Stress Eating Snacks at Night.

sandybunch101

I need advice on stress eating. I do most of it at night before bed. I’m having a hard time of it. I believe this problem is adding to my failures at losing weight. Thanks.

penguinmama87

There's a couple of different ways to tackle this and it might require some experimenting on your part to figure out what works best.

You could try going to bed earlier, or using other methods to cope with the stress (there is an adjustment period with this if eating is your go-to strategy but I highly recommend it!) You could rearrange your calories so you eat more of them at night anyway, so it's not as big a blow to your calorie budget. Or, you could eat more earlier in the day so you're not so hungry at night you'll eat anything. If it's particular foods that are troublesome you could stop keeping them in the house either temporarily or permanently if you find you don't miss them.

There is a solution (or several) you can find! Don't give up.

musicfan68

Do something else - break the habit. Go for a short walk, do something that requires you to use your hands and think about what you are doing, like a hobby - I paint, crochet, and do other things like that. I can do that for hours and not think about eating.

westrich20940

The best thing to do would be strategies to lower your stress if that's what's causing you to eat.

You could try:
1. Brushing your teeth one hour after you eat dinner to help keep you from snacking. You've already brushed/flossed, you may be less likely to eat more after that.
2. Along the same vein...when you have a craving/want to eat a snack after you've brushed your teeth...you could quickly just swish with mouthwash. You know how some/most foods don't taste very good right after you've brushed/mouthwashed...maybe that will help.
3. Make sure you're not actually truly hungry. Make sure you are eating enough calories for your goals...you might just be hungry.
4. If you really have to eat something, try something that is high volume/low calorie (if it's not fitting into your calorie goal). It could help you be full, without blowing your calorie goal. Alternatively you could just prepare some later night snacks that do fit into your calorie goal and have them.
5. Start a good bedtime routine -- including turning off screens/taking a bath/reading/meditating/journaling, etc....to replace that behavior with some other habit. Should also help with good sleep too.

Virginia32174

I have the same problem and after much experimentation and many failures, I finally found what works for me. 2 hrs before bed, I take a hemp gummie, put a serving (3 3/4 cups)of Skinny Pop in a big bowl, fill a giant cup with 0 calorie flavored water and munch away while watching a funny movie. It relieves my stress, fills me up, and I can think about the movie as I fall asleep. Hope this helps. Good Luck!

goal06082021

Stress eating by definition has nothing to do with hunger, but you've trained yourself to expect food when you feel stress. So, time to break the old conditioning and replace it with something else.

I'll second @musicfan68 - physically occupy yourself in some other way. A hobby that engages your brain and requires clean hands or creates dirty ones, going for a walk outside to where food isn't, or maybe some journaling to give your stress-thoughts somewhere to live besides in your head. If you have someone to talk to when you feel like this, they would probably like to hear from you. Are you stressed about anything in particular, like this happens the night before you have a big presentation or something? Or is this more regular than that? A mental health professional can also help you develop tools to use to redirect the stress in less destructive ways, if you have access to MH support.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

The best alternative is distraction. Several times in the past year, I've gotten on the spin bike after dinner and watched a TV show. (Not the news!) I went to bed very relaxed!

MargaretYakoda

Have you got enough healthier options available when you feel the urge to stress eat?

What helped me was tomato slices that I dehydrated to a satisfying crunch.

ljashley1952

I have tended to be a night eater, too. I sometimes lie in bed and feel like I can't go to sleep until I have a snack. This article I found was interesting. I don't fit this exactly, but share some of the symptoms.

https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/blog/signs-symptoms/Night-Eating-Syndrome-The-Eating-Disorder-We-Need-to-Talk-About

spiriteagle99

Eat something that is not high calorie but satisfies the need to bite something like an apple, carrots, celery. If you are actually hungry, check your weight loss goal. Do you really need to lose 2 lbs. a week or will you be happier with a 1 lb. loss that allows you to eat more?

AllanMisner

You might enjoy Dr. Lynn Rossy's book, Savor Every Bite. She was recently on the 40+ Fitness Podcast (https://pdcn.co/e/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/40plusfitness/How_to_savor_you_way_out_of_emotional_eating_with_Dr._Lynn_Rossy.mp3)

kshama2001

I'm less prone to stress eating when I do the following:

1. Get sufficient sleep
2. Exercise regularly - when I get the happy hormones from exercise, I'm not prone to seeking them from food. Additionally, mild to moderate exercise appears to work as a mild appetite suppressant for me.
3. Get sufficient protein in relationship to carbs. I'm not low carb, but reducing carbs and upping protein worked for cravings for me. See also http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html
4. Eat moderate amounts of fruit. This makes me less interested in higher calorie sweets.
5. Take a magnesium supplement. This can be especially helpful for women premenstrually.
6. Save foods like chocolate for after dinner, in small amounts
7. Stay hydrated
8. Have a calorie deficit that is appropriate for the amount of weight I need to lose. An overly aggressive goal can definitely lead to cravings.
9. Eat at maintenance when my appetite goes up premenstrually.
10. Hit my fiber goal