Do You Eat After Dinner?

Updated on March 09, 2014
M.G. asks from Flower Mound, TX
35 answers

Sometimes I have a bad habit of eating after dinner at some point. I usually do not eat carbs for dinner, so meat and veggies doesn't always cut it for me until the morning. So around 9:00, I will want something. I try to always make it healthy, like popcorn (I buy the kernels and pop my own popcorn with either coconut or avacado oil). When I have my period, I will have milk and a few cookies after dinner, or chocolate covered frozen bananas or something like that. I wish I didn't have to eat after dinner, but most of the time I do. Is that an issue for any of you, and if so, what do you eat between dinner and bedtime? Thanks!

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O.O.

answers from Los Angeles on

Yes I do.
And it's kind of like a second dinner.
Some nights I'm bored and some nights I'm really, really hungry!

Sammie, cheese & crackers, bowl of soup, lean pocket, cereal, oatmeal, you name it! Lol
You're choosing way healthier stuff than I am!

7 moms found this helpful
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M.G.

answers from San Juan on

I do eat after dinner. Now, please understand in my home dinner is typically prior to 6 p.m. I also have health conditions so I tend to eat when I'm hungry as it seldom happens. I love food and I will not deny anyone food no matter the time it is this includes myself.

5 moms found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Boston on

I used to, but am trying not to. If I think am hungry, I try to first have a cup of tea (Republic of Tea Cocoa Coconut is divine...smells like a Girl Scout cookie) or warm water with lemon and a dash of cayenne pepper. I usually have my tea or lemon water to end the night anyway. If that doesn't cut it, I have a square of ultra-dark chocolate (85% cocoa) with a few almonds.

I didn't know that chocolate tea existed until a few weeks ago and I'm so glad I heard of it because it's wonderful!

5 moms found this helpful

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K.C.

answers from Denver on

Are you talking about the sweet and salty spiral of doom? You know, a cookie…followed by a couple of potato chips…followed by a few m&ms…followed by a few pistachio nuts…followed by a spoonful or two of ice-cream while standing in front of the freezer…then a couple of pita chips with a dollop of hummus with the fridge door open…start over with the cookie and repeat until bedtime. Is that what you mean?

'Cuz if so, I don't know what you're talking about. I'd never do that.

14 moms found this helpful
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J.G.

answers from Chicago on

Does drinking beer count?

8 moms found this helpful
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J.☯.

answers from Springfield on

I would say most nights I eat something after dinner. Usually popcorn. Sometimes fruit or yogurt. Almost always a little bit of chocolate. I mean, hello, it's yummy! I do like to drink tea, but I usually try to have milk or water.

Why would you not eat if you're hungry? That's just silly!

7 moms found this helpful
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B.S.

answers from Dallas on

I don't think you should call it a bad habit, if you're hungry you should eat something healthy. I just made brownies and ate 3 of them, that's a bad habit! But usually I'll have a cheese stick or piece of fruit, graham cracker with a little pb or nutella.

5 moms found this helpful
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L.Z.

answers from Detroit on

Yes, I get hungry, too and eat popcorn, a small dish of plain yogurt or some fruit. I don't have weight issues. Of course, sometimes I will eat a cookie or two, as well. And always a cup of herbal tea. :) Enjoy your snack!

5 moms found this helpful
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C.P.

answers from Albuquerque on

hahaha! Yes!! Especially now (that I'm expecting)! For me, it's usually a bowl of cereal, cheese & crackers, fruit, bowl of ice cream, or cookies & milk! The worst is because we eat dinner around 6:30 and I just can't eat much (I start to feel sick). So, when I'm getting in bed at 8:30 I'm starving!

When I'm not pregnant, I can eat a bit more for dinner, but I also go to bed later (around 9:30 or 10), so even on those nights, I usually have a little snack before bed.

I do NOT wake up during the night needing a snack, though (like my mom & sister)!

I happily enjoy my snacks!

3 moms found this helpful
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M.C.

answers from Roanoke on

Yep, my usual: a glass of red wine, stove-popped popcorn with a little white cheddar seasoning sprinkled on top, and some sort of dark chocolate. I love it!

3 moms found this helpful

Y.M.

answers from Iowa City on

It depends on when we eat dinner and when I go to bed. If it is an early dinner and a late bed night then I do usually end up eating something. I'll have a granola bar, a cheese stick, a peanut butter sandwich, yogurt, carrots with hummus, a bowl of cereal. Things like that. Lately I have been craving a piece of pie and a cup of coffee....1940s cafe style. Alas I have no pie and I only drink coffee in the morning.

3 moms found this helpful
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D.T.

answers from Muncie on

You're an adult, you can eat whenever and whatever you feel like. That's one of the few joys of being a grown-up. Yes, I get the night time munchies and nope, it doesn't bother me. I'm not eating a meal, I'm having a snack. No big.

3 moms found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

omg, it's my single worst and most unshakeable habit. i eat local and organic most of the time, and almost entirely in the summer. i avoid packaged foods, make yummy green smoothies most days, have a big salad with (or for) dinner every night, and run and lift weights. i quit smoking years ago. i drink lots of water. i've done just about everything i'm supposed to do.
and i'm still 50lbs overweight, 50 stubborn pounds that just cling grimly to me. and i keep them snuggled close to me like a puppy because i lovelovelovelove late night snacking. i'll deal with it like an adult all week, keeping it at bay with glasses of water or tea, but then walking dead and ironing night rolls around and i undo all of my good work in one swell foop.
reading all of the sensible suggestions here is encouraging me to keep trying. if i'd 'cheat' with the good stuff i keep around like plain fat free greek yogurt with a spoonful of agave and chopped nuts i'd probably be fine.
but that's not what i cheat with.
geez. this last big hurdle. if i did the popcorn or frozen banana option like you, i'd be on top of the world.
khairete
S.

3 moms found this helpful

X.O.

answers from Chicago on

Apples, Nuts (Walnuts, Pistachios, Almonds, Hazelnuts), a few dates or figs and a bunch of water.

If I'm still hungry I'll make a smoothie: plain 0% fat Greek yogurt (not sweetened) with spinach or kale, berries, 1/2 a banana or pineapple chunks.

3 moms found this helpful

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

Typically, no.

I'm fortunate to not have to watch my weight and diet. I usually graze during the day but have 1 meal a day.. As in soup/salad/sandwich combo of some sort.

When I'm grazing... It is like anti pasta platter, salad, nuts and fruits. I guess I'm lucky that I don't have cravings! I will not eat any solid food after 7pm unless I'm at a dinner party or something like that and even then, I don't eat much.

I do enjoy my daily Merlot. I just make sure everything is in moderation.

2 moms found this helpful
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L.Z.

answers from Seattle on

Sometimes I have a little bit of green bell peppers and onion dip, or if I need something sweet, I'll have a square of a very dark chocolate bar. Occasionally, I'll have a grapefruit or an orange. I eat something small almost every night before bedtime. It's too long between 6pm and my bedtime, which is sometimes midnight. Tonight I'm having homemade ice cream. Can't wait until it's done.

2 moms found this helpful
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T.Y.

answers from Boston on

I have my dinner after dinner. We have family dinner every night. My youngest are 2, 4 and 6 - which means during dinner someone needs something every 45 seconds. I'm the person getting up from the table 65 times while my husband provides "the lap" for my 2 year old who wants to be part of dinner but would rather snuggle than eat. Needless to say, I never found family dinner relaxing: I never ate my food while it was hot, always shared my food with a toddler, and felt I was rushing to finish my meal. Now at dinner I have a cup of tea or a glass of wine and when my husband starts the bedtime routine with the kids, I eat my dinner while watching TV or reading. I find it much more relaxing! Since I eat dinner later, I don't need to snack before bed.

T. Y
SAHM of 5
(13, 12, 6, 4 & 2)

2 moms found this helpful
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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

I eat what I feel like eating when I feel like eating it, not according to a schedule.

2 moms found this helpful
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R.M.

answers from San Francisco on

Yes. But I'm not trying to lose weight, if that's your reason for worrying about eating at night.

But, here's what the new research has shown:

1. Protein before bed helps you sleep better. So some of what you eat should be protein. Going to bed hungry can cause sleep issues.

2. The latest research is showing that eating (unsaturated, non-hydrogenated) fats is GOOD for you. People who allow themselves healthy fats eat less. Whole milk is proving to be better than the alternatives.

So make sure what you eat includes protein and healthy fats.

2 moms found this helpful
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P.M.

answers from Portland on

I'm never hungry at bedtime, but over the past several years I wake very hungry and shaky around 4 a.m. I've checked my blood glucose then and it tends to be very low, sometimes almost dangerously so (I have developed diabetes). I solved that problem by saving some of my dinner, usually a protein, for just before I brush my teeth. This doesn't cause a sugar rise, but does seem to digest slowly enough to even out my blood sugars.

Like you, I don't eat carbs at dinner. But while they "satisfy" quickly, they cause a temporary blood-sugar spike that sets me up for a later crash. Exactly the opposite of what I want to have happen.

2 moms found this helpful
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M.T.

answers from New York on

Only very occasionally. We never served dessert as a habit. If I'm starving, I might pop a bag of popcorn, occasionally have a chocolate or if for some reason there's cake or ice cream, if my husband is having it (I'll pretty much never help myself to that) he'll bring me some and I'll have maybe half and give him the rest. I do have tea (I mean real tea, hot strong tea, I don't mean an iced beverage) at night or wine a couple of times a week - for me, a glass of Cabernet is a way better treat than cookies or ice cream.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Sometimes I don't even eat dinner. But, if I did, and I felt like something later, I would eat it and call it sweets.

1 mom found this helpful
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E.B.

answers from Beaumont on

I never used to do this but do it now. Maybe that's why I've gained weight these last few years. What I eat depends on what kind of day I've had. :)

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Kansas City on

I usually do not eat anything after dinner. If for some reason I feel a little hungry which isn't that often, I will drink a glass of milk.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I always have some kind of dessert - usually chocolate - around 8 or 9:00. Tonight was ice cream. Sometimes it's cookies.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

I'm not a snacker.
I'm not someone who eats for emotional reasons etc.
I eat when/if I am hungry.
I don't eat after dinner.
Never feel like it.
I don't get cravings or hunger with PMS. So that doesn't bother me.

1 mom found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

It depends on what I had for dinner - some meals are more filling than others.
Every so often I'll have about 4 oz of wine and a slice of either blue cheese or Stilton.

1 mom found this helpful
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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Oh gosh yes.
Not only do we eat dinner early (sometimes 4pm) but if you subscribe to
the eat 3 meals & 3 healthy snacks a day (keeps the metabolism)
revved up) then you eat something small and healthy.
I choose to eat something healthy (most of the time I succeed) like an
apple, carrot sticks, 10 almonds, toast w/peanut butter. Some days I
have cereal, or "oh-no-wait for it........cookies & milk". Yikes!
Anyway, I do have to eat something btwn 7:30-9pm. I do my best to make healthy choices but sometimes I don't. Most days I do so try for
something healthy!!

1 mom found this helpful
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E.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I try not to, but if I'm legitimately hungry, then I will. I try to munch on healthy food, but some nights just call for chocolate and mint tea :)

1 mom found this helpful

A.C.

answers from Huntington on

Yes, although I have been doing better with this habit. At least your choices are good, healthy ones! Mine tends to be sweets of the high calorie sort...not a ton of them, but a little sugar adds up, ya know? My most favorite snack is a banana with peanut butter, it is very filling.

But now that you mention it, I have not been that hungry lately. Our dinners have been giant but mostly veggie-meat lately and I end up feeling full a lot longer.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

I hear you! I have to eat every 3 hours...I really do. I try to choose healthy too, fruit, veggies, yougurt, toast, IsaLean Bars, Whey Thins, IsaDelight Chocolates. There really are healthy options.

I will PM you more info to get the healthy late night snacks.

B.

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L.P.

answers from Boca Raton on

i eat butter cookies before bed…every night.

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S.W.

answers from Amarillo on

Once in a while I do. But I make filling meals from scratch and they seem to hold me over much better than the prepackaged processed items.

I went to school "back in the covered wagon days" and you learned about the food pyramid and such and have kept that in mind when I make a meal. If I do have a snack after dinner it tends to be fruit or popcorn freshly made and with butter on top. I know real butter but that is my downfall. Hubby likes to have an ice cream bar (chocolate covered vanilla inside - Schwan) as a snack and I will have one now and then.

If I am up and it is after 11pm I might make a peanut butter jelly sandwich and then go to bed.

Do what you feel you must and do not feel guilt about it. It is your body telling you that it needs something and you take care of it.

the other S.

PS We are not very big dessert eaters.

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

Yes, constantly, bad habit.....I try to just have tea and a banana.

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M.P.

answers from Raleigh on

Mostly I'll snack on pretzels or pickles. Always something salty! I'm the worst about eating breakfast most days, so that late evening snack helps me get through to lunch the next day.

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