how to stop night snacking

[xanis]

I'm 6' 0'', ~173 lbs. I decided a while ago that I needed to do something about my gut and excess fat, so I started to get my ass in gear. I joined a boxing gym and made my diet, as far a I can tell, very healthy.

I've been doing pretty well with everything, but I have one major problem still: Night snacking. No matter how well or how much I eat during the day, I always find myself going for snacks at night when I sit down to relax. The snacks vary. Sometimes I eat decently-healthy things, like yogurt with granola and fruit. Other times I eat things like pretzels, chips and salsa, or sugar and fat-filled cakes and sweets.

I'm having a really hard time with this. Sometimes, the craving for something to snack on is overwhelming, and that's when I get into trouble. I really, really want to stop this nonsense because I've been doing so well, and I don't want to undo the hard work I'm doing with my diet and exercise.

So guys, do you have any suggestions on how I might curb my cravings for food at night and stop snacking?

 

[nickbits]

Dont keep snacks in the house. Thats the only way i manage.

 

[rcpratt]

Dont keep snacks in the house. Thats the only way i manage.

This. I also drink my daily protein shake at night, which really fills me up.

At 6'0'' 173 though, shouldn't you be trying to put on some muscle?

 

[DeckardBlade]

That's pretty lean for your height, I can't imagine you have that much fat to reduce.

I like a protein shake at night after dinner, if I ever thought that wouldn't be enough I'd have a tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter with it.

I always like having a balance of fats/carbs/protein in anything I eat, and I find that really helped me when I was restructuring my diet. Honestly if you eat clean, it's pretty hard to be hungry.

 

[xanis]

This. I also drink my daily protein shake at night, which really fills me up.

At 6'0'' 173 though, shouldn't you be trying to put on some muscle?

That's what I'm trying to go for. A good portion of that 173 is fat. I'd ideally like stay around this weight, but just have more muscle and less fat.

 

[Kipper]

What is your meal pattern/exercise pattern like?

Sounds like it isn't certain foods you are craving, you're just hungry so will eat whatever is available.

 

[CKent]

That's what I'm trying to go for. A good portion of that 173 is fat. I'd ideally like stay around this weight, but just have more muscle and less fat.

6' 173 is skin & bones, if you honestly think you have fat to lose you might want to see someone who specializes in diagnosis of eating disorders.

 

[Powermoloch]

According to the BMI chart, Your weight is healthy. I wouldn't worry too much in your situation at the moment.

 

[edcarman]

I method I've found that is reasonably successful to prevent snacking is to brush my teeth straight after my last major meal of the day. The fact that I'd then have clean my teeth again after a snack usually provides enough of a mental block to overcome the craving.

 

[rcpratt]

6' 173 is skin & bones, if you honestly think you have fat to lose you might want to see someone who specializes in diagnosis of eating disorders.

It's certainly possible that he'd have fat to lose, but at that weight/height, I think he's going to see faster (and initially better) results by first bulking and then cutting later.

 

[fleshconsumed]

I see couple of possibilities. One, you are genuinely hungry in the evening. Maybe you went overboard on your diet and do not eat enough, so either eat more or eat more filling foods, more fruits, more veggies, more protein. Two, you have a psychological addiction to junk food. I have more or less the same thing for soda. Every once in a while I'll have a huge craving for soda out of the blue, very difficult to fight it, so I usually keep couple of coke zero bottles in a pantry. Not ideal, but I only have one every two weeks or so, so not so bad. But my point is that it is a purely psychological addiction to me. Almost every single time I have a craving for one, give in, and open a bottle, almost every single time I drink it I can't help but think it doesn't actually taste that great, why did I crave for it in the first place? In my case having coke zero is not so bad because it's like only 3 calories at most, but if you're munching on salsa, chips, cake, the only way I see is not to buy this stuff. By this I mean sure, buy it in small quantities every week, you need to give yourself some leeway, just buy very little of it.

 

[Whisper]

It's certainly possible that he'd have fat to lose, but at that weight/height, I think he's going to see faster (and initially better) results by first bulking and then cutting later.

I agree. Given that the OP's already at a "healthy" weight for his height, bulking first and then cutting will likely result in much significant progress much more quickly than attempting to "clean bulk."

 

[MJinZ]

I'm 6' 0'', ~173 lbs. I decided a while ago that I needed to do something about my gut and excess fat, so I started to get my ass in gear. I joined a boxing gym and made my diet, as far a I can tell, very healthy.

I've been doing pretty well with everything, but I have one major problem still: Night snacking. No matter how well or how much I eat during the day, I always find myself going for snacks at night when I sit down to relax. The snacks vary. Sometimes I eat decently-healthy things, like yogurt with granola and fruit. Other times I eat things like pretzels, chips and salsa, or sugar and fat-filled cakes and sweets.

I'm having a really hard time with this. Sometimes, the craving for something to snack on is overwhelming, and that's when I get into trouble. I really, really want to stop this nonsense because I've been doing so well, and I don't want to undo the hard work I'm doing with my diet and exercise.

So guys, do you have any suggestions on how I might curb my cravings for food at night and stop snacking?

Lactose Free Fat Free Milk (a sweet tasting milk drink without any added sugar)

Watch the fat fall and the muscle pack on.

Assuming you are lifting hard and doing some cardio.

But at your weight and height, I'm assuming you are a complete weakling with no muscle mass of any sort with a little bit of flab that you can consider fat. I suggest you skip the treadmill and hit the bench and squat racks.

 

[shortylickens]

Whats been working for me:
Eat a big breakfast, but not filled with grease and starch. It helps curb appetite throughout the day, and gives me the energy to do what I need.
A reasonable lunch. Again, not loaded with grease or starch. Ideally plenty of green vegetables and protein.
A decent dinner. I know the current fad is light or no dinner, but that just causes me to cheat later on in the evening. A fair helping of green vegetables, healthy serving of protein and a little bit of starch will keep me from foraging at 7-11 during the night.
Also, yogurts throughout the day. When you go to the supermarket grab about 50 of those little Yoplait things. And lots of celery sticks. Its OK to snack, just dont overload on starch and sugar. Those just cause you to be hungry again an hour later.

As already stated: Dont keep junk food in the house. Only keep good meals and healthy snacks. Do NOT starve yourself. Just eat better stuff. Especially plant fiber.

 

[Deeko]

Drink some water?

Eat some celery?

Just....don't eat? Its a habit thing. If you stop doing it, the craving will go away.

 

[wheresmybacon]

It's amazing how you lean up when you just don't eat. That's it. Mind over matter. I'm not advocating starving yourself, but when you've eaten your caloric goal for the day, shut it down. No mas.

It all depends on how important your fitness goals are relative to your enjoyment of that cake or ice cream or whatever it is.

Personally, I find I get wild hunger swings and cravings if I’m not eating enough protein and fat.

 

[mchammer187]

get rid of the pretzels, chips and salsa, or sugar and fat-filled cakes and sweets


if you eat fruit or a healthy snack than it shouldn't matter one bit

 

[Deeko]

get rid of the pretzels, chips and salsa, or sugar and fat-filled cakes and sweets


if you eat fruit or a healthy snack than it shouldn't matter one bit

You can get fat eating fruit, or any food with calories. Yes - a healthy snack is better than an unhealthy one - but if you're already getting too many calories as it is, a 100 calorie banana is still 100 calories you really don't need.

 

[CPA]

get rid of the pretzels, chips and salsa, or sugar and fat-filled cakes and sweets


if you eat fruit or a healthy snack than it shouldn't matter one bit

Nothing wrong with the pretzels and chips and salsa. Yes get rid of the sugar and fat-filled cakes.

But honestly, it sounds like you aren't eating enough throughout the day. What's your calorie count?

 

[MJinZ]

I recommend snacking on good fats - Nuts. Will keep you full and energized longer without a lot of calories.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Chewing gum or something might help. Otherwise, just try fight it, or if you can't, just don't buy any of that stuff.

 

[spamsk8r]

Nothing wrong with the pretzels and chips and salsa. Yes get rid of the sugar and fat-filled cakes.

But honestly, it sounds like you aren't eating enough throughout the day. What's your calorie count?

Um, I'm going to have to disagree with the "Nothing wrong with pretzels and chips" here. Pretzels are just baked white flour with no nutrition whatsoever, and chips are pretty much the same, but made from corn instead of wheat. My advice is get rid of processed foods in general and eat more whole foods like nuts, seeds, fruit, vegetables, and meat. I've found that a handful of macadamia nuts shuts down the sweets cravings pretty well, and it's healthy to boot.

 

[CPA]

Um, I'm going to have to disagree with the "Nothing wrong with pretzels and chips" here. Pretzels are just baked white flour with no nutrition whatsoever, and chips are pretty much the same, but made from corn instead of wheat. My advice is get rid of processed foods in general and eat more whole foods like nuts, seeds, fruit, vegetables, and meat. I've found that a handful of macadamia nuts shuts down the sweets cravings pretty well, and it's healthy to boot.

Sorry, but there's nothing wrong with a handful of baked white flour or most tortilla chips. It's not like I'm eating a bagful of doritos.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

brush your teeth when you get hungry at night.

 

[alkemyst]

Sorry, but there's nothing wrong with a handful of baked white flour or most tortilla chips. It's not like I'm eating a bagful of doritos.

QFT...

If someone finds themselves craving snacks late or at other times it could be they are hungry.

I eat or pound down a shake every 3-4 hours of my waking day. Snacks lose their attraction...hell at the end of some days I get tired of eating.