Late night eating

cedes123

Hello, My name is Mercedes and I have a problem with night eating and getting up in the middle of the night eating. Any tips on what to do to stop this late night craving or tips to overcome it??? Thanks in Advance...

lilkeens

Save a few hundred calories for night time so you don't go over. If you smoke weed then try not to blaze before bed...good luck i suck at eating and night too

metco89

this has been a huge struggle for me also. I would do great all day and then boom night would hit and i would just pig out and then feel horrible the next morning. What i did was, first eat breakfast every morning even if i didn't feel hungry, then i did the 6 small "feedings" a day as i call them Saving enough calories for a snack before bed. I usually have a fat free yogurt, or if i am really "starving" i will eat some turkey ham ( 2 oz) or something like that. then stay up at least and an hour and get my butt in bed before i can talk myself into eating anything else. I am ok with this and still losing. I got into a pair of jeans yesterday that 2 weeks ago i couldn't button. So I don't know if this will help but i hope so. have a great and successful day!!!

Jassel

If you eat late at night a good way to help is cut out carbs after 5pm. So eat whatever, however late - but NO CARBS. This means nothing with bread/rice/wheat/couscous etc etc you get the picture.

Now chances are, when you eat late at night - carbs is pretty much what you eat. So the advice is simple - eat, but eat different. Choose to eat some veg, nuts, maybe fruit, a whole chicken - so long as there's no carbs involved.

Slowly you'll find that you won't want to eat so late any more, and the food that you do eat makes you full. Carbs have an awful affect on people who are trying to lose weight, because you're never satisfied when you eat them. It will take about 4 days of dedication and then you'll wonder why you relied on them so much. And your late night bingeing will stop soon after.

Best of luck!

tabbyanny

I had/have the same problem! I'm still breaking myself, but I've been "clean" for about 7 weeks! lol! I bet quitting late night eating, is like trying to quit smoking....maybe harder! These are some things that I've been doing. Maybe they will work for you! First and foremost, I make sure to eat a nice sized breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a small snack in between each of those everyday. Just like a piece of fruit or, my favorite snack lately, a serving of pretzel chips. I have another small snack like 3 or 4 hours before my usual bed time. I keep a bottle of water by my bed, so that if I wake up hungry I can just reach over and chug some water! That way I don't have to get up and risk looking in the pantry! For those times that I do get up, I keep a pair of "goal" jeans hanging in the pantry. It really helps when you open the door looking for junk and see a pair of super cute, super little jeans staring back at you! Also, don't keep any junkfood in the house. That is a little hard for me since I have 2 young children, but I've been changing their eating habits too, so the junk collection is almost nonexsistent! I keep some sugar free hard candy (my fav is werthers) and I'll have one or two of those if I absolutely can't stand just drinking water....that's usually during my lovely monthly visitor. Strangely, I've found that brushing, flossing, and using mouth wash right before bed helps too. Not sure why, but it does! So, I did have a bad habit of going to bed without brushing my teeth first, so now I've actually killed two birds with one stone! It really comes down to individual needs and what works for you, but these things have helped me. Good luck!

cedes123

Thanks everyone for posting on my topic. I will try all of these suggestions and let you know how they turn out. THANKS!!!

shanerylee

Firstly I am cracking up at the posting about blazing before bed, that is hysterical.
Secondly, I have been doing this for years. I found that the later in the day/night I excercise the better off I am and dont wake up to eat because Im too tired. I have also found that using breath spray in my mouth when I wake up helps, because nothing tastes good after spraying that. I was once even involved in a sleep study/night eating at University Penn. 20/20 wanted to do a special on it and feature me, they were going to set up cameras in my house to tape this. I declined and was mortified.
Good luck with this and make sure you count the calories. I have carried them over to the next day and that makes me work even harder to burn more off.

ryanmelissa09

I have a crazy work schedule where I work anywhere from 6pm til sometimes 4 am in the morning so I have a tendency to eat late at night too. What I usually do is if it is too late or past 10 pm and I do find myself hungry , I will have a tbsp of peanut butter or a handfull of almonds. Hope this helps.

Chelsinicole63

I will chug a glass of water so my stomach is full, then the thought of food kind of grosses me out.. haha
or try finding low calorie things to eat before bed, like carrots, pickles, broccoli.
ORRRR.... you could buy crystal light packets (I am addicted to them, im amazed theyre only 10 calories)

PJilly

If you eat late at night a good way to help is cut out carbs after 5pm. So eat whatever, however late - but NO CARBS. This means nothing with bread/rice/wheat/couscous etc etc you get the picture.

Now chances are, when you eat late at night - carbs is pretty much what you eat. So the advice is simple - eat, but eat different. Choose to eat some veg, nuts, maybe fruit, a whole chicken - so long as there's no carbs involved.

Slowly you'll find that you won't want to eat so late any more, and the food that you do eat makes you full. Carbs have an awful affect on people who are trying to lose weight, because you're never satisfied when you eat them. It will take about 4 days of dedication and then you'll wonder why you relied on them so much. And your late night bingeing will stop soon after.

Best of luck!

I'm not sure why you think carbs would be so bad. Too many calories of anything is going to affect weight loss. I know everyone has their own idea of what the best ratios are. Mine overall are 50% carbs, 25% protein, and 25% fat, but my typical evening snack is 234 calories and consists of 44 grams of carbs and 8 grams of protein (50 grams of Cheerios + 4 oz. 1% milk), and that hasn't hindered my weight loss. I often eat it only an hour before bed. :noway: Besides, fruits and veggies are predominantly carbs. For me, the keys to keeping late-night eating under control are eating enough throughout the day and saving a couple hundred calories for an after-dinner snack.

Edited to add: I would think eating a whole chicken for an evening snack might not be the best idea. :laugh: I googled it. I have no idea if this is accurate, but this is what I found:
"Well it depends on the size of the chicken. Usually about 600--800 calories without skin and 1200-1400 with skin."

IsMollyReallyHungry

If you eat late at night a good way to help is cut out carbs after 5pm. So eat whatever, however late - but NO CARBS. This means nothing with bread/rice/wheat/couscous etc etc you get the picture.

Now chances are, when you eat late at night - carbs is pretty much what you eat. So the advice is simple - eat, but eat different. Choose to eat some veg, nuts, maybe fruit, a whole chicken - so long as there's no carbs involved.

Slowly you'll find that you won't want to eat so late any more, and the food that you do eat makes you full. Carbs have an awful affect on people who are trying to lose weight, because you're never satisfied when you eat them. It will take about 4 days of dedication and then you'll wonder why you relied on them so much. And your late night bingeing will stop soon after.

Best of luck!

I agree with above. It helps to stick to complex carbs, protiens, etc. Carbs like bread, fiber bars, etc tend to keep you eating. If you stick to protiens and complex carbs (veggies and fruits) you will far better. Even popcorn is a bad carb or snack before bed time. I have heard that this works for some because high in fiber.

The brushing teeth works from me also. Keep in mind everyone is different. You have to find what works best for you. Carbs may be ok for you. Just make sure to save your self some calories for you habit. I use my exercise calories for late night snacks and some days I save 2 thirds of my calories for after work to accomodate late nights.

I will say it again, experiment and find what works best for YOU......:-)

You can do it!!!

asm2260

It was only a few months ago that I realized that I was eating almost 800 cal a night hanging in front of the TV...I think some of it was bordem...
I have been so good...and these are a few of the things I do to stop..
I brush my teeth, mentally I do not want to brush again....I refuse to go down stairs if I wake, keep a bottle of water at my bed side and I have an upstairs bathroom.
And finally...I read Jillian Michaels book Boost your Metabolism..she recommends no eats after 9p...She explains that when you eat prior to sleep, the body has nothing to do with those calories...(you are not up and moving and calorie burn is low while sleeping)...so in turn after digestion of the extra calories, the body will then store it....most likely in fat cells...So I use visualization and picture what it is I am eating going directly to my BUTTOCKS....lol..and I realize all the good work from all day may just have been futile if I give in to the cravings....I also like the feeling when I get up the next day and see no bloat in my stomach area....
Just a couple of my ways of saying NO....
You can do it!

mythicals

I used to split up my calories so that I would force myself to eat a huge breakfast, barely any dinner and go to bed hungry. Try having a bigger dinner or save a few hundred calories for a dessert. Brush your teeth right after so you're not tempted to eat anything else.

nyprdiva

Hey Mercedes. I am guilty of the late night eating myself. But I recently started reading the Wall Street Diet by Heather Bauer (really a lifestyle change book for people to busy to diet) and she had a few good suggestions. I crave sweets at night so she suggested having fruit. That worked for me. But she also suggested that you should invest in turkey (deli meat) as they are low in calorie (a whole pack is like 150 calories). Because you are less likely to over indulge on turkey, you usually will just eat one or two slices and the tryptophan will relax you and help you get back into a sleeping mode.

Check out the book here if you are interested: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Wall-Street-Diet/Heather-Bauer/e/9781401322588.

ryanmelissa09

I will chug a glass of water so my stomach is full, then the thought of food kind of grosses me out.. haha
or try finding low calorie things to eat before bed, like carrots, pickles, broccoli.
ORRRR.... you could buy crystal light packets (I am addicted to them, im amazed theyre only 10 calories)

Crystal light packets are the best. White grape is my favorite, I havent tried chugging a glass of water before bed , which sounds like a great alternative and less calories , I will have to try that!!