9pm Munchies

Sophi_allheart · February 2020

So I get home around 5 and eat dinner. I feel fine, then somewhere around 9pm I start craving a snack. It's very easy to walk to the convenience store near my house and buy a candy bar or bag of chips, etc. What are some tips I could follow to help with late night munchies, so I can hit my calorie goal and actually lose weight?

harper16 · February 2020

Ask yourself are you really hungry, or are you just bored?

Nony_Mouse · February 2020

Are you able to put aside some of your calories from during the day so you can have a snack at that time?

sijomial · February 2020

Maybe eat dinner later?

But there's nothing intrinsically wrong with a snack at 9pm if it fits your calories and overall nutrition - plan for it rather than fight it perhaps?

Making dieting easier helps with sustainability, if you have to struggle every day the chances of failure go up.

MalkinMagic71 · February 2020

I eat an ice cream sandwich every night at 9pm. It fits my calorie goal as I leave room for it. I've lost 200lbs having one of those evetunight for years. The deficit is all that matters not when you eat your food.

MidlifeCrisisFitness · February 2020

Make a herbal tea and eat ginger after 8 pm. Trader Joe's or make your own.

amyepdx · February 2020

Have your treat at home ready for you. You can also change into your pajamas or nightgown after dinner to signal you aren’t going back out.

cmriverside · February 2020

Well I'd say it's pretty normal to want food again four hours after eating.

Either plan your day to have dinner later, work a small snack in (cottage cheese and peaches comes to mind) OR how about going to bed?

9PM is my bedtime these days. When I stayed up late, nothing good ever happened.

DancingMoosie · February 2020

I plan for a snack. Sometimes it's popcorn, last night it was 2 cookies. Something with protein can be good: cheese stick, greek yogurt, hot chocolate, etc...

cwolfman13 · February 2020

Sophi_allheart wrote: »

So I get home around 5 and eat dinner. I feel fine, then somewhere around 9pm I start craving a snack. It's very easy to walk to the convenience store near my house and buy a candy bar or bag of chips, etc. What are some tips I could follow to help with late night munchies, so I can hit my calorie goal and actually lose weight?

5 PM is pretty early for dinner and 9 PM is four hours later so I'd say it would be pretty normal to be hungry or at least peckish four hours after you've last eaten. Maybe eat dinner later or reserve calories for a snack around 9.

Vune · February 2020

I make dinner my largest meal of the day. I also eat dinner around 5 and don't go to bed until after 10, so half my dinner (dessert?) is snacks that I graze on, like raw fruits and veggies, plain yogurt, nuts, and cereals/popcorn (in various combinations). I like grazing, so this works.

I also rarely just watch TV in the evenings. I tend to like to be more involved with my entertainment, so I read, play computer games, workout, or do schoolwork instead when I have a night at home.

NovusDies · February 2020

There are many ways to work your calorie budget. You just have to figure out which way works for you. If you want to keep eating at 5 and do not think you can leave enough calories for a candy bar or a bag of chips each day without being too hungry then another idea is save enough calories for a 50 calorie snack each evening plus 50 more. Then every 4th night treat yourself to a 250 calorie snack. This way you are breaking up the habit but still having a treat. It is called banking calories. Another way of looking at is delaying gratification easier by having a plan to get the treat you want.

midlomel1971 · February 2020

a cup of hot tea and small piece of fruit works for me.

Scottgriesser · February 2020

Leave x number of calories available either by not eating them earlier or exercising for them. No trick needed.

kimny72 · February 2020

I pre-log a 100-250 cal evening snack first thing in the morning to save those calories. If for some reason I end up not managing to eat them anyway during the course of the day, a can of Coke Zero when it's warmer or a cup of tea with a Dove Dark Chocolate Promise or two (40-80 cals) usually takes care of the crave-iness without squandering any deficit.

whoami67 · February 2020

I'd plan to have a snack then. I like air popped popcorn. A cup of tea is also nice.

Or give yourself a manicure. You can't eat with wet nails.

Danp · February 2020

I have a sweet tooth so I eat chocolate bars every night. Every. Single. Night.

I buy packs of the 'fun size' bars and keep them in the fridge. How many of them I have depends on how many calories I have left over from the day. Might be 1, might be 6 if I feel like it and I have the calories left over.

They're only about 80cal each so there's always a way to save up that much so that I never feel like I'm depriving myself of a treat.

Safari_Gal_ · February 2020

I work really late and i got into the habit of eating dinner around 11pm/midnight every night. It was fine for calories- but I noticed I wasn’t sleeping as well - dunno why. so I started eating earlier and if I got the munchies after work around midnight - I do herbal tea and it’s worked out well.

lgfrie · February 2020

I'm surprised no one has suggested this, but next time you're having a hunger pang at night just ... don't eat. In fact, don't eat anything at all until the next morning. If you can stomach that (so to speak) for a week or two, you may find yourself part of the teeming horde that has done away entirely with nighttime snacking by simply not eating.

Once the brain and body figure out there's no food coming, they mostly stop being whiny about it.

This is the whole secret of IF - your mind and body adjust to periods when they're not gonna get fed and largely quit protesting. And then ... you're free. It's very liberating, and great for weight loss.

The key is to not give in. Be firm and don't let stomach juices make the rules. You make the rules.

If you decide you don't like that or it doesn't work for you, you can always go back to snacking. The worst thing that can happen is you lose a few more ounces during this test.

Theoldguy1 · February 2020

lgfrie wrote: »

I'm surprised no one has suggested this, but next time you're having a hunger pang at night just ... don't eat. In fact, don't eat anything at all until the next morning. If you can stomach that (so to speak) for a week or two, you may find yourself part of the teeming horde that has done away entirely with nighttime snacking by simply not eating.

Once the brain and body figure out there's no food coming, they mostly stop being whiny about it.

This is the whole secret of IF - your mind and body adjust to periods when they're not gonna get fed and largely quit protesting. And then ... you're free. It's very liberating, and great for weight loss.

The key is to not give in. Be firm and don't let stomach juices make the rules. You make the rules.

If you decide you don't like that or it doesn't work for you, you can always go back to snacking. The worst thing that can happen is you lose a few more ounces during this test.

I was just going to suggest this but you beat me to it. Simple solution.

Sophi_allheart · February 2020

Wow, thanks everyone! I don't know why I haven't tried reserving some calories for a late night snack. I will probably start with that, so I am at least hitting my calorie goal. I might try the "just don't eat" method as well, but we'll see. My schedule is changing up starting next week, so hopefully it will be easier to avoid the late night munchies after that!

9pm Munchies

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