i think what we're dealing with here, snip, is not will power or strength of character, but rather, lifelong eating habits, and just plain what you grew up doing - lifestyles. katie has described in very clear straightforward terms, exactly how it is that evening snacking is foreign to her experience. thus, she is not, as you may be imagining, snip, depriving herself at all. she is following what is to her a natural, normal and familiar routine of eating. it doesn't include snacks. period. katie finds it strange and, to her, somewhat unnatural, that people are going on obsessively, in this thread, about what we are planning to eat this evening. she needs to ask us in her post, why do you snack, is it that you are hungry? snacking simply makes no sense to katie in her life's experience. she is trying to understand those of us who engage in such seemingly absurd behavior as nighttime snacking. can anyone provide katie with a rational answer? why IS snacking such an irresistibly enjoyable pursuit for many of us? and maybe too, what is the payoff?