Hi Everyone!:help:

I am just getting back to eating healthy and wanting to lose weight! I have a friends that is doing it wilth me so I beleive that I have all the motivation in the world! My problem is that when the evening comes I tend to eat and snack all evening until bed time! i tried having a cut off time 7pm but its just not sticking. i know you can brush your teeth so you feel like not eating. What else is there? My hubby watches T.V in the evening so turning theT.V off is kinda out of the question. I guess I could find some kind of activity to keep my hands busy like knitting...Would something like that work? What do you all do to not have the night time eating munchies?

Have a Great Day!:)

Amanda

A lot of people say to drink some herbal tea, and that works pretty well. Peppermint especially is one of my favorites. I've recently found Alpine brand Sugar-Free Spiced Cider, and that's what I've been using with great success. One pouch of the stuff is only 15 calories, and unlike a lot of drink mixes, it really does taste right even when you put more water in than they reccommend. I've been planning on getting some Torani Sugar-Free Caramel syrup to try it with.

Most of the time, my best deterrent is just to leave my apartment. I go to the gym on nights that I feel extra tempted. Last night, for example, I was supposed to meet a friend at the gym at 8:15, but I was so frustrated because of after-dinner eating that I ended up just going an hour early.

Hi Lindy girl!

Those teas you aretalking about where did you find them? just at a grocery store? I gues any kind of peppermint tea would work right?

on the eating plan I'm on, they suggest having a handfull of nuts or a teaspoon of peanut butter or slice of low-fat cheese as a snack between meals (and between dinner and bed time). The peanut butter has really been beneficial for me.

But if it's just a habit thing and not a hunger thing, keeping your hands busy will help. It's summer, so knitting's a little redundant. But if it works for you, you can get a jumpstart on next winter ;) My new hobby (I knit in the winter) is making beaded necklaces. They're really in style this season and buying some necklance string (the plastic fishline type stuff) and some glass beads isn't too pricy and you can make really beautiful necklaces that you can wear! I got my materials at AC Moore and I've made 3 necklaces so far :)

Hope you find something that works for you!

--Azure

Reading, knitting, making crafts, or even taking a nice long bubble bath are all great ideas. Try to set yourself on an evening routine so you can focus on things other than eating. (Make a plan to knit on Mondays, walk on Tuesdays, do your food shopping on Wednesday, clean bathrooms on Thursday, etc.). Just figure out something that will keep you out of the kitchen until bedtime. Another tip is as soon as dinner is over, clean up the kitchen, grab a bottle of water and turn off the kitchen light. This is usually when I go upstairs for my workout.

But, when you do feel a munchie session coming on, drink water until you just can't hold anymore (until you feel like you are about to drown). If you still "want" something to munch on, pop a bag of fat free popcorn and munch on that ONE PIECE AT A TIME. If the water doesn't fill you up, the time it will take to consume a bag of popcorn one kernal at a time should help you make it to bedtime with minimal damage.

Good luck!!!

If I am experiencing cravings at night time I load up on water and then go to bed. It helps for me.
Good luck!
Michelle

I have the same problem as you. I recommend drinking seltzer. It makes you feel really full so that you don't really wanna eat anything else but there is no calories. Also, I really enjoy the 100 cal packs that Nabisco makes. Have one of those before bed, it will satisfy your sweet tooth. Or you can try a bag of lite butter popcorn. Theres a lot in the bag but there aren't that many cals. And lastly, try not to keep a lot of snacking food in your house. Go food shopping when your full and don't really feel like eating anything so this way you don't buy fattening snacks and then you won't have them at your disposal. That works for me when I'm stocking my dorm so at night all I have is either a fruit, a 100 cal pack or some popcorn. Hope this is helpful.

What do you all do to not have the night time eating munchies?

Amanda,

Have a big, hearty breakfast. Digesting breakfast is releasing nutrients from your small intestines well into the evening, so it really does take the edge off 'the munchies'.

rD

I have a trick that worked for me during the earlier part of my weight loss when I was on a stricter calorie counting plan. Because I have a schedule that sometimes has me working day AND night, I would get frustrated because I'd need to not be hungry at night, so sometimes I would simply start my "eating day" at, say, 9 or 10 p.m. and the count would go from that time to 24 hours later, at 9 or 10 p.m. again. Normally, I count the "eating day" from midnight to midnight. I still do this so if I have to have a mini "breakfast" after midnight, I'm covered ... I'm not adding calories to an already full eating day. I don't get hungry, don't binge and my blood sugar remains stable (which is essential in weight loss). The trick is to spread small meals over as much of the 24 hours as possible ... eating small, balanced meals every three to four hours is ideal, rather than eating a large meal at any one sitting.

I know a few Weight Watcher members who have done this trick with their "points" ... beginning their daily "points" count at the dinner hour so they always know they will be able to eat dinner and a snack later and so they don't go nuts and binge throughout the day.

There is no real correct answer. To lose weight, you have to do what works for you. There's no reason to believe that you have to starve yourself at night because of the myth that calories at night somehow make you fatter ... you just need to spread it out over the day and eat at times most optimal for YOU. If you know you can eat at night and it's ok and in your plan, you'll be much less likely to binge at that time, although it could happen now and then (no big deal, part of the process). Just allow for meals in the evening somehow, while not starving yourself in the day, and you'll be amazed how great you feel and how much control you will build in (it takes awhile to get used to this kind of "ok to eat at night" schedule, but you will).

If it doesn't work, then you can always change it up again.

You can do whatever you want and still lose weight. It's all about YOU! :wave: