struggling

befitandhealthy

Since the end of january i have gained roughly 10 lbs. I am sitting at 24 year old female 5'8 140 (i feel best at around 130-132. I have developed this bad habit of waking of at the same time every single night and eating in the middle of the night (peanutbutter and kabocha squash are the big ones) no matter how hard i try i cant seem to stop. yes i know you will say throw out the pb but my bf eats it to so not an option. I have been exercising hard to to try and get this wait to come off. i am very unhappy and dont feel comfortable in my own body anymore. i eat basically a paleo style diet as well as include some dariy like cottage cheese and greek yogurt. i am at a loss of what to do and need help to stop this weighit gain and lose it again!

editorgrrl

Set your goal to .5 lb. per week. Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Weigh your food.

Eat "healthy" (whatever that means to you) 80% of the time. Fit yummy, portion-controlled treats into your calorie goal. Deprivation can lead to bingeing.

Take before photos & measurements, and read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

KarenJanine

What is your calorie goal?

You're already at a healthy weight so 10 lb since January is probably the most you should be aiming to lose. 0.5lb per week is a healthy goal when you don't have much to lose.

PRguez

Hi there,

I can't see your logs since your profile is private. I am not a big expert either. I have started logging my food only like 2 weeks ago because i had a similar problem; I gain like 3 kilos in the last 2 months so I thought enrolling the gym would do. But it didnt, i took an extra kilo.
So people here were very helpful and supportive and suggested to do the calorie deficit for a bit otherwise i won't shake off those kilos ( I weight 59.3 kg which is like 130 lbs or so but i only feel ok if I weight 125 lbs like i have always weighted )

I wouldn't say stop eating in the middle of the night straight away.... I would say start to decrease those portions little by little ... and maybe go to sleep later that usual... see if you are more tired maybe it would be harder to wake up?

don't give up :flowerforyou:

WBB55

[If you were my sister, I would ask you a lot more probing questions. "not feeling comfortable" in your own body. Eating when no one else is around. Saying you can't stop yourself... but since I don't know you, I'll stick with this:]

Do you know how many calories you're eating on average per day?
Do you know how many calories per day your body burns (thru day-to-day activity, as well as exercise), or your "TDEE"?
Do you know your BMR?

To lose weight, you eat total calories somewhere between your TDEE and BMR every day. If on average you eat more than your TDEE, you will gain.

If you describe your daily exercise routines, we could give you an idea of an appropriate amount of calories every day.

Greenrun99

Probably not eating enough for your activity level

Probably not eating a big enough dinner to hold you over all night

5'8 and 130lbs is pretty small.. you might want to think about lifting some weights instead of focusing on scale # (if that is you in the picture, we can see your ribs..)

kuolo

Firstly, are you trying to take your weight too low for your body type? This can cause bingeing. As can consistently not eating enough.
Secondly, you say you eat mostly Paleo. Personally I found eating Paleo made me want to binge, so this might be too restrictive an eating plan for your needs.
Just a couple of thoughts! :flowerforyou:
p.s. night eating/bingeing is a recognised 'thing', by the way, as in it's not uncommon. So you might be able find some support for it specifically.

Jbarbo01

With eating the same things every night or similar, I imagine you're having intense cravings. Id get checked for vitamin deficiency, thats a big sign of them or just not eating enough in general.

MyOwnSunshine

If you know you're going to eat at night, and know what you eat every night, save some calories for it.

If you're not able to stop eating at night, you have to cut calories elsewhere to make room for your night eating.

SKME2013

If you know you're going to eat at night, and know what you eat every night, save some calories for it.

If you're not able to stop eating at night, you have to cut calories elsewhere to make room for your night eating.

^ this and all of what the others have said. Instead of punishing yourself for the nightly feasts, I would cut breakfast out or make sure you create a calorie deficit somewhere else. Also a proper dinner might get you better through the night?
Stef.