Do you ever just go to bed to avoid eating?

madslacker

I typically try to eat light during the week days so that I can have a reserve of calories for dinner/evening hours.

When I still have some reserve in the tank I'm usually OK mentally.

I set things up in MFP to lose 1 pound per week - but I typically try to have 300-500 calories left for the night. My issue is when I don't have that reserve it's much more difficult not to snack. I'm not allowed to eat anymore so it's much more difficult not to.

I find myself just wanting to go to bed at that point - which I mean, can't be good. Total dieting mentality rather than lifestyle change

erikadavis994

i try to have a big meal for lunch with a small/light dinner and breakfast. I'm currently having the same issue now though...I want to munch and just eat because I'm hungry but not starving yet I don't want to go over my calorie limit.

lthames0810

I absolutely have just gone to bed to avoid going over my calorie budget for the day.

I don't think it's bad, unless it's causing you to sleep way too much or is interfering with your familiy life in the evenings.

Besides, if you go to bed early and then also wake up early, you'll have time to exercise in the morning or have a nice un-rushed breakfast.

AmazonMayan

I do sometimes when I've had a higher carb sweet that makes me want to keep eating more carb sweets (like cookie or donut, etc). I'm not hungry when this is happening. I actually try not to eat anything that I know triggers overeating until late in my day so that I can remove myself from the kitchen area by going to bed. Works for me.

If I'm genuinely hungry, as in haven't had a good evening meal and/or snack, then I go ahead and find a lower calorie option with decent protein and some fat and not stress about being over calories for 1 day.

wizzybeth

Sometimes I do but I'm usually not hungry...I just like to eat while reading or watching TV out of habit.

davidcliff

Sometime I do, other times I will try and get wrapped up in a good book. If you find a good story you can totally forget about being hungry.

ravenzwart

I have gone to bed to avoid snacking, but only when i knew it was emotional need and not real hunger. The bedtime regime helps to avoid the trap of emotional binging.

madslacker

It just seems like a weird psychological thing for me... knowing I CAN eat more but choosing not to is easier than knowing I'm at the threshold and can't (without exceeding the calorie budget).

ana3067

No, but my calories are high enough that I don't feel hungry even if I fail to eat as much in the evening as I normally would. I can get in a good breakfast (400-600 calories), a good lunch (~200 low-fat for pre-workout lunches, 400-600 for normal lunches on non-workout days or if I'm working out in the evening), ~1000 for the evening. This pattern emerged naturally when I stopped forcing myself to eat 3 meals a day at equal calories.

I also eat all the food that I enjoy (no restriction) so that makes the desire to mindlessly snack an infrequent occurrence, since I'm not thinking "omg I'm totally craving chocolat ebecause I haven't had it in weeks/months".

Looking at your diary, you aren't eating back all your calories. You are netting below your goal, which is not what you want. Eat back at least half of your exercise calories, eat right up to your 2100 calorie goal every day. Leaving behind an extra 600 calories isn't going to help with your hunger/desire to eat issues and is just creating an unnecessarily larger deficit.

Scratch that, you are all over the place. Start being more consistent, which involves what I mentioned here.

madslacker

ana3067 wrote: »

Looking at your diary, you aren't eating back all your calories. You are netting below your goal, which is not what you want. Eat back at least half of your exercise calories, eat right up to your 2100 calorie goal every day. Leaving behind an extra 600 calories isn't going to help with your hunger/desire to eat issues and is just creating an unnecessarily larger deficit.

That's intentional really. I would prefer to lose 1.5-2lbs a week, but set myself at 1lbs to have some flex.

Additionally, I like to conserve the extra calories during the week as a surplus for the weekend where my routine is less consistent and I'm more likely to indulge and go out to eat with family, have a few drinks, etc.

Strangely, the days I still have 500 calories in the tank are the easy days for me. It's when I'm at my goal that I struggle.

jgnatca

I have done the same.

getalife9353

Yes, I have. Not when I am truly hungry, but when I want to do mindless snacking. For me after breaking the mindless snacking habit, I haven't done this much at all. Now I'm more likely to get engrossed in a project or reading and I haven't had the desire to snack in the evening.

honeybee_kisses

madslacker wrote: »

It just seems like a weird psychological thing for me... knowing I CAN eat more but choosing not to is easier than knowing I'm at the threshold and can't (without exceeding the calorie budget).

I'm exactly the same. If it's my choice that's ok, having the choice taken away from me makes me want more food!
And yes I have gone to bed to stop marks eating in the odd occasion

seltzermint555

After dinner I always want something sweet (small or more indulgent, depending on the day and my calories at that point) but then I immediately do the whole floss, brushing, etc, routine and I don't eat again until breakfast. My husband on the other hand really likes to save calories for evening snacks. Do what works for you.

Francl27

Done it. Especially on days when I'm up hungry at 6am (like today again. Sigh) and I end up having lunch at... 10am. Then I need another lunch and a snack and I have like 300 calories tops left for dinner, and I often end up having dinner at 5pm max, and it starts to suck at 8pm.

lemonsurprise

Yes! Regularly! I do the same with trying to save up calories for the evening but sometimes I just can't stop thinking about food even after dinner. So the only option is to have an early night because there's only so much willpower I have!