So, Shannon gave me a great idea for a new thread: The dreaded Night Eating!!!! What do we do when we get home from work/school and we've done really well all day, ate a healthy breakfast and lunch, then we come home at night and blow our whole day? Does this ever happen to you? How do you cope/manage/avoid the NIGHT MUNCHIES (ahhhhh!!!). All suggestions are greatly appreciated

This is a big problem for me because I dont eat enough in the day because of my work schedule. So I get home late and am starving. I try to eat properly in the day. Some things I do to stop myself are to make a time like 2 hours before bed that I can only have tea or V8 at the most. I track my eating, what time I eat, how hungry I am before and after and my bedtime so that I can make sure I dont eat right before bed. I also always have a container of cut up carrots and celery and whatever other veggies I have in my fridge so they are easy to grab. I also have cans of V8. Basically I try to make sure that the easy things to grab are healthy so Im not tempted by other stuff. I also try not to have any treats in the house. If I want a treat, I have to go out and get it. If you can make a rule to only eat at the table, that usually helps with night munchies since they are usually on the couch, in bed, standing at the counter. I read a book once that said to treat yourself like you would treat a guest- you wouldnt invite them to have dinner with you at the refridgerator door, you would set up a nice table for them and sit down to eat.

Those are just some of my strategies, but I'd love to see what other people have to say!

after dinner is where i have the most trouble. i try to eat dinner at around 7:30 or 8 since i go to bed at midnight. right after dinner, i have my nutrisystem dessert. i have a couple snacks for myself after but space them out at least an hour between. i usually have a dannon's light and fit yogurt which is only 60 calories that counts as my dairy, or i have some type of nuts like almonds that count as my fat intake. usually by 11 pm, i don't feel like eating anymore. it works pretty well for me!

One thing that I do to avoid eating at night is I brush my teeth right after dinner. That may sound silly, but it actually discourages me from eating anything else. Also, I flip the channel on my TV whenever any comercials come on. I find that I'll be perfectly content and then I'll see a commercial for something sweet and think "Hmm I need something like that". So I don't watch commercials. :]

This is definitely a problem for me.

And these are some good strategies that I haven't thought of...

I plan to try brushing my teeth more, maybe mouth wash. Also drinking decafenated tea.

One thing I have is if I eat too late I tend to get a big stomach ache that wakes me up when I'm sleeping. At least it kind of keeps me from eating after 8. Recently though I haven't been avoiding those midnight snacks.

I try to only eat a quick snack before I go to work at 6pm. I only get two nights off a week and that's Wed & Thurs so those are my hardest "fight the munchies" days.

I really don't even eat dinner on the other days.

I also brush my teeth...If its my period I use mouthwash to get a stronger effect!! Or...if I have the munchies I'll chew gum.

I usually have a snack around 4:30, so I'm not ABSOLUTELY starving when I get home from work at 6. If I am, I eat everything that's within reach and then have dinner, and then still want more because I've allowed myself to gorge. Preventative snacking helps me

Otherwise, if you will feel really antsy/weird without an evening snack, just plan for it. Plan some popcorn, or crackers and cheese, or light pudding... whatever floats your boat. I don't see a problem with some light evening snacking as long as it's accounted for and it's, well, light. And actually, having a snack around 15g of carbs about an hour before bed was recommended to me by a dietitian I saw for a while, as it helps keep your blood sugar elevated overnight and you have an easier time waking up in the morning.

When all else fails, I totally subscribe to the brushing your teeth trick

Was a big problem for me. The only thing that I have found that worked was that I switched to exercising after dinner. This really helps me alot with the nightly munchies and also helped cause I am not a morning person.

I also exercise after dinner and it seems to help. After a work out if I feel like I want something else, I'll make a protein shake or have a piece of fruit but usually all I want to do is take a shower and relax.

What wroks for me is a SCHEDULED EATING ROUTINE. I eat breakfast when I get to work (about 1 1/2 hours after I get up) - have a fruit as a snack 2-3 hours later, have lunch 2 hours after that and have a fruit or veggie as a snack right before i leave. I pump my self up w/ about 100 oz of water, just while I'm at work - and then I make dinner when I get home. I'm HUGE on not eating after dinner... I want to go to bed hungry.. it causes my body to feed on stored fat rather than freshly fed carbs. If it gets to bee too much - then I drink a glass of water and head to bed - even if it is 2 hours earlier then normal... I don't mind having more time to sleep!

Planning is the key, at least for me. That and learning to tell when I'm thirsty and when I'm hungry. Late at night, if I haven't gotten enough water during the day I'm much more likely to binge than if I've gotten lots of water.

Also veggie dogs are my new favorite snack! Very low calorie (70-80 depending on the brand) and tons and tons of protein. I ate one an hour ago (with a bun granted, another 120 cals) but I still feel really really full.

yummy, I really like the idea of veggie dogs, and only 70 calories! I try to work out at night, because then I'm not infront of the TV eating, but after work I'm tired and most nights don't have the energy to work out. I'm trying to find things to do at night that don't take a lot of energy, but that keep me from eating when I'm chilling in front of the tv: art projects, classwork, blogging (uh, hello!), etc.

So I have a weird trick for nighttime cravings, and I think I'm crazy for doing it but it really does help. First of all, I tie a ribbon around the handles to the "snack" cabinet and also to the fridge, and it's my "do you really want that?" ribbon. Nine times out of ten when I want to go and grab something to mindlessly eat late at night, I have to untie that ribbon and think about whether or not I REALLY want it, and I realize that I don't. And since the fruit bowl is right there, I might grab something out of it instead. It doesn't work every time, but it's that extra little pause to think that helps.

I learned the same thing on Oprah, Its ok to eat at night just as long as you plan to go to bed in the next 3 hours. That has worked for me cuz in 4 hours I am hungry again. And if I hit that 4 hour mark I have to at least have an Ovaltine or glass of Juice. My sugar goes Down I am Hypoglycemic. I also found out after some research that it triggers nightmare if my sugar is down while I sleep.