Midnight Munchies

hi everyone! i'm new here; i just started yesterday. 

i was doing great all day until i hit the evening.  i am trying to eat large breakfasts, medium lunches and small dinners, but after dinner yesterday, i wasn't exactly hungry, but i wasn't full, either - and i finished my calorie quota for the day.  because i ate dinner early to prevent being ravenous and binging later on, i was just thinking about food all night long (i ate at about 7 and didn't hit the sack until 1am).  i would have gladly traded in all my shoes and purses for a bite of the ice cream i know is sitting in my freezer!

does anyone have any tips on avoiding the midnight munchies? it was SO hard!

First few days are the hardest, but when I was hungry and had reached my target, I'd eat a piece of fruit and have a drink of fruit tea. I always made sure that if I had to go over, they were good nutritious calories. Grapes were always a favourite.

Then I just started to go to bed early... exercise is tiring!lol

I get that too, for some reason, it hasn't really lessened for me. But I have found a way to deal with it. The worst time to eat is supposedly right before bed. The best time to eat is right after exercising. So I keep my calories low in the day, saving about 200 for the evening. I go running, come back and drink some juice and grab a healthy snack. Drinking water, tea, even broth also helps. It's healthy and it fills your tummy so you don't feel the hunger bite. Don't eat until your absolutely full, just enough to take way the empty feeling. Also, if those sweets just won't stop calling to you, try taking just three bites. According to one French woman, three bites will give you all the flavors of what you're eating. After that it's just a repeat. Plus, the more you deny your sweet tooth and reach for healthy alternatives, the less you'll crave sweets. It's kind of like an addiction. In order to win, you gotta deal with the pain.

If you get hungry at night, try switching your larger meals/snacks to be later.  The time of the day when you eat isn't important, new "studies" come out every couple of months that contradict the one that came before it.  Find what works for you and stick to it.

Those are really good tips, Selene.  And you're right, the first Dorito always tastes best!  Pretty much downhill from there.