The Munchies
 

I hope I'm putting tihs in the right forum, if not please forgive me.

Gah, I've been on a diet now for the almost four weeks now and I was doing fine, except gasp the munchies. No I have yet to fall off the train, but I'm starting to get these urges to eat.Mostly at night, after my clock out eating time. I stop eating at seven o'clock in an attempt to avoid those late night splurges I used to indulge in. The clock out time also helps me calculate how to spread out my calories through the day.

I don't understand why I feel that hungry though, ussually after a good nights rest I don't even feel hungry in the morning. Which, makes me think its not so much my body as my head.
I am under more stress now as school is really starting to drag me down.

That and an engagement party scheduled for sunday night is lurking in my mind. from the looks ofvit the party will aslt several hours starting at six p.m.. I can't leave early becaue my mom is coming with me its a relative.

Gah, do you guys have any suggestions?

Eat healthy stuff before the party so you don't gorge on hors d ouerves. Put healthy snacks in your car/bag so you can eat after work. Good luck!

Try drinking some water ahead of time too so you don't feel so famished. Good luck!

tyr cleaning your teeth and using mouth wash after supper. :) glen

When I get the munchies I eat a bowl of cereal.
Mini Wheats, Grape Nuts etc. :)

Or drink a glass of fat free milk before you go to bed...fills you up!

I don't know what kind of 'plan' you're doing. Tell me something - are you exercising regularly? What kind of exercise are you doing? What time of day do you exercise?

What you're describing DOES sound an awful lot like 'head hunger'. Eating out of boredom...recreational eating...because you're used to having a snack while you're watching TV or whatever...

What you might want to do is FIND ANOTHER HOBBY besides food to do at night...you might want to look into Yoga or Pilates. Especially if you're under a lot of stress, Yoga can really be helpful towards alleviating that stress and making you feel better too :) (I do Yoga most nights after work, unless I'm riding). Something else I like to do at night is to take a long hot Calgon bath with a good book or magazine...just a nice long soak which relaxes me and gets me ready to sleep.

Regarding the suggestion of having a bowl of cereal or glass of milk...IMO part of what you need to do to break the habit of eating at night is NOT to substitute eating one thing for another, but not to eat AT ALL. Nothing with calories - stick to water or decaffinated herbal tea if you must have something in your mouth.

Besides...you gotta check the calories on some of those cereals - so many people think that Grape-Nuts is a healthy cereal, but if you're watching your calories, you're better off staying FAR away from the stuff IMO!

As far as the engagement party - well, these things happen...I have the same problem every couple months or so when I have to go to business dinners that don't even START until 7:30 pm...so I just do the best I can and get back on track the next day.

Well the party passed, and I survived. Thank you so much for all your kind advice. As for my excercise. I do about half an hour five times a week and about an hour on saturday ( I'm a college student and go to night school and work during the week). I ussuall;y do it in the morning before I eat.

I'm really thinking about that yoga thing, but what I'm doing mostly from tapes I've ordered and copied from the tv has quiet a bit of strengthenign work in ity. I'm trying to build up the muscles in my stomache ( which ahve always been kind of weak) and in my upper legs.
My mother does yoga to relief stress, and I've been trying it out for the last few sundays and while my body feels more rleaxed I worry that I change my routine that whatever improvement I've had with my strength will dissapear.
Then again I've only seen one Yoga show, and maybe there are others. The one my mom has it Wai Lana (sp). What I do is called classical stretch it's ussually has soem pretty good relaxing techniques, howeverm,, I'm focusing on the tapes more now which are aimed mostly at strengthening and flatening them uscle and less stress relief.
I'm sorry I rambled.
Any way, thank you guys, and thank god too. They had a fresh vegetable platter at the engagement party and I crunched on fresh cucumbers and tomatoes for most of the night.
Thank you guys again for your advice, I'm goign to keep it in mind next time the munchies assualt. ^^

Thank you, you're comments

Hey I just read this board and thought I would give you a suggestion on the munchies, and eating at night. If your feeling hungry at night, try eating your last meal later at night. Then you won't want to eat later because you'll still be full from your last meal. Hope this will work for you, I know many people that do this...............LOL, Andrea

haha, when i first read the title i thought it was pot related!

I was going to be like "uhhh, don't smoke a bowl a day? :P"

My beat-the-muchies trick: heat up one can of diced tomatoes (approx 80 calories), mix in a cup of water and a little salt-free or low-sodium vegetable stock to give it some more flavor.
I drink a cup or two of this on most nights, and it really fills me up and helps me avoid the late-night snacking that I know I'd otherwise be tempted to do.

Hey everyone!
Snacking is one of my worst problems, but luckily i spend alot of time with my WW book, and these low calorie ticks can really help. 5 cups of Jolly time 94% fatfree popcorn is only one point, so im sure its way low in calories, you could also just use air popped popcorn. Also rice cakes! chocolate ones for about 70 cals, butter and plain ones for only 35! Plus theres these great ice cream bars by blue bunny called healthsmart bars, their only 60 calories, but they taste like real ice cream. its rediculous. I Love all these snacks, they really help.
Nancy

A great healthy snack: one apple sliced, and 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Dip the apples, taste like dessert. You can even melt the peanut butter!!

Mrs Jim warned about cereal being a deceptively high calorie snack, I would offer the same advice about peanut butter. Two tablespoons of peanut butter and one medium apple deliver over 270 calories 56% of those from fat for those same calories you could have a chicken breast, some asparagus and a lovely salad with a lot of calories from protien rather than fat.
I think sometimes I experience hunger if the food I have eaten during the day was not well chosen. It needs to be nutritionally fulfilling as well as satiate hunger. It is well worth looking at how to get the most out of your calorie range in terms of nutrition and bulk. When I am eating 1200 calories per day, 200 on 2 tablespoons of peanut butter would not be a good idea.

I have to disagree about the peanut butter....one tablespoon Jif has around 100 calories. You do not have to have 2 tablespoons and a large apple. And a small apple is not very high in calories and full of bulk and fiber. Plus there are so many nutritional benefits to eating a small portion of nuts/peanut butter a day. It is a very high fiber snack that is sweet yet has substance to hold you over. On Oprah she said every afternoon she has a snack of a sliced apple/nuts(almonds, I believe) with cheese slices all in one snack. It is all about portion control. I am not promoting her program. But I disagree about peanut butter, it is a healthy wonderful food that you can also buy natural varieties without added sugar. Good luck everyone whatever plan you are doing. :)