Suggestions/Advice for night snacking page

[coach81]

During the day.. I'm as Grok as anyone! Eat very clean, exercise, etc...

When the sun goes down, the "fat man" comes out.. and I begin to eat... and eat... it has always been a problem for me.. since going Primal I have gotten MUCH better.. but I still struggle with the evening snacking..

Have any of you had success overcoming this problem? I know the obvious.. (DON'T EAT).. but I welcome any suggestions or advice on ways to combat this...

Bultar

[ahklein]

I find front-loading my food helps a lot. If I eat heavier early in the day, I am less hungry at night. Breakfast is by far the biggest meal I consume all day, after I work out in the morning (which means I tend to eat it around 9-10 AM).

Learning to do this was hard, because I kept going "But if I blow all my food in the morning, what will I do if I get hungry at night?!" I had to reassure myself that if I was REALLY HUNGRY I could eat something at ten PM. Remembering that: 1. if I eat more in the early day, I am less hungry at night and 2. if I am REALLY HUNGRY I can still eat something at night has really helped me.

I do let myself eat something though--a small salad of leftover chicken or turkey and a cup, a cup and a half of greens (and maybe a little olive oil) if I am REALLY HUNGRY though. Or sometimes I will eat a handful of nuts. I think it's important to reassure myself that I am not "not allowed to eat". If I am "not allowed to eat", I WILL EAT.

[coach81]

Thanks Ahklein,

My concern would be.. eat a lot in the morning (I don't eat breakfast now), AND then end up eating too much again at night when the urges hit...

I have had success in the past.. (I just did not allow myself to eat), I was just wondering if anyone had any other ideas suggestions...

[supersellen]

Thanks Ahklein,

My concern would be.. eat a lot in the morning (I don't eat breakfast now), AND then end up eating too much again at night when the urges hit...

I have had success in the past.. (I just did not allow myself to eat), I was just wondering if anyone had any other ideas suggestions...

What about doing the opposite and doing most of your eating in the evening? Could you eat a late, light lunch and then have the rest of the evening to eat the majority of your calories for the day?This often works for me.

[handgallop]

I find front-loading my food helps a lot. If I eat heavier early in the day, I am less hungry at night. Breakfast is by far the biggest meal I consume all day, after I work out in the morning (which means I tend to eat it around 9-10 AM).

Learning to do this was hard, because I kept going "But if I blow all my food in the morning, what will I do if I get hungry at night?!" I had to reassure myself that if I was REALLY HUNGRY I could eat something at ten PM.

I do the same thing - probably a full 75-80% of the food I eat is between getting up and lunchtime. I'm prone to snacking but what I find helpful is by virtue of my lifestyle I'm pretty active at night. I've often got the munchies when I first get home - and usually I let myself have that (a square of 70% dark chocolate usually), but then it's right back out the door to do something. When I'm wandering in the door at 8:30-9 and physically tired, I usually only feel a bit of thirst and then want to go to bed.

If there's not much to do outside or at the gym, maybe grab a quick snack at night but then find something active to do - cleaning the house or something. Part of the problem with being a night snacker (and I say this as someone who is prone to it!) is thinking about night snacking. Distract your brain by making your body do something and it may cut down on that desire.

And if that urge is still there - don't beat yourself up over it - just find a snack that's good, and that you can eat tiny tiny pieces of really slowly (I like pecans and chocolate for this, what can I say, I have a sweet tooth - but you can nibble on them, and if you eat one little piece at a time, instead of a handful at a time, you can get to a place where you're satisfied with your snack without actually consuming a whole lot). But I do think, the more you "think" about not snacking or trying to forbid yourself from it, the more it's going to be a struggle.

Sorry if that was incoherent, I'm all kinds of distracted today!

[NorthernMonkeyGirl]

Why do you not want to eat at night?

If you are eating non-primal foods, then there is a problem, and you should try to switch focus onto primal foods. Otherwise....I don't see a problem in principle. I've always been an evening snacker, and so it comes quite naturally to me to eat very little during most of the day (if anything) and have a big fat dinner at night - which sometimes is gone in 5 minutes and sometimes i pick at it over the evening.

If it's indigestion / bad sleep / other issues then maybe look at what you're eating and experiment with eating at different times of day?

[yodiewan]

Maybe find a project/hobby (maybe even a videogame, although going for a walk would be more primal) that you can really get in to. I find that I continue to eat out of boredom sometimes. Sometimes I stop eating to work on something and realize that I'm not hungry although I normally would have continued to eat if I hadn't started working on the project/hobby.

[DarthFriendly]

Soup's good. Not heavy, but kills the appetite.

[Jen AlcesAlces]

Soup's good. Not heavy, but kills the appetite.

+1 on that. Also, a cup of hot tea sometimes works for me.

[lil_earthmomma]

I think you should have your biggest meal in the evening, if that's when you're hungry.

As for killing the munchies, for me dark chocolate does it every time.