As a parent, the “witching” hour for my little kids is between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. My little guys get a bit fussy, whiny, and really need some help making it through until dinner. Once they’ve eaten, gotten their baths and are all snuggled up in their jammies, life is good.
As an overweight and then obese woman, the “witching” hour for me was after dinner. I had the hardest time reigning in my habit of eating massive amounts of food after the children were in bed.
At the time, I only had two daughters. (Now I’ve added five sons to the mix, in case you are a new reader.) Back then, John and I would get the girls to bed, sit on the couch to relax and turn on the television. We’d start to watch some random show and then I’d start on the eating.
First I’d grab a bag of chips and bring it back to the couch. I would eat about twice as much as John did, but he did help. Then I’d need something sweet to go with the chips, so I’d whip up some Nestle Toll House cookies or open the ice cream. After the cookies or ice cream were gone, I’d have some high-calorie hot chocolate with about half a bag of mini-marshmallows. Then, I’d go to bed.
The number of calories I consumed between 7:00 and 11:30 p.m. was outrageous. I’d easily eat another 1,000 calories after dinner. No wonder gaining weight was part of my week!
Even when I was supposed to be on a diet, I had trouble with the nighttime eating problem. It didn’t matter if I was on Weight Watchers or trying the Richard Simmons diet. I found it really difficult to unwind and relax at night without food.
When I really got serious about my weight loss, I knew that I had to conquer this nighttime eating pattern once and for all, or I’d never be able to lose weight and keep it off.
It was really difficult.
I found myself hopping up and heading to the kitchen without even realizing what I was doing. I’d have to remind myself out loud that I wasn’t hungry, I wasn’t going to eat, and I was trying to lose weight. I realized that I needed to have some strategies for unwinding at night without food. Here are five that worked well for me.
Laid out my options for a nighttime snack right after dinner. Although I tried not to eat after dinner, I realized that if I wanted to eat something, I should plan in advance what I was going to have. Some things I laid out on various nights were a few animal crackers, a fruit, applesauce, baked chips and yogurt.
Cleaned the kitchen and turned out the light. Somehow walking into the darkened kitchen helped me psychologically realize that the food time was over for the day.
Prepared a cup of hot tea right after the girls went to bed. Having something to sip on and hold in my hands was a tremendous help in breaking the nighttime eating habit.
Scrapbooked, sewed or knitted. Keeping my hands busy helped me avoid snacking unnecessarily.
Went to bed. That’s right. If I had already had my allowed snack, enjoyed my cup of tea and still couldn’t seem to stay out of the kitchen. I just put on my jammies and went to bed. Worked every time because I didn’t eat or want food while I was sleeping.
Have you ever struggled with nighttime eating? To this day, I still have to watch it as there is something about eating at night that I honestly enjoy. But the way that I allocate my calories usually means I’ve had about the right amount of food by the time dinner is over.
What are some ways that you’ve overcome eating at times when you really are done with food for the day? Diane
You are so right, Diane, that night time eating is a hard thing to overcome. It was my biggest stumbling block while trying to lose weight. I’m with you though with the cup of tea. Something warm always made me feel more full than something cold. It helped do the trick and I still use that as a tool.
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Hi Diane,
I find it hardest between 4 and 6pm – I still haven’t grown up it seems. My best strategy is to get out of the house – I take the dog for a walk. Doesn’t always work, but short circuits the urge to overeat.
Cheers
Liz;)
Liz@LastChanceTraining´s last fabulous musings ..Don’t be a victim
Diane – Stop eating when I have already had all I am supposed to have for the day? That was a tough concept to accept and incorporate into my life. Looking back I found that keeping busy helped. Going to bed early helped. Reading a book instead of mindless TV and food commercials helped. My worse eating always came when I was over tired and could not understand that food was NOT interchangeable with sleep.
Jane~
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Those are such good tips! I especially love the tea idea … it’s so soothing, which what I think we are needing when we overeat. I find night time eating is my biggest downfall, too. It is truly a battle to overcome.
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Diane, this is still a struggle for me. I know last winter sipping tea in the evenings helped me, so I’m going to get back to that as the weather cools.
The darkened kitchen also helps me. I’ll have to try the pre-planned snack, and then stick to that.
This is a big problem for me! I think this is mainly what to blame for my weight gain in college especially. I recently took up crocheting and going to bed a bit earlier to help, as well as a protein packed dinner. These seem to help me alot! I wish I liked tea though! I love something warm at night, and since coffee keeps me awake I got in the habit of eating oatmeal.
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Oh this is my witching hour too! I still struggle with it. Part of my trouble is my husband and I watch TV together in the evenings and that is something that often leads to snacking. One thing that has helped has been to watch in the basement, rather than the family room which is within reach of the kitchen.
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I actually find the time between when the kids get home from school and dinner time harder! But I used to be a big nighttime eater when my kids were smaller and I would snack in front of the TV after putting them to bed. It was like my time to “treat” myself after a long day…
I finally kicked this habit a few years ago when Oprah and Bob Greene were saying to stop eating 2-3 hours before bedtime…it wasn’t easy but I made a real effort just to break the habit and I pretty much did. Now my body doesn’t even really ask for food after dinner anymore. I do the same thing as you – I clean up the kitchen and “close down the factory” after dinner.
I think beating this habit was one of the bigger factors in my weight loss success…now if only I could figure out how to stop the munchies between 4 and 6, I just might be able to get those last ten pounds off!
By the way, my mom mailed me the article about walking you were in – very interesting and some new info I hadn’t known about! Great job!
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I brush my teeth, sometimes right after dinner. That, to me, signals the end of eating for the day.
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Distraction! That helps me. Something else that helps is that I work out after work. Doing it after work means I get home kind of late, fix dinner, maybe relax a bit and watch TV and then go to bed. There’s no downtime where I’m bored and wanting to snack.
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Great tips! I struggle with snacking in the evenings, it’s one of my weakest “links”! I really a appreciate the tips, thinking about it will help me!
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I brush my teeth when I want to stay away from food. I am so lazy that I don’t want to have to brush them again. My difficult time is is between 3-6. I will chew gum to help keep me away from the pantry. I also hang a “before” photo on the pantry! It does make me think twice.
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It used to be a problem for me, but now I save calories for that one piece of evening fruit. I normally eat a grapefruit every evening. It’s true, you have to replace a habit with a better one. Just NOT doing it doesn’t work at the beginning. Now I have heart burn… keeps me away from the junk food!
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Luckily, that was never a problem of mine. I never felt the urge to get up at night and eat something, but I know people who keep sweets on the nightstand and eat them when they wake up in the middle of the night. But I do have a problem with not eating stuff I have a desire for, like chocolate or something, even if I am not hungry. I’m currently trying to get a grip on that. I guess start smoking again is not an option…
I think for me it’s more tv time rather than just night time. For me the planned snack works at night but not so much at weekends when I have more free time.
Giving myself a manicure and painting my nails sometimes works – it’s hard to snack with wet nails
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For me, the easiest way to avoid this problem is only keep foods in the house that are time consuming to prepare. That way,
desire to eat snack food < tendency towards laziness
It's a lot easier to reach for an apple if the only way I can have cookies is to bake them from scratch.
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I do like a snack later after dinner BUT I plan it into my day from the beginning & I have healthy snacks that I pick to eat. I take the portion with me & leave the container in the kitchen! I brush my teeth right after & that stops me cause with all the teeth work I have been getting & all the things they want me to do, I sure don’t want to have to do it again! I just drink water once I brush my teeth!
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With the schedule I’m on now, I eat just a few hours before bed (I usually eat around 8-9pm, and go to bed around 11). It’s easier to have a healthy pre-packed snack at work around 4-5 to tide me over rather than try to squelch the night time munchies, so it works.
If I do get munchy, I usually go for a piece of fruit. Works for the sweet craving (especially frozen pineapple or grapes).
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Your suggestions are great, Diane! I also like Jody’s brush your teeth plan.
I don’t have a problem with this because of the way I eat
PS Go for a walk!
I have found that eating adequately during the day helped a lot with night eating. For those times when I just am really determined to eat, I eat fruit. While I admit that fruit is high sugar and not always low calorie, it doesn’t seem to cause weight gain in me. As a matter of fact, since eating unlimited fruit (not going to extremes, of course), I’ve gotten off my plateau, losing again.
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You could try to drink (tea, …) instead of eating. This usually fills me up and it’s better for your health.
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Oh you have hit the nail on my head! This is my issue as well, still is except I have it better under control.
I drink Fat Free Hot Chocolate about an hour after dinner with a little whip cream on top. If I find I am still hungry, I will eat a low calorie chocolate snack like weight watchers desert or a vitatop.
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I do have almost the same problem too…
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