evening eater...

Is there anyone else out there who is a night eater?  I always do AWESOME all day, but come 5 or 6 its really hard for me to stay on the diet.  I am a junk food junkie and love sweets and don't seem to crave them till the evening.  This is the time I am making dinner and then watch some tv...I will eat something bad and don't try to stop me:)!  and then feel guilty about it later...!  Anyone have any ideas to help me stay on track durring this part of the day? 

I'm hungry after dinner, so that's why I pre-plan 2 more snacks/mini meals after dinner so that I eat 3 meals and 4 snacks/mini meals a day -- I can't stand going to sleep hungry; you're body doesn't know what time it is, you burn calories round the clock so it doesn't matter if you eat 5 minutes before bed unless it makes you sick. I eat anytime of day or night and have lost 65lbs since June doing it this way.

MINDLESS overeating at night is bad but if the calories are accounted for, munch away! I plan my menus a few days/week ahead of time and if you do that, you might be able to swing a few more snacks/mini meals into your menus.

I use to eat A LOT at night.  I mean I probably got half my days calories after after 7pm.  What I did to stop was just that... I stopped. 

I decided one day that I would not eat after dinner so I really set my mind to it and I didn't do it for a week.  I did anything I could to keep myself from eating.  The most helpful tricks were eating a nice filling dinner that included a little desert, brushing my teeth, tooth whitening and going to sleep really really early ( I mean like 8 some nights).  I was starving for the first week or so but after that I just wasn't hungry late at night.  Your body gets use to eating a certain amount of calories at certain times so if you just retrain yourself you will be all set.

I hope this helps.  I dropped a lot of weight at first when I did this.  Good luck!

I am definitely a nighttime eater. I have a real problem because I am a musician and often get home late, so I tend to grab whatever and a beer or so and stay up hours to unwind. Even when I'm home all day I never seem to get really hungry and want a big meal til the evening. And no- carrots don't seem to do it for me at night.

I just started dieting a few days ago and could use help with this issue also.

I am... I just make it part of my day.

Honestly, during the day, I'm just not particularly hungry -- but I eat anyway.  It keeps the big scary eat-anything-monster at bay later in the day ;-)

I have breakfast and lunch and usually a fruit or something in between, sometimes nuts.  Basically, no matter what my intake for the day it averages about 1/2 of my cals by dinner time.  Then for dinner I use about 1/2 to 2/3's of what's left and that leaves room for whatever it is I'll be wanting later.  Sometimes it's cereal, sometimes it's a big spoon of peanut butter (occassionally with an apple), sometimes it's a couple squares of my secret stash of dark chocolate... cottage cheese works too, particularly right before bed.

The trick for me is just many small meals all day which allows me my quirk at night.

Avoid night cravings by turning off the TV. At least some nights... try doing something that keeps you engaged. I try and go to classes at the gym or walk my dogs. It helps. I also love to snack at night. Try planning some healthy snacks that wont over do it. Skinny cow has good portion controlled ice creams, or the 100 cal packs for salty stuff

WOW! I think you may be my twin:) I do GREAT all day then when I get home and finally have a chance to relax all I can think about is eating. I even (knowing it's terrible) eat barely anything throughout the day because I know what I am going to do later. To be honest, I'm not really that hungry during the day. I eat enough so my stomach doesn't growl, maybe 300 cals at the most, then the rest is usually all at night. Even if I eat a significant meal during the day, like on the weekends for instance, I still have those evening cravings & I hate it. I know full well while I am doing it that I don't need it, but I still eat it anyways. I work out alot so it helps a little, but I just feel if I could eat better I'd be where I want to be already. I feel guilty almost every night & every morning I start by saying "today will be different." I am here to support you, because I have the feeling that may be what I am lacking myself. My boyfriend is great, but not too good in the support dept. Good luck to you!!! I know it's possible to get thru this, I've done it before, we just have to get in the right mindset.