Night time snacking gone wrong

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caitieemae
caitieemae Posts: 25 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Bassically, here's the problem I face every day. I wake up in the morning and feel confident, ready to start a healthy day. I eat an amazing breakfast, go to classes (as I am in college), eat a great lunch, go to classes and eat a healthy dinner. But once the hussle of classes has ended and my day winds down, I loose all of my motivation. It disappears completely. I find myself thinking "I'll start again tomorrow" almost every day and binge horribly, ruining an entire day of health. Any tricks for stopping my late night fiasco??

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    What is your calorie goal? Are you trying to go too low during the day?
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Save a few hundred calories for evening snacks.

    Find something that keeps your mind occupied.

    Don't buy many of your binge trigger foods and if you can't stop thinking about them to the point you are ready to go buy on a whim, walk to the store. If you are close to the store, do a few laps walking before shopping.

    Eta : are you getting enough protein, fat and fiber? Maybe concentrate your evening meal on those so you are more full.
  • caitieemae
    caitieemae Posts: 25 Member
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    AmazonMayan wrote: »
    Save a few hundred calories for evening snacks.

    Find something that keeps your mind occupied.

    Don't buy many of your binge trigger foods and if you can't stop thinking about them to the point you are ready to go buy on a whim, walk to the store. If you are close to the store, do a few laps walking before shopping.

    The problem with this is that I live on a college campus with a vending machine full of tempting goodies right down the hall. It's so hard to stop myself sometimes.
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Then definitely save some of your overall daily calories for the snacking. I still say hit your protein and fat macros especially in the evening meal. And do some walking laps around the dorm or if there is a well lit area where it's safe. *eta: walking earns you more calories to eat and can keep you busy a bit to distract from binge urges


    I agree with making sure you aren't too low on calories as well.
  • lilithsrose
    lilithsrose Posts: 752 Member
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    The evenings are my downfall too. Lately, I've been eating pickled eggs as a nighttime snack. I crave salty things, so they help with that and they have protein in them that helps you feel fuller. Try getting some cheese sticks and veggies to munch on. Or, if you want something sweet, you could try some berries or a handful of healthy cereal. Or even air-popped popcorn with cinnamon on it.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,651 Member
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    Are you logging your binges? Maybe seeing the resulting calories of your binges will scare you straight.

    You said you ruin an entire day of health. Are you actually binging or just buying one or two "unhealthy" items from the vending machine and calling that a binge?
  • kissa714
    kissa714 Posts: 65 Member
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    One snack a night wont hurt you. Treating yourself throughout the day could help too. Think about what you crave when youre snacking (sweet, salty, etc) and try to incorporate that into your meals throughout the day. For instance,
    I usually have toast with peanut butter, banana, honey and coffee for breakfast and i feel like the sugars from that kinda satisfy my need for sweets through the day. I lived on campus once so i know the struggle, hope this helped!
  • Burger2066
    Burger2066 Posts: 126 Member
    edited February 2016
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    What time are you eating your dinner and how long of a time is there between when you finish and when you go to bed? If it is longer than 3 hours, try pushing your dinner back 30 minutes if you can. Another thing I do (I finish my dinner about 4 hours before bed) is I drink a full 20 ounces of water right before dinner, 20 ounces during, and then 20 to 30 ounces after dinner until bedtime. The water helps keep me feeling full and helps me avoid the post-dinner snacking.

    Also, as dumb as it might sound, put a post-it note on your door that says something like "You don't need that snack" so you see it when you think about going down to the vending machine.
  • CassidyScaglione
    CassidyScaglione Posts: 673 Member
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    Find something to do. It sounds like you start eating when you run out of things that occupy your time (boredom eating).

    Take a stroll around the block if you live in a safe neighborhood, or read a book (reading requires more attention than watching tv).

    I'm guilty of boredom eating too, but I usually avoid it by asking myself if I'm in the kitchen because I'm hungry or if I'm in the kitchen because I'm bored... If the answer is bored I find a different way to occupy myself.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    air popped popcorn. pickles. raw vegetables. huge salad with 2 Tbsp light dressing (and no high cal ingredients, just veg.)
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    CassidyScaglione wrote: »
    Find something to do. It sounds like you start eating when you run out of things that occupy your time (boredom eating).

    Take a stroll around the block if you live in a safe neighborhood, or read a book (reading requires more attention than watching tv).

    I'm guilty of boredom eating too, but I usually avoid it by asking myself if I'm in the kitchen because I'm hungry or if I'm in the kitchen because I'm bored... If the answer is bored I find a different way to occupy myself.

    Ditto - Maybe find some club or clubs to join. I started crocheting again to keep my hands busy and me out of the kitchen.

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