Last meal/snack of the day ideas?

I am trying to adopt this idea of several small meals in a day as opposed to 3 big ones.  However in doing so I have one last piece that I am still a little unsure about.  I usually eat dinner or my 6th meal of the day at 7pm but usually don't go to bed till 12pm.  What are some ideas of what could be some options for a light but fullfilling snack at around 9:30pm that will keep me feeling good to I hit the hay?  Thanks.

How about some fruit???  High density fuit, such as watermelon, will fill you up without adding many calories AND will help flush your system.  With everything in season right now I frequently eat fruit for dinner, around 7 or so, and I am satisfied for the rest of the night. 

I end my day with a splurge - ice cream.  I get ice cream bars that range from 45-150 calories and plan on eating on before bed.  Although it's not nutritionally a good choice, it satisifies my sweet tooth and sends me to bed feeling satisified. Plus, if I'm ever having a craving during the day I tell myself 'Don't have that otherwise you won't be able to have your ice cream later', and I walk way with ease.

A filling snack I sometimes like to have is a wheat pita and two tablespoons of hummus (I LOVE garlic flavored!).  I get the Weight Watcher wheat pitas, which are only 100 calories each!  And the hummus is only 35 calories, so it's a very low cal but filling snack. 

How  many calories are you budgeting for this?

For minimal cals if I have a sweet tooth I have

• a cup of sugar-free jello (10cals per half cup serving)
• a cup of cantaloup (~50 cals)
• a bowl of oatmeal with splenda and cinnamon (150 cals for 1/2 c dry)

If I have a craving for something salty I have

• 6 cups of air-popped corn w/canola spray and salt (or other seasonings) for ~180 cals
• sliced cucumber and celery w/ salt and pepper (~ 50 cals if I have half a cucumber and 2 large stalks)
• a can of V8 (70 cals)

well if your craving something salty i would say unsalted almonds because they have protein so it will be filling..  if you are craving something sweet you can eat Quakers quake rice snacks Caramel Corn, i find them to be tasty, and when i eat them i make sure to drink lots of water so that i get full. they are 60 cal. per serving (7 cakes). They have the big cakes n the small ones, i find the smaller cakes to be more tasty. they also have different flavors like; Cheddar cheese, apple cinnamon, chocolate, ranch, sour cream, BBQ and nacho cheese. i haven't tasted the other flavors but i am planning on buying them. Also u can try fruits like cantaloupe and watermelon they have less cal.

I try to avoid lots of sweet carbs prior to bed.  Unsalted almonds and peanuts are great.  What about a protein bar or a small, 100 cal bag of microwave popcorn (yes, that's carbs)?  I'd try to avoid watermelon just before bed as it's well, mostly water and you may be up again. 

I don't usually eat a salad before bed, but I usually find them to be pretty filling at dinner.   Lately I've been eating broccoli, carrot, baby-spinach, tomato salads with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder, pepper and oregano topped off with kalamata olives.

I try to drink a casein protein shake before bed. Casein protein  digests very slow(up to 7 hours), so it continues to feed your muscles while you sleep, and you don't wake up quite as hungry. Peace

I've been having about 2 handfuls of cereal to keep me full. Like you, I sleep pretty late into the morning, like right now lol. melanieserrano90, the rice cake idea sounds awesome! I'm going to head to the supermarket asap and grab them.

Lots of good suggestions there, so I have just general advice. Avoid high protein snacks before bed, as protein is a natural stimulent and may keep you from falling asleep quickly. I've also read that it's best to eat most of your protein during breakfast and lunch and start tapering off at dinner. Slow burning (complex) carbs and fruit sound like the best bet to me.

I would suggest instead of counting the calories from food you should increase your physical activity, yes that's true to create a deficit from your diet but try to burn at least 300 cal from the workout & 200 from the routine work if you managed to do this I am sure you will be able reduce a lb of pure fat in a weeks time otherwise your BMR will be decreased.

Fitness Manager

I eat raw almonds & carrot juice, which is very simple and a great combo of fat, protein, and carbs!

One almond is 7 calories.  I usually eat 10-15 almonds (70-105 cals).

An 8 oz glass of carrot juice is 70 cal. 

The total cals for this snack is 140 to 175 cals depending on the # of almonds you eat.