ChrisComedy's Journal, 10 July 2014

I raid the chocolate at night. I keep myself to one square which is 50 cals. The bad thing is eating at night. Docs have proven that night eating makes you gain weight because your metabolism is slowed by our arcadia rhythm. Rewards are good not only for motivation but it helps keep you from doing binges. Just remember to keep them healthy and within your calorie range. Me personally I don't think any of those bars are really good for you. They're just easy and sweet.  

yep... :) I can relate. When i was diagnosed with GERD, chocolate was on the list of things I couldn't, shouldn't eat! Go figure, besides coffee, peppermint, oranges, red meat ... I'm sure I lost a few pounds then, there wasn't much i could eat! :) Then to sleep sitting up :) And the final thing I've been sticking to is not (trying not) to eat 3-4 hours before going to bed. That way all the food is digested. It does help the digestion. 

After exercising, consider a protein shake followed by a few carbs...perhaps kiwi or grapes.  

Lots of people keep snacks right beside their bed, so it is good to keep your Clif or Kind bars in the refrigerator, which means you have to walk all the way from the bedroom to get one! However, if you keep your snacks in the freezer, knowing you cannot eat something frozen, it might deter you from eating one in the middle of the night.  

Hey Deb_N...that's a great idea! I have been checking out all these bars too, and it looks like Quest is a strong option. Get em at GNC 

Luna bars and Balance bars are pretty good and you can get the mini ones that are half the calories of the full size bars. I bought them probably a year ago. Don't have them in the house now. I think I gave up buying chocolate about two months ago when I joined a no chocolate challenge here at FS.  

dclaytor, here's what the author of "The Power of Habit" wrote: If you want to start an exercise habit, according to studies, it is essentially that you take advantage of the habit loop. Take, for instance, creating a habit to go running each morning. Studies say that you must choose a simple cue (like always lacing up your sneakers before breakfast or always going for a run at the same time of day) and a clear reward (such as a sense of accomplishment from recording your miles or the endorphin rush you get from a jog). But, at first, the rewards inherent in exercise aren't enough. So to teach your brain to associate exercise with a reward, you need to give yourself something you really enjoy -- such as a small piece of chocolate -- after your workout. This is counterintuitive, because most people start exercising to loose weight. But the goal here is to train your brain to associate a certain cue ("It's 5 o'clock") with a routine ("Three miles down!") and a reward ("Chocolate!"). Eventually, your brain will start expecting the reward inherent in exercise ("It's 5 o'clock. Three miles down! Endorphin rush!") and you won't need the chocolate anymore. In fact, you won't even want it. But until your neurology learns to enjoy those endorphins and the other rewards inherent in exercise, you need to jump-start the process. And then, over time, it will become automatic to lace up your jogging shoes each morning. You won't want the chocolate anymore. You'll just crave the endorphins. The cue, in addition to triggering a routine, will start triggering a craving for the inherent rewards to come. 

I've read that Clif bars have soy isolate protein, which promotes inflammation. 

Chris. I see the sense in that. I definitely use chocolate as a reward. We as people are essentially like Pavlov's dog except without the drooling. :) Supposedly by the books we can make or break a habit in 30 days. I've seen that in eating. I'm used to 1200 cals now and happened in 30 days. 

Very good point about getting used to 1,200 calories, dclaytor. After years of my gaining and losing and regaining, the only way I've been able to succeed in losing 20 pounds and keeping it off (fingers crossed) was to cut the calories. One of my problems was that as I got older and my metabolism slowed, I kept eating the way I used to when I was younger, a habit. I just substituted another habit, the Every-Other-Day diet. 

Yep, Chris, same boat. We just can't keep the same habits of our youth. Our mind may still say twenty but our bodies sure don't. :(