Does anyone snack in the evening

[Frankbutchersfangs]

I generally do. But recently snacking has got worse in that I will have one slice of cake and then want some chocolate afterwards. Sometimes I have snarfed a large bar of chocolate, 6 x foxes chocolaty biscuits and a large slice of cheesecake. I eat healthy in the day (porridge, nuts, fruit etc) but after dinner, it's like the sweet monster comes out - have put on a couple of stone since beginning of year.

Just wondering if anyone else has a pudding in the evening? On talking to my friends they say that if there dinner is a large enough portion then you shouldn't need a snack at night.

I usually don't, we eat dinner around 6ish and I'm not hungry after that - might have a cup of tea later on, maybe. However, all bets are off over the Christmas fortnight - I go baking mad and there's shortbread, lebkuchen, mince pies etc. to be snarfed, so snarf them I shall. Time enough to cut back in January :)

Yes I snack far too much in the evening.
Me and DH find it hard to watch tv without eating anything.

Reading this thread has given me a reality check and I love the idea of brushing your teeth after dinner!

I will definitely give that a try —after Christmas—

I used to. Used to absolutely love having chocolate and crisps and all manners of lovey sweet stuff.

I now work 5-8pm in the evening and if I eat anything after 8.30pm I'm up all night with horrendous heartburn so I can't have anything other than a really light tea now :(

I've never been bothered about my weight so I'm actually quite sad I can't snack in front of the TV like usual!

I snack in the evenings because I stay up too late compared to when mealtimes are - I rarely have breakfast because I don't feel hungry until I start eating, but have a sandwich around 1pm and a hot meal at 7, then stay up until 1am....by 11.30pm-midnight it feels like time for my third proper meal of the day.

I agree with your friends, if you are still getting hungry in the evening eat more at dinner. I might have a piece of chocolate but I wouldn’t eat a whole bar let alone that and other stuff, and I am overweight myself. I’m not in the habit of having pudding and I don’t buy biscuits for myself.

I snack in the evenings because I stay up too late compared to when mealtimes are - I rarely have breakfast because I don't feel hungry until I start eating, but have a sandwich around 1pm and a hot meal at 7, then stay up until 1am....by 11.30pm-midnight it feels like time for my third proper meal of the day.

Going to bed earlier definitely helps (and is better for weight loss and your general health as well, I think). I go to bed by 10:30, so I don't get hungry (although tbh eveh on the occasions I eat at 6 rather than 7, I still don't feel hungry before bed).

I am a complete snacker! Eat healthy meals and have some snacks as I work in the kitchen all day but can control (ish) the daytime! Come 8pm when DS is asleep I chill on the couch and turn in to a gremlin. It's not loads but it is every night

Definitely a habit

Yeah...I have a Compulsive Over-eating Disorder (like Bulimia, but no purging!).

I snacked every evening throughout lockdown and now I’m at slimming world as I can’t fit into any of my pre-pandemic clothes. I feel and look like shit and I do regret it.

@TheYearOfSmallThings

I know I shouldn't but I do. Usually it's nuts or crisps, but last night after watching the news, I stress-ate a whole box of Toffifees.

But they're very tiny

Limited myself to an orange last night.
Go me!

It’s an addiction - that desire for something sweet after a.meal in the early evening when the blood sugar goes up. I have a real struggle with this. I make puddings which are as healthy as possible - basically ground almonds, eggs and a spoonful of jam, bake this in a Pyrex flan dish and as soon as out of oven spread a little jam and pile it with frozen heated fruit. For apple put the almond mixture on top with flaked almonds. I make enough for three days as only two of us. If I don’t do that I gorge biscuits.

I’ve gone 10 days now without any chocolate, cake or biscuits. I have been having a banana or apple or something if I’ve gotten hungry around 9 or 10 pm. I do eat very small portions for lunch and dinner as I generally stop eating before I get full, so maybe this is why I am hungry a couple of hours later

What time do people eat their evening meal that means they are hungry at 9pm?

RampantIvy most hunger in adults in the first world for people not on the poverty line or suffering an eating disorder is not actually hunger but messed up blood sugar - people who eat say a meal of mainly white pasta followed by a small pudding containing mostly processed sugar (or the dreaded "picky tea" not envy) for dinner can very easily be experiencing feelings identical to hunger an hour later because their blood sugar spikes and crashes even though they don't necessarily need more food.

No - what I do is after dinner I have a bit of dark chocolate then I have a rule kitchen closed. We don’t buy tempting things either. For me once I start eating treats I can’t stop.

I've managed a couple of evenings going to bed peckish and feel SO much better in the mornings when I pull it off.

Agree with the comment about blood sugar spikes/crashes leading to wish for snacks after carb-heavy, sweet-ending meals.

As a species, we did not evolve to eat much sugar - it's only been widely eaten for the past 300 years. (And it has a horrible historical links with slavery.) And the idea of a sweet pudding at the end of every main meal is even more recent. Very brief paragraph about this topic here: www.whiskeddc.com/blogs/whisked-blog/history-of-desserts

@UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme

RampantIvy most hunger in adults in the first world for people not on the poverty line or suffering an eating disorder is not actually hunger but messed up blood sugar - people who eat say a meal of mainly white pasta followed by a small pudding containing mostly processed sugar (or the dreaded "picky tea" not envy) for dinner can very easily be experiencing feelings identical to hunger an hour later because their blood sugar spikes and crashes even though they don't necessarily need more food.

I tend to eat protein with every meal - stuff like Thai green curry with whole grain rice or meat, veg and potatoes or just protein such as a steak and vegetables, so I don’t think this is my problem

I do eat very small portions though as I get full easily and generally do not like the stuffed full feeling so that could be why I am hungry later

Mistletoe as others have said, a lot of our eating patterns are based on habit rather than need.
That's a general comment - not directed specifically at you.

Mistletoe Sorry! Cross-posted with your own suggested answer!

I used to when I lived with ExH who would always have a ‘proper’ pudding after dinner, like a hot cake with some sort of sauce. Agree with PPs it’s habitual and if you can go cold turkey just one or two nights you’ll be surprised how quickly your appetites change! If I get hungry in the evening I have a hot drink first and that often shuts it down

I do but I try and have a decent snack so it doesn't set me off!
Boiled egg and marmite rice cakes
Apple or mango or a banana
Small cup of veg soup
Milky hot drink
Piece of cheese or ham

Not really. We eat dinner/tea about 6-6.30pm and have a cup of tea when we’re all washed up afterwards. I’d say we have a treat like a bar of chocolate or bit of cake maybe once a week if that. It’s not something we plan, we just never got in the habit. We’re more likely to have a snack mid morning or afternoon.