evening hunger..HELP!
 

Hi,

This time of day (after seven pm) is the worst for me. I stay on plan all day, and then I get really hungry at night. I am eating enough calories during the day (believe me!) I keep craving one of my comfort foods-toasted cinnamon bread with peanut butter. I gave in last night, and I don't want to do it again tonight. I know there are worse foods I could eat, but I don't need the extra calories.

Can anyone suggest a small but filling healthy snack. I don't want to eat a ton of calories because I have no hope of burning anything off now.

I can't honestly tell if this is REALLY physical hunger or some kind of emotional hunger.

Anyone else have trouble at night? I can do great all day but somehow the night is the hardest.

Thanks!
Sherry

I also am "hungry" in the evening...although I've been hungry (rumbly tummy hunger) all day today! I like to eat 1/2 a banana with some PB on it. Or apple slices with PB.

A bran crispbread cracker with some Laughing Cow Lite Cheese is about 50 calories and is very filling. I have one if I get the grumblies in the evening.

I have the same evening problem so I've just had to set a time limit. I absolutely do NOT eat past 7:00....period. That eliminates any quandry about what to eat...how much to eat...am I really hungry...etc... I figure the times I really and truly am hungry I can just survive...but I don't think they are in the majority. I always have something really small (like a fruit pop, fudge pop, jello, piece of fruit, etc.) at around 6:30-6:45...and that ends my eating for the day. I go brush my teeth and call it quits. If the "hunger" gets too bad...I just go to bed early...I don't notice hunger when I'm asleep. :)

Good luck!

As for light snacks...how about a little popcorn? 1 cup of air-popped is 15 calories. :D

I like celery with peanut butter and just one small piece usually fixes me right up.

I'm like Tricia - after 7:30 I stop eating. Most of the time I just want to chew on something so I usually keep a piece of gum with me. If that doesn't work I drink more water. And if that still doesn't work...I go to bed!

But if I had to have something I would stick with something like SF Jello or some type of low calorie veggie that really crunches!

Evenings are bad for me, too. I also have set myself a time limit of when to quit eating. But, I do the gum trick and water. Usually, however, I just deal with the rumbling and tell myself tomorrow comes soon enough when I will be able to eat my healthy and hearty breakfast again!

Hope you get through this okay. ;)

If I'm hungry and still have points available I eat what I want. If I'm low on points and am really hungry, I'll often have some egg whites with some sort of veggies grilled up inside - it's usually what I need to get me through the night. :)

Thanks for all your suggestions. I'm afraid I did give in to the toast and peanut butter craving. Hopefully tonight will go better. I think popcorn is a good idea-I'm looking for something that feels like I'm eating a lot, but isn't a lot of calories.

Take care,
Sherry

Oatmeal and peaches Frozen, with a little honey tastes like peach cobbler made thick

I go for popcorn generally, or like another posted suggested, make a cup of tea. More than anything though, I've just gotten into the habit of NOT eating at night. It took a while, but now it's pretty easy for me to eat dinner at 5:30 or 6 pm and then not eat again until the next morning - this is how I usually plan my calories as well. Sometimes my tummy starts bugging me, and this is going to sound weird, but I say out loud "Forget it you've had enough!" and it usually works. :)

I make a cup of flavored hot green tea and add a tablespoon of benefiber to it. Nice and warm and filling, only 20 calories.:D

One thing you might consider is what you're eating throughout the day and how often. If you eat lots of protein, fiber, fruits, and veggies, you might find that those nighttime cravings stop or at least that you're not physically hungry, but eating just out of habit. I have a cut-off time for eating, too, but it hasn't been an issue because I'm pretty darn full by the end of the day. I really hate to be hungry (sets me up to eat badly) so I pretty much eat by schedule.

My last meal of the day is 1/4 c ff cottage cheese, 1/2 c blueberries, and .25 oz of walnuts sprinkled on top.