ok gals...
I am a 20 something, but this is my first time in this part of the forum! Does anyone else have this problem: You have a fantastic day as far as calories and exercise..... then the munchies hit (around 8 or 9 for me) and you feel the need to raid the fridge, or reach for whatever is available. I am extremely strict about *trying* not to eat after 7...... should I lighten up so it doesn't feel like such a temptation? Or does anyone have any better tips?

In the cold weather, I have a morning and evening cup of tea that i sweeten with splenda as a "treat".

it helps keep hunger at bay while also getting in some much needed fluid

I used to get this bad and it got to the point where I couldn't sleep without literally putting myself into a food coma. This was predominantly when I was at my high weight but I know what you're going through. Even though its hard the key is to distinguish between true hunger and cravings. I like to think starch cravings at night/high energy food cravings come at night because our bodies are tired and think that a glucose spike will remedy that until we can get some sleep. I'm no nutritionist though. I just like to think about this stuff. Haha.

I think not eating after 7 is a little hard, depending on how late you stay up. There's not really a magic time when you should stop eating; calories are calories. But if you really want to stop eating then, one tip I like is to brush your teeth. It's just a little bit harder to eat something when you've already brushed your teeth for the night!

I found when I incorporated healthy snacks (instead of only eating meals) I got the munchies a lot less. I've found ignoring my hunger doeesn't work for me.

I like Jayohwhy's tea idea. I do that (Except without the Splenda because I like mine plain) or drink water. If neither of those work after a little bit, I try to eat a veggie. We've gotten rid of all of my unhealthy snacks because I don't want the temptation, so I don't have much of a choice =)

I would lighten up a little bit about the after 7 thing. Though, I do have my own personal timestamp of 9PM to stop eating. Usually because I go to bed around 11 and I feel like it's pointless to eat something an hour before bed. But if you stop eating at 7 but don't go to bed for another 3-5 hours, I would think that it's very likely to get snack hungry between 7PM and bedtime.

I too try not to eat after a certain time, because I like to weigh myself first thing in the morning and if I eat really late it artificially puts my weight up. If I do feel the need to eat something, I try and have something with protein (vegetarian protein) in it so it helps me feel fuller and less likely to eat more

Personally my time stamp for stopping eating for the day is midnight. But this is because I'm a night owl and am often up till 3 am at least. I think quitting eating within 2-3 hrs of sleeping is about fair. 7pm might be a little too early to stop eating if you're not in bed by 9-10, it would be natural to get the munchies then. You can either start going to bed earlier or save a little room for 1 planned evening snack- a cup of tea or a serving of jello or pudding or a piece of fruit or something or you can white knuckle it. Try different options and see what works for you.

I try to stop eating by around 9. I usually save myself some points (I'm doing ww) to use between 8 and 9 so that I don't feel the need to eat again before bed. I also drink a lot of water to fill myself up in the evenings. If I were you I would try giving yourself an extra hour and see if that helps prevent some munchies. Good luck!

im exactly the same as you. I'll be going great during the day, and then in the night time I suddenly have the urge to eat everything. In fact I just joined this forum because I just midnight-snacked on crackers and pretzels and pushed up my daily calorie intake to 1600, and so I realised I need some support because my motivation and willpower is slipping after a week of losing nothing. fml.