How do I stop cravings and evening snacking?

You're sitting quietly in the evening and suddenly you can't stop thinking about chocolate, crisps or something sweet. You're not hungry exactly. You're just craving it.

Many people see this as a personal failing: "I've no willpower" or "I must be addicted to sugar". But cravings are far more ordinary than most people realise, and once you understand them, they become much easier to manage.

A craving isn't the same as hunger. Hunger is your body's need for fuel. A craving is a strong desire for a specific food, usually one that's high in sugar, fat or salt. Cravings are driven by a mix of biology, habit, emotion and the environment around us.

Here's the encouraging part: cravings tend to build, peak and then fade, usually within around 20 minutes, whether or not you act on them. That simple fact opens up a whole new way of responding.

Cravings can be triggered by many different things. Some are biological: tiredness, long gaps between meals, or certain times of the month. Some are emotional, linked to stress, boredom or a need for comfort. And many are learned. If you've always had something sweet with a cup of tea in the evening, your brain comes to expect it, and the craving arrives right on cue.

The more you understand your own pattern, the easier it is to predict cravings, plan for them, and respond in a way you feel good about.

When a craving hits, many people's first instinct is to ban the food completely. Unfortunately, telling yourself you can never have something often makes you want it more. Many people find that strict bans lead to a cycle of restriction followed by overeating, and then guilt, which makes the next craving feel even more powerful.

The programme takes a different approach, helping you reduce the power cravings have over you without having to label any food as forbidden.

Think of a craving like a wave in the sea. It starts small, builds to a peak, and then, if you let it, it rolls back out again. Most of us have never actually experienced a craving pass on its own, because we usually act on it long before it reaches its peak.

Learning to notice a craving without immediately acting on it, and to watch it rise and fall, can be a turning point. It doesn't require you to fight the craving or force it away. It simply changes your relationship with it. In Week 5, you'll learn a step-by-step technique for doing exactly this, drawn from mindfulness-based approaches.

Trying to white-knuckle your way through cravings is exhausting, and it tends to fail exactly when you're most tired or stressed. The programme focuses on approaches that don't rely on willpower at all, including a well-established technique called urge surfing, and ways of shaping your surroundings so that cravings have less to work with in the first place.

Snacks can absolutely be part of a healthy way of eating. The key is understanding when and why you snack, and making it work for you rather than against you. You'll learn how to spot your own trigger foods and trigger situations, and how to plan snacks that genuinely satisfy.

You may find Week 5 particularly helpful if you:

• Find evenings the hardest time of day for snacking
• Feel you have "no willpower" around certain foods
• Keep snack foods in the house "for the family" and end up eating them yourself
• Feel out of control around particular foods once you start
• Snack mostly out of habit, boredom or tiredness rather than hunger

One of the most effective ways to manage cravings is surprisingly simple: changing the environment around you so that the craving has less to work with. Small adjustments at home and at work can make a big difference, and they mean you don't have to rely on resisting temptation all day long. You'll learn exactly how to do this in a way that works for you and the people you live with.

Imagine it's 9pm. The children are in bed, the dishes are done, and you finally sit down on the sofa. Almost immediately, your mind turns to the snack cupboard. You're not really hungry, but this is the moment you've been looking forward to all day. Before you know it, the packet is empty.

If that scene is familiar, it's not a reflection on your character. It's a perfectly understandable pattern built from tiredness, routine and the need for a reward at the end of a long day. The course helps you understand what's really driving that moment, and gives you a range of options for handling it differently, without taking away the comfort and enjoyment the evening deserves.

Not all snacks are created equal. Some give a quick burst of energy followed by a slump, leaving you hungrier than before. Others keep you going until your next meal and make it easier to make balanced choices later in the day.

There's also the question of timing. A planned snack can be a really helpful way of avoiding getting overly hungry before a meal, while unplanned grazing throughout the day can add up without you noticing.

In Week 5, you'll learn how to make snacks work for you: what to have, when it helps, and how to keep snacking enjoyable without it taking over. It's a practical, realistic approach that doesn't ask you to give up treats altogether.

Cravings tend to strengthen each time we act on them, and weaken each time we don't. That means every craving you manage differently makes the next one a little easier. The final session of Week 5 brings together everything you've learned, so you can start to break the cycle for good.

Snacking and Cravings is one of 12 weekly courses in the Raiys Weight Management Programme. Each course is broken down into short sessions of around five minutes, one for each day of the week, so you can fit them around work, family and everything else. Each session ends with a short reflection, something to think about, and a simple action, something to try that day.

You can work through the programme in order, building each week on the last, or, if snacking and cravings is the area you most want to work on, you can go straight to it. Either way, the sessions are designed to be used alongside the BeChange app, which helps you put what you learn into practice in everyday life.

In Week 5 of the programme, you'll learn:

• Why cravings happen, and why they always pass
• How to identify your trigger foods and trigger situations
• How to manage cravings without relying on willpower
• The urge surfing technique
• Smart snacking strategies that genuinely satisfy
• How to create a supportive food environment and break the craving cycle

Am I addicted to sugar?

Most people who experience strong cravings are not addicted. Cravings are a normal response to biology, habit and environment, and they can be managed.

Will I have to stop snacking?

No. Snacks can be part of a healthy eating pattern. The course helps you snack in a way that supports your goals.

What if my cravings are very strong?

The course offers several approaches, so you can find what works for you. If you feel your eating is out of control, please speak to your GP.

Can I still keep treats in the house for my family?

Yes. The course looks at practical ways to create a supportive food environment at home that works for everyone who lives there, without anyone feeling they're missing out. Small changes to where and how foods are stored can make a surprising difference.

The Raiys Weight Management Programme is a 12-week, clinician-led digital programme designed to be used alongside the BeChange app. Each week focuses on one course, broken into short five-minute daily sessions, each with a reflection and a simple action to take into your day. It's built on current NICE and SIGN guidance and on proven behaviour-change approaches, and it's written to support you, never to judge you.

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for personal medical advice. If you have a health condition, take regular medication, are pregnant, or have concerns about your weight or eating, please speak to your GP or healthcare professional before making significant changes. If you have had, or are preparing for, weight loss surgery, please follow the advice of your specialist team.

Dr Laura Coia is a GP Partner in NHS Scotland with over 25 years of clinical experience, and Co-founder and Medical Director of Raiys Digital Health.

Dr Izzy Howat is a Consultant Endocrinologist and NHS Weight Management Specialist, and Weight Management Lead at Raiys Digital Health. She is the author of the Raiys Weight Management Programme.

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2025). Overweight and obesity management (NG246). London: NICE. (Replaces CG189.)
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2014). Behaviour change: individual approaches (PH49). London: NICE.
• Jensen MD, Ryan DH, et al. (2013). 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Guideline for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. Circulation, 129(25 Suppl 2), S102–S138. Co-sponsored by The Obesity Society.
• NHS. The Eatwell Guide; and How to lose weight safely. nhs.uk
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) evidence base for weight-related thinking patterns, consistent with NICE's approach to individual behaviour change (PH49).
• Hayes SC, et al. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and values-based behaviour change literature, consistent with the behaviour-change approaches referenced in NICE PH49.
• Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) (2010). Management of obesity (SIGN 115). Edinburgh: SIGN. (Some recommendations may since have been superseded; read alongside NICE NG246.)
• British Obesity & Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS). Clinical guidance for patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Relevant only to readers who have had, or are preparing for, weight loss surgery; this programme is a non-surgical behavioural programme.