Sabotaging Your Diet Late at Night

She FIt — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:00:31 +0000

I don’t know if it’s out of boredom or out of habit, but why is it that overeating late at night occurs one too many times in our diets?

It’s tough work going through the day, rejecting the cookies a co-worker brought in, denying the cake at the birthday party, opting out of the french fries at dinner, but some how we do it. For some reason staying on track with food can be right on. . . until about 9 or 10pm rolls around and then it’s just all down hill from there.

By no means am I talking about an apple or scoop of ice cream… I am talking about a full blown meal. For the amount of calories consumed that evening, you might as well have had the cookies, cake and fries!

So how do you prevent your self from sabotaging your diet from late night binge eating?

The answer is simple, stop eating! Ha… If only it were that easy, right? Because this task can be so hard to do for many of us, here are some tips to break the old habit and toss it out the window!

* Distract yourself. Go for a walk with your dog. Find a great book to read. Do some of your blogging during this time.

* Instead of brush your teeth right before bed, do it right after dinner. Brushing your teeth has been proven to decrease one’s appetite.

* Have a high fiber dinner, which will keep you full longer

* Keep that cup full and glued to your side, keeping your hands and mouth busy!

* Make a list of healthy low calorie snacks that you can eat at night and nothing else. I always know around 9pm that I will eat a sugar-free pudding cup. I know that if I can just hold out a few hours that I will get to enjoy this and then it’s back to the water!

* Go somewhere in the house where you can’t see the kitchen. For some reason when I see the kitchen, I gravitate towards it… weird, I know!

* Suck on a hard candy. This keeps your mouth busy and will last longer than chowing down on several bowls of cereal.

* Work on your food journal during the evening

* Ask your roommate or spouse to hold you accountable to only a small snack and nothing more at night

* Make sure you are getting enough calories in during the day, so you aren’t starving late at night.

QUESTION: What is your favorite night-time dessert or snack?

Mine is chocolate pudding with cool whip or a bowl of cereal.

5 Ways to Beat The Mindless Munchies

She FIt — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:11:47 +0000

I have find that the kitchen has become my best friend lately. I guess it might be due to the fact that I am not in school, waiting to hear back from a possible job, and my husband is at work. Boredom… it gets me every time.

Between days of boredom, feeling like a bottomless pit other days, or being full and just desiring every cracker box in the cabinet, I have found the kitchen never lets me down to meet my needs. Can anyone relate?

Here are a few ways to prevent those binge eating kitchen dates:

Water

Sometimes we confuse hunger with thirst. Before you reach for that box of crackers, drink a bottle of ice-cold water and wait a few minutes. Then ask yourself if you are still hungry. If you truly are hungry you will feel it in your stomach, where as if you are thirst you will feel it more in your throat.

Gum

Pop a piece of gum into your mouth busy to prevent mindless munching or right after a meal to prevent further eating. Mint gum has also been known to suppress the your appetite and keep your mouth busy during those slow boring days.

Blog / Read Blogs

I have found inspiration from other bloggers by simply reading about their dedication and motivation to lose weight. Blogging is also an outlet to hold you accountable, knowing that people will be reading your post and giving your encouragement to say no.

Get Away

Is the kitchen calling your name? Get away from the kitchen. Either go into another room where the kitchen is not visible or if that isn’t even enough, go window-shopping with a friend.

Exercise

Did you know that exercise affects two hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY, which suppresses your appetite? Not only are your beating boredom but you are suppressing your appetite and getting in a good workout.

Hope these 5 tips help during those binge eating times! It’s not easy to say no during those moments… it’s a battle and you just got to push through and not give in!

What do you do to prevent the mindless munchies?

» snacking

Sabotaging Your Diet Late at Night

I don’t know if it’s out of boredom or out of habit, but why is it that overeating late at night occurs one too many times in our diets?

By no means am I talking about an apple or scoop of ice cream… I am talking about a full blown meal. For the amount of calories consumed that evening, you might as well have had the cookies, cake and fries!

So how do you prevent your self from sabotaging your diet from late night binge eating?

The answer is simple, stop eating! Ha… If only it were that easy, right? Because this task can be so hard to do for many of us, here are some tips to break the old habit and toss it out the window!

* Distract yourself. Go for a walk with your dog. Find a great book to read. Do some of your blogging during this time.

* Instead of brush your teeth right before bed, do it right after dinner. Brushing your teeth has been proven to decrease one’s appetite.

* Have a high fiber dinner, which will keep you full longer

* Keep that cup full and glued to your side, keeping your hands and mouth busy!

* Make a list of healthy low calorie snacks that you can eat at night and nothing else. I always know around 9pm that I will eat a sugar-free pudding cup. I know that if I can just hold out a few hours that I will get to enjoy this and then it’s back to the water!

* Go somewhere in the house where you can’t see the kitchen. For some reason when I see the kitchen, I gravitate towards it… weird, I know!

* Suck on a hard candy. This keeps your mouth busy and will last longer than chowing down on several bowls of cereal.

* Work on your food journal during the evening

* Ask your roommate or spouse to hold you accountable to only a small snack and nothing more at night

* Make sure you are getting enough calories in during the day, so you aren’t starving late at night.

QUESTION: What is your favorite night-time dessert or snack?

Mine is chocolate pudding with cool whip or a bowl of cereal.

5 Ways to Beat The Mindless Munchies

I have find that the kitchen has become my best friend lately. I guess it might be due to the fact that I am not in school, waiting to hear back from a possible job, and my husband is at work. Boredom… it gets me every time.

Between days of boredom, feeling like a bottomless pit other days, or being full and just desiring every cracker box in the cabinet, I have found the kitchen never lets me down to meet my needs. Can anyone relate?

Here are a few ways to prevent those binge eating kitchen dates:

Water

Gum

Pop a piece of gum into your mouth busy to prevent mindless munching or right after a meal to prevent further eating. Mint gum has also been known to suppress the your appetite and keep your mouth busy during those slow boring days.

Blog / Read Blogs

I have found inspiration from other bloggers by simply reading about their dedication and motivation to lose weight. Blogging is also an outlet to hold you accountable, knowing that people will be reading your post and giving your encouragement to say no.

Get Away

Is the kitchen calling your name? Get away from the kitchen. Either go into another room where the kitchen is not visible or if that isn’t even enough, go window-shopping with a friend.

Exercise

Did you know that exercise affects two hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY, which suppresses your appetite? Not only are your beating boredom but you are suppressing your appetite and getting in a good workout.

Hope these 5 tips help during those binge eating times! It’s not easy to say no during those moments… it’s a battle and you just got to push through and not give in!

What do you do to prevent the mindless munchies?