[Angihas2]

Sooo...normally, kids in bed, house is quiet it's been my habit to have a snack, like a reward for getting through the day. Usually, something like toast with pb globbed on, not bad, right? Sometimes 4 pieces. And not like the healthy bread, honey bread, or home made bread, and not a reasonable amount of pb, but gobs, so it was all melty. I'm REALLY struggling to NOT do that. So, some of the things I've started doing to avoid that late night routine is....

-clean the kitchen as soon as dinner is done, put leftovers up, clean table and counters, wash dishes, rinse the sink, sweep AND mop. For some reason, in my mind anyway, a clean kitchen means the kitchen is closed for the day.

-hot tea. I have an entire cabinet full of various teas and flavours, I like to have a cup of hot tea while the kids are having their baths, usually peppermint, it kind of refreshes my mouth and sends a signal that eating is done for the day. I also have a cup of hot tea with a half teaspoon of sugar free apple cider instead of sugar after the kids are in bed, cruise through 3fc and eyeball my fitday.

-plan my meals and snacks for tomorrow, once its all logged into fitday, I check to make sure my fats/protiens/carbs have a good ratio for me and that my cals are high enough. Tonight, I found myself with 12% fat for tomorrow, so I spent some time juggling different combos to bring my fat intake for tomorrow UP, talk about an NSV!! I also admire my weight chart, seeing that line on the graph moving steadily downward is such motivation to not go raid the cabinets and fridge!


What are some ways you have broke your old food habits? I'd love to have some more ideas.

[XLMuffnTop]

Hehe, I usually make it a point to have something after the kids go to bed but I plan for it and make it healthy and fit in my calories, such as greek yogurt.

What keeps me from "grazing" is making sure I get in my exercise. It's cold and I have two young kids so I just do a 30-60 minute DVD. When I do this it keeps my butt out of the kitchen and makes me really think about not screwing up my hard work. Plus, I sleep really well on nights when I get some sort of a work out done.

[Lindsayanne716]

I've gotten into the habit of always evaluating a food before I eat it. Prior to starting my weight loss journey, if i ever wanted something, i just ate it. Plain and simple.

Now, I will look at the nutritional information (or in my case, WW points) and decide whether or not it is worth it... I ask myself whether the food actually tastes good enough for it to be worth the points it would take up, and a lot of the time the answer is NO!!

I find myself now saving my points for one thing that I am reallllly going to enjoy...helps me not to go overboard and gorge on stuff that doesn't even taste good just because it is there.

[Angihas2]

XLMuffinTop - I find I need a few hours between my last meal and bedtime. First, it ensures I get enough sleep. Sleep has always been vital to my weight loss success. I find its easier for me to make bad food choices when I'm even slightly sleep deprived. With a 9 month old with recurrent ear infections, 2 new teeth a month and who just had surgery, I don't get long stretches of sleep, but I can make the total time add up if I try to lay down by 10ish. Second, that after kids are in bed snack is like some signal to my stomach that there's a party in the kitchen and I really should go hang out in there. So, I do 3 meals, 2 snacks, but all before 8.

Lindsay - I look at those labels too, sure, I'm checking calories, but I'm also checking serving sizes. A tiny sliver of something that equals 200 calories, just isn't worth it to me anymore. I still have those small indulgences, I'm just way more careful with them, and make sure they fit in my plan.

Thanks for your input ladies!

[synger]

I think the tea idea is a wonderful one. Making a ritual that signifies "eating is done for the day" can be very helpful. I remember one woman on here who would enjoy (and count) a low-sugar hot cocoa every evening. She'd look forward to it, relish it, and then when it was done that was the last thing she ate that day. The ritual around it really helped her keep to it. Once it became habit, she just didn't THINK about food again after she'd had her cocoa.

[Misti in Seattle]

Good for you! Sounds like you have some good methods going.

Several months ago my doctor told me that before I eat something, to ask myself "Do I need this?" I try to remember to do that, and often it does stop me from eating something... but a lot of other times the answer is "yes." But it helps me not to just mindlessly eat things I do not need.

[betsy2013]

A hint I got from this site. After supper, I go in and brush my teeth. I'm on a diet where I am not supposed to eat anything after 8PM, but just to make sure, I go ahead and brush my teeth, wash my face and do the night cream stuff. Even if it's only 7 or 7:30. For some reason, mentally, I don't want to have to do it again and it's been keeping me from the old habit of mindless eating in front of the TV.

[Tai]

Food really tastes bad after I've brushed and rinsed so that one works great for me.

I also love to knit in the evenings. It's very relaxing and keeps my hands too busy to eat!