[Me23]

Hiya...I know this comes up a lot on this forum, but inspire me....I'm having some trouble maintaing at the moment cos I keep snacking after dinner...not junk food, just too much food, even though I'm not hungry. I'm studying pretty hard and it's like my mouth wants to be busy like my brain . I end up eating less when I go out with my friends - unusual situation for me -but obv. can't do that every night. Tips....? x

[TakingCharge]

Hey there! I totally know what you're going through, as I'm in the midst of finals right now! If you're studying at home, I would suggest chewing gum, having a big cup of tea, or planning a specific snack you'll have at say 8pm as your study break so you associate food with a break, not with studying. Just make a rule for yourself that you will have no food between dinner and your after dinner snack and try your best to stick to it. Also, you can try studying at the library or with a friend so you're not left alone to your own devices! Good luck with exams!

[rocketbunny]

I find it really helps to journal my food, especially the night snacking.

I can't eat it until I write it down (along with the associated points/calories and how they affect my daily total). It's a whole lot harder to eat that snack after you've seen how far over it puts you.

I make sure to leave room in my plan for snacks every night (and have healthy stuff around). I have an ice cream treat (WW or Skinny Cow brand) almost every night. I also keep 100 calorie bags of popcorn around for those salty cravings. When I can fill up by snacking on plan, there is no guilt and I enjoy it even more!

[Me23]

Thanks guys. I need to buy more chewing gum I think (gah, organization). I like the idea of a scheduled snack. I was actually pretty good last night but didn't take of the pound which I hoped was water-weight...I know it's only a pound but its discouraging when you're trying to maintain....anyways, I'm not doing any exams because I'm studying for my Masters now and it's all assessed on papers and research projects...but ty anyway xxxx

[starfishkitty]

Seriously... this is a problem of mine. Not even doing it consciously.... but I somehow have managed to develop my mother's horrible and weird (we always thought it was creepy) habit of getting up in the middle of the night and zombie walking to the fridge and finding something to stuff into my mouth. Even my 20 year old sister thats always been TINY... but who's recently put on a few pounds... has lamented the turn up of our mom's scary habit in our lives! Ugh!

I'm not as bad as I used to be, since I've started Nutrisystem I'm constantly eating small meals and SOMETIMES when one of these nights come along I actually eat a fruit helping rather than something bad for me. Not always, but hey... its a change for the better right? It probably also helps that I work midnight shift and I've noticed that I'm less likely to do that when I sleep during the day.

How crazy huh? I really wish I could figure out why we do that! Is it genetic... or something that happens because we watched our mother do it all those years?

[littlejojo]

chewing gum - I hadn't thought of that one!!! I'll try it tonight.