My biggest issue is with eating when I'm not really hungry, or just a little hungry but snacking more than I should. I can stop myself when I think about what I'm doing and will have a glass of water instead, but so often I just munch! What are some tips and tricks to break this habit??

I have the same issue. I call it mindless eating. I am looking forward to the replies.

What is your weight-loss plan? One of the things I like about calorie counting is that it helps makes you more mindful of what you are eating. Even if you are not calorie counting, keeping a food journal in which you record everything that you eat can help you be mindful.

Also, regardless of plan, it helps to engineer your environment so that you don't have snacks around that you can eat mindlessly. What is it that you are snacking on? Can you get rid of it, or replace it with something better suited to your plan? I try, with foods I tend to snack mindlessly on, just not to keep them around.

The biggest thing that helped me cut down on snacking was reducing carbs. It reduced my overall hunger by quite a bit.

But a more general kind of tip: I started drinking sparkling mineral water instead of plain water all the time. It actually helped quite a bit for some reason. More refreshing than diet soda and more interesting than yet another glass of the regular stuff.

I have the same problem. I call it the 8 O'clock munchie monster And I agree with carter about the calorie counting. I'm new to calorie counting and I have to admit it really does help me see where my problem lies. By looking at my food journal I bet that if I stopped my night-time mindless eating that this weight would all fall off because I don't really have problems with my meals or any other times of the day.
Night-time eating is a very bad habit for me because I'm not even hungry. I just want to munch, on anything.
My resolution for 2013 is to kick my munchie monster to the curb. It's tough but I know that if I put my mind to it I can stop with the mindless eating. It almost got me last night but I prevailed!
I wish I had some coping skills to offer you but I don't because I'm just starting out trying to break this bad habit of mine. Hopefully someone will come along with some great advice.

The sparkling water is good for a lot of things! It helped me to stop smoking 6yrs ago. Everytime I got the urge I grabbed a can of sparkling/selzer water. I guess this could also work for mindless eating too. LOL!! Cheers!

Thanks guys! I am doing calorie counting and if I stick with it, I can see it making a difference. Already, I cut down on my lunch when I realized how many calories it took up of my daily allowance.
Seltzer water is a good suggestion. I have the soda stream, so I can make my own (highly recommend it!) and add some lemon for flavor.
The issue usually comes at night when I get home from work and just want to eat everything.
I like the suggestion to replace the snack with something better suited to my plan. Probably if I eat something that is healthier and will fill me up faster, I won't have the urge to keep snacking! Worth a try anyway

This! Sparkling water really helps me curb my eating. I also drink diet soda (although I know some people don't like that). Unsweetened tea too. It makes me feel more satisfied than just blah more water.

I was never a snack person until I met my husband. It's like I didn't even realize what snacks really were. In my childhood home we got popcorn on Friday nights. Now if I find I am a little hungry in between meals I have a fruit or a few almonds. I always check out the serving size on anything I eat it helps control me from eating the whole thing.

maybe you could embrace that habit instead eat low calorie things like pickles 3-6cal each or popcorn.. or find something to keep your hands busy, draw,scrapbook, crochet etc

Same here. I never snacked until my boyfriend. He's constantly eating something (mostly unhealthy food) and I think I can just do it too....*sigh* very wrong.

One tip I got on here is to brush my teeth immediately after dinner as opposed to right before bed. For some reason, I don't want to have to brush them again!

I've also set a time boundary -- no eating after 8 PM......which is when the boredom eating would start for me.

The other rule I've created for myself is that if I eat, it has to be at the table, no TV, no book. Just eating. I do allow music on, but basically the idea is to focus on the eating as opposed to forgetting that the arm is getting a great workout continually stuffing something into my mouth!

When I'm doing routine tasks that let my mind wander to food and what I'd like to be eating, I make an extra effort to focus on the task at hand. Not only does it keep me more "in the moment", but it also takes my mind off the food.

Omg, I have the exact same problem 8-9pm come I turn into a snack monster and want to eat the whole world many times I'm not even hungry. It's like comforting or something. I'm going to try this sparkling water trick.

I have found tea helps me to stop snacking... if I want a snack I'll just make a really sweet (sweetners not sugar) tea. I will add a little bit of cold water so its not burning temperature then I'll hold the mug until I can drink it (so my hands are busy and can't think about snacks) and then once I've drunk it most of the bored-and-want-to-eat cravings are gone (or I just get another cup).