Waking in the middle of the night to eat - help???

kirdyq

For years I have had problems with this. Usually at least once a night, I will wake up and automatically get out of bed and go to the kitchen and eat a snack. This usually happens around 2am or so. Sometimes it's twice a night. When twice, it will be about an hour after I go to bed, then again around 2ish or so. This happens almost every single night.

I am aware that I'm doing this in some sense, although I'm very sleepy when I do it. And I feel like I have no self control to stop doing it, I think because I'm so tired when it happens since I've been asleep. The next day, I DO remember that I've been up and eaten. Very rarely I will find dishes in the sink that I don't remember putting there, although on occasion it happens.

I feel that this is keeping me from hitting my weight loss goals. I feel like I'm eating back a bunch of calories and it's preventing me from losing the 15 pounds that I want to lose. Mainly what I snack on in the middle of the night is stuff like cottage cheese, regular cheese, and bread. So it's not like I'm eating complete trash like chips and chocolate, but I'm grabbing stuff with carbs and fat.

Does anybody else struggle with this? Any thoughts on how to break this cycle? I keep a glass of water on the nightstand, but it's like I have no control to just take a drink of water and go back to bed. It's like I'm compelled to get up and eat something.

JaseG86

I was struggling with this for a while, shortly after getting into lifting and starting to work out every lunch time, whilst trying to eat at a defecit.

I have tried a few things, but what seems to have worked for the past 3 weeks or so is having a thicker protein shake before bed. I was having a protein shake with 200ml water, but now I've swapped the water for milk, throw in 100ml of ice cream (currently using one from MuscleFoods that is low sugar and fat) and then add a teaspoon of peanut butter. Blend it all together and it ends up so thick and creamy that it takes a while to drink through a straw!
I make that about 1 hour before I go to bed and so far it's been doing the trick. Calorie wise it works out about 400 with 50g protein.

bioklutz

Are you getting enough carbs/fat during the day to feel satisfied? Have you always done this or does this happen only when you try to lose weight?

Can you move the go to night snacks to a harder to get to area and keep snacks that will fit into your calorie goal in an easy to get to area? Maybe you can set an alarm to go off at 1:30 and eat something low in calories that you have left out for yourself.

kirdyq

I feel like what I'm eating during the day should be plenty to keep me satisfied. It definitely happens when I'm not trying to lose weight as well.

I was thinking of moving the stuff that I'm eating out into the garage fridge and see if that helps. I went through a period in the past where I had stopped buying some of the cheeses that I was snacking on. When I did that, then I'd just find something else to have instead.

frantzcr

There are locks you can buy with timers on them for fridges, ect

coalz

Maybe try & make dinner your heaviest meal so you can stay satisfied throughout the night. Maybe try some melatonin or valerian root to help you sleep through the night. I think you just need to try & break this habit. If you do wake up, try & just go back to sleep or get yourself a glass of water or hot tea instead. If I wake late night I normally put on my headphones & listen to one of meditation apps (downloaded for free! & there probably some for weight loss or will power etc.) You need to try & be accountable all 24hr! No good can come from 2AM baguettes.

mjwarbeck

I had this happen for a few weeks when started....then it faded...

marty_smith

Eat dinner later?

GrinnyMae

I think I've read before that sleep eating is a real sleep disorder. So you may want to talk to your doctor about this if it is something you've been dealing with for some time.

I agree with the idea of getting a lock for the refrigerator/cabinets to help now. Also eating a heavy snack before bedtime. All worth a try.

kirdyq

Yes, there is a both a sleep disorder (where you don't know you're doing it) and an eating disorder (where you do realize you're doing it).

I decided to go ahead and make an appointment with the doctor, so I will be talking with someone next week. I just don't want this to continue any longer. However, the idea of going on a prescription med does not appeal to me either.