Have you tried cutting back on the calories a little during the day and
saving some extra calories for the evening munchies?  I have a much easier
time losing weight if I keep the calories at 700-900 calories during the day
as this allows me extra calories for the evening meal.  I also use exercise
in the evening to control eating.  A half hour of exercise and a low-cal
drink such as Crystal Light does a great job of curbing the hunger.

Have you included regular exercise with your weight loss program?  I'm 60
years old and realize it becomes harder to lose the weight as we age.
Exercise has been the most important factor for me.  Without the exercise I
have a tough time keeping the weight off.

Hope you find something that works for you.

Beverly

Hi Karen, I was also a nighttime eater, just like you. Wanted a candy
or a piece of something. Usually bad foods. Sometimes even waking up
in the middle of the night and eating something to go back to
sleep. Embarrassing to admit but true.

Then as I started to diet, I decided to eat nothing after 6pm. I chose
6 as my cutoff time because by that time I was home and able to eat a
dinner. I would eat a decent dinner and then after that time, nothing
at all, not even a morsel, until 7:40 the following morning.

It was difficult the first week. I would be hungry etc. I stuck to it
though and magically, after one week, all the cravings were gone
completely. I could sit next to my wife eating pringles or candy at
9pm and read a book as she watched TV, together, and I was not even
salivating at her food.

Your hunger in the evening may also depend on how much and what you
eat for dinner. It should be good food, not too many refined carbs, a
decent amount of bulky vegetables, etc. Do not neglect to drink plenty
of water. Slow digestion of harder to digest foods will reduce hunger
in the late evening. Try to make your lunch smaller and your dinner
bigger, a little bit.

Also try to eat dinner at the same time if you can.

i
223/177/180

Hi Karen, I was also a nighttime eater, just like you. Wanted a candy
or a piece of something. Usually bad foods. Sometimes even waking up
in the middle of the night and eating something to go back to
sleep. Embarrassing to admit but true.

Then as I started to diet, I decided to eat nothing after 6pm. I chose
6 as my cutoff time because by that time I was home and able to eat a
dinner. I would eat a decent dinner and then after that time, nothing
at all, not even a morsel, until 7:40 the following morning.

It was difficult the first week. I would be hungry etc. I stuck to it
though and magically, after one week, all the cravings were gone
completely. I could sit next to my wife eating pringles or candy at
9pm and read a book as she watched TV, together, and I was not even
salivating at her food.

Your hunger in the evening may also depend on how much and what you
eat for dinner. It should be good food, not too many refined carbs, a
decent amount of bulky vegetables, etc. Do not neglect to drink plenty
of water. Slow digestion of harder to digest foods will reduce hunger
in the late evening. Try to make your lunch smaller and your dinner
bigger, a little bit.

Also try to eat dinner at the same time if you can.

i
223/177/180

I like a nice, hot cup of tea or some broth in the evenings after
dinner/before bed. It really helps me quell the cravings--I'm usually
not hungry--I'm just remembering all of my old bad habits (popcorn or
chips in front of the TV).

Good luck,

Amy

If you have lost and regained 40lbs multiple times then one thing to
consider is - Get the idea of "DIET" out of your head.    You need to
learn how to eat for the rest of your life.   This means finding a way
of eating that you are satisfied with and can live with for the rest
of your life.

You'll spend some time on this way of eating (woe) where you eat less
and lose weight, then once you reach your goal, you can up your intake
a bit and find your maintenance level which you stick with for the
rest of your life.

What woe you follow is up to you.   You know it all boils down to eat
less than your body requires = lose weight.   Bottom line is calories
in vs. calories out.  

Your problem isn't following any diet - its not learning that once you
reach goal you cannot go back to the old eating habits again.  Your
old eating habits are what makes you fat and regain the weight.

As for the evening snacking.    It sounds like 1.  you have deprived
yourself at dinner so you aren't satisfied and begin snacking and 2.
have formed a habit.

What you need to do is 1.  deprive yourself somewhere during your
daily meals to allow to have that snack in the evenings and 2.  work
out that you start limiting these snacks.  

For instance - I too, love my evening sweets.   But now I only have
them 1 or 2 times a week, not every day.   This will average itself
out and if I need to lose, I can still lose and have my sweet tooth
satisfied.  

Other things is - I have much smaller portions of these sweets.
Instead of a large bowl of icecream, I'll have a blue bunny ice cream
bar.   That's a 400 cal vs. 90 cal difference.  Or if I want a bowl of
icecream I will have about 1/2 cup (an actual serving size).  That way
I get the taste, but not the mass amount of calories.   And I've found
that the blue Bunny sugar free icecreams taste very good, much better
than many of the other "subsititues".   They only save about 20% of
calories, so in a "serving" you might only save 50 cals, but that's
better than nothing.   And if you don't drizzle it with chocolate
sauce and other crap, you can save much more.

Have you tried Splenda for a sweetener?   It has a tad bit of an
aftertaste but its the closest thing to tasting like sugar and you
adjust to the aftertaste very quickly.

Why not reduce carbs a little throughout the day and have a cup of diet hot
chocolate in the evenings.  It takes a while to drink and you might find
your cravings are reduced.  If you want to be decadent, add some sugar free
peppermint syrup.

j

Tomato mixed with brewers yeast wouldn't do anything for MY cravings, but
that's just me....
What I would do is cut a few calories through the day to "save up" for a
snack after dinner.  When it has to be chocolate, I either have a small
brownie (I make them from scratch and they're fat and sugar free) or a
couple of truffles.  Other good snacks that are actually nutritious is an
apple, sliced with some cheddar cheese or peanut butter, a sugar free dole
frozen fruit bar, etc.

You need to make sure you're getting enough calories and the right
nutrition - this will go a long ways towards curbing cravings.  Reducing
simple carbs helps alot too.  I don't eat more than 40% of my calories from
carbs.

det

KS,
why not make dessert part of your daily routine?
make you own SUGAR FREE versions of dessert.
or berries with cream?