Managing Evening Munchies for Lasting Weight Loss Success

 

Why Managing the Munchies is Important to Weight Loss Success

Taking in a few extra calories day after day, week after week can really pack on the pounds.

Did you know that eating just 30 or so potato chips (300 calories)

or…

5 Oreos (300 calories) every night for a year would add up to 30 EXTRA POUNDS!

Which means finding a way to eliminate mindless munching could leave you 30 pounds slimmer by year’s end. When it comes to weight loss small changes like this really add up!

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Managing night time munchies like this can be a big challenge for many of us, especially those of us who’ve struggled with losing weight and keeping it off.

If you have the urge to nibble at night, have you figured out why? Are you really hungry or is it something else? Do you know how many calories/points you’re eating after dinner?

Because we eat dinner so late, evening snacking isn’t the problem for me that it once was. If I feel like I’m not quite satisfied but not really hungry after dinner, I’ve started the ritual of making myself a cup of herb tea. For me it has become my way of telling myself I’m finished eating for the day. And most of the time it works, though sometimes I still find myself wanting a spoonful of ice cream right before bed.

I think for many of us snacking at night is a habit, a way to deal with boredom, something we just do when we are vegging out in front of the television or computer.

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A great strategy for breaking these kind of habits is to do something different. Turn off the television. Have a bubble bath and go to bed instead. Or keep your hands busy by doing a craft or painting your nails. (You get the idea – remove the cue associated with eating and you’re less likely to eat.)

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If you want to snack in the evening, decide how many calories/points you need to save so you can enjoy your snacks and stay on track with your weight loss goals.

This week’s challenge is to be diligent about tracking those late night snacks. Pay more attention to what you are doing and why you are doing it.

Are you consciously snacking on foods that are within your daily PointsPlus target or weekly allowance or are you mindlessly munching and exceeding your budget?

I heard the greatest quote recently, that I’m using in my WW meetings: “If it’s not hunger, it’s habit!”

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Remember, The future depends on what we do in the present.