Stop that Munching 4-6?

You could try interrupting the ritual, by eating more at lunch or by being somewhere after work until it's nearly dinner time. Also, it may be worth it to have cut up vegetables in the fridge ready to grab. I know that sometimes I'm eating simply for the act, and not necessarily hunger...I can swap baby carrots for candy and the snacking is still satisfied. Comes down to what is easiest to reach for, lol.

This is largely habitual behavior. Habits can be broken, but it takes work and unfortunately, there isn't anything other than working at it and being disciplined. I eat dinner later at around 7:30 or 8, so I allow myself an afternoon/early evening snack...but it is planned and it's just one snack, not a multitude of different things. Usually it's just an apple and some almonds. I have an affinity for chips and salsa, so I allow myself that on Wednesday for my lillordag (little Saturday), but I measure out the chips in a cereal bowl rather than a larger bowl or eating straight out of the bag.

I also eat a good breakfast and don't do a lighter lunch...I make sure my meals keep me satisfied and are hearty and healthy. The only reason I even really allow myself a snack is that I eat dinner later...and depending on my lunch, I may skip my afternoon snack altogether. Once upon a time, I was a pretty heavy snacker...like all day and feeling like I constantly needed to feed myself something and I was particularly bad in the afternoons and evenings when I was more or less bored. As weight management goes I find snacking to be counterproductive and limiting snacking was actually a pretty easy way for me to cut back on calories which was helpful for both losing weight and also for maintaining that long term.

Breaking that habit took some discipline but it was made easier by busying myself with other things...whether that was doing some random stuff around the house that needed to get done or a little yard work or going for a walk or a quick bike ride or playing with my kids or whatever. The good news is that it really didn't take more than a couple of weeks to establish a new routine that didn't involve sitting on the couch and snacking. These days my early evenings are pretty busy with both of my boys involved in youth sports and shuttling around to practices and games...I don't generally get home these days until later in the evening and it's just time to get dinner started at that point.

InGodsHands101 wrote: »

Every day I get home from work, I munch.. on fruit, yoghurt, granola, cake.. and by the time I am done I don't really want dinner. How on earth do I break this cycle? I can skip breakfast, have a light lunch but then cave in mid afternoon till 5pm.

If you skip breakfast and have a light lunch, its no wonder you're starving by 4pm.

Don't skip breakfast or don't have a light lunch.

sollyn23l2 wrote: »

LifeChangz wrote: »

InGodsHands101 wrote: »

Every day I get home from work, I munch.. on fruit, yoghurt, granola, cake.. and by the time I am done I don't really want dinner. How on earth do I break this cycle? I can skip breakfast, have a light lunch but then cave in mid afternoon till 5pm.

sounds like you are backloading most of your calories to later in day. if this is working, turn grazing/raiding into a typical early meal, and maybe later evening snack.

is the random grazing because you're hungry or actually "extra more than you need food"? it is ok to arrange your eating, time and food choices that suit you emotionally and nourish your body

I would argue that the fact that she's grazing in and of itself means its not working. If it was working for her, she wouldn't be grazing.

There's nothing wrong with grazing per se, IMO. Timing of food is personal. One meal, two meals, lots of small meals/snacks - doesn't make much difference, at equal calories - different variations can work for different people. IOW, it can make a difference individually, via feeling full vs. crave-y more often.

OP, I'm in the "experiment with a different pattern" crowd.

Personally, I do better with a big protein-rich breakfast, then I sometimes graze lunch over a period of hours (small bits of stuff), then eat a bigger dinner. Sometimes I skip lunch, sometimes I make an actual lunch, sometimes I make a plate of raw veggies and nosh on those while I cook dinner. Try a different pattern.

I do feel that folks may have something, when they say that small/no breakfast, small lunch, is going to be a pattern that results in more late afternoon appetite for quite a few people. As we move through our day, we become more fatigued, from the simple fact that it's been longer since sleep. Fatigue triggers energy-seeking, i.e., can spike appetite. Getting a little more fuel earlier in the day could have benefits. Only one way to find out: Try a new pattern for a few days, see if it helps.

There's also an effect of habit, that if we're used to eating at a particular time, we tend to feel crave-y then. In that sense, the distraction/alternative afternoon habits ideas may help, or even just using white-knuckled will power for a couple of weeks to break the trend (usually alternative habits are an easier route, vs. sheer will, I think - but maybe that's because I stink at will power).

Weight management, for those of us with a history of excess weight, really is a process of problem identification, experimenting, finding solutions. Keep experimenting, you'll find a route.