So I was wondering what one can do to curb night eating. I don't know if anyone else has this problem where I stick to my diet all day count calories, drink water instead of going for that donut, etc. Then I get home in the evening and I can't seem to help myself going for a free-for-all with my fridge and cupboards. I try not to keep anything really junk-foody in the house to help, but inevitably I end up going for whatever is the most junky in the house or A LOT of something that isn't so unhealthy.
I've tried not eating past a certain time, but within a week I work later than that time and then break the "rule" or I go out to eat and it's so slow that again the "rule" is broken. I’ve tried drinking more water at night, that just made me have to get up several times a night to go to the bathroom, but was no help. Any idea of how I can trick myself into not eating at night? The rest of my day is great, it's just those pesky nights... :-(
Thanks!!

Have earlier days and go to bed on time, have a 5 am - 9 pm day
Brush your teeth after every meal or snack
Chew sugar free gum
Have healthier delivious snacks in the house, sweet fruits, very dark chocolate, apple pie liberte yogurt is my fave.
Have a sweet drink, a skim decaf latte w/ sweetener, a chai tea
Fit an extra meal into your plan, sometime just before you leave to go home.

If this is actually a psychological thing, like you need to eat to relax, then you have to start just using will power to change your habits.

Oh I am SUCH a night eater as well. It's horrible. I count calories all day, do perfect, then after work I come home and it's like I haven't eaten a thing.

It's helped to have everything all planned out for when I come home.

If I'm cooking dinner then I'll plan a mini snack before I cook, that way by the time dinner comes around I'm not starving. Then I'll eat dinner. Try to eat it SLOOWWW. I can eat a whole dinner in 5 minutes and then want more. Take your time. Put your fork down inbetween bites (this one's really hard for me). Try and make dinner last as long as possible. Then, I have an evening snack. My hubby and I like to watch TV together and play card games, so I have a 100 calorie kettle corn or a soy icecream sandwhich.

I eat a good chunk of my calories after 3 pm, but you know what? That's what works for me so it's what I'm going to continue to do.

My day looks like this:
B: 300 (6:30-7ish)
S: 100 (10:30)
S: 200 (12:00)
L: 300 (2:00)
S: 50-60 (4:00 usually just a piece of stone fruit to tide me over until I get home)
D: 400 (@ around 6:30-7)
S: 100 (@ around 8-8:30)

I have classes starting at 8 AM, then a 2 hour break between 9-11, then I'm out of class at 2... drive straight to work and I'm at work until 6. It's not a long day, but I can't eat during my classes and I hate eating at my desk, especially if there's customers around.

You just need to make your lifestyle work for you.

I have a lot of snacks during the day - on my drive home from work I always have a little snack bar (Kashi Go Lean are really good) or some veggies, just to curb the ravenous hunger of mine while I'm making dinner.

I also always have something sweet after I eat dinner, like an ice cream bar or a handful of dark chocolate M&M's - for some reason the sweetness after a meal tells my brain/stomach YOU'RE DONE NOW STOP EATING and I do.

I also find it helpful to do SOMETHING with my hands - knitting, drawing, reading, even typing on my laptop. If my hands are busy, I don't want to eat.

This is so my problem too! I am good all day, but once I get in bed and start reading or even if I don't read, I just have to get up for a little somethin, somethin. Last night it was a hand full of granola. (probaby 200 calories!)

I am going to buy some whey powder today and see if that will curb it.

I am gonna add it to water and see if it makes me feel full and not want a little somethin, somethin that is sabotaging my whole day!

I definitely have a hard time staying away from food after dinner, but I find that if I make myself busy (or just stay away from tv, etc) I don't have as much of an urge to eat.

With me, there has always been a connection between snacking bigtime and watching nighttime tv. The only way I can get away with watching any is by giving my hands something to do, as stellarosa27 suggested. It's hard, since a lot of it has to do with fatigue and mental exhaustion from the day... your body feels as though it needs to be comforted, regardless of whether it actually has its required calories.

I'm not back into the grind just yet, but I think I might try doing yoga at night when I get home... Maybe it will calm me and make me realize I'm not hungry, just stressed.

PICKLES!! When my tummy starts rumbling at night I go for a huge jar of pickles! They are only a mere 5 calories per pickle so I just eat until I'm satisfied. If pickles don't do it for you, try cucumbers or pretty much anything green! It may not be chocolate, but it does the job pretty well! Hope this helps! Good luck!!

OMG I am exactly the same when it comes to eating at night. And I'm quite a night owl as well, staying up until 11pm. I eat well all day, have my dinner, and by 10pm I am ravenous.

When I get home from work I try not to eat my dinner for a while. I could easily eat it as soon as I get home, about 6.30pm, but I've been trying to go for a walk or distract myself until 8pm and have dinner then. And like FreeSpirit says, I try and eat REALLY SLOWLY!

But there's some great advice here that I'm going to take on board - not staying up so late! And the pickles - I LOVE pickles. Great advice.

if i'm feeling hungry in the evening i'll have a cup of cocoa (not hot chocolate - pure dark dutch cocoa that's sugarless) with skim milk and some splenda with some dried chilli powder sprinkled in it.

it's warming and filling and give me that chocolate hit that i sometimes need without having many calories. also the chilli gives it a kick and seems to suppress my appetite (wishful thinking - maybe, but if it works - who cares?!)