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!😁

This week's weight in, another pound off. 1 more to go and that's a stone. Well chuffed, can feel clothes much looser.

Day 30! (a month, albeit one of the short ones)

Well, that came around pretty quickly. The days were long, but the month was short... or something like that. Time to recheck the original post:

"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." - Ha, I made it sound so easy!

Ok, so we have another month before stopping sugar - phew! I'm not looking forward to that - this is probably really easy by comparison.

For the last two week of this second month (Days 45-60), I going to try and just have one small sugary treat a day or every other day, so I'm not going cold turkey on Day 61.

Is anyone as keen as I am to try this from Day 60?

I think it will have the added benefit of making this current plan seem much easier, by knowing this is just the preparation. As an analogy (and a way to try and win you over):
If I have to walk up a big hill, it feels tedious and exhausting. But if I make myself jog up a big hill and allow myself to walk when crossing any roads I come to (as a break), the walking feels like sweet relief.

I.e. if we aim to be sugar-free, but find it too difficult on certain days, we can always fall back on this plan (which is still brilliant).

Who's in? 🍰❌💪

Wow, so impressive!

I eat very similar meals to this. The only real difference is I will have my treat between lunch and dinner (I'm down south 😁) and nothing after dinner.

I'm keeping my jeans out on display (draped over a chair), as a sort of trophie!

Thank you!

I'm with you on the painting - I've painted so much in the last couple of weeks. Perhaps because it's so all-consuming (you definitely can't snack while doing it) it makes for such a good distraction?

Still keeping to the plan. Got engrossed in something on tv yesterday evening, and missed my deadline of 7pm. Had a proper dinner after 8pm instead of wandering in and out of the kitchen to graze and snack till bedtime.

I'm definitely up for this! I'm trying to keep off sugar now if I can but always find something in the house 🙈 I'm terrible with lotus biscoff biscuits. 😂

I need to try and beat the bloat. Not sure if it's gluten that's causing it but struggling to shift any weight or having my jeans fit better. I need to get back onto my evening workouts as well. I dread them but feel so much better after.

I should have read your OP better I did not realise what I'd signed myself up for 😲 dropping sugar next!!! I know it makes sense but 🙈

I don't think I've had any sugar this month at all in the form of sweet treats or drinks. I've also stopped all artificial sweeteners, as they did not agree with me.

I check ingredients when I'm ordering my supermarket deliveries, and make sure that any form of sugar is well down the list of ingredients and very low on the traffic light and percentages.

It was a struggle at first. I did it earlier this year for a few weeks in a challenge, but without even noticing I slipped back into old habits. Rapid weight gain, felt sluggish physically and mentally. Joined this group having realised just how badly I was damaging myself. I intend this to be a lifetime change.

I've a lot of weight to lose, and several weight-related health issues. I eat to relieve stress. The hardest part will be keeping to this when family return from holiday and the schools go back. The treats will be back too, and all the ups and downs of life with teens.

Thanks for this thread and all the contributions that keep me going.

Day 31 (yesterday)

Amazingly, almost in preparation for Day 61, I didn't eat any sugary snacks. That is really unusual for me. I think the key is to just be really busy, and don't have any treats to hand!

Right @Badatmostthings ,@abbs1 - I'm going to take your replies as confirmation that you're onboard 😁

We can do this, and we have another month to get ready for it.

@GallstoneGertie This will be a doddle for you. What do you snack on, if not sugar? My mind can't compute an enjoyable savory snack (I have a very sweet tooth!).

I'm enjoying a brownie now, but will be back this evening to confirm no snacks after dinner.

@summerisacoming yes count me in!

Day 32

Another day done. I'm hungry, but that's alright.

@abbs1 Fab! We'll get some great results before the end of summer.

Ah amazing! I've done 3 weeks!

Had a family reunion today and so much tempting food! I did my best to go for healthy options protein and salad and managed to avoid the devine looking triple chocolate cake!

I'm still hungry now I'm home but trying not to go eat anything else.

Day 33 (yesterday)

Went out for some drinks, but managed to avoid the crisps and nuts that were placed on the table. Obviously I'm not excluding alcohol after dinner 😁(social drinking is fine I think, since my nights out nowadays are few and far between).

Day 34

I'm amazed at how the days are stacking up. I'm also amazed at how I can now go to bed knowing that there is a full pack of biscuits in the cupboard. They wouldn't have stood a chance 35 days ago!

@abbs1 Well done resisting 👏I gave up sugar for a couple of months a while ago, and I can honestly still remember every single cake that I had to say "no" to. Isn't that strange? I can't remember the cakes I ate last week, but it is seared into my memory all of the ones I had to forego over a year ago. So I bet you'll remember that triple choc cake for a while yet!

Well done for another week done everyone. Pound on for me this morning, I had a massive slab of cake on Fri that I didn't really want and I didn't enjoy so my mind set is changing.
Resolving to tighten up on sugar this week!

Well done OP! That's amazing progress!

I had a really bad evening tonight. 2 poorly kids and just drowned my tiredness with 2 chocolate pancake rolls and some crisps. I feel really bad eating them and its not made me feel any better. I really need to be find a different way to deal with bad days. Next time I need to just go to bed I think.

Day 35

My friend has started doing intermittent fasting and has basically just stopped having breakfast (and nothing after dinner). She has seen great results. It's funny how easy a diet seems when someone else is doing it. Anyway, I'm so pleased I'm sticking to this, and I think a massive reason for it is because it's pretty straightforward - and having this thread of accountability!

@abbs1 Sorry to hear that, looking after kids is exhausting but looking after ill kids is so much worse. You got through it though, which is the main thing. Just going to bed is a very good solution though! I always try to remember that one - why is it so hard?

@Badatmostthings Interesting, isn't it? How doing this in the evening changes our attitude to food during the day. I now routinely buy smaller (normal sized) chocolate bars - the thought of eating one of those 100g bars now makes me feel a bit sick, despite the fact I ate them most evenings.

Well done for another week! 🎉

Day 36

Another day done! 😊

Thanks for the invitation. I'm in. Today was day 1. One down and now just a lifetime to go :-)

Day 37

@TooManyNameChanges12 Glad you came over, and yes, that's how it is now! 😁 But I honestly feel great, and I've definitely lost quite a bit of weight. We could try to view it differently: A lifetime of being happy with our bodies and no evening snacks.

How did you find tonight? I found the first week really tough, so I would definitely recommend focusing on just competing one week at first. Stay strong for your second night!

Day 2

Thanks. Yes, that is of course a better way to look at it. :#)

I have managed another night. So far it hasn't been too tough. Insanely, I actually think this thread is helping.

37 days is amazing. Has it become natural now to not crave any food after dinner or do you still get wobbles?

I don't have treat-type (ie sweet) food in the house atm, as I'm on my own for most of this month. I tend to overeat when I'm stressed, and I always have crispbread/crackers with cheese or pnb for those times. Also tortilla chips and hummus, as long as I put a few in a bowl and don't eat directly from the bag. Some crisp grapes straight from the fridge are great too.

Without realising it, I'm more or less following Intermittent Fasting now. Nothing after dinner means I don't have any hunger pangs in the morning. Not sure how that works, but it's a huge relief because I've had them all my life. It's so much easier to wait longer in the morning before food. Setting alarms on my phone has stopped me constantly looking at the clock and thinking about grazing.

The supermarket order is cheaper, too.

Proper fell off the wagon this week. Been super stressed and tired and had a snack the last 3 evenings. Made me feel awful in that ive not slept well at all so I'm really tired and sluggish, and esp in the morning with bad hungry pangs. Getting myself back into the groove this evening and no more snacking.

Love this group as I keep coming back to it knowing I need to do better and hold myself accountable. Has anyone got any more tips on keeping busy other than going to bed? At this rate I will going to bed as soon my kids are asleep but I need some me time without thinking about food.

This week's weigh in result. Minus 2 pounds. That's 1 stone 1 pound. Well chuffed.

Wow! That's amazing. Well done! 👏

have you got anymore tips to share? I'm definitely a lot less bloated by cutting bread but could still do with eating less.