I have a few weaknesses (duh!) I can taper down on some of them, but others I have to go cold turkey and cut them out completely.

How about alternatives? Can you have things like veggies to snack on? They can fill you up without filling you out as the saying goes. Drinking water is also a good thing to try.

This is my worst enemy. I wish I could just have 1 snack and stop. The only way I can control this is not eat after dinner. Once I get started the binging last all evening. It seems watching TV and all those commercials just take away all good habits. The afternoon can be bad too, but I usually can distract myself into staying out of the kitchen. You are not alone......

Pepperman - yes I try to eat healthy snacks and then lose my self control and always end up with something unhealthy bc I'm not satisfied. Think I might need to set a time that I will not let myself eat after each night and see if that works.


I hear ya retiredrose. Last night I had an orange and a small amount of yogurt for a snack.........before you know it I had a big bag of popcorn and couldn't stop eating it.

Maybe I should try eating slightly larger dinners and then no snacking at all afterwards.

I find that if I eat a later dinner (6 or so) I don't snack after that. Maybe moving your dinner time will help. My dinner time is based on my kid's activities so I never know what time I'm eating half the time.

I keep a glass of water on the counter that I reach for first when I go in the kitchen. I also keep the bad snacks either out of the house completely or out of reach. Out of sight, out of mind.

Lately my kids have been having mug cakes. I have some instant packages but its still too much work for me so that keeps me from eating. I need instant gratification so veggies that are already cut up, hand fruit that I can just bite into, yogurt that I can take a lid off are quick and easy and healthy

Angeleyes - I guess if I don't buy the junk food I can't eat it right. Can't snack on something that isn't there. I read an article earlier about dieting tips that said something about researchers thinking that self-control is a depletable resource and so the more things you resist each day make it harder and harder to keep doing it by the end of the day.

Maybe instead of being so strict with myself all day and then binging on junk at night, I should give myself a small treat here and there and hope that my self-control will hold strong come nighttime.

Make seprate bags of each item such as bag of baby carrots and bag of dice celery...
I use plastic zip lock bags. It go to grab food.
Can you just have plan pop corn If so fill up and enjoy. slowly ween yourself off pop corn. Dark chocolate is actually healthy for us. Other so called chocolet is what salt and sugar fat additives...
I need to buy pop corn, I'm trying to lose 10lb.'s that I gain.
Cut candy bar into medium size bites. freeze. 1 to 2 bites is ok for now.
I suggest the bag candy that are bit size. make small bags of cany and freeze. it actually taste better and last longer if we let candy melt in our mouth. I will have bite size pc of frozen candy w cup of coffee. I let chocolate melt in my mouth.
My weakness is pasta cracker - crunchy bread type foods.
I use cereal as chips.
I found that oat meal at night fells me up.
2 hours later I have seedless grape and 1/2 cup of yogret.
I don't get hungey. I graze. bit at night I live in kitchen and in front of refg.
Oh ya I found that it is best to put food on plate even if its just a bite size of candy. do not seat where you normally set.
Also I suggest salad bowls to use as plates, and even use of child size plate may be helpful.
portions and cal.'s in cal.'s out walk works for me.
I eat when I'm stressed : I
Every one on here is nice and helpful

Hi all, new here. Good health to everyone.

Jayus,
Yes, there are things you can do, drink water, even a protein shake would be good and filling, go for a walk instead (depending on how late it is). But the truth is when you have a craving for something substitutes do little to satisfy. You know what you want and from the candy bars and chips it sounds like you are like me. You want something sweet and then want something salty. You said you are good all day - it's fine to have a little treat but little is the key. You are the only one that can control what and how much goes in. If you are really craving it could be a blood sugar level thing (like wanting that sugar fix after lunch when the afternoon drag sets in) so maybe eating more during the day would cut down late cravings.

I'm not big on sweets so just a little bit works for me - a piece of a candy bar (dark chocolate) is fine but that's me. I crave salt more so I try to curb that. Good thing about salty stuff is that I drink a ton of water!

Don't feel guilty or like you are destroying the good you are doing - just adjust the behavior you don't like. The point of all this is to be healthy and feel good about yourself.

Jayus, your post in reply #5 is really the only thing that's working for me. Yeah, I fall off the wagon from time to time - but I eat healthy more often that not ;-)

Nighttime snacking is my downfall. Has been my entire life! I've found too that if I plan the things I CAN have as snacks, have them ready and make them a little indulgent, that keeps me fairly satisfied. The other thing that really seems to help me is to dish out ONE serving of what I'm going to have, put the food away and go to another room to eat. So if I'm having cookies, I put my serving on a plate, put the cookies back in the cupboard and take my tea and cookies to the living room.

Some of my evening snacks are:
A serving of ice cream (I'm hooked on Dreyers Slow Churned)
A serving of cookies with tea (a serving is generally 2-4 cookies depending on size)
A BIG bowl of nonfat greek yogurt with fresh fruit and sweetener
A lower calorie granola bar (Kashi/Fiber One, etc)
A couple rice cakes with a single serving of peanut butter

I tried to simply "not eat" after dinner. I know this works for some people but it just never worked for me. I'd cave in and end up eating WAY too much of the things I shouldn't eat at all. If I plan some things that are fairly satisfying I don't seem to look to stuff other sweets in.

Hope some of this helps!

Eating a later dinner with adequate protein should leave you "not starving" by late evening. But it's good to have a small snack before bed, as it hastens falling asleep. If I remain awake, worrying about all kinds of stuff, the battle is lost.

As for "trigger foods" that shouldn't be brought into this house, I can't manage peanut butter or cookies. Those are NO NO's.

I've read a lot about the fact that gluten, refined carbs and sugars keep the cravings going. My snacks during the day are almonds and only a limited amount of natural ones.

It might help that with dinner, I have a huge salad with at least a couple of cups of greens, celery, onions, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, olives and olive oil, and some zucchini. My salad is like my dessert. I spend a good deal of time enjoying the meal so that it registers that I've eaten too. It helps satisfy cravings.

oat meal diced veggies dried fruit trail mix orginal Fiber One cereal water.... fill up on pop corn.
Can't eat what we don't buy. In my case people insist on keeping my place stock with all my fav.
I have 2 packs of oat meal. I make it so its almost starting to be soup. I want the intake of water so I always use lots of water in foods I make.
I also like seedless grapes. I remove from stem. place in bowl and refg. instead of candy bar, fill up on grapes. grapes are sweet.
per make salads. place single serving of green leaf salad into zip lock plastic bags. these are a few go to grab food.
Don't buy it, can't eat it,

Here's some of my favorite snacks. Being diabectic I have to snack but as a personal rule nothing after 8pm.

pretzels, fruit, 100 cal Skinny Cow snack's, but only when I'm craving something really sweet. diabetic protein bar, protein drink or smoothie when I'm feeling really, really hungry, flavored tofu. I never thought I'd like it but it's really good. greek yogurt with any kind of fruit. granola, and sometimes I cut up a green apple and sprinkle this with a green apple crystal light. Rice cake with peanut butter, little melba toast with a low cal cream cheese, maybe a seafood dip. Frozen banana slices rolled in coconut, frozen green grapes , or maybe just some cut up veggies with a dip.

Jay are you a hunter. My GrandFather like sq dumplings. is that photo of sq that been gutted and inprocess of being dressed. aw so cute and tasty rat.
I good during the day. I don't get hungery but late even n late nights I'm a food vaccumm.
Protein fiber water
pre made bags of pop corn
dry cereal instead of chips
oat meal
luttace top w scoop of cattage cheese toped with fruit.
I suggest: use zip lock plastic bags, make single serve of raw veggies. even luttace. Use a measureing cap off medicine bottle to use for dressing.
I even have single service of pie chili soup beans... in freezer
I like baked sweet potaties. the potatoe is very sweet.
but I also like donuts, sigh.
Oh home made pizza. heat pepper ron sausage steak... rinse with hot water. crust a pich of salt is plenty.
Store sause are mostly salt and Sugar. Think crust with thick edge.
after pizza is done let slightly cool off use paper towels. dab off floating grease. make into single servings. before you set to eat. use zip lock bags to make single sevings and freeze.
I just like donuts and it shows. my butt looks like 2 gazed donuts,set side by side, lol
I also like home made trail mix.
My weakness is pasta and crunchy. Celery orginal fiber one helps
L.B wrote of jello : ) sugar free jello
Egg's oh the encridable egg. egg is protein great to have before going to gym. Boil egg sandw, hum eggs and crackers hum egg salad ... plan boil egg quick and great go to grab food,
@ boiled eggs and flavored oat meal w 1/2 slice of plan toast.
hum
I have 2 friends that insist on keeping my place over stock with my fav. I don't like cake but when they put in my refg. will that tiny taste ends up to be 2 to 5 pc's late at night.
Best to toss out. friends like that. they say they love and care about me. I no longer believe. They dismiss me and don't care about my health/my life.
Maybe we should have stop mid night muchy group.. where we can be there for each other 24/7 to talk each other through another night urge.
Last night I had pc of pie,sigh. I lied to my self. just a bite right, lol