Munching at Night

[BYB]

Have any of you figured out how to stop munching at night?  I need some ideas on things I can eat that will not hurt my diet.

[ThatGreen]

Never found out how to stop, but I know that's just how I'm wired so plan for it. I snack a lot during the day too, but mostly at night and don't usually have large meals during the day anyway so I have quite a bit of calories to go on for snacks and rarely have issues with it.

Raw carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and cucumber are great snacks, and can be eaten as is or cut up and had with some form of dip. They're great for satisfying the need for something crunchy.

Fruits like apples, oranges, kiwi, etc., is often a little higher in calories, but great if you're looking for something sweeter.

The sky is the limit with this, but you have to try find something that suits your tastes. Hopefully I gave you some ideas

[DavidSchneier]

I love all sorts of fruit but find that the associated calories don't always fit within my budget. When I choose grapes, I don't grab the whole bunch but instead, pick off a fixed amount that aligns with the calories I'm willing to trade for them (usually around 20). I'll also cut up a wide wedge of watermelon into smaller pieces and munch on that as well (usually around 100 calories and very filling).

One standard I try to keep around is fruit-flavored ices. Most cups are 100 calories which I generally plan for. When absolutely desperate, on occasion I'll buy a half-gallon of vanilla ice cream and allow myself a 1/2 cup (tightly packed in an actual measuring cup); most brands will cost you about 130 calories but it tastes so good and really satisfies those crazy urges.

For extreme situations, I almost always have pickles in the house, one full-sized sour runs around 20 calories and really fills me up. The obvious problem is that also introduces a significant amount of sodium into my diet and so I use that option judiciously. 

But the most important piece of advice I can offer is to drink abundant amounts of water. That almost always staves off the hunger pangs. We tend to eat late night more out of habit than need (if you're making smart meal choices) and it's like a weight-loss win multiplier; not eating bad food and not adding unnecessary calories. Remember, weight loss is all about consuming fewer calories than you burn and by skipping those late night snacks you're really gaining an edge.

[A_Lurker]

I know I'm going to do it, so I plan for it.  I'm on high enough calories at the moment that I just accept that I'm going to have 300-500 calories of something after dinner.  Sometimes I'll go and get it all at once, other times I'll start with one item and see if I feel like something later on.  Even with a significant weight loss I'm still willing to say that I don't do well with open packages on some items.  So, I have 1oz bags of salty items from Costco (mixed box), some chocolate covered fruit, fruit gums, dark chocolate (the highest cal item at 180 cals).  I have nuts and dried fruit as well and I keep a second food scale in the storage room where I keep these snacks.  Occasionally I'll have crackers and cheese... and on the weekend with some short-dated skim milk I made pudding cups and tossed them into the freezer.  Usually I make popsicles with protein powder in them but I had too much stuff in the freezer to get the two molds in.