[GeishaGirl]

I am trying, very hard, to lower my carbs. I do really well during the day -- less than 5 for breakfast, under 40 for lunch -- but after that, everything goes to ****. Let me demonstrate:

8:30 - breakfast - 4 small Banquet sausage patties (2 carbs)
11:30 - frozen meal, under 40 carbs
1 - snack, if I need - usually a small slim jim, some almonds, or cheese.
4:30 -- this is when I get out of rehearsal (directing the school play) and by this point I am SO FRICKIN HUNGRY that I'll eat anything. I've been known to actually snack on glucose tabs. Obviously, I wind up eating sometimes. Sometimes, it's okay, sometimes it's horrible.
6ish - dinner - husband is big on meat-and-side-dish, so I eat meat and a little side dish -- under 40 carbs, preferably under 30. Unfortunately, if I've been bad earlier, I'm more likely to overdo the side dish.
Evening -- now I'm screwed. Whether it's been a really good day, or a really bad one, I WANT SUGAR NOW! I wind up literally pacing the house like a caged animal, trying desperately not to make that walk to 7-11.

Obviously, I need to work on bringing food with me to eat during rehearsal. Now that I've got breakfast and lunch down, this is my next step, but the carb cravings are literally maddening. I've actually chewed on my fingers.

I've tried substitute snacks -- stringcheese, flavored almonds, even 100-cal packs of sweets. I've tried eating 5 Hershey's kisses -- but if there's an open bag (and this includes the box of 100-cal packs!) I wind up getting up and going for "just a few" more. And then a few more. So keeping those snacks in the house is out of the question.

Any tips from those who've made it?