Breaking the night time snacking habit..any tips?

[Southerngal45]

Hi everyone. I am thinking of starting a blog, too. A friend of mine sent me the link to the NSD yesterday. I started today..and what did I do right away this morning..had pancakes for breakfast.. I don't know what I was thinking..the syrup was "light", but still had lots of sugar. Live and learn I guess. I won't be snacking between meals though. The thing I'm worried most about is breaking the habit of night time snacking. Nights are worse for me than any other time of day..I need any tips you can share..Thanks!

[wosnes]

Pancakes for breakfast are perfectly okay. So is syrup, especially if you don't drown the pancakes in syrup.

As for the night time snacking, I'm afraid I'm of no help. It's not that I've never done it, but it's not something I've done all the time.

[ShannahR]

Welcome to No S!!
Before I started No S I also had a problem with night time snacking, and I mean a REALLY big problem. I basically snacked from after dinner until I went to sleep, and I ate all kinds of stuff, mostly sweet, but salty too. I think what changed with No S is I had to wait to eat and so I was actually hungry for dinner. For example, I used to always eat a snack in the afternoon so I was never really hungry at dinner so eating dinner didn't satisify me. Then after dinner I kept eating trying to achieve that "satisfied" feeling. Once I started No S I actually was hungry for dinner, so I ate more, felt satisified and after dinner snacks weren't very appealing. I thought it was going to be really hard to resist but I had almost no problems at all.

I also think it helps if you keep yoursef busy after dinner something with your hands preferably.

[kccc]

Part of it is uncovering WHY you're doing that. I found that, after a hard day, I needed some relaxation and was using eating to procrastinate on evening chores in order to get it. A mis-guided attempt at self-nurture (which a lot of over-eating falls into, imho).

The pattern has changed. My family helps me clean the kitchen, then I sit down with a book or knitting for a bit. Knitting is particularly un-conducive to snacking. I will tell you I was amazed at how much more time I had in the evenings once I quit perma-snacking from dinner to bedtime.

Things that help...
- Use something to signal "end of meal." Cup of hot tea. Glass of wine.
- Brush your teeth right after, so you want to keep that minty-fresh feeling
- Get OUT of the kitchen asap. Declare it closed for the night.
- Take up some other activity that you want to move "toward," so you move "away" from food to fill your time

Hope that helps.

[Southerngal45]

Wosnes, Thanks for letting me know pancakes were a-ok. I wasn't sure about it because of the sugar in the syrup.. Glad to know they are good to eat because they are favorites in our home for breakfast.

Shannah, I appreciate the information and do hope that I find that to be the case with me also. I have been on a plan that allows small meals throughout the day, or whenever you think you need to eat..I'm so glad a friend sent me the link to this "new" way..Like you, I've been snacking between meals and eat a little here and there..so I'm hoping that by being hungry for dinner I will be completely satisfied..and yes..I am trying to keep my hands busy at night by crocheting, cross-stitching, etc.

KCCC Thank you for all the great tips! I love the one about considering the kitchen closed for then night! I'll remember that..and as I mentioned above..I do try to keep my hands busy and will keep that up..

Love this board..thanks again!

[donnao]

watching TV makes me want to snack- i don't know why

I am like Pavlov's dog- i turn on the tube and soon the food starts talking to me


so, i either don't watch or seriously limit my evening TV time

[Southerngal45]

Donna, you're right. I have a problem with snacking while watching TV, too. I already decided today that I'm limiting my tv time to one hour in the mornings (Dr. Phil..sometimes, sometimes not..lol)..and two hours in the evenings..though most evenings there isn't much on I want to see. I have a huge popcorn craving while watching tv..which runs into a sweet craving..back to a salty craving..and so on.. Cutting back on tv will really help cut back, I'm sure.. When there's nothing on I'm THAT interested in, I'm just going to leave the tv in the off position!

[Too solid flesh]

Welcome, Southerngal!

I have a problem with snacking while watching TV, too.

I found that rubbing hand cream into my hands and nails while watching television helped get me out of the habit of eating.

[Southerngal45]

Thanks Too Solid! I'm so glad to have heard about this diet and found this board! Appreciate the welcome!

[RJLupin]

I used to literally gorge all night too....and I would go to bed feeling sick, and not sleep well because I was so full. Today is Day 4 on my No S Diet, and already I am sleeping better because I am not going to bed full of junk.

My tips?

Don't sit around after dinner. Go out and do something, clean the house, or work out at night. If you're not sitting around idle, you won't want to snack as much.

Be sure you eat a big enough dinner, preferably with something full of fiber. You will stay full and won't want to eat.

I keep cough drops on hand for severe snack-attacks. They have almost no calories, and the menthol taste lingers for a LONG time and makes food taste terrible. You won't want to eat treats if they taste like cough drops. I only ever have to use one.

I also like the idea of the "ender" which William Klower discusses in his book, "The French Don't Diet." After dinner, have a cup of hot tea or some decaf coffee to "end" your eating for the day. I especially like coffee, since it does suppress my appetite.

[scgal]

Most nights, around 8pm, I allow myself a hot cocoa: 1 cup milk heated and mix with 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa and 1 tsp of sugar.

I find that this keeps me full and it's a nice end to the day.

[Southerngal45]

RJL..thanks for the reminder to stay busy..I think I'll pull out my crochet in a minute.. and for the other great tips!

SCGal, Thanks for the cocoa tip. I like that one and will probably try that one. Not tonight..out of milk, but I'll be sure to buy some 1% next time I get to the grocery store..

Meantime..it's about that time of night to start getting busy and stay that way...

Thanks again to all of you!

[Southerngal45]

Update: So far so good tonight..chewing gum really helped..

I usually chew half a piece at a time..but that little half piece I started with is going to heaven because I chewed the hell out of it..then got rid of it and popped in a whole piece and chewed the hell out of it, too..somewhere out there are one and a half pieces of gum that gained their angel wings tonight!

[Too solid flesh]

You might find this thread of interest:

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4589

[Southerngal45]

Thanks for the link Too Solid..I love it. I thought it was interesting that Paul thought he couldn't knit because he's a man. My husband feels the same way about "womanly crafts"..but I had a school teacher who was very masculine and he did the most beautiful counted cross stitch I'd ever seen and was part of the reason I broke out into doing larger and more difficult pieces.

I got burned out on cross-stitch after years of it and gave all my supplies (many $$$'s worth) away a long time ago. Now I almost wish I still had them..I do have some samplers that a friend sent recently and I am getting back into it again.

The crochet really helped last night, too..but I would love to find some new things to do in the evenings, so I have a little variety. There are some great tips in that link and I've put it under my favorites. Thanks again!

[pirateman2k]

Having a ritual of "closing the kitchen" helps. Do the dishes, clean the counters, make a cup of herbal tea.

The kitchen is now closed, and no further eating is possible. If you are bored and looking for something to do, go to bed.

Incidentally, IMO, pancakes are OK, syrup is an S-day kinda thing.

[Southerngal45]

Thanks Pirateman for your input about the pancakes. I may save those for "S" days because I love syrup on my pancakes. I have been declaring the kitchen closed at night and it does help. Last night was a LOT easier than the night before.

[wosnes]

I'm just old enough to have grown up in a time where breakfast was cooked every morning at home and pancakes weren't saved for weekends. Few people had weight issues.

I'll have to admit that I rarely make pancakes on weekday mornings, but it's because they're time-consuming to make (and also because I'm not much of a breakfast eater). If you're willing and able to make them, I don't see a problem with it -- even with syrup. Saving them for S days is getting a little too nitpicky for me. I do like syrup, but I don't like my pancakes (or French toast or waffles) saturated with it.

A friend of mine has always eaten her pancakes with butter and sugar. I now do it sometimes, too. I have noticed that when I do that, I use very little sugar compared to the amount of syrup I would use.

[Too solid flesh]

A friend of mine has always eaten her pancakes with butter and sugar.

In England we eat them with lemon juice and sugar, which is delicious, but they are a different kind of pancake, more like French crepes. 1 tsp of each is good.

[TikTok]

Skip breakfast and replace it with supper.

Some people (myself included) prefer to eat later in the day, but I'm not usually hungry first thing. When I don't feel hungry in the morning I skip breakfast, have an early lunch and main meal then have a supper while relaxing in the evening.

There are arguments saying that breakfast is important, and that eating late tends to put fat on more than eating earlier. However whatever effects there may be along these lines I think that they are more than countered by making things easier for yourself by eating in a way that suits your appetite and individual biology.

[wosnes]

A friend of mine has always eaten her pancakes with butter and sugar.

In England we eat them with lemon juice and sugar, which is delicious, but they are a different kind of pancake, more like French crepes. 1 tsp of each is good.

I had crepes like that last week at the winter market. Very good!

[Southerngal45]

tic tok I couldn't agree with you more. I've read on "spark people" that it doesn't matter what time of day you eat..but best not to eat within one hour of bedtime. The article said it's all in how many calories you take in and how many you burn that really matters.

About the pancakes, too..I usually use light or sometime s.f. syrup. I ate them through the week growing up, too and wasn't big then like I am now.

I think I dieted my way up to where I am now from back during my teenage years until now..and then I thought I was fat..hah..Looking back, I see how wrong I was..

[Gia]

Super great tips!! Thanks guys! I think the secret for me has been getting and staying out of the kitchen. What worked for me was to get someone else to put away any leftovers, and rid your house of all snack foods. When there are no chips, icecreams, crackers, chocolate bars or other "snack foods" left in the house, it makes it very hard to snack.

Also, go to bed earlier. I know you are never supposed to sleep on a full stomach, but I would rather go to sleep after eating, than stay up trying to wait for several hours after a meal, only to snack the whole time!

[Southerngal45]

Gia, you're so right. There are times I've actually laid down during the day to take a short nap to avoid eating..on those days when I just want to eat ALL day!

[bluebunny27]

Tips to avoid snacking :

Wait 20 minutes before goin' nuts. If I feel a craving, I look at the clock and add 20 minutes. This is my countdown time, I have 20 minutes to dismantle the craving bomb basically. I find that most times when I do that and try a few of my tricks below the cravings go away and I don't fail.

During those 20 minutes I can :

Brush my teeth and use mouthwash. The taste and the distraction prevents you from eating.

Drink water or coffee or cocoa powder or tea .... very lil' sugar of course ...
just a bit of sugar twin and low fat milk

Take a long hot bath, when you are cold you get cravings more easily. When you are HOT they go away plus taking a bath takes the 20 minutes required for the craving to go away, double whammy. Hum, I tried this today and it worked well .. Also when you are stressed you can fail more easily, emotional eating so a bath relaxes you ... also you can try squeezing one of those STRESS BALLS, but I haven't tried that yet. Squeeze-squeeze ... awwwwwh !! Listening to soft music, taking the stress away will help defeat the EVIL temptations.

Plain Popcorn, Carrots, Cucumbers, Cauliflower, Broccoli and whatnot ... if you must eat, pick something good for you or something with hardly any calories. No veggie dipping of course, it's all plain, no mayo, no cheese !! All veggies fill you up and add almost no calories, except for a few exceptions like potatoes...

Hard candy : They are not EVIL. If you only have one for example, 20 calories, a lil' bit of sugar and you can suck on 'em
for 10 minutes, they could prevent you from failing badly. Better to have one hard candy than eat half a bag of cookies later.

Micro Biting : Just a little taste, one cookie for example. You get to taste the food you crave but you only get
a few of the calories. I always talk about cookies, there must be a reason ... heh. My Nemesis, especially the ones with chocolate chips. I try to avoid buying them so I am not tempted anyway. I even stopped buying bagels and ice cream cos' it was too easy to fail when they were in the house, so they got banned. I try to buy plain cookies now so they are not as tempting as the 'good ones' ...

Eat slowly if you must eat ... I read something about putting down your fork/spoon in between bites
or eating with your 'other hand' if you are right handed, you eat with your left hand and the opposite ... chewing well, taking your time. Eating fast makes it easier to lose your cool.

Weird things below I've read but not really tried yet, but if you want to have fun, try this :

Dimmed lights ... they cause you to eat, when you sit on the sofa in the evening, watching tv, only a couple lights on,
easier to be naughty at that time, under the cover of darkness ... so turn on those lights if you feel a craving, so you can SEE better and others can see you too behavin' badly I just read that on a website, haven't tried it ... I am in control lately so I don't need my more obscure tricks, just the basic ones are enough at the moment.

The color blue. Supposed to curb hunger when you look at it ???? Pardon ?? Ok, apparently when you stare at the color BLUE it can curb your hunger long enough to make it go away.
I think RED is the opposite, it makes you crave food. Is this a myth ?? A case for the MYTHBUSTERS perhaps.

Cheers !

Marc

37 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 191 Pounds

[peaches]

I accidentally found a way to curb the urge to snack in front of the television and computer. We had new carpet put in. Beautiful *pale* carpet. Eating and drinking (except water bottles) was verboten anywhere except at the kitchen table.

Within a week, the automatic snack urge as soon as a screen was powered up was gone.

[oolala53]

How're you doing, southergal? Have you found that just not doing it has lessened the urge?
I forced myself years ago to notice if I was hungry when I went to the movies. I never was because I had almost always had a meal before I went. I never feel a tug to eat at the movies and feel for people who are conditioned to eat there.

I don't know why it took me so long to do the same thing at home, but it doesn't occur to me to eat after dinner now and I used to eat non-stop from 3 p.m. until 9 or 10 p.m. almost every night.

[pirateman2k]

I'm just old enough to have grown up in a time where breakfast was cooked every morning at home and pancakes weren't saved for weekends. Few people had weight issues.

I'll have to admit that I rarely make pancakes on weekday mornings, but it's because they're time-consuming to make (and also because I'm not much of a breakfast eater). If you're willing and able to make them, I don't see a problem with it -- even with syrup. Saving them for S days is getting a little too nitpicky for me. I do like syrup, but I don't like my pancakes (or French toast or waffles) saturated with it.

wos--

For me, this is a "fence around the law" issue. Nitpicking like this is just me being "strict" per this podcast:

http://everydaysystems.com/podcast/scri ... tness.html

If it helps, I'm bad with all kinds of sugar, so a little bit of sugar cereal or a little bit of pancakes with syrup have the potential to really screw up my day. Again, it's all JMO.

[wosnes]

I accidentally found a way to curb the urge to snack in front of the television and computer. We had new carpet put in. Beautiful *pale* carpet. Eating and drinking (except water bottles) was verboten anywhere except at the kitchen table.

Within a week, the automatic snack urge as soon as a screen was powered up was gone.

I've found yet another way. When you eat -- EAT. The only allowable activity when eating is talking with dining companions. No TV, reading, working and so on. Definitely no driving. Much of the time when we eat we do it mindlessly; we don't pay attention to what we're doing. Then we eat more because we have no memory of eating and enjoying what we ate. While I think it's true at mealtimes, it's especially true with snacks, sweets and treats. Many times we don't know if what we ate was truly wonderful or not.

[gratefuldeb67]

I suggest making a separate Habit Cal for this habit.
I myself have had a night time eating habit since my teens.. I had many failures when I tried to vaguely fight this with various methods.. The only thing that worked for me, and it took about a year of persevering through many failures, was setting up a separate Habit Cal for it.. My personal criteria is that, if I eat after bed time, which is something I used to do all the time.. ie wake up at 1 am and raid fridge for anything to eat.. then I fail... If I don't eat after I've gone to bed officially, it's a success..
Yes I still eat at past 8 pm most evenings, but I've stopped gaining due to cutting out the middle of the night eating, and finally started to lose weight again, albeit slowly...
Even if I have a failure during the day, it's great to be able to look at my once *impossible to conquer* night time eating and see that I've got almost 100 percent success with that these days.
It was frustrating to never succeed on that in the past and it took a lot of perseverence.. but it's no problem now.
Good luck!
Debs

[Who Me?]

Another great discussion.

[oolala53]

Althouhg this is late to the party, I think I remember when this was an issue for you, and how bad I felt for you. So glad that hill seems to have been climbed!