Late Night Binging

bhelmreich

I have a HUGE problem with this. Its not just a once a month thing where I can move on and promise not to do it again. Like two nights ago, I got home from work at 11:30pm and made myself some popcorn because I was starving. That doesn't seem too bad, until i grabbed some chocolate and then some cheese and crackers. I must have had at least 800cal and it was not even a meal! This is like a 2-3x a week thing and I know its what hindering my weightloss(duh). As I'm eating, my mind tells me I do not need these calories but I keep scarfing them down. How do you guys refrain? Its not like I can just go to bed early because I sometimes work late nights or have to study until the wee hours of the morning. I need help!!

Meggie_pooh

I usually save at least 200 calories for my "midnight snack" everyday. I find that if I don't have a snack b4 bed I wake up and eat my daughter's cereal (which btw is LOADED with sugar!) So at night, I will have a small bag of popcorn, or a nutrigrain bar, or maybe a 100 cal pack of cookies. Sometimes I make a smoothie. Do what makes u comfortable with ur diet. Sometimes NOT doing it by the books is the best thing for us!

Adsnwfld

I have the exact same problem. For me it is that first bite of junk that gets me spinning out of control. If I can refrain from that I can hold it together and go to bed just fine. Last binge was a fundraiser candy bar that started it. I dipped it in peanut butter (and aside from the candy at 300+ calories I had 4 servings of peanut butter at 190 each) then I couldn't resist the jelly beans in the candy dish and a few peanut butter eggs ... and that was it, the day was blown.

It all started with that first bite. Try something like baby carrots, even if you kill the whole bag that is only about 250 calories.

jkestens63

I have the same problem and I solved it by eating the majority of my calories in the evening. I know a lot of people will tell you not to eat anything after 7:00 pm but if I try to do that I'll start grazing/binging by 9:00 pm.

I will have a fruit snack at 6:00 pm. Toast or crackers with tea at 7:00 pm. I usually eat dinner sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 pm. I have a glass of skim milk and a 100 calorie snack pack right before bed, sometime between 11:00 & 11:30 pm. And honestly if I need it, I'll have another piece of fruit at 10pm if I start feeling like I want to munch on something. Keep in mind too though that I burn a lot of exercise calories so I can afford to eat like that.

I know there's alot of people out there cringing at the thought of eating like that so late but I've lost a lot of weight and it works for me. I believe it comes down to calories in vs. calories in the course of 24 hours, not when you eat them.

Good luck!

bhelmreich

Thanks for the tips I'm gonna try out a few things and see what works well for me!

olyrose

This is one of my biggest challenges!

I started having little snacks throughout the day. I would always be so hungry by the time I got home from work, then start snacking and never be able to regain control of my eating. So snacking makes it so I'm usually not that hungry at any point throughout the day, which saves me later at night.

Also try to just have a little of whatever I'm craving if the craving doesn't go away. Like grab a few chips and see if that works out. If not, then grab some water or find something to keep me busy and distract me for a few minutes (like pack a snack for work the next day, put some dishes away, stretch, put lotion on, something)

Also having some tea, diet hot chocolate, glass of milk, something that makes me feel like I'm consuming without adding too much to my daily intake.