why do i crave food at night?

monicahacker38

all day long I am right on track with my calorie goal but at night I feel out of control. I'm not even hungry and can't stop eating, because of this I am usually 500-700 calories over my goal. help! any ideas or suggestions?

750legpress

I've had the same problem, since I work out after work....but I've started doing something that my mom did to us kids when we were little...after dinner is done and the dishes cleaned and put away, she would turn out the kitchen lights and announce, "the kitchen is closed". Don't know why it occurred to me to start saying that outloud to myself the last couple of weeks, but it seems to be working. Once I have my dinner, log it all and then close out my food and exercise entries for the day, I clean the kitchen, turn out the lights and voila...kitchen is closed. The only thing I'm allowed to do is get a glass of water from the Brita pitcher in the fridge..

dbcja

HI,
I have a problem with night eating too, but think it is more of a association thing. When I am watching TV I like to drink cups of sugary tea and eat biscuts. Maybe try disassociating food from what you are doing? Do a workout or work on a hobby or craft that uses your hands.

Worth a try. Good luck.

tameekag

Well, what is it that you crave? I had a similar issue. I craved carbs at night. Had to have some crunchy chips or something like that. I HAD to have it. I did what I call a "carb cleanse" for 5 days in order to break the cycle. I didn't eat any grains or refined carbs at all for 5 days in a row. During that time, I also thew away all my chips and nuts and stuff that I was eating and replaced it with veggies, hummus and salsa. I kicked the carb/sugar/salt cravings AND had only healthy options to turn to when any craving kicked in.

For occasional sweet treats, I switched to SF pudding cups. Only 60 cals.

I hope those ideas help. Hang in there!

Rocking_Robin

Idk about your reasons but my hubby goes to bed rather early and my son is usally doing his own thing. I find I want to snack after supper because of being bored or lonely, so I try to stay busy with other things. If that doesnt help I drink more water and I work a night snack into my calories, I usually have a piece of fruit, I have seen ppl have popcorn too...
Good Luck!!
Robin

Manda1987

Do you snack in front of the TV? I used to be a big TV snacker.

Most people would frown on this, but I tend to eat a little something around 9:00. I take a medication that requires food in your stomach and has to be taken at night, so I have a little pudding and peanut butter to help satisfy my cravings.

I also replaced food with other things. I knit and crochet, or even do paint by numbers sometimes! Even doing word puzzles, sudoku, etc. would help. Personally, I love knitting because I get something at the end

mcphtm

It takes a lot of self control. I usually go to bed hungry every night (I try my best not to eat after 6, and my bedtime is around 10 or 11), but it helps me to eat a good breakfast at the same time. Just try to keep focused and remember your goals... I talk myself into not eating even when I'd really like to splurge. It's especially difficult when I'm watching food network and my wonderful boyfriend snacks late on pizza rolls You just have to control your urges!!!

jbootman

reasons: boredom, habit and fatigue

solutions: new activities and early sleep

have a meeting with yourself and make some lists, new foods to eat, new places to go, change your habits by changing your furniture around, turn your diet upside down and eat breakfast at dinner and dinner at breakfast,

take a warm bath and get to bed early, we are all sleep deprived, and those sleep deprived hormones stimulate our appetites,

if you change what you do, you will change your body

ilike2moveit

Me too. I watch TV and want to eat while I watch. Food Network also makes me really hungry so I try not to watch it at night.

rgpatr

I used to smoke cigarettes, mostly during the evenings. When I quit, I did not change the ingrained habit of bringing my hand to my mouth. In the 3 years since I quit, I've gained a bunch of weight because I kept popping Smarties and M&Ms and eating chips instead of puffing cigarettes.

I simply HAD to put something in my mouth even when I was not hungry, so before I ballooned any bigger, I had to find a healthier way to satisfy my hand-to-mouth needs.

First thing I did was make sure I ate an adequate supper so that I wasn't truly needing food. Then, I switched my usual junk food for other one-at-a-time munchies such as sunflower seeds, which had the added bonus of keeping my hands busy because of having to shell the seeds. Pumpkin seeds are also good. If you don't want to work for your treat, microwaved or air-popped popcorn with a little Spike or Cajun seasoning shaken on it has also done the trick.

I've been doing this since the first of the year and though I'm still eating at night, it seems like I'm eating less. And yes, I've actually lost a few pounds!