyment?
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Drinking any kind of herbal tea! not only do they taste great they lower your appetite and helps make you feel full.0
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A mug of hot tea keeps me occupied if I'm going something like watching TV. Normally after dinner and all of my mom chores, I go to the gym, so I'm pretty occupied.0
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jaydutchie wrote: »I don’t think that having a snack after dinner is a bad thing. It’s that I’m eating when I know that I’m not hungry—just out of habit. So I’d like to listen to my body more and what it needs
Fair enough. You have to do what you feel is right for you.
For what it's worth thought, there's also nothing at all wrong with eating for pleasure. Food, eating, taste. It's all a sensory experience which can be enjoyed for the experience alone, rather than just to achieve nutrition and sustenance.
If you're in the habit of having a late night snack is it perhaps because you enjoy your late night snack? If that's the case and, as mentioned previously it's not having a negative effect why deprive yourself that enjoyment?
I'm not really sure why someone disagreed with this post (which it's their right to do, of course) . . . but if the reason involves thinking that eating should not be pleasurable, that makes me very sad for them.
Best to eat the right amount, and proper overall nutrition is a really good idea as well, but there's no reason IMO to avoid pleasure: Jeesh.
If pleasure and social connection are not part of one's eating balance, I think the odds of regain are increased, for many of us.
I agree with Dan, if someone enjoys evening snacks (and experiences no negative side effects like exceeding calorie goal, causing heartburn, impairing sleep, etc.), then pleasure is a perfectly good reason to budget some calories for evening snacks.
But if OP wants to stop snacking in the evening, for any reason or no reason, that's fine, too. (And I made "how" suggestions in a earlier post on the thread, so won't repeat them here.)5
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