Problems with late night eating

tes9678

I have tried dieting for years, with no success at all. It wasn't until after my 2nd child that I realized I eat really good during the day, but at night as soon as the kids are in bed, it goes downhill. I realized I would eat my supper a few hours before bed. I still have problems with this sometimes. But the biggest problem I have found, mostly at night, but even during the day sometimes, is I eat a lot of fatty and high calorie foods. And I don't even realize I am doing it until I have finished it. Almost like I become a robot and just stuff myself. I have tried keeping little hard candies to reach for (my thinking is that little hard candy is a lot healthier than the crap I have been eating)..But how can I stop this??? Please HELP

mgobluetx12

Easy...just don't keep that stuff in the house to begin with!!!

Buy low cal, satisfying foods and plan for late night eating if that's where a lot of your calories come from. Then you can do it and not feel guilty.

LokiOfAsgard

I log my foods before or as I'm making it. That way I can decide just how much I eat from there.
Hope that helps some? :flowerforyou:

BrittanyKxo

I tend to drink water or chew gum. Brush my teeth. Tends to keep my mind off the hunger!

Dmederos

I understand what you are going through with that . I used to be the same way although I still find my self reverting back into old habbits so I tend not to buy Junk anymore but then sometimes If there is no junk I will still eat a sandwich or something but what I have found that really helps to keep that in check is eating fiberous foods and also drinking pelnty of water through out the day and even at night after dinner because it fills you up and sometimes when you are craving food it is really just that you are thirsty

Barbellerella

Its trial and error, everyone is different. See what works for you.

If your not as hungry in the AM, save some of those calories so you can have dinner or snacks later in the evening. Nutrient timing has nothing to do with weight loss, your deficit does.

Or you can try an eating cut off time, some people will do better with structure like that because they have trouble stopping themselves from overeating once they started.

Also, if you have issues with anxiety, it might be related to that, so find some different ways to de-stress in the evening as well. Good luck!

amyLhuff

One thing that has helped me is I never sit and eat a meal or anything while watching tv. I used to do that and before I knew it my dinner was gone and I was going back for more. I started shutting off the tv and now I sit and try to enjoy every bite and when I finish my portion I get up and wash the dishes make sure the kitchen is clean and get the hell outta there. Also wait 20 min after you eat that's when your brain processes that you have just eaten if you're still hungry have a giant glass of water. Mindless eating is what I want to avoid.

Michelle61361

Hey Sis! First off, you are beautiful AS IS so don't be so hard on yourself. You are raising two active little guys so I bet that once they are down for the night it is "unwind time" for you. I think that many of us struggle with late-night munchies (I sure do!). If I don't have something in the house I will eat something anyway, just like one of the gals said that she does, even if it isn't what I was craving. I think it will come down to willpower in the end but maybe try having better choices on hand. Do you crave sweets, crunchy, salty?? There are some pretty flavorful options out there. But it will be up to us to choose between hotair popcorn or Oreos, know what I mean? Glad you are here! Love you!

tes9678

Thanks! Thinking about it, I actually crave dairy products. I could have 2 glasses of milk and not realize it. Talking with the hubby I have even realized some days I don't even eat until at night because I am so busy with them and trying to do stuff around the house.

HotAshMess

I have a problem with late night eating too. What I find is that during the day (when I work), I have a lot of structured breaks (2-15 minutes breaks and a 30 minute lunch) and I can't sit and munch like I can in the privacy of my home, usually in front of the tv. So I've made some changes to the way I do things. Being a diagnosed binge eater, I still mess up. But I've found some things that help me out.

Plan your day. Plan your daily snacks so that you have something and don't get hungry and find yourself desperate for something to fill the void because cheap, fatty crap is easier to find on the fly than the good stuff. I've heard of people even logging their day on mfp so they stick to it.

Don't keep junk food in the house. This one is tricky. I struggled with this at first because I always feel like I shouldn't keep the kids (step daughter we get every other weekend, nephew who visits frequently) from having a treat. But then I realized they need more healthy options too. I wasn't doing the kids any favors by treating them with the things that led ME to being overweight. Yes...I still buy things like ice cream, cookies, and snacks....but I try to buy more of the healthier options. And when I buy the bad stuff (for me or for them) I try to buy a single serving, or the small package so that everyone gets some, but not so that I have a whole bag of chips or a whole package of oreos in my kitchen. I found buying the "best" deal often led to leftovers...that would just sit there and call to me in the middle of the night, or when the kids were gone. I would eat the rest of the oreos because the kids wouldn't be back for a week and they'd go stale, not necessarily because I wanted to eat all of them. And buying a small bag of chips might not get you the best "deal", but are you really getting a good deal on eating one giant bag?

Late night snacking is ok in moderation. What I've found is that if I HAVE to have a snack, I need to portion it out into a dish, put the rest away (wrap it up, close it up, put in cupboard-not just leave half closed on the counter) and when I'm done, then I'm done. If I absolutely positively HAVE to eat more or something else...I portion it out and then I have it. Sometimes that whole having to get up, weigh/measure another snack, is more trouble than it is worth and the time I take to do it lets my stomach settle and feel full and I don't keep eating.

Protein/fiber in the afternoon helps. I once had a nutritionist who suggested that a pb sandwich, a handful of nuts, or some refried beans on a tortilla right around 3-5 pm will give you a boost to get through the end of the day and not leave you feeling like you are starving at the dinner table and lead you to overeating.

Snack smart....if you're going to over eat, do it on something that is not that bad. Eating a giant bowl of grapes or popcorn still gives you that munchie/hand-to-mouth actions, but is still better than chips/cookies any day of the week.

Find something to occupy your hands or your mind during wind down time. I recently had a "relapse" and I was eating terrible things at night. But when I was doing really well....I was doing things like giving myself a manicure or a pedicure during t.v. time. I was taking care of myself, making myself feel good, and doing it in a way that left eating impossible (can't reach for a snack with wet nails!). Try knitting or scrap booking....you don't want grease, or cheese or sauce or peanut butter or whatever you like to snack on all over your knitting or paper projects.

I've found that when the kids go to bed...I like to have something "just for me" because all day long I refrain from doing/eating things in front of them. I feel like a jerk eating in front of kids and telling them they can't have something. So if you're like me and feel like you should get a treat, just for you, while you wind down....DO IT. Keep some "Mommy Only" skinny cow ice cream bars, or a 100 calorie pack, or some Snackwell's white chocolate drizzled caramel corn (my pick-130 calories a bag and SO worth it) in the cupboard that you don't share, that is just for you. Make it your nightly "reward" that you don't have to share. Sometimes it helps.

Good luck!