late night snacking

[258trainer]

No matter what "rules" I set for myself, I can't seem to keep from snacking after dinner.  My resolve is great in the a.m., but I feel like I need an hour or so after everyone else has gone to bed to "decompress"....any tips?

[urnmor]

I understand your delemma.  I also have a similar issue but it is not late night. It is around 8 PM when the munchies set in (ie sweets /chips).  Some nights I am able to control it but not always.  I guess it comes down to reslove.  I know someone might say have a heathy snack like a fruitty but that is not what I crave.  

So I guess I am also looking for solution.  Maybe writting about it and bringing it to the forefront like this helps.  Sorry I could ot be of more assistance

[funfitmom2014]

I also have this problem.  I was good for the last couple of days and then all of a sudden last night I mindlessly ate chocolate!!  I am trying not to be hard on myself about it though and move forward.  Not sure how to combat this I guess it is just going to be factored over time.  

[258trainer]

Yes, actually, my "problem time" is after about 8pm, also.  I keep saying, "Just go to bed and read", but instead I watch stupid TV and mindlessly eat sweets 😞   I do SO well during the day...it's almost like I'm trying to sabotage myself!!

[Zirallan · Accepted solution]

I regularly eat at midnight. Last night it was a burrito and a peice of fudge. The night before it was a bowl of pasta.

I don't actually try to stop it. I know that depriving myself will just make me pig out after a day or two. Instead, I budget for it. I KNOW that 4 or 5 days out of the week, I'm going to want to eat before I go to bed so I just make room for it in my meal planning. If you're one that doesn't sleep well if you eat close to bedtime, that may not work for you but I find it far easier to just work it into the meal plan than to struggle with not eating at night.

[VictoriaA]

I've discovered Quaker Rice Cakes .. 50 cal or less for the flavors I got. Hits the spot for me and not too caloric. They also make the smaller ones about the size of a silver dollar. Guess if you are going for a no-low carb diet this may not help.

[Odyssey13 · Accepted solution]

There are nights I'm hungrier than others, but when I stop to think about it, I'll get a cup of tea. I make my favorite tea with some milk and sip it slowly, then add the ounces to my water consumption for the day.

It's not always easy to say no to yourself. Sometimes it's better to give in and have a little something because it you don't, you could overindulge.

[RCL · Accepted solution]

I have this issue too~!  It usually sets in right after dinner.  What's helped me.., is air popping a large bowl of popcorn.  This usually helps with the munchies.  But, it doesn't work for me everyday   You could try stocking cut up veggies (carrots, broccoli, celery, etc) and chew on those with hummus? I have yet to find a consistent resolution- open to ideas though~! 

[hansjs · Accepted solution]

A huge weakness for me as well. When I've been successful in the past, it's usually been by eliminating junk food in my house so it just isn't there. I've heard people say brush your teeth....but that wouldn't stop me from inhaling a whole row of oreos. What will stop me is not having oreos in my house. Keep some almonds and/or walnuts around too. If you eat them slow, it really doesn't take many to satiate that boredom hunger. 

That said, if setting rules doesn't work for you, get rid of all that stuff

[CraigM · Accepted solution]

I REALLY try to select better snacks, but doesn't always happen.  I'm on a "lower" carb diet, so I feel OK eating something like raw cauliflower, brocolli, cucumber slices, sliced red / orange / yellow bell peppers, etc.  For something like ice cream I might have a cup of "SO DELICIOUS"  http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/coconut-milk-frozen-desserts/no-sugar-added-chocolate cocon... milk frozen dessert (the surger free ones).  Even a few bites of meat would be OK with me.  Basically, anything that isn't high in carbs (I avoid most bread, pasta, rice, etc).

Actually, there are diets that require you to eat every few hours, including prior to going to bed.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6603930-the-metabolism-miracle is the diet I'm trying.  I've lost 35 pounds (am still a "porker") in about 13 weeks.  Don't know if the food, or the exercise (probably both), has caused the biggest weight loss.

Good luck!

[Anna · Accepted solution]

This is such a familiar picture for me too! I am the very model of restraint and good exercise during the whole day and through all meals and then blow it in the middle/late evening. I don't let it get me down though, and tend to think 'well, this is your weakness'. And over many years (!) I have learnt that for me not having sweet goodies around helps, physically removing myself from the kitchen area helps, reminding myself I already know exactly how it tastes this is nothing new to experience helps, reminding myself how virtuous (!) I'll feel if I go to bed on time and not having scarfed a box of something. And when I'm really on it this all works and the more evenings of success I have the more ready I am to eschew all unnecessary nibbles in the evening. It's all very individual I know but it's mind over matter fo rme (and always, always thinking of the positive feelings my good behaviour will generate). 

[Anna]

Oh, and I forgot to say the 'I'll just have one' route never works for me. Never. It's all or nothing!

[Inga]

I eat every few hours so I usually need another small "meal" after dinner, I eat grapes cause they are fun, munchy candy, or I make a bowl of yonanas if I want "ice cream"

[258trainer]

I may have found a solution to my late night snacking.  I started taking the amino acid l-glutamine to prevent muscle loss during diet/cardio.  This supplement needs to be taken on an empty stomach, and although you CAN take it before a workout, you can also take it 2 hours after dinner, before bed!  I tried it last night, and if you snack after dinner, you have to wait 2 hours before you can go to bed!!!  

[Direwind]

I Have found that when i need to eat, but i dont want the extra cals all i need to do is drink enough water to half fill my stomach, after that i dont feel like eating

But if you have to snack eat things like

Bowl of brown rice.

Any  raw veg like a carrot.

Protein shake < what i snake on.

fat free yogurt (make sure it doent have Aspartame)

a cheese burger with large chips lol joking, i just wish i could.

[CraigM]

Direwind:  You're joking, but I do have a cheeseburger every few weeks.  Some burger places (Carl's Jr. on the west coast) offer a bunless lettuce wrapped burger.  Or, I order a burger and remove the top part of the bun and try to eat only about 1/2 the bottom part.

The hard part is avoiding the fries!  If my wife and I both order the bunless lettuce wrap, we sometimes share a small order of sweet potato fries.

Then I walk 45-60 minutes to work it off!  🙂

[Ukase]

This is something that a lot of people struggle with - myself included. On days that I've lifted weights, I'll plan for 8 oz's of greek yogurt with 2 ounces of raspberrys and 1/2 ounce of honey to kill the taste of the raspberries and yogurt. The casein in the yogurt is a good slow-digesting protein. Theoretically, my recovering muscles can draw upon the protein to rebuild instead of feeding off of themselves.

I think - and I certainly could be wrong - is that we are all a lot more tired than we think we are. If you can find a way to go to bed before these cravings hit, you'll sleep right through them. I've done an experiment and found that my Fitbit gives me more credit for calorie burn while I'm asleep than while I'm awake in front of the tv. Not much more, about 80 calories over 6 and a half hours. But, hey, 80 calories is more food I can eat! (or not. Those 80 calories could add up over time.) My theory - and that's all it is - is our bodies are tired, but it just hasn't registered with our minds, as we have a lot of mental unwinding left to do. Because our bodies are tired, something is telling us to eat, instead of using our liver to process our next snack, via glycogen stores.

Again, I could be wrong. Just try it, see if it works for you.

[Lisavan]

I have found when I am successful I am doing something outside of my normal routine during the munchy hours.  It does come down to resolve, but helping yourself by not watching TV or getting away from the kitchen will definitely help. You can try to manage with healthier snack options, but for me, that is NEVER satisfying. When I allow myself into the kitchen, it can all go wrong VERY fast! Sometimes I will work out at those times and drinking water helps to fill that void especially after a good workout. (and yes, I HATE drinking water).

If I am too tired to workout, well that is another important aspect here.  If I am too tired to workout, but then I eat to decompress, that means I am already tired, right?  Eating is really only to satisfy my mental unwillingness to let go of that much needed "downtime" before bed or to give me energy to stay awake.  Really I should just go to bed and end the day.  The key for me is to completely remove myself from the kitchen.  Lights are off, restaurant is closed!!!  Off to bed. 😉

[Jabrat]

no one is perfect @funfitmom - this is a lifelong process - that's the way to think healthy - when you have a bad day like that - just make sure you burn it off

[john33]

When I have peanut, chips chocolate It is in my mind all the time. I think of it all the time and when 8pm comes around the corner I just can't resist. If its a big Costco bag I will indulge myself till its empty. Maybe two to three days of this all is gone. So I just do not bring it in the house. At night when I go crazy I turn aroung in the house and resolve to a fruit or an aroma water drink. I know it sound torturase but this is what only works for me.....I have been loosing weight constantly.....