HELP

DMadelineP

What can I do to lose weight and STOP eating at night?
I'm 5'2 18 years old and 126 lbs.
I was 130 and I lost 8lbs and went to 122. I tried to continue on the same path, and then I started bouncing back... It's horrid. I'm an emotional eater and finals are coming up. I've gained 4 lbs in no time. I'll be doing fine until 10.00, when I realize I'm not done studying, and I'll never do well...
Then, I feel hungry and I go drink water, tea, anything. I get the worst chocolate cravings and hunger pains.
I eat a handful of almonds, I do twenty sit ups, ten push ups, drink water.
They won't go away! I don't know what to do. At 11.30, I can't take it any longer, and I raid the kitchen cabinets. And it looks bad. I binge in extremes, eating about 1,000-2,000 calories of JUNK in 10 minutes....
And I don't know what to do.
The Junk will always be there, I can't take it out of the apartment because *someone* hates my guts and finds it funny to play with my emotional eating habits....
(they call it tough love, and being strong, and fighting against desire, and having the temptation in front of you and not yielding),....

The point is... I get midnight cravings, I'm gaining the weight I had lost, and It's the most destructive experience of my life, physically, emotionally, and mentally... (finals are coming up, self esteem, control, and discipline are going down)


ANY TIPS ARE APPRECIATED!!!!
just please.... help;((

tinkbaby101

I'm a big-time night snacker, and it's a tough habit to curb. First, I try to make sure I'm getting plenty of protein and fiber with dinner, to keep me fuller, longer.

If you're genuinely hungry, and need a snack, I'd suggest pre-making some healthy snacks. Chop up an apple, soak it in some lemon-lime soda (or watered-down lemon juice) and pop them in the fridge. Cut up some celery, smear some peanut butter on them, stick them together, and put them in the fridge, too. Put a serving of baby carrots, or cut carrots into a snack bag. In other words, have a bunch of premade, healthy snacks ready to go. Convenience is a BIG factor, for me, in eating healthier snacks (even at midnight). If I have healthy snacks ready to go, I'm less likely to snag a prepackaged bit of junk, instead. You can also get a bar of dark chocolate, and break it into squares. Keep one square handy for chocolate cravings, maybe in with your healthy snack stash, and the rest in the freezer. Better to have a healthy midnight snack than binge on junk food.

bcattoes

Save some calories for a late night snack
Eat dinner later so that you are not hungry at night
Try cocoa roast almonds instead of plain to satisfy your chocolate cravings
Or a glass of chocolate almond milk, which is very chocolatey, but pretty low calorie.

ABeautifulDistraction

I recommend getting plenty of fiber, protein, and water throughout the day. A friend suggested apple cider vinegar to curb my cravings, so I have added that as well. Instead of eating two or three large meals I have a big breakfast then eat small portions every 2-3 hours. This combined strategy is working for me.

gotolam

What can I do to lose weight and STOP eating at night?
I'm 5'2 18 years old and 126 lbs.
I was 130 and I lost 8lbs and went to 122. I tried to continue on the same path, and then I started bouncing back... It's horrid. I'm an emotional eater and finals are coming up. I've gained 4 lbs in no time. I'll be doing fine until 10.00, when I realize I'm not done studying, and I'll never do well...
Then, I feel hungry and I go drink water, tea, anything. I get the worst chocolate cravings and hunger pains.
I eat a handful of almonds, I do twenty sit ups, ten push ups, drink water.
They won't go away! I don't know what to do. At 11.30, I can't take it any longer, and I raid the kitchen cabinets. And it looks bad. I binge in extremes, eating about 1,000-2,000 calories of JUNK in 10 minutes....
And I don't know what to do.
The Junk will always be there, I can't take it out of the apartment because *someone* hates my guts and finds it funny to play with my emotional eating habits....
(they call it tough love, and being strong, and fighting against desire, and having the temptation in front of you and not yielding),....

The point is... I get midnight cravings, I'm gaining the weight I had lost, and It's the most destructive experience of my life, physically, emotionally, and mentally... (finals are coming up, self esteem, control, and discipline are going down)


ANY TIPS ARE APPRECIATED!!!!
just please.... help;((

Try eating a snack around the time that you usually eat dinner. Something satiating like a protein bar or whatever will fill you up with the least amount of calories. That way, you can stave off dinner for an hour or two. Forcing yourself to eat dinner later will at least help you from getting hungry again before going to bed.

martinel2099

It's important to realize if you are a midnight snacker and there are snack alternatives you can work towards. Consider low calorie substitutes for your snacks and save up calories for it. Peanut butter and celery is yummy and won't do the damage a bag of Doritos would.

Did you know there are broccoli chips that you can buy at the store that are pretty low calorie? Tried them recently myself and was pleasantly surprised.

My weakness personally is having a sweet tooth after dinner. I now keep Popsicle FireCrackers in the freezer. Each pop is roughly 40 calories each and I can even have two without really freaking out. Plenty of low calorie snakcs out there.

SLLRunner

In my opinion, it does no good to replace sweets with healthy snacks because a binge is a binge whether it's sweets or vegetables. I suggest finding out why you binge then take steps to eliminate or reduce that stressor. Also, instead of going straight for food, call a friend or otherwise occupy yourself until you can make a rational decision about whether you are hungry or not.

I have eliminated serious bingeing from my life by pre-logging my food and learning moderation if I want something extra. Weight control is achieved by having a portion now and saving the rest for another day.

rieann84

Why is your daily goal only 1,000 calories? The weight you are, given your height, is in the "healthy" range. Keep in mind, at 18 years old, you are still growing so don't be scared to eat..but eat wholesome foods that will be good for you.

I know how hard it can be not to eat at night, I work late into the night and sometimes by the end of my shift I am just ravenous. I am usually pretty good about just going to bed. If hunger is something so bothersome that you can't sleep - then eat! If you want to avoid junk food, keep ready to go healthy food on hand. I like "short cuts" by purdue..they are already cooked strips of chicken breast. Or, you know..you can prepare chicken breast and keep it in your fridge. Gorton's makes lots of frozen fish that you can put in the oven or the pan and they are really good, usually ready in about 10-20 minutes. Something SUPER fast and east that I like to do is: Pepperidge Farm Light Style Extra Fiber Wheat Bread, Starkist Sandwich Ready Tuna Salad. Toast the bread if you want, I like to. It's 180 calories and a decent amount of protein. Eggs are good too for a quick fix, don't be scared to eat them any time of day.

But, seriously....you should be aiming to eat way more than 1,000 calories per day. Have you seen this thread?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

milocamolly

I have the same problem but mine is sweets. Every night around 10pm I get a sweet tooth, instead of eating ice cream I now cut up bananas and freeze them. I have found that the trick is subsuting something unhealthy for something healthy really makes the big difference. I also realize that when I am stressed I go stait for the sweets. So I now have options that are available and that are low cal. I know that I will get stressed and I know that I will go for the sweets, but having the rut options and planning in advance really helps me.

bwogilvie

A few suggestions for the late-night snacking part of your question: (1) Eat more during the day. If you starve yourself during the day, it's hard to resist overcompensating at night when you're tired and your will power is devoted to staying awake and studying. (2) If possible, go to bed earlier. Studying when you're exhausted and mad at yourself for uncontrolled snacking is probably not going to make a huge difference in how you do on exams. Better to go to bed, get a good night's sleep, and start again in the morning when you're feeling refreshed.

To address the bigger picture: At your current weight, you're in the normal range. If you're dissatisfied with how you look, I would suggest focusing on body composition. Take a look at this page:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero

MikePXstream

Hi, Based on the information you shared, you are at a normal range weight for your heightt as another mentioned. You are also young, so you are still going to have a higher metabolism rate. Based on your stats, you should be taking in 1500 calories a day, good clean calories, to sustain yourself. I have personally found that if yu eat regularly 4-5 times a day, spaced out decently, the food cravings can be curbed a little bit. It also depends on what you are craving. Cravings are an indication that your body is lacking something that it needs. For example, if you are craving chocolate, your body probably needs magnesium, so you should munch on nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies. If you have a craving for bread, pasta, or any other carb, you might need the nitrogen, so look to eat more protein, fish, nuts, or beans. The more good stuff you eat through out the day, the less bad stuff you will crave later on. And get plenty or rest. I know it's hard with finals and all, but witout proper rest, your body will not function right, which means your brain will not function right, thus making all you have to do that much more challenging. Good luck. I hope this helps. Keep us posted.

What can I do to lose weight and STOP eating at night?
I'm 5'2 18 years old and 126 lbs.
I was 130 and I lost 8lbs and went to 122. I tried to continue on the same path, and then I started bouncing back... It's horrid. I'm an emotional eater and finals are coming up. I've gained 4 lbs in no time. I'll be doing fine until 10.00, when I realize I'm not done studying, and I'll never do well...
Then, I feel hungry and I go drink water, tea, anything. I get the worst chocolate cravings and hunger pains.
I eat a handful of almonds, I do twenty sit ups, ten push ups, drink water.
They won't go away! I don't know what to do. At 11.30, I can't take it any longer, and I raid the kitchen cabinets. And it looks bad. I binge in extremes, eating about 1,000-2,000 calories of JUNK in 10 minutes....
And I don't know what to do.
The Junk will always be there, I can't take it out of the apartment because *someone* hates my guts and finds it funny to play with my emotional eating habits....
(they call it tough love, and being strong, and fighting against desire, and having the temptation in front of you and not yielding),....

The point is... I get midnight cravings, I'm gaining the weight I had lost, and It's the most destructive experience of my life, physically, emotionally, and mentally... (finals are coming up, self esteem, control, and discipline are going down)


ANY TIPS ARE APPRECIATED!!!!
just please.... help;((

DMadelineP

Thank you so much! You have been very helpful and everything is great right now! I haven't binged after a craving since and your advice is invaluable! Thanks again for spending time and effort trying to help me, without the MFP community's support I don't know what I would do!