Hints and tips!

Opening your diary would be helpful.

I find no obsessing too much over everything being healthy/clean is good. If you're craving chocolate have some chocolate just make it a small piece/fit it into your macro's. I think if you're constantly eating tuna, chicken, salmon, flank steak, salad's, etc it can get a little old and the longer you withhold certain foods the worse the craving gets and the more likely you are to over-inculdge/binge.

Make sure you're getting enough protein as this makes you feel fuller longer. Check out any carb/sugar that could be spiking insuilin levels leading to cravings/munchies.

Lots and lots of water helps me sometiems with late night cravings and planning/leaving some calories for after dnner helps me stay within my goals

I'd consider budgeting for a few extra evening snacks and calories. I'm a night owl also, and I find that I need to leave myself an extra few hundred calories so I can snack a little at night and not go over my calorie budget.

Also, make sure you're not undereating during the day and allowing yourself to get too hungry during the day. For me, when I do that, I have a bad habit of binge eating on junk food. It's important for me to stay fed and not get too hungry during the day.

Ask yourself if you are really hungry. If the answer is no, do not allow yourself to eat. If the answer is yes, make yourself a light snack and enjoy.

As you mentioned, this is likely just a habit. And breaking a habit is hard! You will need to deprive yourself of that late night binge for several days. It will be really tough, and you are not going to like it. But after a bit you will stop expecting to eat at that particular time and it will become easier.

I wish there was an easier answer but unfortunately it just comes down to self-control.

Plan, plan, plan and only have "good" things around. Plan your meals out in the morning or the day before if you can so that when night time comes, you know exactly what you planned to have - also try and space it out if you can.

I probably complete most of my diary in the morning around 3-4 days out of every 7 and also leave a little bit for snacks. But I also keep low calorie snacks around and mini-cheeses work well. Most recently I got into diet soda (never been a big soda drinker - at all), but I find that it definitely keeps me from wanting to eat anything. (Last night I bought a low cal dessert that I love, but after having an Orangina light - it's not completely soda, but it's diet - I didn't feel like having my dessert ).

I'm kinda the same way. It hasn't messed up my weight, it just makes me feel like a freak. We need to stop worrying about what is "normal eating" There is no normal eating. Just love yourself anyway. We could be worse