Nighttime Noshing - Part Four

In Search of Alternatives to Food

Another way to attack this nighttime noshing habit is to look for what will feed the real hunger.

When there are no hunger pangs and one has recently finished the main meal of the day, it is pretty obvious that one is not eating out of hunger.

How nice it would be to go back to the state of childhood for a couple of days, when we ate only when our bodies needed food.

Not being able to do that (darn!), I’ve been giving a lot of thought to why I crave nibbles at night.

An interesting thing occurred while I worked on this article. Though I’ve been thinking about food more than usual while doing this research, I haven’t had a nighttime nibble for four days!

Four days does not a new habit make; but it’s a start.

What happened? My mind has been so engaged that I haven’t thought to get up and go to the kitchen.

I kind of forgot to eat. Wow! So it’s pretty clear to me that my nighttime noshing became a habit out of boredom.

I came up with the following plan of attack:

1. If the TV show we are watching bores me, I’ll pick up a magazine and read or do my nails (two things I frequently used to do).

2. Find alternative activities to TV. I just signed up for an evening online class. When I get offline, I find my mind is so juiced that I don’t even think of eating.

3. If I’m tired but my DH still wants to stay up and watch TV, it’s okay for me to retire without him once in a while.

4. If all else fails and I find myself in the kitchen looking for something to eat, I will refer to the handy dandy chart above.

If you’ve read this far, you may share my nighttime food obsession or a similar one. I would be interested in hearing what works for you.

Progress Report

January 1, 2009: I entered the year six pounds heavier than I was a year earlier and resolved to finally curb my habit of nighttime noshing.

6 pounds to lose.

January 20, 2009: Writing this article alone has encouraged me to eat more healthfully. Two pounds lost.

4 pounds to go.

January 23, 2009: Last night I had my first after dinner snack since January 13 – two small pieces of dark chocolate. So I really haven’t used the list of healthy snacks I posted on the fridge yet.

What has worked for me is finding alternative activities: an online Photoshop class; doing my nails; or giving myself a Quasar Baby facial while watching TV. Three pounds lost.

3 pounds to go.

January 24, 2009: Last night was the first time I have craved a bedtime snack. I went to the fridge, looked down my list of good nighttime snacks and took out a slice of low fat Swiss cheese and a thin slice of deli turkey. As a bonus, I had a very good night’s sleep aided by the tryptophan in both.

2 ½ pounds to go.

January 26, 2009: Had my first slip yesterday. I didn’t snack after dinner; but I stuffed myself with high-carb foods including two desserts! Oh well, that was yesterday. This is a whole new day. Lots of steps forwards; one step back. That’s pretty good.

3 pounds to go.

More Nightime Noshing Articles

• Nighttime Noshing
• Suggestions to Curb Nighttime Noshing
• In Search of Low Cal Low/No-Carb Snacks for Nighttime Snacking
• Night Noshing - Getting Back on Track

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be taken as medical advice.