Today I busted out another new product for dinner. These are whole wheat roasted veggie ravioli from Costco. The box has two frozen packages inside. It comes with the in a sauce too.
I loved them, but Ben not so much. It had pieces of different roasted veggies and the sauce we very flavorful (but watery). I ended up eating what he left. Boo. 
Snack: This afternoon I watched the girls which meant, girl talk, pretzels with peanut butter, Starbucks iced tea and a granola/protein bar. 
Dessert: After dinner I really wanted a treat so broke into the chocolate. The “fortune” told me it was okay…
But it wasn’t. Because a while later I went back for more and some animal cookies with milk. 
I’ve been doing a lot better with eating after dinner, but my problem still exists. I think one of the biggest things that would help is brushing my teeth immediately after dinner. I floss, but don’t brush and that doesn’t deter me from snacking. Read more about the benefits of brushing and flossing at https://www.vanhoofdental.com/appleton-dental/.
For the next 42 days (random number?) I will go brush my teeth after dinner. I will do this before washing dishes, blogging, wiping my face with a napkin, calling someone…anything.
1. Eat Dinner
2. Brush Teeth
3. Clear table/clean
4. Lights out in kitchen.
Ben’s Random and very unhelpful Comment of the Day:
“If you want to lose weight, why don’t you just take up smoking?”
Um, I dunno if you realize this, with the running gear and shoes dominating our closets…but, I run. And smoking wouldn’t be so helpful with that.
But thanks for the suggestion :/
Oh my gosh! That Starbucks drink sounds amazing!!!
It’s so hard! Keep up all your good work. And thanks for blogging – your healthy eating is really inspiring and your writing style is so fun to read 🙂
I know you’ve probably already heard this before, and I’m just stating the obvious, but would it help to not have the cookies/chocolate in the house in the first place? It’s soooo hard to not buy some “fun” things while I’m at the store, but I find if it’s not at home then that eliminates the temptation a lot. Then if I want to snack after dinner it has to be veggies or fruit so I don’t feel like I did as much damage…
Brooke, I totally agree. I will go awhile without buying anything like that, but then I will “try” to see if I can eat it like a normal person and keep it in my house. Since I’m trying to follow Intuitive Eating, I don’t agree with “banning” food. So, I want to keep some treats in my house. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s realistic right now 🙁
I used to be an after dinner snacker too. Sometimes, even when my belly ought to be full, my brain doesn’t get the memo. One thing that really helped me kick the habit was making sure I drink a lot of water with and after dinner. I’ll fill up a 34oz water bottle when I get home from work and it’s glued to my side until bed time. It gives my brain that sense of fullness it was after. If I’m still hungry an hour later, I’ll get a snack, but I make an effort to fix a healthy option. Good luck with the teeth brushing though. Sounds like an awesome solution!
Wow total AHA moment for me – brushing your teeth BEFORE going into the kitchen to clear the dishes, etc – why have I never thought of this before? I will be trying this for sure, as I suffer from the same after dinner eating problem. Thanks for the idea!
Does anyone else hear people say “It was so rich, just one bite was enough” about desserts and have NO idea what they are talking about? I have never met a dessert where one bite was close to enough. I seem to have that sugar addiction too – go into the kitchen for “just a little treat” and it ends up being a hot mess.
For me, snacking after dinner is definitely a habit…one I need to break. One snack, then brush my teeth. Sounds so simple, but it can be a struggle.
Hi Monica!
The brushing your teeth after dinner idea is a good one. Also, when the temptation really sets in, try to go for a large glass of water. That often helps, too.
Instead of constantly telling yourself that you shouldn’t snack after dinner, why don’t you fit the snacks after dinner into your overall calorie intake? To me, it just seems that it is just something that you can’t give up and instead of making yourself feel guilty, plan to have a little something after dinner.
yes/no?
i know you are very big on IE (which I’m trying to do right now), but maybe for the purpose of losing weight it would work better for you to structure your meals throughout the day: perhaps a big breakfast, then split your lunch into two halves, one in late morning, other early afternoon, a late afternoon snack, dinner, and small dessert.
i also really have a huge habit of snacking so I usually eat two regular meals and then split lunch up by snacking. It might help you feel more satisfied throughout the day and avoid eating more than you’d like to.
That starbucks iced tea looks good! I’m a sucker for their iced-sexy-dirty-chai’s (iced chai latte with a shot of espresso and a pump of vanilla flavoring, seriously it’s bomb)
Oh my gosh! That Starbucks drink sounds amazing!!!
I started chewing gum at work to keep from grazing. It’s helped A LOT! Love your new photo too!
I love the comment that Ben said….sounds exactly like something my husband would say! I totally understand you with the snacking thing. My problem is snacking at work after I have eaten (I always want something sweet) as well as snacking when I get home from work before cooking. Snacking on fruit helps me out….I am a HUGE fruit eater! Or maybe pre-cut veggies might help to to snack on instead of the sweet stuff. Just wanted to let you know your not alone! I will also go to get a “small treat” which turns out to be a hot mess because I apparently have trouble with eating sweets in moderation….. =]
Ha. There are plenty of overweight smokers! 🙂
Maybe a piece of fruit as a snack before dinner and then a slightly later dinner? That might help. I also agree with what Anna said about figuring out why you’re snacking — if it is because your body needs food then that can be solved by adding more of what you need to your dinner. A habit is much harder to deal with, but can still be broken. You just have to replace it with something else.
Hi Monica,
First time commenting, I am de-lurking! Anyways, I found that keeping a travel toothbrush and toothpaste in our kitchen junk drawer ENSURES that I brush my teeth first thing after dinner. It took me about a week before I got fully into the habit but it has helped so much with the late night eating. I tell myself that if I am actually hungry I can have a snack and just re-brush after; most of the time I am too lazy/ not actually hungry enough to want to re-brush do so it works out perfectly!
Hi Mon,
Sorry if I’m telling you to suck eggs here, I know you are extremely knowledgeable about fitness and nutrition, more so than me, but a couple of things came to mind when I was reading this entry.
1) Is it a habit thing or a nutrition thing that you are snacking after dinner? It might be worth doing some investigating into why you do this because if it’s a nutrition thing that might be easier to fix than if it’s a habit thing.
2) How much time do you have between dinner and going to bed? Are you snacking because you haven’t eaten in 2 hours? Maybe having dinner later will help?
3) Having a cup of green tea instead of dessert (I know, I know – lame) helped me in the past. Eventually my body learnt that tea was the “signal” for the end of the meal.
4) I literally have to put a napkin on top of left over food if I’m eating out, and smoosh the food down so it’s inedible to stop myself from going back for seconds and eating myself sick. Especially if the meal is really delicious.
5) If I’m at home and I’ve cooked more than two meals (one for me one for bf) I put the left overs into containers straight away, before I even sit down to eat, then straight into the fridge or freezer. That helps me not go back for more because it tastes good.
6) Ben needs to be more of a food Nazi about you eating his left overs! Or stealing food off his plates.
Aaaaaany way, like I said, sorry if this is suck eggs stuff but it might help?!
A