I can't stop night time snacking....HELP!!!!!!

jennde75

Ok, I don't know what has changed between last year and this year. But for some reason I felt like I was under more stress last year an I was going through a lot of emotional relationship mess. this year I have just as much stress but now I can't seem to stop eating at night. Last year I wasn't hardly eating at all. I have a lot going on in my life and I am trying to get back into the swing of life and happiness so not sure why I feel these need to eat.

SophieSmall95

You can stop. You are choosing not to. The moment you realise your actions are completely in your control is the moment you can change your behaviour.

If it helps you then don't have snack foods in the house if you cannot control yourself. Or only reach for lower calorie snacks. To reach for crisps for example instead of an apple is entirely your choice and down to you.

P.s you look awesome.

meritage4

Either save some calories for the evening and snack healthy or do something in the evening so you can't snack. Take up arm knitting as you can't eat when both arms are busy.

Lounmoun

If it is emotional eating deal with your emotions. Get different tools to manage stress like therapy, meditation, exercise, knitting, music, dancing.
If it is habit do something different in the evenings.

LouPerseghin

I log additional calories via the "Quick Add" function and try to plan my day to have a little bit of buffer at the end for such snacking. Some days I snack during the day, and log that. Sometimes I don't and have a "bonus" of leftover calories at the end and can night snack guilt free.

In either case, I delete the quick add calories before I complete my daily entry. Super successful days are ones where I don't snack during the day OR at night and come in under my count. Although I have been maintaining for a few years, those 'under' days are still good to have every once in a while.

nowine4me

I don't watch TV anymore since it's bombarded with food ads. I clean up the kitchen after dinner then walk for 60 mins and hit the bed by 9:30.

leejoyce31

SophieSmall95 wrote: »

You can stop. You are choosing not to. The moment you realise your actions are completely in your control is the moment you can change your behaviour.

If it helps you then don't have snack foods in the house if you cannot control yourself. Or only reach for lower calorie snacks. To reach for crisps for example instead of an apple is entirely your choice and down to you.

P.s you look awesome.

I know it's hard to believe but sometimes, we actually do lose control and find it difficult if not impossible to get a handle on a situation. We have to be in the mindset to do it, and sometimes, it's just not there. I'm not offering OP a free pass. But I am just saying, it's not always as black and white or clear cut as to say... "You can stop". Hence the reason we may struggle in our lives in different areas, not just food.

I would encourage OP to not give up and keep trying until she finally get a handle on things. It may take a little time, but it can be done.

rgbmore

I agree with leejoyce31. It can be a process to get the point where you can flat out stop snacking, or have more control over your actions. So many factors can be involved.
Op, keep trying, and try to "cut" your snacking.
Going from "I'm eating out of the bag" to "I have a serving in a bowl and that is it!" is a good first step.
Or returning to the kitchen for a snack only once versus all night long. You'll eventually find something that works and it'll make it easier to "just say no" and stop as other people have mentioned.
Putting away leftovers, storing snacks securely, cleaning up and "closing" the kitchen also helps me. There are certain foods I can't have regularly at the house because I obsess over them.

Last bit of advice--once you are done eating for the night, brush your teeth, floss, and mouth was and gargle. It deters me from snacking a lot if it means I have to redo it all again! (And the mint flavor makes snacking seem unappetizing...)

CorneliusPhoton

I stopped eating anything after 6pm as a hard rule years ago when I was battling reflux. It was a hard few weeks adjusting to my new rule, but now it is not even something I would consider. Maybe you could try making yourself a similar rule and say that you are going to adhere to it for 5 days or however many more days you think you can do it. Then try for longer. Have a plan for being BUSY or otherwise occupied during your snacking hours. It's hard to break habits, but it is a habit. Create a new one and never look back.

HeidiFuture

Find other ways to make yourself feel better... Like bubble bath and go to bed early. Sleep will help with stress too.

If that doesn't work, I'll share my celery!

jdhcm2006

I save calories for night time snacking because I personally like to have a snack while watching a little bit of tv before bed. Because I like doing this and don't want to stop doing it, I plan for it.

I say plan for it, eat the amount you allotted yourself, and don't go back for more. Remember you can always have more tomorrow. They aren't going to stop making your favorite snack, you can always get more at a later time or another day. Knowing that is what helped me to stop overeating a particular brand of chips. If that temptation comes to go back for more, I just tell myself that the bag will still be there tomorrow, and it stops me from wanting to eat the entire bag in one sitting.

Vegplotter

Please don't feel any guilt because you are snacking. It's your metabolism hitting back. I think it kicks in after you've been dieting for some time, or when you are in maintenance.
Metabolic hormones, hormones that control fundamental emotions like anger and fear, love and hate AND hormones that control your circadian rhythms all originate in the hippocampus of our brains.
When we've been on a diet, however careful we are, the metabolism can become damaged. You are getting binge eating signals because you're on a diet, you're stressed and I bet you aren't sleeping well. Everything gets mixed up in the mind.
Ignore the person who tells you you have 't got enough willpower. However well meaning that was meant to be the fact of the matter is that these hormonal urges are VERY powerful. You have to deal with the stress and (if it's relevant) lack of sleep too. You can't just deal with the snacking because they are all mixed up together.
Here's my six point plan.
1. Increase calorie consumption by 100 cals/day. (You'll still probably lose weight)
2. Tackle the stress issues some way (councillors, doctor etc) Ditch any activity that gives you stress which you can.
3. Start keeping VERY regular hours and eating at very regular times. Go to bed and get up at the same time. Get your 8hours sleep minimum.
4. PLAN balanced, nutritious meals for yourself plus a small allowance for snacks (if you need them). No low carb stuff, no low fat. I mean balanced.
5. Pre-weigh and package your snacks. Don't keep too many portions in the house. Chocolate 1 square at a time is my favourite.
6. Engage friends/family to help you. (I bet you are snacking alone?)
This is all from someone whose been there and only recently realised that it wasn't my willpower but my hormones/emotions that were to blame.
Good luck.

MissDi321

I've been learning that our pancreas needs us to eat a bit of something at least every 4-5 hrs during the day or it (the body) will "dump" sugar from the liver and then have to be "cleaned up" by the pancreas. It is best to plan for healthy balance of a carb and protein snack between meals and bed time. It isn't healthy for the body to go more than 5 hrs between meals without something. Especially is you are predisposed to diabetes. I am taking a nutrition class and this was what the dietitian said. I guess I'm saying don't feel guilty that you are snacking. I guess it is what are you snacking on??? Just my thoughts. Di

MrsT440

I have no answer for why you're feeling more cravings than previously. But I can say I haven't conquered late-night snacking yet, myself, and I have found food logging to be very helpful for managing my weight in spite of the cravings. When it gets close to the end of the day, I look at what I've eaten so far, and figure out what I can eat for dinner and my final snack of the day to come in on or just under my calorie budget. I've discovered some great snacks that are satisfying while being relatively low-calorie, low sodium and/or low sugar, depending on how well I did on my nutrition profile earlier in the day.

ndj1979

MissDi321 wrote: »

I've been learning that our pancreas needs us to eat a bit of something at least every 4-5 hrs during the day or it (the body) will "dump" sugar from the liver and then have to be "cleaned up" by the pancreas. It is best to plan for healthy balance of a carb and protein snack between meals and bed time. It isn't healthy for the body to go more than 5 hrs between meals without something. Especially is you are predisposed to diabetes. I am taking a nutrition class and this was what the dietitian said. I guess I'm saying don't feel guilty that you are snacking. I guess it is what are you snacking on??? Just my thoughts. Di

who did you learn this from?

CasperNaegle

I save calories and macros for the evening because that is when I am most likely to snack as well. I love having some Artic Zero ice cream 150calories a pint in the evening or something like that.

SCoil123

I was unable to give up my large dinner and night snacks so I switched to 16:8 IF. I still eat A LOT in the evening but I'm in calorie goal.

jennde75

Thanks All for the responses and advice. But this is so weird, in the middle of the night I will get up and eat something knowing I am doing it but for some reason I don't stop myself. Its just so weird. And yes maybe I can control my what I eat and what I don't. I wish it were as easy as everyone claims it to be.

RoxieDawn

jennde75 wrote: »

Thanks All for the responses and advice. But this is so weird, in the middle of the night I will get up and eat something knowing I am doing it but for some reason I don't stop myself. Its just so weird. And yes maybe I can control my what I eat and what I don't. I wish it were as easy as everyone claims it to be.

You get up in the middle of night and eat? And mindfully?

I am just curious, unless you are sleep walking, do you ever ask your self why you are waking up to go eat? When I read you OP above, it said you have no idea why you "feel" the need to eat? I think the answer is in this question. There is an emotional tie here that is not hunger related in nature. Using food for an emotional release perhaps?

And it may not be as simple as saying just stop. All though it would be easy for me to say that, cause I do not have this problem and that's not fair. If I can say this in good spirits, maybe some some soul searching is order. Take some quiet time to shut of all the noise in your life and do some thinking on this..

I do wish you luck on this..

edited to add: have you considered getting a check up with your doctor. From last year to now you stated things about stress, etc.. perhaps the doc can do a blood workup on you to make sure everything is checking out ok hormonally, etc.. this a thought.

Asher_Ethan

Do you stay in a deficit with these late night snacks?

MilesAddie

One of my big problems was also eating late at night. Once my wife and son went to bed, I would make about 15 trips to the fridge from my perch on the couch and mindlessly eat whatever I found.

Now I plan a "meal" for after they have gone to bed. By planning what I eat, and when I eat it, I'm applying a bit of "mindfulness" to the experience. I sit at the table and set a place with a real plate and real silverware and make it part of a routine. Not only have I found that this significantly cuts down on the amount of calories I end up consuming, but I don't feel guilty about it the next day as I've thought about what I am doing beforehand and made a conscious decision to eat that meal.

Best of Luck,
Chris

frankiesgirlie

jennde75 wrote: »

Thanks All for the responses and advice. But this is so weird, in the middle of the night I will get up and eat something knowing I am doing it but for some reason I don't stop myself. Its just so weird. And yes maybe I can control my what I eat and what I don't. I wish it were as easy as everyone claims it to be.

This part caught my attention.
I have always been a late in the day eater and like most of my calories at dinner and then a late night snack.
But early this year I was doing exactly what you are doing.
I wasn't going to bed hungry, but I would wake up like every hour and would eat. Sometimes I would be fully aware I was doing it big felt "out of control", sometimes I wouldn't remember it in the morning but would see evidence, as in wrappers,bags etc.
Not to scare you but I had lost 8 lbs last year and was 4 lbs from my goal weight when this happened and I gained that 8 lbs back plus more.

Luckily, my doctor asked questions, and after figuring out that my deficit wasn't too steep he sent me to a sleep specialist.

I was diagnosed with sleep eating disorder. It is a recognized sleep disorder and not an eating disorder as you would think.

I've been treated and have not relapsed since treatment which was in April. I'm losing weight again.

I'm not saying this is what you have, but please message me if I can be of help.

frankiesgirlie

Oops. BUT felt "out of control."

rquadir

Not that this will always work, but I hear that brushing your teeth helps (the toothpaste-y feeling in particular)