No snacking after dinner! Who's in??

[summerisacoming]

I'm not very good with diets and I really don't want to try one then have it fail. So this is my plan:

As soon I have finished dinner, I'm going to brush my teeth and make sure I don't eat anything else that evening. Simple.

Ok, it's not the most imaginative of plans, but here's why I think it will make a huge difference:

1. My worst snacking is in the evening
2. Eating chocolate in the evening makes me stay up late (caffeine) so I'm tired for work the next morning
3. Am I right in thinking that eating right before bed makes you store more fat?

I am 5'8'' and since having kids I now weigh around 12 stone (size 12/14). I want to be a size 10 again!

I'm going to start small and do this for 1 week, starting today. If all goes well, then I'll aim for a month, then two months (should be a well-formed habit by then), then drop sugar.

If you're in, let's report back every evening right before we go to bed to confirm that we didn't eat anything after dinner.

So who's with me?? Come on!😁

I'm in! After about 7-8 pm my brain starts up with, "oooh, what can i have to eat that's nice?" Too much sugar gives me weird jolts of anxiety as I'm falling asleep, I wake up groggy in the morning, and last night I woke up at 3am with wicked heartburn. No more!

I have started to have a protein yogurt after my tea and this stops me snacking

I'm with you with the heart burn 🫣

I used to get awful heartburn during third trimester of pregnancy, and unbelievably I don't think it ever occured to me to stop eating during the evenings. Although, I was ravenous a lot of the time!

Great, let's do it! Sounds so easy, right? But I'll be back on MN this evening to give encouragement. I reckon this week will be the hardest, but we can do it 💪

Trying to do the same here.
Always love having some kind of pudding / snacks / treats after dinner so trying to cut this out completely.
Have found that having a mug or two of peppermint tea after dinner helps to evade the cravings. Fills you up and is good for digestion, so working well for me atm🙂

@andymary
I love mint tea, but the problem is I associate it with chocolate/biscuits because I love dipping it in... so I need a more blanket approach of "nothing at all" or it tends to be a slippery slope for me.

I'm using my laziness as a help here also, in that once I've brushed my teeth I know I'll hate having to do them again, if I do decide to snack afterwards (hopefully I'll decide it's not worth it).

Keep going if it's working though, and well done on no snacks so far!

Well I stopped eating at 7, brushed teeth, did chores, and now I'm looking at the clock dreading the long night that lies ahead😂

I'm in. I'm guilty of boredom eating in the evening once the dc are in bed.

Great idea! I'm 5'5 and hit 11 stone and I'd like to lost a stone and a half. I've started the 12:8 fasting idea (so no eating after dinner) also dropped alcohol, sugar and snacking so I'm hoping to be a good way there before we go away in 6 weeks (may be wishful thinking!)
Brushing teeth is a good idea - a great reminder!

Would you not consider just giving yourself a little snack, but something planned and not too calorific? So you're not totally deprived of an evening?
Popcorn is a great evening snack?- and some fruit? Or small bar of choc?
Or are you determined to ditch the snacks altogether?

I'm also in. Well from tomorrow as I just had an ice cream after dinner!

I'm not supposed to eat 3-4 hours before bed as I have a weak lower esophogeal sphincter (diagnosed by endoscopy recently) and although I don't always feel the heartburn I am having reflux (sometimes silent, sometimes not). Not good for my long term health and often painful.

I am due to have 2 operations in the next year so need to lose more weight (2.5 stone down in last 18 months but another stone would be better and 2 ideal).

I've done my teeth! I might even floss, to make sure😁
I only finished dinner at 8pm so I'm actually not even hungry, but that still wouldn't stop me snacking normally.

@DontBeGrossTammy 😂 Yep, this is how it will be now.

@Titsywoo I deliberately finished off the ice cream in the freezer today, so I wouldn't be tempted tonight. Join us tomorrow.

@snowlady4 I eat tons of fruit during the day, so don't really crave it at night. And popcorn would quickly lead to crisps, which would lead to biscuits... I wish I could snack in moderation!

@DiscoBeat You're where I want to be in a month or so - stay with us to encourage us!

Well done everyone!

Snacks are my nemesis! I’m with you. Am also trying to increase my water intake as I’ve realised I exist on tea and coffee which is surely horrendous for me! I think I’m a creature of habit and am hoping if I’m able to create new habits I will stick to it 🤞 really want to lost about ten pounds

I'm in! Would like to lose 10lbs over the next ten week but I cannot diet, it makes me miserable. I have lost weight by not eating after 7 in the past but I'm 10 years older now so might not drop off as easily 😬

I too was a demon snacker in the evenings. No reason, just the See Food eat it diet!

I got a wake up call when my bloods came back pre diabetic, got a (lecture) advice from the docs and decided to try the 16/8 (Intermittent fasting) thing.

Reader that was a year ago, and it has really solved my snacking desire. I can't explain it, but once I knew that after 7pm there was no more food for me, I stuck with it. I eat sensibly but not frugally during the day from 11am. I have slowly lost weight and can maintain it now without denying myself too much as I have Saturdays off the rules.

I am also no longer pre diabetic and cholesterol is perfect, when it was borderline too. Liver enzymes were ever so slightly raised too, and got the lecture about fatty liver disease. I heard them.

I’m in! I eat really healthily during the day but find myself compulsively snacking in the evening once the kids are in bed. I only have around 8/9lbs to lose and I’m sure cutting out the evening snacking would do it. Also need to knock the glass of wine on the head on weekdays. Easier said than done though- it’s definitely emotional/comfort/boredom eating for me.

@Badatmostthings Whenever someone mentions drinking more water, I reach for my water bottle and guzzle loads. I don't know why I don't do this of my own accord though? Perhaps I should set an alarm. How do you remind yourself, or is it a well-formed habit now?

@keyboardkat That's really great to hear. Well done. I suppose this is just a light version of intermittent fasting, but I want to keep it relaxed and achievable now. Perhaps once it is a habit, and I no longer have evening cravings I might think about adding stricter rules (e.g. no eating after 7pm). Slow and steady wins the race and all that 😁

I'm in!! This is half my problem too! Or snacking while I'm making lunch / dinner 🫠 I find that I will need something to entertain my hands in the evening if I'm not snacking - I used to love adult colouring books so might try that again! Something mindless to keep me occupied!

Day 2

Amazingly, I haven't snacked today, other than a some fruit, but I'm aware that if I want a nice treat I've got to fit it in before dinner! 😂I'll try and forego.

How's everyone else getting on?
@Peony2021 Welcome!

Bring on the evening - I'm ready for it! (Albeit, I might just have an early night.)

Ok just finished dinner and checking in here to motivate myself not to snack tonight! Herbal tea and an early night on the cards. No snacking here during the day but I did eat a ridiculous amount of naan bread with my dinner!

I won’t snack I won’t snack… other half as bought Doritos damn him but I shall resist

Day 3 of no snacking or eating after my tea (sorry, I'm northern 😁) . Feeling quite good about it but not sure it will nudge the scales as I'm not particularly watching what I eat at meal times. Keep up the good work everyone!

Trying desperately not to open crisps!

Ahh, ok this is going to be harder than I thought!

I didn't have a big dinner and I'm regretting that now, because I'm now quite hungry. Or is it my mind tricking me into thinking I really must snack?!

I think it was Michael Mosley or someone who said hunger really isn't a bad thing. Starving is, obviously, but just feeling hungry is something we used to feel on a daily basis. Which is crazy to think about - even my parents' generation probably regularly felt hungry between meals, whereas I just constantly snack so it's such a rare feeling.

I'll try to embrace it! 😬

@Badatmostthings Well done so far, and I'm not watching what I eat at meal times either. Deliberately so, because I think it would be too much trying to stop snacking and reducing meals and stopping sugar and all the other things you can do. I'd find it a bit overwhelming and then I'd just give up. My friend has lost all her baby weight just from doing this, but it was over a long period (a year or so). But she just does it now and doesn't think about it. Not a diet as such, just a habit. I'm confident it will eventually lead to weight loss 😁

Well done everyone who's keeping with it!

I’m in! I’ve just depressed myself at the sight of my belly in the mirror, and it’s all due to evening snacks, mainly biscuits etc. I’m addicted to sugar! I have about 10lbs that I want to lose in 7 weeks when I go away. Is that feasible? I thought about going for a walk after tea (another northerner here) to see if that helps.