I have an issue of eating peanut butter at night when I'm bored?

Xandistra
Xandistra Posts: 14 Member
edited July 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
okay so every night I'll find myself eating 500kcals worth of peanut butter even though I'm not hungry, and it'll sometimes lead to a full out binge. How can I help break this habit? I've gained 15lbs over the past 3months because of it :(
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Replies

  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
    If you can't consume it in moderation don't keep it in the house. You can't eat it if it's not there. Reintroduce it to your diet once you feel able to control your portions.
  • Xandistra
    Xandistra Posts: 14 Member
    If you can't consume it in moderation don't keep it in the house. You can't eat it if it's not there. Reintroduce it to your diet once you feel able to control your portions.
    There's one problem wit that, I live with my parents and they're both obese and carry tons of junk food and refuse to buy healthy foods. If I was on my own I'd be good to go, but unfortunately that has to wait another year :(
  • amy8400
    amy8400 Posts: 478 Member
    ^This. Breaking any habit begins with removing the cause. If you can't control the late night urge for peanut butter, get it out of the house for now. I love PB and if you need the thrill of the flavor now and then (until you can welcome it back into your home ;) try PB2 mixed into a smoothie. I make chocolate protein powder/banana smoothies and mix in a little PB2 for a kick. Another favorite 'fill in' is Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter cereal. But I have to weigh out portions because otherwise I'll eat it from the box and get into trouble LOL
  • Xandistra
    Xandistra Posts: 14 Member
    amy8400 wrote: »
    ^This. Breaking any habit begins with removing the cause. If you can't control the late night urge for peanut butter, get it out of the house for now. I love PB and if you need the thrill of the flavor now and then (until you can welcome it back into your home ;) try PB2 mixed into a smoothie. I make chocolate protein powder/banana smoothies and mix in a little PB2 for a kick. Another favorite 'fill in' is Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter cereal. But I have to weigh out portions because otherwise I'll eat it from the box and get into trouble LOL

    Thanks for the smoothie idea! That sounds yummy :) I know how you feel with cereal haha. I wish my parents would let me get rid of the PB...
  • dawniemate
    dawniemate Posts: 395 Member
    Xandistra wrote: »
    okay so every night I'll find myself eating 500kcals worth of peanut butter even though I'm not hungry, and it'll sometimes lead to a full out binge. How can I help break this habit? I've gained 15lbs over the past 3months because of it :(
    Just don't buy it! ! :wink:
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
    Mfp has a lovely little 'are you finished for the day' button. When you push it, be done. Get up and go do something. Get your hands busy. Put a note on the PB for yourself. I had to confess my finishing every plate with a drizzle of olive oil in order to stop that habit. You can do this.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Maybe eating peanut butter is just more important to you than losing weight.
  • withoutasaddle
    withoutasaddle Posts: 191 Member
    Pb2 is a great lower cal alternative if you can't stop or quit cold turkey.
  • withoutasaddle
    withoutasaddle Posts: 191 Member
    Ahh I see someone's already suggested it
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    Sometimes it really is as simple/easy as "just don't do that anymore", right?

    It's how I quit a 27 year smoking habit a few years back.

    Works here, too.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    stop buying it.

    problem solved.
  • amyj514
    amyj514 Posts: 53 Member
    I have the same problem!!! I can't figure out if it's my body saying I need to eat more or if it's just stress eating. I have been waking in the middle of the night a lot lately, and that has never been a problem before. But the pb thing has been a problem that comes and goes for me. So frustrating!
  • LavenderLeaves
    LavenderLeaves Posts: 195 Member
    Out of curiosity, how many calories are you eating during the day? Do you eat PB during the daytime at all or is it something you're trying to swear yourself off of simply because it's calorie dense? Lot of really judgey, unhelpful comments in this thread for some reason. :|
  • splashy24
    splashy24 Posts: 3 Member
    just don't start ....do something else and tell yourself its your choice ..just don't do it ..I love PB too and don't have it in the house but my son has it and if Im at his house I have to try very very hard not to eat it because if I start I would probably eat the jar!!!! ...Im the same with nuts ...cant control so don't buy ..xxx
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited July 2015
    Xandistra wrote: »
    okay so every night I'll find myself eating 500kcals worth of peanut butter even though I'm not hungry, and it'll sometimes lead to a full out binge. How can I help break this habit? I've gained 15lbs over the past 3months because of it :(

    I keep my peanut butter in the car. There is no way I am going to run down 2 flights of stairs in my pj's to get it.

    In other words, don't keep it in the house util you gain more self control.

  • Cocoa1020
    Cocoa1020 Posts: 197 Member
    Put it on a high self in a cabinet where you dont go to often. out of side out of mind. ORRRR do an extra hour of your work out to burn it off :P
  • Bacchants
    Bacchants Posts: 92 Member
    Have you tried asking your parents not to buy it? When I was a teen my mum used to buy me loads of sweets/snacks until I asked her not too. She would still get me stuff on occasion as a treat, but it stopped being a regular thing. It can be tough asking your parents stuff, but if they're reasonable they should hopefully listen? Tell them that you don't expect them to eat the healthy stuff, but that you want it.

    Then for the peanut butter is there somewhere you could put it that makes it extra effort to get to? I keep my cereal on top of a tall cupboard (as I used to have it as a nightly snack), to get it I need to find the step stool to reach it. When it's that much effort I just get something else or I don't snack!
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    It's not really her choice whether to buy it or keep it in the house. It's her choice to eat it, though.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    It's not really her choice whether to buy it or keep it in the house. It's her choice to eat it, though.

    Very true.

  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    I do this with extra crunchy peanut butter which is my absolute fave. I told my husband I can't have it in the house anymore at all. That is the only food I can not bring home. If I do want some I have a tbsp when I visit my Mom. Lol. My 7 year old and husband want the occasional PB&J but not often.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    It sounds like a habit and a comfort food. I'd replace the habit with something else. How about taking up crochet or knitting? Every time you think peanut butter pick up the needles. Keeps the hands busy and introduces a new habit.

    http://www.yarnspirations.com/how-to-arm-knitting

    Peanut butter and yarn are mutually incompatible.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Also I'd get some special foods just for you and ask for your own shelf.
  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
    I can sympathize. Eating peanut butter from the jar is how I gained weight training for marathons. A couple of things have helped. I have put it out of the kitchen and in our basement refrigerator. I won't run to the basement and eat from the jar!! I have also made the commitment that if I'm going to eat it I will weigh it on the food scale. That's a game changer because I can see how many calories I'm getting for such little volume. I thought I was eating 2 servings at a time before when it was likely 5 or 6!! I had some last night and know without a doubt I ate 100 calories worth.

    I don't care for pb2. By the time I weigh out enough to taste it in a smoothie it's still a chunk of calories and I'd rather have the real thing.

    Another thing that helped was figuring out WHY I loved peanut butter SO much. I had an epiphany the other day. When I was a little girl my mom (who is type 1 diabetic) would have a snack every night before I went to bed of graham crackers with pb. It was a special little girl time when I shared that snack with my mom. And now I always find myself eating peanut butter and honey at night. (Can't have graham crackers now because I have celiac). I realized recently that OH I'm trying to capture that feeling again with my
    Mom. Maybe now I should just call or send a text instead when I want peanut butter :)
  • Docbanana2002
    Docbanana2002 Posts: 357 Member
    edited July 2015
    If your parents won't stop buying it, you might need to ask them to store it somewhere that you can't access it but they can.

    Also, make sure you are eating plenty of fat and calories during the day and leaving room for a snack at night. It is okay to eat in evening, or even eat peanut butter. Nothing wrong with that, unless you end up eating more calories than you burn. So plan out your food so you are properly fed during the day but have room for a snack at night. People who binge eat sometimes restrict themselves too much afterward to make up for it, which can trigger a new eating binge when they are starved. Then restrict again, binge again, It is a vicious cycle. So if you are skipping meals and going into evening feeling starved and allowing no calories to eat, you need to fix that to break the cycle.

    Finally, you say you are eating while bored. Why are you bored? Is there some better way you can spend your time in the evening, like maybe going for a walk? Calling a friend? Getting a hobby? Figure out how to plan your schedule so you are too busy or interested in what you are doing to eat. Find a way to deal with this boredom that doesn't involving eating high calorie foods.
  • cindyangotti
    cindyangotti Posts: 294 Member
    If you don't buy it you wont eat it!!!

    Recently I developed a PB craving too which is odd because I never liked it much in the past. It doesn't matter if it's regular, whipped, or PB2... I will overeat it at night. So PB is banned from my house. At GNC they have sample pack of Quest PB shakes. This is currently my answer to PB cravings. It's so delicious I can't even believe it.

  • y81895
    y81895 Posts: 5 Member
    Xandistra wrote: »
    okay so every night I'll find myself eating 500kcals worth of peanut butter even though I'm not hungry, and it'll sometimes lead to a full out binge. How can I help break this habit? I've gained 15lbs over the past 3months because of it :(

  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    You could also ask your parents to skip the jar and get the to go packs. That way you CAN have one little container each night but make it fit in your day.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    It sounds like a habit and a comfort food. I'd replace the habit with something else. How about taking up crochet or knitting? Every time you think peanut butter pick up the needles. Keeps the hands busy and introduces a new habit.

    http://www.yarnspirations.com/how-to-arm-knitting

    Peanut butter and yarn are mutually incompatible.

    I credit crocheting 6 afghans last year with my losing my first 85 lb. before Christmas. Like you said, yarn is incompatible with peanut butter (or many other foods).

  • DataSeven
    DataSeven Posts: 245 Member
    Stop it.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    Out of curiosity, how many calories are you eating during the day? Do you eat PB during the daytime at all or is it something you're trying to swear yourself off of simply because it's calorie dense? Lot of really judgey, unhelpful comments in this thread for some reason. :|

    No one was judging or being unhelpful.