When do you consume the most calories?

Since starting my diet I've taken a serious look at how it's gotten this bad...

When I was in high school I was out and about most of the time. Rarely home to sit and do nothing. But when I started college and then thereafter, this changed.

I've realized that most of my calories are consumed while I'm at home, watching TV.

I can sit at my computer for hours and be content with nothing but water or diet soda. But put me in front of the television, and it's like this bell goes off that convinces my brain I have to eat something.

Do you guys have a time or place where you seem to wanna fall of the wagon?

If I wasn't so addicted to my television shows I think I'd consume 250 less calories a DAY. That's like half a pound a week.... :-/

Scary. I guess it's good that I recognize it though. I need to turn the TV off or at the very least start munching on carrot sticks during my programs.

i know exactly what you're talking about :) i find that when i'm at home all day...i get so tired of being inside (because of weather usually) that i just have to snacksnacksnack and eateateat. i try to calm myself and it usually works haha BUT! i try to consume about three 400 calorie meals equal to 1200 and throw in small snacks to bring it up to 1500-1750 by the end of the night. sometimes i can't help but just splurge and EAT like tonight but i find that it makes dieting much easier...tonight i had a huge hamburger, some cheese fries and chicken wings...and tomorrow, i'll be back to normal :) and exercising! (weather looks great) but thats how i do it...equal meals throughout the day!

Yeah I try to balance my calories throughout the day knowing that I'll want to snack on some things later in the evening when I get home.

I try to not deprive myself of snacks I crave or enjoy. I really do try and work my numbers out so that I dont fall completely off the wagon.

But it seems to me that trying to break the habit completely would be the best way to go. Because there are those days when I've allowed myself to have 250-350 calories worth of snacking, but I end up going way overboard.

I only overeat or consume more calories than usual if I'm at a buffet or a gathering with family and relatives.

same - in front of a tv.

Maybe that's why I lost the freshman 15 instead of gaining it!  There's no TV in my dorm!

yeah, family gatherings are another one of my downfalls. They sure love to eat..... And boy is the food tasty!

I was really good on Thanksgiving until I went to my Aunts house where something as simple as homemade dip and crackers were the death of me. I ate and ate and ate it. But boy was it tasty!

I don't think I watched a lot of TV in college.... But people ordered food every night, or we went out to eat. It was always, eat eat eat. Study, eat, study, eat.... Nothing but eating. We had LOTS of great places to eat ON campus too. That didn't help.

Original Post by kd129:

Since starting my diet I've taken a serious look at how it's gotten this bad...

When I was in high school I was out and about most of the time. Rarely home to sit and do nothing. But when I started college and then thereafter, this changed.

I've realized that most of my calories are consumed while I'm at home, watching TV.

I can sit at my computer for hours and be content with nothing but water or diet soda. But put me in front of the television, and it's like this bell goes off that convinces my brain I have to eat something.

Do you guys have a time or place where you seem to wanna fall of the wagon?

If I wasn't so addicted to my television shows I think I'd consume 250 less calories a DAY. That's like half a pound a week.... :-/

Scary. I guess it's good that I recognize it though. I need to turn the TV off or at the very least start munching on carrot sticks during my programs.

I fall off the wagon about 3pm in the afternoon - I really really crave chocolate, if i eat pineapple this usually helps. xx

good for you for recognizing the pattern, its the first step.

i consume the most calories at dinner, usually because i go to the gym before dinner. but i have noticed my weakness to be as soon as i walk thru the door coming home from work. a couple of years ago it was pretty scary the way i was eating right after work. i've learned & re-learned to try to find other ways to calm myself down after work. most of us need something to help us relax & switch mental mode when coming home, usually if i really try to put on some music & have a nice cup of herbal tea or anything else within the first 30 minutes im ok. well unless the husband brings out the chocolate after dinner.

yep - i am the same. sitting watching tv in the evenings is my killer. i drink a lot of green tea usually and that helps. i think i probably do associate watching tv with eating because i live alone so usually have my meals infront of the box to keep me company (sad, i know!). so something in my brain is saying ooo the tv is on that equals foooooood!!! maybe i should take my meals away from the tv and try to break the association. hmm... still, if you're watching a cookery programme then you're pretty much screwed anyway!

Original Post by driftpsychosis:

I only overeat or consume more calories than usual if I'm at a buffet or a gathering with family and relatives.

Yeah, I'm always the one who goes back for seconds, thirds, fourths, etc. at a buffet/gathering, and everyone else is just sitting with their one plate. It's embarassing and I regret it afterwards, but because I'm nervous in large groups of people, I eat out of anxiety.

I'm working on at least eating healthier foods when I'm at a buffet. The last office party I went to I did have two pieces of cake, but otherwise when I went back for seconds/thirds/fourths I filled up my plate with veggies and hummus. :-)

Definitely in front of the TV. I find it near-impossible to sit there for an hour or more without something to eat and drink, usually wine and a salty snack. I'm trying to replace these with stuff like carrots and hummus and herbal tea. I haven't totally conquered it yet though....

Original Post by driftpsychosis:

I only overeat or consume more calories than usual if I'm at a buffet or a gathering with family and relatives.

 Same here... which is why I'm terrified of my office holiday party this afternoon!  I'm mentally gearing up for the cookie onslaught...

well seeing everyones post here, i guess its another good reason why i dont have a tv. i dont need any other challenges thats for sure.

I am fortunate that I have either never had some of the bad habits that plague most, or I have been able to rid myself of them. I don't eat and watch tv--yeah. I don't like condiments (mayo, katsup,etc), gravy, or salad dressing. I eat treats occasionally (candy, cookies, or pie) but don't really care for most of them, so why bother (now IF it is one I really like, that is a different story--but stil 2-3 and I am done!) I gave up soda about 25 years ago, and cafeine too (physically can't tolerate it!) My inlaws don't invite us over (they are a little odd--don't want to inconvience us!) Even on the rare occasion (once a year?) they do invite us, she is a terrible cook! I have no problem not overeating! My sister-in-law is better, but not much! You would think that I would be a size 2!

My down fall is wine! I used to drink it at night in bed before falling asleep. I have broken that habit when I started cc! However, I still have 2 glasses most days. ugh. I notice that when you give up one bad habit, you often pick up something else to replace it. Very common when alcoholics give up alcohol, they start smoking. Smokers start to chew their nails. So, my suggestion (for myself as well!) is to replace my wine habit with exercise! Let's see... squats or jumping jacks! I also have been trying to drink a full glass of water between glass one and glass two. IF I remember to do it, I usually can skip the second glass of wine.

I don't have the habit of eating chips and popcorn while watching TV. But I eat more or try different things on weekend and then my weight is not going down. I try to eat less. But then I couldn't ignore it. I am trying to loose weight from February and I lost 10 pounds till today. I was 145 and now I am 135 pounds. I still have to loose 10-15 pounds. But I am struck on 135 from last 2 weeks. I don't know what to do. Can somebody will help me to break that weight plateau?

Yeah I tend to eat a lot more during the weekends too.

When I'm BORED.

Really, that is the WORST time. I'm just like, OH FOOD! I have nothing better to do, sooooo.... MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH. hahahahaha

I end up cleaning or something just to get my mind off of eating! Oh, and what I do when I watch tv: First off. DON'T GET ANYTHING TO EAT. Go get a big glass of water and simply don't think about it. Secondly, I do crunches during commercials! I can't stand commercials. So, it's flattening my abs while relieving one of my biggest pet peeves. :)

See... cable companies have actually found a way to make people even lazier than they were before.

It's called DVR. Or TiVo.

At least before, we'd get up and walk around... maybe let the dog outside or run out to our car to get something during a commercial...

But now... I actually find myself purposely waiting 15-30mins before a show starts, just so I dont have to suffer through commercials at all.

I consume the most calories when I'm out drinking I'm afraid. Besides the drinking..it's the 2 am stop at Wendy's after I've drank myself stupid that gets me.

Just after dark in the winter time. Only when my mom's home, though, since we tend not to get along, as most teenage mothers-daughters don't.

try chewing gum to keep ur mouth busy, better choose some sugar-free ones coz they dont put u on more calories ;)

when i really cant control myself it's during buffet. but i love buffet so much that i wont care about it n i overeat until i cant consume anymore. but i think it's alright coz it's just once n for the next few days i keep a strict diet to 'compensate'. actually i will get thinner(in appearance) the day after a buffet, i guess it's becoz of the large amount of energy i consumed to digest the food=P

but family gatherings are notorious... especially my family loves eating n they keep telling u to eat. i told them i was dieting n they said i'm thin enough n they try to make me eat!!! i always have to do some tricks to make ppl feel that i've eaten a lot =(