eating at night

I too like to munch around 9.....I set aside calories for it and basically I am okay. The other thing is try to eat a protein before bed ie. protein shake, cheese and fruit, chicken, veggies and greek yogurt. Studies show that eating foods with protein will help aid sleep something to do with a certain natural chemical starting with trip....cannot remember the rest

I put aside cals for the evening

Great post Julia- you are an inspiration. I am sure it IS liberating to be able to control one's urges. Not sure if it will be so easy for me, but I will try your plan. Gosh, I would be happy if I could do it for a week! Tracking my behaviors and I only managed 2x this week. My problem is I wake up in the middle of the night with a 'funny' belly and need to put something in it. Maybe because I eat too late and my stomach is still digesting what I ate a few hours earlier? Not sure. I am sure I need to correct this behavior though.

Night time can be hard for me. I do allow myself to eat at night but I try to stay within my calories.

I have been reading a lot lately on weight loss and most are saying what has already been said. Time of day has nothing to do with weight loss. I don't count calories as I do a no wheat/sugar/starch type diet but in the past, I would choose the veggies as mentioned or an apple with peanut butter. Following the plan I am on then I love the can of sardines idea - protein and oil is a great choice for some one on Paleo/CaveMan/Wheat Free diet.

yes but it come off my daily cals

I also eat late and find that it has no real effect on my weight loss. As long as I stay within my allotment of daily calories, everything is fine. I tend to plan my meals that I have a substantial number of calories remaining after 5pm. That way I am entitled to everything that I eat at night. Works for me.

I used to work at a pizzeria for 17 years, and would get home at 2 a.m. So I ate late. When I started losing weight I noticed eating late had no effect, so I wake up at 8 for breakfast, lunch at 2, snack at 6-8 p.m, and my dinner at midnight.

It is not natural to starve your body for 10-12 hours every night. You should be eating late, Just pre-plan it. The problem is that we don't plan , and the late night munchies are EXTRA calories.

I have the late night munchies too! I just have some biscuits, or crackers or fruit.

Evenings are a challenge for me, too. My husband comes home starving and is ready to eat by 6:00 or sooner. If I were single I'd probably plan dinner closer to 7:00 to help me get through the evening but that's not an option here. So we have the early dinner and when I can, I try not to eat after that. When I really need something later, I have fruit. Like another poster suggested, brushing your teeth after you're done sends a signal to your brain that you're done eating for the day, and that can help to avoid late night snacking.

PLAN PLAN PLAN!

Seriously, come up with a meal plan for yourself, and put it in your tracker ahead of time. I do mine a week in advance whenever possible. That way, when 6:00 rolls around, you won't be staring at the food in your kitchen thinking "what to eat what to eat". You already have your plan in place. You just have to stick to it, and, if you plan correctly, you won't find yourself so ravenous that you eat everything in sight.

About two years ago I cut out eating after dinner - nothing after 8PM, period. The rare exceptions are when we are at an event and dinner is late.

Prior to that I was the undisputed queen of night-time munching. Now I am the queen of control - at least, in the evening.

I did it for health reasons originally but have come to love the feeling of being in control and the sense that I'm done for food for the day when I get up from the dinner table. There certainly have been nights when I was hungry later but, to date, I have not starved to death overnight :)

You might consider trying the approach for a month and see how it works for you. Brush and floss right after dinner and consider it DONE. It's really liberating!

we try not to, but it is hard not to

There is nothing like a can of sardines to beat any munching. The fish and its natural oils is just wonderful. It is low in calories only 100 plus a bit for a whole can. Try it!

Baby carrots, cucumbers, and celery, too!!!

7-9pm hardest time. Try to control "grazing". Cheerios (dry) seem to help & have a crunch.

Spread your eating out throughout the day, and leave room for a 200 calorie healthy snack at the end of the day! Your body doesn't know what time it is!
Try to find OTHER things to do. Instead of walking to the kitchen to get something to eat, get yourself some herbal tea, a Crystal Lite mocktail, some ice water, a diet soda. Walk around the block. Do some random strengthening exercises. Read a book-until you get out of the habit of running to the kitchen out of boredom for something to eat.
Go to your room and lock yourself in there! haha!

Feel like I'm a rock star with eat well and working out till 6:00, and then its game on in the kitchen... how can we beat this?