Help... need suggestions/advice to conquer the snack monster!
 

OMG, you could be me!!

I have been doing pretty well, though the past two evenings, I have lost my battle with the snack monster. What generally works for me is to make a bit pot of green tea and sip on that. The taste doesn't really go with sweet, so it seems to kill the craving.

Also, trying to avoid the TV during that time helps - snacking in front of the tube is kind of a reflex, so it helps to just not put myself into that position.

I also e-mail my weight-loss buddy. Even if she doesn't respond right away, it helps me to type out my thoughts and press send.

I have the rule of no food after 8 so I understand your dilemma.

Things I do to stop myself:

-eat a proper dinner so that im not hungry
- go for a walk or do some light yoga or stretching
-post on here or write a journal
- call a friend
- stay out of the kitchen and livingroom (i associate them with eating)
- drink tons of water and herbal tea
- have a bath
-read
- clean, organize or do something productive.

I always feel better when I go to bed if I haven't gorged all night on food and I have a better sleep.

Good luck with your goals. YOu can do it! You've already lost some weight! Good for you.

There's nothing wrong with eating after 7:30 or 8:00 PM, just so long as you've planned for it in your calories for the day. I always leave a little room in my calories for an after dinner snack. My standard is a cup of tea with splenda and milk and a low calorie pudding (usually around 60 calories per pudding). I often also have a few small cookies to go with the pudding (either mini-meringues or cat cookies from Trader Joes, both of which are less than 10 calories per cookie).

If I still feel like snacking, I will have some sugar-free hard candy or a piece of sugar-free gum (both around 5-6 calories per piece).

I also put off dinner until 8:00 or sometimes 9:00 PM to minimize the number of post-dinner hours there are for snacking. But this is partly because I don't go to bed until around midnight. If I went to bed earlier, I'd probably eat dinner earlier.

I agree with Blue to Blue there's no reason not to eat after supper if you've accounted it in your calorie allotment for the day... I do try not to eat before bed but some days I'm just really really hungry... I usually have 1/2 c cottage cheese or less with frozen fruit on top like strawberries or mangos with a few walnuts sprinkled n top of that... Or I do the distraction route, come here and post, take a bath...

I love Grey's Anatomy too :D...

Yeah, I think you're being too hard on yourself. It's okay to plan for some treats so long as they don't use up a huge portion of your calories on a regular basis. You don't want to eat 500 calories of sweets every day because then you won't be eating enough nutritious food (or you'll be over your calorie limit all the time), but a 60-calorie pudding cup is fine. For a long time, I worked a 200-calorie energy bar (which is basically like a candy bar) into my afternoon snacks. It helped satisfy my cravings for sweets, which kept me on track. Eventually I got to the point where I didn't need it any more so I've stopped eating the bars, but when I first started, those bars were a life-saver. Maybe I'll eventually give up the pudding cups too, but right now I really look forward to them.

I think you'll find that almost all the successful dieters on this forum allow themselves some type of low-calorie treat fairly regularly. For me it is the pudding cups, for others it is low-calorie ice cream snacks, for others it is a small piece of dark chocolate. Whatever you can have in the house that you won't overindulge on.

The idea of not eating after a certain hour is because people tend to overindulge when they do and tend to eat very high calorie foods during that time. Obviously, if you have already eaten all your calories for the day and then you have a big bowl of ice cream before going to bed, that's going to interfere with your weight loss. :lol: But if you planned out your calories for the day, left a certain amount to be eaten between 7 PM and when you go to bed, and have a moderate (everything in moderation ;) ) snack during that time, that's fine. It's all about calories in vs. calories out. So long as you burn more calories than you consume, you are going to lose weight. It doesn't matter when those calories are consumed.

ChocBroc~eating several small meals or snacks throughout the day is what keeps your metabolism going. Long periods without food will slow your metabolism over time. Your metabolism won't doesn't necessarily slow down in the evening hours. As BluetoBlue said, there is nothing wrong with eating after a certain time of the day as long as it is planned with your overall calories for the day. If you're feeling deprived and in the snacking mode, you are more likely to either give up or binge--neither of which is beneficial to you. It would be better to plan for a small, healthy snack in the mid evening to keep you satisfied. Just don't reach for the cookies and ice cream!!!

In the evening I need something substancial (we eat abot 5) so about 7:30/8I have a banana with peanut butter. It is higher cals but I alot it in my cals I need something a little more filling than pudding or yogurt they just do not do the trick for mme.

I can't believe you felt so guilty about eating a mere 60-calorie pudding cup! :lol: Bad for me is several glasses of wine and some sort of dessert that is upwards of 300 calories (maybe a big ol' piece of chocolate cake). I consider 60-calorie pudding cup to be saintliness personified! :angel:

Whoa, ChocoBroc, I'm not suggesting anything crazy like missing Grey's
Anatomy (or Desperate Housewives, for that matter!)!!! I'm a reasonable person! For those shows, I do the green tea thing. What I try to avoid is just parking it on the couch and watching whatever is on, just because it's on (husband has the TV on ALL evening). I still watch my faves, but am trying to be more selective, to decrease the chances of that TV habit-munching that I do.

Wow ChocoBroc, we seem to be in the same place with our weight and have the same end goal! And I totally, TOTALLY relate to the snack thing. I've just begun to get serious with my diet, though I exercise every week day. And I am eating JC food, so that does not leave me with a lot of options once all the food for the day is gone; however, I have a long standing favorite that even fits in with my plan. I LOVE to get the celestial seasonings strawberry tea - be sure to make it strong enough. I use two bags per cup. Then I sweeten it with splenda, add a little fat free creamer, then top it off with sugar free whipped cream. It feels decadent, but really isn't. Plus, the hot water is so filling, you really don't feel like snacking any more once you have finished it. It gives you a nice warm, full feeling!

Great suggestion!! Thank you. I will definitely try that. It sounds like a nice warm treat to sip on while I watch my shows in bed!!!
We really do have similar goals... keep in touch we might need each other :D