Restrict all day, sugar party at night

Beautiful_Excuse

Am I the only one who does this?

I can’t seem to stop.

I eat super lean and clean all day. I work out hard. Then I sabotage it all at night by eating chocolate and other junk while I zone out and surf the Internet on my phone.

Help.

corinasue1143

If you restrict too much during the day while you are feeling strong, you will fall apart when you’re hungry and tired.
Find what makes you feel full during the day, save a few calories for evening, and have low cal, satisfying foods ready for snacking. Good luck!

haspencer74

I had this happen this week -- hadn't had my favorite soda in 3 1/2 weeks.... BAD BAD BAD day on Tue, ate clean all day and then had not one, not two, but THREE of them in the evening... which turned into eating a bunch of other sugary things. @Corinasue1143 is right. Give yourself a little wiggle room during or at the end of the day and it might be easier to avoid the binge... Good luck!

MikePTY

It sounds like you are probably undereating during the day, which makes it harder to stay on track during the night.

Also, classifying foods as "clean" or "junk" really isn't helpful or productive. It may be more beneficial to have small portions of the so called "junk" you enjoy throughout the day to control your cravings.

earlnabby

Eat more during the day and keep the sweets out of the house. If you still need a late night meal, you will be more likely to grab something like yogurt or some fruit.

rheddmobile

First, make sure you’re getting enough calories during the day. Then, some things to try:

Plan to have a modest in calories but delicious chocolate snack at night, maybe a couple of squares of dark chocolate. My thing is Greek yogurt with cacao powder and frozen berries.

Don’t keep food you can’t moderate in your house. I am not going to overeat very dark chocolate, so I can handle it, but I don’t keep boxes of Dove bars, for example. Because I would eat five.

Get off your phone. Instead, do something useful which requires you to use both hands. Work out, dance, whatever. Or, if you are too tired to do anything but zone out, GO TO BED!

Diatonic12

@MikePTY hit the nail right on the head. Assigning moral judgments to food - clean or dirty, naughty or nice, good or bad leads to more all or nothing thinking with food. That's never helped me in the past. Try to move away from those trains of thought and see if it helps.

elisa123gal

also..shake up your routine.. go to the gym after work...or work later into the evening... do your grocery shopping and errands after work.. get home later so you don't get bored.

TarzanMoo

We do exactly the same! We have started brushing our teeth after we've finished our food plan for the day. Works a treat!

awilliamsou

Same problem and it’s so frustrating

missysippy930

Keep raw veggies prepped and available for mindless munching. Less calories and more chewing. Keep your water bottle handy and take a sip every time you may reach for a piece of chocolate. Many of us have this problem, you are not alone.

Beautiful_Excuse

Thanks for all these helpful replies!

I totally agree that there are no bad and good foods. If someone said what I said in my post to me I’d have the same response, most likely. I was trying to paint a picture though.

I’m in this awful feedback loop where I undereat during the day so I can enjoy the excessive sugar at night. Afraid to eat more during the day because I do look forward to stuffing myself with candy later.

I work my tail off all day at work. I run or cycle every day with a group and I lift and I do yoga so the suggestions to work out later aren’t workable for me though I appreciate the idea.

I think I do this to unwind bc it’s mindless. Between exercises and a highly demanding mental job that requires 60 hours on a good week, this has become my nightly ritual to zone out, check out, and self soothe. The chocolate fills that need nicely since I also am pretty physically starved by that point.

It’s a vicious cycle and I’m stuck in it.

LyndaBSS

I used to be a gumdrop junkie at night. When I got serious about getting healthier, I stopped buying them. It forced me to replace that habit with a better option. I went from the better option to not having anything at all at night.

Dump the chocolate if it makes you feel bad. Out of sight, out of mind.

nooboots

Beautiful_Excuse wrote: »

Thanks for all these helpful replies!

I totally agree that there are no bad and good foods. If someone said what I said in my post to me I’d have the same response, most likely. I was trying to paint a picture though.

I’m in this awful feedback loop where I undereat during the day so I can enjoy the excessive sugar at night. Afraid to eat more during the day because I do look forward to stuffing myself with candy later.

I work my tail off all day at work. I run or cycle every day with a group and I lift and I do yoga so the suggestions to work out later aren’t workable for me though I appreciate the idea.

I think I do this to unwind bc it’s mindless. Between exercises and a highly demanding mental job that requires 60 hours on a good week, this has become my nightly ritual to zone out, check out, and self soothe. The chocolate fills that need nicely since I also am pretty physically starved by that point.

It’s a vicious cycle and I’m stuck in it.

Im not someone who particularly craves sweet foods, savoury is my thing but sometimes I do want chocolate or something, so I have quite a chocolaty hot chocolate drink that I make up with milk. Its hot which means it takes time to drink it, its sweet and chocolately too, so it sort of manages all the criteria for managing the craving.

vggb

LyndaBSS wrote: »

I used to be a gumdrop junkie at night. When I got serious about getting healthier, I stopped buying them. It forced me to replace that habit with a better option. I went from the better option to not having anything at all at night.

Dump the chocolate if it makes you feel bad. Out of sight, out of mind.

Do this, don't have it in your house and keep the prepared fruit and veggies instead. Prepared makes them easy to grab and snack. Also the water by your side, get off the phone, etc. etc., lots of good advice here.

gallicinvasion

Beautiful_Excuse wrote: »

Thanks for all these helpful replies!

I totally agree that there are no bad and good foods. If someone said what I said in my post to me I’d have the same response, most likely. I was trying to paint a picture though.

I’m in this awful feedback loop where I undereat during the day so I can enjoy the excessive sugar at night. Afraid to eat more during the day because I do look forward to stuffing myself with candy later.

I work my tail off all day at work. I run or cycle every day with a group and I lift and I do yoga so the suggestions to work out later aren’t workable for me though I appreciate the idea.

I think I do this to unwind bc it’s mindless. Between exercises and a highly demanding mental job that requires 60 hours on a good week, this has become my nightly ritual to zone out, check out, and self soothe. The chocolate fills that need nicely since I also am pretty physically starved by that point.

It’s a vicious cycle and I’m stuck in it.

You might consider that stress during the day (work, family, tough situations) could be contributing to your desire to have a relaxing and rewarding night of candy at the end of the day. You might be using this ritual as a way to de-stress, but you’ve identified that you’d rather not be doing it! Behavioral therapy might help you make small changes to reduce your stressors and find healthier outlets for finding peace after work.

AnnPT77

Beautiful_Excuse wrote: »

Thanks for all these helpful replies!

I totally agree that there are no bad and good foods. If someone said what I said in my post to me I’d have the same response, most likely. I was trying to paint a picture though.

I’m in this awful feedback loop where I undereat during the day so I can enjoy the excessive sugar at night. Afraid to eat more during the day because I do look forward to stuffing myself with candy later.

I work my tail off all day at work. I run or cycle every day with a group and I lift and I do yoga so the suggestions to work out later aren’t workable for me though I appreciate the idea.

I think I do this to unwind bc it’s mindless. Between exercises and a highly demanding mental job that requires 60 hours on a good week, this has become my nightly ritual to zone out, check out, and self soothe. The chocolate fills that need nicely since I also am pretty physically starved by that point.

It’s a vicious cycle and I’m stuck in it.

Gee, that really is a beautiful excuse.

There's something you want to change, but alternatives aren't workable, and you're stuck.

Only you can decide where the easiest break-point in your current habits are: Eat more earlier in the day, switch to lower-cal snacks at night, eat fruits instead of candy, find another way to zone out at night (meditation, bubblebath, knitting, sketching, adult coloring books, musical intrument, video game, YouTube, whatever), or something else.

The easiest way to eliminate a habit is to make a new and different replacement habit.

As an aside, self-definition is an important thing, in ways that are often unappreciated. What I read here:

"I sabotage it all at night by eating chocolate and other junk while I zone out and surf the Internet on my phone"
"I undereat during the day so I can enjoy the excessive sugar at night."
"I do look forward to stuffing myself with candy later."
etc.

That's your current self definition. Maybe see if you can wiggle some room into it: "I'm someone who's working on figuring out a healthy snacking routine", "I'm gradually replacing my snacking habit with XYZ new relaxing hobby/pursuit", etc.

No one can change things - not even you - as long as your self-definition is "I'm someone who needs candy at night to be happy".

That may sound harsh, but please try to think of me as your concerned internet auntie (because I'm old enough ) who wants to see you achieve your larger goals.

Best wishes!

rheddmobile

Beautiful_Excuse wrote: »

Thanks for all these helpful replies!

I totally agree that there are no bad and good foods. If someone said what I said in my post to me I’d have the same response, most likely. I was trying to paint a picture though.

I’m in this awful feedback loop where I undereat during the day so I can enjoy the excessive sugar at night. Afraid to eat more during the day because I do look forward to stuffing myself with candy later.

I work my tail off all day at work. I run or cycle every day with a group and I lift and I do yoga so the suggestions to work out later aren’t workable for me though I appreciate the idea.

I think I do this to unwind bc it’s mindless. Between exercises and a highly demanding mental job that requires 60 hours on a good week, this has become my nightly ritual to zone out, check out, and self soothe. The chocolate fills that need nicely since I also am pretty physically starved by that point.

It’s a vicious cycle and I’m stuck in it.

Comparatively few sedentary women can eat nutrionally adequate meals yet maintain a caloric deficit while stuffing themselves with candy every day. Eating a piece or two of candy every day, yes. Stuffing themselves? Probably not. Cutting back on meals in order to save calories to binge eat candy every night is not an optimal way to live. But you already know this, or you wouldn’t have made a post asking for advice! So I’m gonna give you advice, in the immortal words of Bob Newhart: Stop it. Stop doing that. Do something different. You are not stuck unless you want to be stuck. There is no evil wizard compelling you to enjoy excessive sugar at night and there are other ways to self soothe (my personal favorite is to cut down on the source of stress so less soothing is needed, but if that isn’t practical there are other options. As mentioned above, bubble bath.)

There’s no good way to keep eating a boatload of candy every day while losing weight and improving your health, so just make up your mind not to do that.

Or, alternatively, go ahead and do it, but stop pretending it’s a choice that was made for you instead of a choice you are making.

LyndaBSS

Eating healthier is a choice. So is self sabotage. 😕

TeaBea

I save a sugary snack for late in the day. That sugary snack fits my calorie goals.

Yes, I made the decision.....I am allowed to have sugar.

When I try to eliminate "bad" things entirely, it backfires. I've lost weight on several occasions and gained it back. Eating "clean" or even "super clean" whatever your definition is.....is not required for weight loss. There are no "bad" foods. There are foods that fit within your goals, and foods that don't.

My sugary snack is typically something that comes in an individual serving. Ghiradelli dark chocolate squares, an ice cream bar, or a 100 calorie pack of cookies. I don't buy full size bags of M&M's or Hershey Kisses. I've learned I have less control with these.

Moderation is learned behavior. Not something that you are going to be perfect at day one. Allow yourself to go out for ice cream once a week OR buy a single candy bar. Does eating "clean" sound like something you are going to continue to maintain the weight you lost?

BeautifulExcuse

I really appreciate everyone sharing what is working for them and what they are hearing in my words. Especially those of you who recognize that sometimes there is more to it than "don't choose to eat that".

I should clarify that I'm not, nor have I ever been, overweight. I am an athlete but have had 3 surgeries in the last 2 years. This has not sidetracked my fitness since I am as dedicated to cross training as I am to my sport, but I have gained some weight nonetheless. I'm now despairing a bit because I am at the highest weight I've seen in my adult life - but it is still well within the healthy range.

I found a really useful website for meal planning and I think a huge part of my struggle has been not knowing where to start. This forum guided me Eat This Much app is helping me get an idea and I am just going to dive in today and try to eat more through the day so I dont feel a bottomless pit at night.

To those of you speaking about the mental part of this game - you are SPOT ON. I dont believe in clean eating and I think part of the reason I started these late night sugar parties is that my subconscious was rebelling against the strict control I impose through the day.

jonnyman41

Beautiful_Excuse wrote: »

Thanks for all these helpful replies!

I totally agree that there are no bad and good foods. If someone said what I said in my post to me I’d have the same response, most likely. I was trying to paint a picture though.

I’m in this awful feedback loop where I undereat during the day so I can enjoy the excessive sugar at night. Afraid to eat more during the day because I do look forward to stuffing myself with candy later.

I work my tail off all day at work. I run or cycle every day with a group and I lift and I do yoga so the suggestions to work out later aren’t workable for me though I appreciate the idea.

I think I do this to unwind bc it’s mindless. Between exercises and a highly demanding mental job that requires 60 hours on a good week, this has become my nightly ritual to zone out, check out, and self soothe. The chocolate fills that need nicely since I also am pretty physically starved by that point.

It’s a vicious cycle and I’m stuck in it.

I do the same.. It may be wine or cheese or crisps I have though chocolate is the biggest draw. Working out at night does help me but as that is not practical for you, what about having a different destress at night. Mediation, YouTube relax mantra, home spa, (bubble bath, nails etc) meet with friends

AnnPT77

BeautifulExcuse wrote: »

I really appreciate everyone sharing what is working for them and what they are hearing in my words. Especially those of you who recognize that sometimes there is more to it than "don't choose to eat that".

I should clarify that I'm not, nor have I ever been, overweight. I am an athlete but have had 3 surgeries in the last 2 years. This has not sidetracked my fitness since I am as dedicated to cross training as I am to my sport, but I have gained some weight nonetheless. I'm now despairing a bit because I am at the highest weight I've seen in my adult life - but it is still well within the healthy range.

I found a really useful website for meal planning and I think a huge part of my struggle has been not knowing where to start. This forum guided me Eat This Much app is helping me get an idea and I am just going to dive in today and try to eat more through the day so I dont feel a bottomless pit at night.

To those of you speaking about the mental part of this game - you are SPOT ON. I dont believe in clean eating and I think part of the reason I started these late night sugar parties is that my subconscious was rebelling against the strict control I impose through the day.

That, right there ^^^^, that self-insight and renewed commitment, is your better start on actively managing your health and your future. You're going to make this work. Just keep working at it, and you'll succeed.

Good show!

Hugs from your internet auntie!