Nighttime munchies.


That’s my problem time. I say this because I’ve been documenting my food habits and what I eat so that I can pinpoint my problem areas. My problem time comes after dinner and we are watching TV at night. I feel the urge to snack.


Now, this is understandable when we watch Top Chef. All that food is bound to make you hungry. But that’s not the only time I get the munchies. It’s every night no matter what I’m watching.


So far I’ve been saved by little snacks. One night, I ate 2 bags of 100 calorie snacks - the chocolate covered pretzels (what’s not to love? Salty AND sweet!). And I’ve been nibbling on my valentine’s candy as well. But this is just not a good habit to get into. And I’m not sure what to do about it.


I think I might try having a glass of ice water to sip on during the show. Maybe that will keep me occupied and I won’t need to actually eat anything. Another thought: maybe I could concentrate on doing something during the commercials - like leg lifts or something. Then, not only would I not be eating, but I’d be adding in some small exercise while I watch TV. It’s a thought. Any ideas would be helpful. I’ll try these things and let you know. And, if I have to have a snack, I’ll try and have some tasty, nutritious ones available. Maybe more pink grapefruit! It’s becoming a favorite of mine!


At any rate, what this has taught me is that there are ways to find out what your problem areas are. By recording the data of each day and noting when I’m eating more etc, I’ve been able to find a problem that needs to be addressed. Once you find a problem, then you can start to work on solutions.


I have found a fantastic website that I’m using to record my exercise and my food intake. It’s on the WebMD site and you do have to register, but it doesn’t cost anything. It has a huge data base of foods with their nutritional values and you can log everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - you eat into it. Then add in your exercises and it will do cool charts and graphs and things for you. I’m a geek that way, so it appeals to me. I understand that Livestrong.com has one as well, though I haven’t been there.


Bottom line is, there are tools that can be used and you should use them. Finding your hidden problem areas helps clear the way to making it that much easier to get this done.

 So, start tracking yourself.  Note when you are hungriest or when your self control is at its weakest.  Don't judge yourself.  Just monitor, collect the data and then start thinking about solutions.  Once you analyze your data, you can fix it.  You can see the problem and work on it.  And not every fix you try is going to work, but at least you will have your problem identified.  That's half the battle there.

My first problem was time.  Finding when I was going to be able to start DOING something about my health and not just THINK about it.  Once I pinpointed what my first obstacle was, I was able to work on the solutions.  I took time away from sleep (both mine and my husband's) and made it work.

My youngest looked at me today and said, "Mommy!  I think you are losing weight!"  And I said, "You do?  Why's that?"  and she looked at my waist and pointed.  "It's skinnier!"  she said.

Made my day!