Sigh...nighttimes are the worst for me. I think it is because I know that I can't eat anymore, therefore there is nothing more to look forward to, food-wise, until tomorrow. Nighttime is also the only time that I watch TV, and am bombarded with Arby's and Pizza Hut commercials, and I can just taste the Arby's roast beef in my mouth.

I know that the nighttime is the worst time for lots of people, probably for the same reason it is so hard for me - the feeling that you cannot eat anymore until tomorrow just kicks the deprivation instinct into overdrive, IMHO.

How do you guys handle this?

If you can't make it the night, and you just feel the urge to put some type of food in your mouth, eat some veggies! It's ok to go over your calorie intake by a few calories if you feel like you're starving yoursel.....Plus they'll fill you up! Bob from BL was right when he said that he had never heard of anyone getting fat from eating vegetables!

I don't know what food plan you're following, but here's something that works for me:

I make a nice, big cup of homemade sugar-free cocoa. I mix Splenda to taste with a heaping teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa, add a dash of salt, mix in a bit of low fat milk to make a paste, then add milk to top up the mug. Heat in the microwave for a minute and some, give a stir, then finish heating till it's good and hot. I nurse that cocoa for about an hour -- no more cravings for the rest of the night! I think it's about a hundred calories made with 1% milk.

Hope this helps.

Pickles; sugar-free candies (7-8 calories per); sugar-free Jell-O (10 calories per); carrots (35 calories a cup); flavored tea; Crystal Lite; sugar-free Popsicles (15 calories per); veggie soup stock (10-15 calories per); sauteed mushrooms & onions w/soy sauce (35 calories per cup)

Is not eating late at night part of your diet, or have you just ran out of calories early on some days? Either way, I'd considering adjusting your plan, if you know you'll be craving a snack, so that you can have one and feel satisfied at the end of the day.

I do let myself have a snack at night, but really have to be careful. Sugar-free cocoa or tea, or even chewing gum helps!!

These are all awesome ideas - I knew that you guy would come through!

Untamed, I can eat at night, if I am not out of calories in my allowance. You are right, I should make sure that I have some calories leftover for the nighttime cravings, at least 200 calories. I will actually try to be a lot more mindful of that, so that I can at least have a bag of unflavored popcorn before bed.

Raebear, I do love my hot cocoa...I will try that, but I am off Splenda. It does horrible things to my GI system, so I use Xylitol now. Same principle, though!

LBLazy, I will try to snack on veggies. The only veggie I like, just all by itself, are artichoke hearts. I can eat those all day long, just straight. Also, red and yellow bell pepper. Every other veggie, I have to doctor it up with something - either salad dressing, or dip or whatnot. Maybe I will try roasting some up and see if that works!

HHH - your suggestions sound yummy! I will try some of them out.

Oh, and the other thing I do that works is to GET AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN in the evening. That has really helped.

I tend to eat at night but mostly out of boredom. Trying to keep myself occupied helps me, but often Hubby and i end up on the couch in front of the TV, adn if he picks the show I'm usually bored, LOL. I get online a lot, coming here always inspires me not to eat and keep on plan.

If I absolutely can't stand not eating, like others have suggested I try to go for fruilt, veggies, or a fiber bar. Or mint gum.

HTH

I always, always, ALWAYS keep some calories in reserve for latenight snacking. If I'm really snacky, I'll make a big bowl of airpopped popcorn, and if I'm also craving sweet, I'll toss it with some cinnamon and some Splenda. If I am craving salt, I toss with salt.

Other nighttime snacks in my rotation are no sugar added ice cream, baked fruit with oat toppings, or even a chocolate protein shake (it's almost like a milkshake!)

I always say this, but I'll say it again. I highly recommend frozen grapes. One cup has only 60 calories, they last a LONG time because I can only take little nibbles of each grape and they are sweet, good and healthy! I also love to crunch on celery sticks. Be careful with pickles because of the sodium, desperate times call for desperate measures. Do some push ups and crunches, that could help too. I also like the gum thing....I like 5 gum because it lasts a long time.

All great suggestions!

Mandalinn - my mouth is watering, thinking of the fruit with oat toppings thing. Great idea! I do have be careful to leave something left in my calorie allowance for the late night, so I can do some of those things.

Luckymommy - I will try your frozen grapes idea. I haven't heard of that one before, but it sounds yummy.

Heather - yeah, sometimes just staying as far away from the kitchen as possible does the trick. Which is why I post so much at night!

I'd also recommend saving calories in reserve just in case you get hungry. Depending on how many calories you allow yourself for the day, you can save 200 perhaps and if you're not hungry, you don't have to use them.

Like many others, I go the sugar-free cocoa route. If I want something salty, I eat mini-pretzels. My options are more limited though than many others because I live in Japan where low calorie foods (especially reduced fat foods) are very hard to come by. You might want to see about getting some lean deli meat (sliced very thin) and keeping some in reserve to eat when you get that Arby's craving. Have it with crisp bread or some low calorie crackers.

Personally, I've discovered the patterns of my hunger and I try to map out snacks for the times when I expect to be hungry. If you're getting hungry at 9:00 pm relatively often, plan to eat something at that time. You won't be feeling miserable or deprived because you'll know you *can* have something you want.

Truthfully, I can't sleep without a happy tummy, so I give in. I make it up the next day or two being a good girl and getting back on track.

i don't think my solution will work for you (especially so early in the evening), but brushing my teeth helps kill the cravings. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I hate the taste of toothpaste in my mouth so much that I'm willing to go hungry for an hour or so to wait for it to go away. And by that time, the craving has ceased and I'm ready for bed.