I eat well- just to damn much

The fridge is stocked with fresh fruits/veggies, lean protein and whole grain.  I exercise most days and include strength and cardio.  My goal of eating 1800 or so calories is reasonable for slow weight loss.  The problem is I overeat everyday.  I choose wisely through supper but then all hell breaks loose and I eat 500-1000 calories at night. I'm pretty much maintaining but would really like to lose the last 20 lbs. to be at a healthy BMI (this would be the higher end of acceptable)

It's like a switch gets turned on and I just go from one thing to the other.  The food I'm eating is healthy for the most part- just too much.  I think a lot has to do with being tired at the end of the day.  I can rationalize this but I've yet to take action.  If you have faced this do you find it's mind over matter?  Do you just fight the temptation.  I'm wondering if I stopped counting calories if that would take the focus off of the number and allow me to pay more attention to hunger signals.  I don't know I'm frustrated...

A lot of people struggle with overeating in the evenings.  How you tackle it depends on why it happens.  For example, is there too much food in the cupboards, too accessible?   Are you bored in the evening, sat watching TV etc.?  Are you cooking too much food at suppertime... is the fridge full of leftovers?   Could you bulk up your last meal of the day with a lot more vegetables to make it more filling?   Or it could be that you should eat more during the rest of the day... sometimes that way you arrive at the evening feeling less famished and therefore less likely to overeat.  

It does come down ultimately to a certain amount of willpower, but you can make things a little easier if you can work out exactly where it tends to go wrong.

I do the same thing sometimes - a trick that I use is I will eat foods that take me a long time to finish...such as - an orange. I know that seems silly, but I am obsessive about getting all the white off the outside, so it takes me a long time until it is perfect for me to eat it. I also freeze grapes. When I eat them fresh I will finish off half a bunch in a sitting - when they are frozen and you have to suck on them to thaw them out I'll eat a handful then be satisfied and it will take me longer than eating them fresh. Also, I buy frozen mango chunks from Trader Joes - same thing as the grapes - they occupy my mouth so I can't keep eating everything!

I don't know if you stop counting if that will help - Maybe portion out items for night time so you know exactly what you can have to fit within your calorie restraints ---- good luck!

I usse to do the same thing! Overeat healthy foods at night, all the time, without fail! I realized that I'm way more active at night than I am during the day, but was spacing my meals 3 hours apart and not taking into the consideration my activity at the time. I have a desk job, so between breakfast and lunch I don't NEED a snack, I was just eating one b'c I was "suppose" to. I workout at night and on the go around the house until I go to bed, so I'm obviously most active from 5PM to about 9PM. Now I eat breakfast @ 8 AM, Lunch at 1PM, Dinner Around 4:30 or 5PM and save all my snacks (usually 3 different mini meals) for between 5-9PM. I eat about every hour until I go to sleep and make sure to get caisen protein (like milk or cottage cheese) as my last meal of the day. It's been helping me so much bc I actually can just sit and eat at night lol.

It seems to help me to make myself a cup of herbal tea about when I feel like an evening snack. The ritual of making the tea and then sipping it slowly seems to satisfy some of the craving. I have a selection of teas to choose from. Before I lost the weight I was snacking every night. I know I can't go back to that. It's a major part of the commitment to maintain the loss.

I too face the same problem. I think it is more emotional eating. I.E. Boredom.  However, I have noticed that eating snacks all day has helped me a lot. This nightly overeating could stem from a lot of reasons. Weight training -- body is wanting more protein or cals to repair itself. Emotional. Not spreading calories throughout the day.

Also, if you are working out and burning those 500 calories this should not be a big deal.  I run 30 minutes at 5.5 mhp just to eat a bowl of ice cream at the end of the day.  This is a treat for me and helps bring my Calories up to my 2000 daily mark.

I do the same thing. I notice if I treat my urge for a night-time snack as thirst, and drink sparkling water or tea at night, I do much better. Also, I dont know about you, but I drink alcohol (wine, occaionally beer) at night with dinner and this ups my craving for food something fierce. Just forgoing that and drinking water has helped me.

This is going to sound stupid and probably wont help.  Im taking tums for calcium since I HATE milk.  I save my tums for nighttime.  They taste so fruity and I just suck on my two.  I dont want to eat anything.  But I think mine is coming from boredom.  So it helps to just suck on something.  Also. I think that as long as you are still burning more caleries than you are taking in , and you are still eating healhty, ts not a big deal.. Just dont eat right before bed!

I second the hot tea suggestion.  I get the celestial seasonings and sweeten with splenda it works!

I want to preface this with the warning that I am just starting out (well, this time around) and I've only lost a few lbs so far and have a lot to go.  That said, I am also a relatively healthy-eating night-time snacker.  I am really prone to craving sweet foods immediately after dinner, and then a couple hours later.  

I wanted to jump in quickly to strongly urge you NOT to stop counting calories.  You know that guilt you feel for overeating because you know exactly how many calories too many you've eaten?   My goal is 1600 calories a day, and for the past couple weeks I've almost always gone over by about 200 because I can't resist having -something- at night.  So I measure out 200 calories worth of fat-free caramel corn, make a smoothie, or have a couple pieces of fruit.  Then I track it on Calorie Counter.  If I wasn't counting, well, I'd probably eat half the bag of caramel corn or throw chocolate and peanut butter in my smoothie, and knowing that I'd already binged that much... might as well finish the leftover spaghetti from dinner... and so it goes... KWIM? 

I agree that you should not give up the calorie counting.  It really helps to give a full accounting and is a reality check.  Having struggled with the same problem, evening snacking, I can identify with your situation.  The suggestion about having a cup of tea, or diet cocoa is a good one, sipping it.  Also having a piece of fruit, perhaps blueberries or strawberries that can be eaten for longer, more slowly is helpful. 

Sometimes being distracted helps.  Try to find something else to do such as getting up and moving during commercials, knitting or needlework.  I find it very helpful to be accountable to the calorie counter, and being honest is important.  Dieting is a huge committment and building will power is the key to success.  Good luck, and thanks for bringing this global problem to the forefront. 

Thanks for all of the suggestions and advice; it's been helpful to hear what others do.  For the last 2 nights I've been working at self-control and it's helped.  I've been going to bed a bit earlier, but that's ok.  It's so much easier when the weather is nice and the days are longer.  So much more to do outside to keep me busy. 

Bravo for honesty!  Sometimes we fool ourselves that there is some exotic reason we don't lose weight, and once in a while there is!  But for most of us...........WE JUST EAT TOO MUCH.  Nice to hear an upfront comment about eating!

My goodness, it's like we are twins! I have the exact same problem. I'm a vegitarian so most of the foods I eat are very healthy and low in calorie, so I need to eat more to sustain myself. But now my stomach is so big that I can out eat my 6'4" husband!!! I'm usually good with my portion control durring the day, like you are, But my hell starts as soon as the sun goes down.  Which is good news in the summer I suppose. But it's only March!  I have tried just going to bed. Which certainly works, I can't eat if I'm unconsious. But it puts a damper on my social life.

Heather

Evenings seem to be the root of all evil!!!

I usually want to relax and watch my tv shows in the evenings, but just like going to the movies, I end up wanting something to munch on... I have allowed myself one or two of the 'no sugar added' fudgesicle halves at night, then if I'm still craving, I fill up on water. That seems to satisfy my hunger.

Goodluck to you!

Definitely keep counting!

i like the suggestion about frozen grapes. i'm the same but with frozen blueberries. i like them a little melted, so i'll usually get a small bowl and play around with it until it melts while i'm watching tv.

another thing i've learnt to do is trick your mind.
1) During dinner, i use a fairly big plate, but half of it is filled with spinach (no dressing). since it's raw and takes up so much space on an already big plate, it looks like i'm eating tons already - but it's just 30cal! i also like to eat it one leaf at a time with my hands (i know, strange...) - which slows down the eating process and makes me think: wow, it's a huge plate, and it's taken me so long to eat it, i must have eaten a lot, i'm full!
2) always use a plate/bowl to eat. if you're eating crackers, put it on a plate. if you're eating hummus, spoon it out and put it with your carrot/pita on a plate. snack on your popcorn out of a bowl. then put the rest away (cupboards, fridge, Tupperware). i'm someone who likes to finish off everything on my plate and leave it at that. if i'm eating out of a container, i might just finish off everything in there!