my earth shattering revelation

i have finally learned that when i eat a more substantial dinner, i am less likely to snack all night. who'd have thunk??? everyone has been telling me this for ages but i didn't want to change my dinners (often a lean cuisines with lots of veggies thrown in). on tuesday, i cooked dinner with my friend using a spicepaste kit http://www.asianhomegourmet.com.sg/categories.asp?cID=3 where you had to use oil and yogurt and other stuff that i would NEVER cook with. but it actually was really good and using the oil i think made me feel more satisfied for longer. and maybe it was mental too - feeling like a ate a more "decadent" meal made me feel more guilty about my after dinner snacking. anyway, it was exciting. i'm all pumped to try another kit tonight (i have like 16 of them that my mom bought me). overarching take home message: don't be scared of oil. i also wanted to share my new exciting food find - if you buy the better than eggs or eggbeaters, i'm sure you have seen the "flavored" kinds like "southwestern" or  "3 cheese" - i never bought these because they seemed like a waste of calories plus they all had peppers in them which i hate. anyway i accidently bought "white cheddaregg whites" because they are in the same looking container as just the plan egg whites. anyway, they are SOOOOOOOO good. i urge you to try! 1/2 cup is 80 cals  (20 more than 1/2 cup plan whites). i've only been able to find them at one grocery store around me though, so that's a let down.

d0000000000000000000000000000eeeeeeeewwwwwwwwdette! I came to the same realization this week too!  I was screwing up by grazing after dinner so I just started eating less during the day and eating a more "decadent" dinner. Of course my decadent dinners aren't quite as decadent as yours!  Those curry things sound pretty good though, might have to get some of those!  I've never really tried cooking "ethnic" food at home. Well other than italian, but thats easy stuff.  

YAY!  This is another reason why OA suggests the three meals thing at first:  we do that to ourselves.  Spare on the calories, dieting, blah blah, then wonder why we starve and snap!

It is hard to now when ya need a bit more food. I'm 50 and still am scared to even think my body may need more at times.

weird, huh?  These days, I try to wait a while after supper, then if I still feel hungry 1/2 hour later, I have a planned snack, maybe more supper food, maybe banana & milk, just a couple hundred more calories and call it supper!

ooohh, I'll get the cheddar better than eggs, maybe the southwestern, too.  I'm into peppers, but hope they don't taste weird in it already mixed in? I was going to ask Chris if he had a fridge & microwave at work - these are great for a quick meal/snack at work in the microwave. I try to spray a mike-safe bowl with pan spray (just to help with clean up) and put egg beaters in there for a minute or so - hot, high protein, lo cal, just a good thing to grab in a hurry. At home, I love to stir in some fresh or frozen greens (spinach, kale, chard), and one slice of lofat cheese. Put some siriacha sauce on that and YUMMMMMMM.  This is what i eat on the days when I wake up ravenous. Which is rare.

I do have a microwave and fridge at work.  I keep some yogurt and stuff in there for now.  I'm hooked on my oatmeal at the moment but I am going to buy some of the egg stuff for home. Sometimes I actualy wake up early enough to make breakfast at home before work. :)

I certainly can see having a filling supper will diminish the need for evening snacks. I have a moderate meal but always have a planned snack in the evening of yogurt and fruit. It's my little evening treat and I don't feel I'm missing anything when DH is eating ice cream or chips or other junk food. The idea of an evening snack was not a natural idea, I read about it in a book called Runaway Eating by Dr. Bulik (psychologist) and Taylor (R.D.) as part of my working on getting rid of my food addiction. I have Indian and Thai food about once a week because I'm afraid of the heavy laden oils and salts. I find we all need some rich food in our diet in a moderate amount because it's just part of eating normal and not depriving ourselves or feeling guilty. I'm working on eating normal and not "dieting" but still loosing weight. Thanks for the tip about the eggbeaters - I'll check out our local stores Skylar

You might want to  check out a book "Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.  It talks a lot about eating what satisfies you to avoid binging later.  Seems like a good book with great concepts, although I can honestly say it's not working for me.  I think I just have too much weight to loose...