The only thing that works for me is willpower. I also find that if I can
make it through one night without snacking, the next night is easier and
so on. Your body has a clock that tells you that you're hungry at
roughly the same time every day.

Tough it out for a few nights and see how easy it is.

 ..

What I have found that has helped me break this evening snacking habit is to
prolong my dessert until around 8pm. I typically have a 2 point serving of
ice cream or yogurt. That will usually keep me happy for the evening. I also
drink water throughout the evening and I think that helps keep away the
snacking fits. If that does not work, then I have a cup of herbal tea.

But when all else fails my snack of choice is 94% FF popcorn. I tend to lean
towards salty snacks plus we don't keep cookies and other sugary treats in
our house anymore. Not having them in the house has helped break me of the
snacking fits that I used to have on a regular basis.

Low fat microwave popcorn (I point)
Diabetic candies and mints.

Hot tea.
Hot lemon drink (1:5 parts lemon juice to hot water, add sweetener to
taste)
Chew on a spouse/lover/whoever (could be fun!)

Shirley Hicks
Toronto, Ontario

Well, I think Clouddreamer has some ideas but toughing it out can be,
well, TOUGH.

I was doing salsa and pickles (not worried about salt).  But it is the
boredom factor and maybe if you could find an excuse to be NOT HOME,
out, walking, movie, study group, whatever, then it might not be as
tough since you are preoccupied or occupied or happy in some endeavor.

Some might suggest protein which can be satisfying.  Or just saving
points for those snacks.

And this is easier to say than do since that's where I'm finding the
most trouble right now.

Willpower...

Then the obvious really do work. Veggie soup made with non-startchy veg, so
very few calories, but lots of bulk works well. Eat a piece of fruit or
munch on some raw carrots.

It *is* hard, but sometimes, we just have to knuckle down and develop that
willpower. Sigh... ;-)

Cheers, helen s

Probably sounds like a silly question, but are you eating enough? I mean
in terms of WW's points, but also in terms of bulk and complex carbs?

Complex carbs act as "slow release", providing energy throughout the day
and avoiding those "sugar lows" which can lead to feeling hungry and
bingeing.

The physical quantity you eat can also help, as part of our appetite
suppression mechanism is the pressure of food in our stomach - the
stomach doesn't care if that pressure is from a fat free salad, or from
a couple of Big Macs.

Sometimes, in trying to lose weight, we eat tiny dinners that just don't
have the bulk we need. I believe that's a mistake. So, try to ensure
your dinner always includes a pile of veggies and/or salad - things like
greens, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and other low cal, fat free
"fillers". You can even bulk up a TV dinner by adding veggies - I will
cover a LF pizza in about a ton and a half of veggies, or zucchini and
mushrooms in ready-made pasta sauce, or a whole packet of ready-prepared
stir-fry veggies into a jar of sweet-and-sour sauce, so it doesn't have
to be actual cooking.

Also, try desserts like Skinny Cow icecreams, sugar-free Jello with
fruit, meringue with fat-free yoghurt, Splenda and fresh fruit... But,
have the dessert half and hour at least after your main course so
mealtimes last a little longer. Then have coffee about half an hour
after that.

In the later evening, my habit is to have an alcoholic drink - usually a
long drink (rum and diet cola, vodka and diet lemonade) with ice, to
dilute the booze but also to make it take longer to drink. I usually
have that with a couple of rice cakes, some "No-no" fat free snack
crackers, a handful of pretzels, some air-blown popcorn or maybe some
fruit like strawberries, fresh pineapple or other "treat" fruits. But my
snack is served in a bowl so I don't risk having the whole bag of
pretzels in front of me.

The popcorn btw, is an acquired taste - it occurs to me that years of
assault on my taste buds mean they don't notice what things taste like
any more, so I'm trying to get back in touch with them.

The other thing to do is to take up a hobby you can do while watching TV
- knitting, making model air-planes, tapestry... or even reviewing DVDs
for internet review sites! You can't eat and take notes ;)

Finally, learn the fine arts of pacing and fidgetting. When you're on
the phone (make sure it's cordless, btw), pace up and down. Hide the
remote control and "channel surf" by going up to the TV set every few
minutes. Go and get that thing upstairs that you keep forgetting to
bring down. Keep going into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water or
fat-free snacks.

Flavoured rice cakes?  I'm a big fan of the UK caramel Snack-a-Jacks - well,
I prefer the Tesco's own.. but they're about 1/2 point each.  I like to
crunch on cereal too.  Or frozen fruit with 0% yoghurt and a bit of cereal
on top - 1 1/2 points of yummy cold fruitiness.  Other than that, I eat a
lot of tomatoes and celery when I just have to be crunching
something......or chewing gum.  Oh - and Skinny Cow ice-cream sticks - c 1
point each.

I tried......

Tuna/chicken/turkey/beef salad
protein shake
drink of LC coffee/tea/water/diet pop/chocolate etc
willpower (doesn't work for me)

ray

FF Quaker Mini Rice cakes

http://products.peapod.com/676.html

that helps me out.

Nic

Pop corn saves me.. when I get real bad munchies I can barge it down without
much damage !

;o) Of course doesn't beat a good walk...

I haven't been perfect in the snacking regard either... but I would
recommend the Core Plan.  When I stick with the Core foods, I am satiated
and don't have cravings for crazy junk stuff anymore.  And, there's
something comforting in knowing that you can always have something to eat if
you need it.