Hi all,

I have been reading the messages in this forum and see that there are many people that are having the same struggles as me. Not that I thought I was the only one, but the only one I personally know!
I started my diet/healthy eating habits on Monday and during the day I am great, don't eat anything extra or nothing more than what I bring into work to eat that day. Then after dinner it starts.....all I do is think about what I can eat! Even though I am not hungry I am sitting there for hours thinking of what I want to eat. It is so frustrating, cause of course I slip in little things to eat like some chewy candy or if I had the food around it would be chips or junk. How do you stop this cycle? I know it is all in my mind but my mind I guess is so programmed to think this way......its had years of experience!
I guess I just need to talk to people who understand this struggle and are trying to deal with it or have dealt with it! Thanks for reading my message!
Stacey

i have days like that , i find that if i don't eat a snack, like fruit or something before bed i wake up early in the morning hungry ....i mean early today it was 5 am... i ate a heathly bowl of All bran with a half of a banana on it .. now im full...

Heck most of the time I am hungry before I go to bed. Not that I think I am physically hungry but I think about food so much I just think I am hungry. As sad as that is to admit! I need staples for my mouth! *LOL*

this was the hardest thing for me to change. I was a ritual snacker at night...no matter if I was hungry at night. What I did was keep a healthy snack from my day for the evening, or save 100 calories for the evening and set a time limit. If it was past 8pm, I couldnt have it.

Now, I still check with fitday to see if I have anything left for the evening when Im hungry. But after a few yrs of doing this, Ive finally learned that Im really (not) or (am) hungry, and I can deal with it. When Im not really hungry, I head up stairs and either take a hot bath, get on the computer or curl up in bed with a book. Anything to take your mind off food.

I hope this helped

Thanks Robin sounds like a plan, I had read that it is a good idea not to eat after a certain time at night and of course I have to go full steam at it and decide not to eat at all after supper, not the best idea I have come up with yet! *LOL*
I have been trying do to crafts or read to keep my mind occupied, some times it works and sometimes I feel like I am too obsessed with thinking about food and what I could eat
I am glad to hear you have been able to control your cravings, it gives me hope that I will be able to also one day!

Night cravings are very often emotionally triggered - all the feelings you have from your day (stress, frustration, anger, saddness, etc.) manifest themselves at night, especially when your mind isn't engaged in other things. When you add that to the fact that you may be at lease partially hungry or just not eating as many calories as you are used to, night time snacking is hard to avoid. Here's what's worked for me:

1) planning a low cal snack or treat each night - something I truly enjoy (as opposed to an apple or carrot stick). My favorites are microwave popcorn (with real butter if I am low on calories for the day) or a skinny cow ice cream sandwich (140 cals).

2) keep relatively busy at night with activities I really like - things i can look forward to instead of thinking about food or letting my dinner and snacks be the highlight of my evening. These aren't the activies I think I "should" do, like laundry, cleaning, paying bills - because I then use food as a way to help avoid doing them. These are activities that sometimes serve no other purpose than pure entertainment - like reading an US magazine, or watching something cheesy on my Tivo.

3) when I feel the desire to snack, I don't immediately reach for food. Instead I work to figure out what's triggering the urge. This is very tough, but ultimately it's what you need to learn how to do to avoid locking all the bad food in the closet and spending every night in agony trying to not over eat. Most emotionally triggered snack urges, for me, subside after about 20 minutes. Before snacking I also think about what it is I really want in terms of food. Do I really want to eat a bunch of cookies or a bucket of fried chicken, and feel icky afterwards? When I think about it that way, the desire to mindlessly nosh goes away. If after about 30 minutes I still feel a strong snack desire, I cut a deal with myself and give myself a small portion of something that sounds really good. I did this last night - having half a wheat pita with turkey, lettuce and real mayo. It was heaven!

this is where i am having problems also,i do great during the day but as soon as say 6 oclock hits all i want to do is eat all night long.it feels like a drug to me that i just can't stop doing

Thanks Hibiscus,
Those are all great suggestions, I am going to try and apply them to myself. I was proud of myself last night I didn't eat at all after dinner and kept myself busy.....I thought maybe reading some diet magazines would smarten me up! Plus reading a diet magazine and eating junk just don't go together!
Thank you again,
Stacey

Hi Charliekay,

I understand what you are saying, its difficult! I start off with good intentions but don't always follow them. I am just going to take it night by night and follow some suggestions that the other members have given me. And I won't beat myself up if I have an off night!
I honestly think with me its mind over matter, I don't truly think I am hungry but I think about food so much it makes me feel hungry.....blah!
Plus if you need to you can always feel free to talk to me, I will try and support anyone who needs it
Stacey

Stacey, welcome!
Are you eating enough protein with your evening meal? You may need to up that a bit if you're short on energy or too tired to make it through the evening without sugar cravings.
As for night time cravings... I know it well. Until recently, I just HAD to have something to take up to bed with me, otherwise I'd be lying there thinking of food, unable to get to sleep. Even though I wasn't hungry!
I honestly think it's just a habit that has to be broken. It takes will-power and lots of little tricks. (good ones mentioned by some of the others here!)

Another thing you could try... I've recently started bleaching my teeth. Around 8pm I apply the stuff to my teeth, and then I'm not able to eat anything for the rest of the night.

Good luck, hon!

Hi Ellis,

Thank you for the welcome! Yeah I have tried brushing my teeth earlier as they say that will help you not eat.....well not me after the mint taste is gone I could eat again!
I am pretty sure I am eating enough protein, I will look into that though, thanks for suggestion.
That is what I think also its just a bad habit I have gotten into and it will take me a bit to knock it out of my system along with alot of self control!
Thanks again for the support, I appreciate it!
Stacey

I have zero body awareness as far as hunger goes. Everyone talking about physical versus mental hunger, and trust me I have tried to figure out which is which... but I think what works for me is a schedule. My body gets used to what I tell it is a "normal" amount of food, and a healthy diet, and then I can begin to recognize when I am overeating (instead of going insane with "hunger" every five minutes)

Oh I know when I am overeating I think I have just gotten into a very bad habit of eating at night, and since my mind and body are used to that habit it is very hard to break. The moment I try not to eat at night all I do is think about it, to the point I believe I am hungry.....
I just hope one day I can correct this! Thanks for your views on this, take care,
Stacey

canadiansmile... I do the same thing! I will be watching TV and there are some nights that I am distracted because all I am thinking about it food and what I would like to eat. Sometimes it gets so bad that I just go to bed. I can't think about food when I am sleeping Other times I will have a snack but I always make sure it's nothing too over the top. SlimFast has some snack bars that are really good when you want chocolate. I try to have a snack bar with a cup of green tea when the chocolate cravings really get bad.

mishakal30 I hear you! God forbid I stay up an extra hour to watch a show it gives me one more hour to think about what I could be eating!
I agree I can't think about food when I am sleeping....*LOL* Last week was a great week for me, I didn't eat at all after dinner, and I read magazines or kept myself busy with something else. I find if I can make it till 8:30pm without eating I am good as I won't have anything basically past 8pm. Its just getting there that is hard some nights!
I have discovered the Slim Fast bars also, I like the muffin one with the chocolate chips, anything with chocolate in it is good for me!
Well good luck on your journey and I know we can both quit this habit, it is a struggle but we can do it! Keep me updated on your progress!
Take care,
Stacey