How to stop eating in the middle of the night.

Lacey9693

I have done really good over the past 2 years and have lost almost 100 lbs. My last struggle is that I am bad about eating in the middle of the night . Usally when I wake up to go to the bathroom I end up eating a snack. I do track the calories on here , but I know its not good to do. I always go for the sweets. Any suggestions would be great. I just wake up really hungry and have to eat something. I have done this since I was a teenager.:drinker:

firecracker72

Drink a big glass of water instead. Good luck.

TinaS88

Grab fruit instead of sweets! :P:P

hotziggy20052

If it were me I would just eat an apple or banana, or even have yourself a small bowl of the healthy special K cereal. AS long as you're not eating ice cream or something very greasy you should be okay.

hearmihands

Hey, I have had the same problem. Once I stopped eating in the middle of the night I lost a lot. What I really belive it to be is thirst. Keep a bottle of water/glass next to your bed. Then push your feet to the bathroom and then back to that water. It takes a lot of will but in the morning you will feel so proud of yourself. Plus you won't wake up with that yuck taste in your mouth.

Pebble321

This is a hard one, it sounds as though you have done this for a long time.

I would suggest starting by planning a healthy snack that you have ready and waiting. Make sure it is accounted for in your calories for the day (doesn't matter which day as long as you count it).
And make it a small snack - a few (5 or 6) almonds, half a glass of skim milk, quarter of an apple... something little that is ready so you can eat it and then go straight back to bed.

If you want to stop, this is probably going to be harder. Does it help if you have a snack just before you go to bed? Or try having a drink of water when you wake up, instead of eating? Or, look at changing your routine - do you have another bathroom in the house so you aren't doing exactly the same thing every night, this might help remind you that things are different now.
Or, just write a big note saying NO SNACK and leave it in the kitchen where you will see it, and it will remind you even if you are half alseep.

Good luck! And congrats on your weight loss, you've done really well!

sdwelk11

I have been eating 4 400 calorie meals every 4 hours a day and drinking only water and I no longer have hunger pains or cravings. Maybe try that and see. Are you feeling hungry or is it a mental thing!

sl1mmy

I was there, i did that.

First I would consider having my bloob sugar tested because at your age it is not normal to go to bathroom during the night exept if you are pregnant. Besides diabetes you can have this kind of problem just by eating too much sugar witch was my problem. When I say sugar, I don't only say cakes or candy, fruits in excess can lead to the same condition. I used to go to bathroom 2-3 times at night when I was eating too much fruits. ( and having always hunger and needing to eat at night).

Try to reduce sugar the most you can. Eat one or two fruits a day maximum. Add almonds and nuts to your diet especially at before sleeping snack. Eat whole weat bread products and complete rice.

You will see not only that you dont eat at night anymore but that you seep all night without going to bathroom. That was my personnal experience.

You don't have to get there by willpower what you need is strategy!

Good luck !

sdwelk11

I was there, i did that.

First I would consider having my bloob sugar tested because at your age it is not normal to go to bathroom during the night exept if you are pregnant. Besides diabetes you can have this kind of problem just by eating too much sugar witch was my problem. When I say sugar, I don't only say cakes or candy, fruits in excess can lead to the same condition. I used to go to bathroom 2-3 times at night when I was eating too much fruits. ( and having always hunger and needing to eat at night).

Try to reduce sugar the most you can. Eat one or two fruits a day maximum. Add almonds and nuts to your diet especially at before sleeping snack. Eat whole weat bread products and complete rice.

You will see not only that you dont eat at night anymore but that you seep all night without going to bathroom. That was my personnal experience.

You don't have to get there by willpower what you need is strategy!

Good luck !

I disagree, I am neither pregnant or diabetic but the amount of water I drink all day long causes me to wake up during the night at times to urinate. I don't necessarily believe that your reasoning is the only reason for someone to get up during the night. There are any number of reasons out there.

Here is one link of many that give other reasons for the frequent urination:
http://www.edubook.com/common-causes-of-frequent-urination-at-night/9001/

Linda_1963

I have been doing this for many months. I'll get up and go to the bathroom, then head for the kitchen. It's usually salty snacks like potato chips or a PB sandwich. It's every night. The thing is I'm NOT even hungry. I don't understand it. I've gained weight and I know this is why. I'm at my heaviest than I've been in since 1998. This is very frustrating. I do eat a snack before bed. I brush my teeth because I was told by a dietician that may help. I know that living alone does not help. There's no one around to kick my butt. Not have support is also a problem. I'm not active either and that's a problem. But I really want to STOP eating in the middle of the night. I know I could drop some pounds if I did.

Ed98043

When I know I can't resist certain things, I don't buy them. Why do you have sweets in the house?

jessthep1rate

Maybe, since you are already in the bathroom just before you go for that snack, try either brushing your teeth before you leave the bathroom, or just gargling with mouthwash if brushing your teeth is too time consuming to do in the middle of the night. That way, your mouth will feel less inclined to want food tastes in it, and you'll have less morning breath too! It'll probably be hard to remember to do it when you're half asleep and so used to the bathroom, snack, back to bed routine, but I'm sure after a while it would become second nature.

Pretherius

Part of it is going to be willpower, naturally.

But the best thing you can do is to control your water and food intake near bedtime so that you stop having to wake up. Ideally, don't eat or drink within 3 hours of going to bed. Also, very salty foods (especially late in the day) will make your body hold on to water for several hours, much of which your body will make you flush out overnight when you're trying to sleep.

It's important for you to resolve this. Aside from the added calories, eating at night is really terrible for your teeth--I've learned this the hard way.

bykowskia

There is no silver bullet to changing habits, especially deeply rooted ones.

What many people find helpful is... in the moment... when you find yourself in the kitchen at 2 AM... to take three deep breaths. Then see how you feel. You may find you don't want to snack. You may want to. Long lasting change takes time so go easy on yourself. Keep pointing yourself in the right direction and you will get there.

blueeyesal

I'm very surprised nobody has mentioned this yet, but this behavior shows the characteristics of NES (night eating syndrome) which is a very real eating disorder but is pretty rare so not many people are familiar with it. I have been suffering from it for 14 yrs and it has gotten much better at times and very very bad at other times. I know it will not go away completely so my goal is to find ways to help manage it. The hardest part is that the behaviors are compulsive and driven by the subconscious mind so it's not as easy as making the decision to go back to bed and not eat. Also it doesn't have much to do with eating during the day, it happens even when there is no hunger present at night. It's due to brain chemicals and hormones being out of whack but presently there is no cure or treatment for it. I can suggest some tips that help make the night time episodes smaller and less damaging if anyone that might be interested in hearing them. Good luck

wubbykid

Usually in the winter I get cold or chilly, and my body's reaction is to reach for a snack, or four!

I go wear something warm, and I stop being hungry. Could it be your body is trying to warm itself up with food? Plus, its cooler at night, even in the summer.

barbaradetz

Try eating protein before you go to bed, like a handful of peanuts or walnuts. Protein keeps you from feeling hungry.

pammyd76

I had an issue with feeling that healthy type hunger before going to sleep. I thought I needed to be full to fall asleep. So, what I did and it worked for me, was to tell myself "I'll try and sleep. If I'm awake in 30 min, I'll eat something." Eventually, you just fall asleep. Perhaps you could keep a piece of fruit by the bed so you don't have to walk to the kitchen. Tell yourself that if you don't fall back to sleep, you can eat the fruit. You'll find what works for you.

pammyd76

Edit: oh geez I just noticed this is an ancient thread...oh well I'll just leave my comment there for anyone else who might bump this thread.
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Me too - haha!