well after i have my dinner and im full a couple of hours later i will start to think im hungry and want something to eat coz im either bored and just wanting something... but i dont have this problem through the day, somedays i can go through without snacking coz im not hungry and keep myself occupide(spelling?) but as the night draws over i just sit watching telly and i will get some fruit but then about 9pm i really crave things, beans on toast with cream cheese is my worst habit.
it doesnt happen every night tho ... if i do get the craves just a little i normaly ignore them.... but other nights, sadly, its not as easy.

so please do you have any tips about conquering cravings late at night and tell me what im doing wrong?

thanks loads! xxx

Plan a healthy snack after dinner (reserve calories) - anything with cream cheese probably isn't the best snack for weight loss (fat free cream cheese might be okay).

Eat a little later.

Brush your teeth right after dinner.

Declare the kitchen "closed" after dinner.

Write down everything you eat all day. Sometimes, just knowing I have to record an offplan snack into my daily record stops me.

Sip hot tea or sugar free cocoa.

I stay up late so I plan carefully for this. I put off dinner as late as possible. I don't go to bed until midnight or 1 AM, so eating at 5 or 6 PM and then going all the way to midnight without just isn't reasonable for me (I normally eat every three hours during the day).

My SO and I rarely eat dinner before 8 PM and often don't eat until 9 PM (and have been know to eat as late as 10 or 11 PM, but that's usually by accident). If I'm eating dinner at 8 or 9 PM, wanting to snack at that time isn't a problem. I eat a snack at 5 or 6 PM to get me through the afternoon until our late dinner.

I plan on an after-dinner snack, usually a 60-calorie pudding cup, a cup of tea, and some mini-merigue cookies. I usually eat my snack around 11:00 PM.

Finally, I keep sugar free candy and gum on hand. I usually have few pieces of sugar-free candy every night. If I'm having a really tough night in terms of not snacking, I chew some sugar free gum.

And I think nonfat cream cheese is a great food for weight loss. I go through a ton of it; it's a substitute for butter for me (I eat it on bread, baked potatoes, muffins, etc.). At only 15 calories per tbsp, it fits really well in my diet.

If your hungry, that's one thing, but if it's just boredom, i use the spearmint gum trick. yeah...try eating something with that taste in your mouth!! lol. If you are hungry, maybe you are not getting enough calories. Or you just need to plan a nighttime snack that will fit in with your calories. But i believe it comes down to planning, planning, planning. Good luck. I'm sure the other ladies here will have better advice. I don't have that problem very often, so i'm not really much use.

Chew gum!!!!

Oh I have a QUESTION on chewing gum.... someone told me that when you chew gum you are breathing in air which causes you to bloat...and or cause gas.... needless to say when I heard that I started to laugh my you know what off......

I love gum, and love chewing it... I always thought it was a great way to trick you mind in that you are eating ....

I usually chew gum or sip hot black or green tea. However, I HAVE found something new that has REALLY helped. Cause I'm a HUGE late night snacker.

Peanut butter.

I can get a spoon of it and just lightly lick it and take an hour to eat it. By that time, I'm not really craving anything anymore.

All these tips are great; I use them all ~ sugarless fruit candies, OR small teaspoons of peanut butter (try it on apple slices too), OR cheddar cheese alone or with FOUR whole wheat soda crackers OR a piece of leftover meat like steak, OR a big cup of tea, OR a small vanilla ice cream cone (omit some milk for the day), OR a popsicle (which is less than 100 C's), OR small bowl of cereal, OR small skim-milk pudding cup, OR fruit cup, OR a raisin-bran muffin with the tea.

RE: EATING LATE ~ we are now using this tip and it really works; my Sis and my Dad both used this to win the weight battle. My Dad had to lose weight for his cancer surgery; eating dinner late has helped him so much that he hasn't gained any of the weight back for over three years now (he lost 33 lbs for the surgery and about another 20-25 lbs after). His favorite snack is one nappie of ice cream for his milk servings each day.

My Sis works late (gets home at 7:00 p.m.) so she has to eat late, but she feels that this is what has helped her keep her weight in check. They both have a snack between 4 & 6 pm to hold them til dinner. They both eat healthy for the most part; his favorite cheat is cheese nachos and hers are peanut M & M's, BUT they have these rarely and are able to eat only so many at one time (buying small/ single servings helps here).

ROSEBUD

I'm up late every night, not going to bed until anywhere from midnight to 4 a.m.. It goes without saying that I can get pretty hungry between dinner and then but it's usually a *bad* hunger -- one of those that drives me to eat evil things. LOL So, my new routine now is to carefully measure out one serving of Fiber One cereal and munch on it piece by piece. (I don't like milk so I just eat it dry.) I don't even like the stuff so I'm in no danger of overeating and, by the time I'm finished with it, I'm satisfied enough to not want anything else. If, however, I end up hungry again and I'm pulling a really, really late night, then I'll have a piece of turkey or canadian bacon with a cup of cottage cheese (low-fat).

Those two tricks, along with the tons of water I normally drink, can get me through hours and hours of the wee hours.

Crystal light! It's saving me from a major binge right now!
I am on a very low day in my weekly plan, (some days 1900 and some days 1300) and I swear I'm starving to death!
I came here in the hope that someone....ANYONE had an idea to stop my craving!
and I came across this thread- Thank you thank you!
Instead of garbage I opened a crystal light and it hit the spot.
I'm going to take my melatonin and my Advil and pop off to bed, thanks gals!!!

thanks alot gals! i will try these tonight wen i get hungry (which most likely i will!) and i think theyll work! thank youuuuu xxx

I like to snack on almonds and a popsicle in front of the TV: the almonds are so nice and crunchy and the popsicle's refreshing and takes a while to eat!!!

Ann

I like raw carrots which I dip into hummus. Tasty, filling, and not to calorific. Takes a little while to chew so your mouth knows it has done something. And both of these things are pretty heathy on their own.