Evening binge

gizmosmom02

I have a problem with binging in the evening. Looking for advice to help stop this (and possibly a real truth-telling as only mfp members can do!)

deceived1

What time do you eat during the day? When is your first meal?

Me, personally, I CAN eat early, but I like to hold off until I'm ACTUALLY hungry (which isn't 'til around 11 or 11:30) to have my first meal of the day.

I also love eating late at night and am usually very hungry then as well.

By pushing off my first meal, I still have a ton of calories left for anything I want at night.

MysticRealm

I leave myself tons of cals for the evening for a biggish supper and plenty of snacks. I don't eat breakfast (never really have, not hungry that early), and have a light lunch.

sistrsprkl

Well, first, make sure you're getting enough protein, fat, and fiber so you feel full. Second, I floss, brush, and use mouthwash when I know I should be done eating for the evening. Then I'm done because I'm too lazy to do it all again.

gizmosmom02

I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner....sometimes a snack before dinner. Breakfast is cereal with yougurt on top or an egg sandwich on english muffin, lunch is salad with protein, dinner is hit and miss....I am aiming for 1500 cal/day

Theoprastus

What usually helps me avoid overeating at night isn't avoiding late night snacking, but planning for it. I set aside something to eat after dinner at the beginning of the day, and keep room for it in my calories and macros so that when I get to the evening, I get to snack, and feel no guilt about it!

initialsdeebee

I often do too. Lately I've been keeping under my calorie goal, but the random food Fest is often inevitable for me. Sometimes I just have to go with it and let it happen. To be honest for me it usually results from being over restrictive or thinking too much about calories or what's forbidden. Moderation has been off and on a struggle for me. Some personal talk or thoughts that help me:

1. Am I really just tired? Should I just go to bed? Sometimes the urge to eat stems from needing more sleep.
2. Is this resulting from being restrictive before? If so (and I can usually tell when that's the case) I decide I will just let it happen, and try to keep it within reason (which I guess is not a binge in the true sense). But if I say to myself I can go over by a certain amount or whatever then I imagine I'm making up for having been over careful. (This is what I did tonight in fact. I'd had a pretty active and low calorie week and got to a point where I knew I needed to just have a big plate of lasagna. Not ideal but at least I'm getting a handle on thinking about what's causing what and how to handle my tendency toward extremes in a reflective sane way).
3. How will I feel in the morning when I wake up? Try to decide what clothes to wear? Want to look and feel nice and energetic for the day? Probably not good at all. I've experienced the next-day grossness that leads to subsequent bad eating behavior enough that I'm able sometimes to think of that gross feeling and it's enough to keep me from going overboard. I like to wake up feeling hungry and digested and not full of food and bloating and self deprecation.
4. What awesome thing can I get excited about having for breakfast tomorrow? If I'm full of food from too much eating the night before I won't be as excited for it or even want it.

These are some things that go through my head. It's existence is still an over all problem of course, but I think I've become gradually better over the years at understanding and dealing with it. Mostly though just try to think about why you want to eat.

mistib1229

Like some previous posters mentioned, I also plan for my evening snacking. I've never really been one to eat breakfast but I usually have a protein shake in the morning. If not, then I don't eat until lunch. But either way, I figure out a way to keep my calories low for the first half of the day. Dinner is more substantial but I usually have at least 500 cals left after dinner to use on whatever.

In my opinion, you have to find what works best for you. Fighting too hard against your natural tendencies (as long as they aren't destructive) isn't going to work long term. I've always been prone to eat more in the evenings. That's not a bad thing. But I have to figure out a way to adjust the rest of my day to make that work so that I stay within my goals.

Kalikel

First meal is almost always 60 minutes after I get up. I am hungry. The others are eaten when I'm hungry or whenever there is time after that.

Orphia

It doesn't matter when you eat most of your calories. Just stay at or under your calorie limit. Good luck!

MelissaSchlaikier05

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deceived1 wrote: »

What time do you eat during the day? When is your first meal?

Me, personally, I CAN eat early, but I like to hold off until I'm ACTUALLY hungry (which isn't 'til around 11 or 11:30) to have my first meal of the day.

I also love eating late at night and am usually very hungry then as well.

By pushing off my first meal, I still have a ton of calories left for anything I want at night.

Hmm I like this idea I too am a lover of late night eating relaxing! But it's not too good for the metabolism not eating in the morning?

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