how to stop bingeing at night?! So mad at myself...

I know this topic comes up over and over again, but I am at my wit's end.

I know what I should be eating. I know I should not eat mindlessly at night. I know I am not even hungry! but i am stuck! i will hit all my macros, and then it goes to crap at 10pm. it's not really about avoiding having junk around, because something comes over me and I will eat whatever is available (string cheese, dried fruit, leftovers, crackers, anything.) it's not like i'm seriously depriving myself during the day, either. i will have 1600-1800 cals of balanced food (protein veg fruit healthy fats, some whole grains, dairy, avoiding too much sugar) spaced throughout the day. And I still become a bottomless pit after dinner.

I don't want or need to lose weight fast. i just want to lose a pound a week. i have probably 60 pounds to be a healthy size, this should be easy. what is wrong with me?

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

Night time snacking used to be such a problem for me. You do it for so many years, it is hard to stop once you are getting the rest of you eating habits together. I'm like you, if I could leave some calories for a snack, that would be good, but the snack set off a binge. I just had to break the habit, and I did that by exercising every night. It was the only thing that worked. Didn't even have to be a hard workout- just 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill or yoga. It took a month of replacing snacking with exercise to break the habit (30 day treatment!), but now it is broken! I don't have to workout at night anymore, either. I feel like a normal person, lol. Cutting out sugar, and adding some protein helped me a ton, too.

I think a majority of us who are overweight have emotional eating issues. I don't mean that we're really depressed and so we go scarf down a whole bag of chips. I went to a weight-loss group a few years back and emotional eating was discussed there quite a bit. A lot of us have grown up learning that food is something we use to celebrate, or to make us feel better. So sometimes we eat not because we're hungry but because we're happy, sad, stressed, nervous, frustrated, tired, bored, lonely, etc. Some of us binge, others like me snack, little bits here and there which adds up to a lot of food. This extra food that I don't need really adds up and is a major obstacle for me in my weight loss journey. Eating is kind of an addiction for me. I've had other addictions in the past, and now that I've over come those (or continue to overcome them, once an addict always an addict) I find myself using food almost like it's just another drug. I guess the real question is "what is it that we are trying to avoid, or not dealing with that is making us binge or snack all the time?" Maybe this is not the issue for everyone who overeats but I think it is for a large portion of us.
I guess the idea of replacing a bad habit with a good one is a place to start. I don't really have any other advice. I'm sure there is lots of reading material on this subject, both online and in print. Maybe I should check it out myself.lol

I am a boredom eater as well. And a "like the thought of that" eater. I hate how everything wants to call me an emotional eater when tested. There is really no emotional pattern. Its a "I know how good that tastes" or "Nothing better to do" pattern.

I myself am trying to figure out ways to curb night munchies. Even if just cutting back at first (doing now) its at least something. Gotta find something more interesting to do at night I guess.

Try planning a healthy snack into your plan for the evening. After you eat it brush your teeth. That's a good deterrent for me.

I know this topic comes up over and over again, but I am at my wit's end.

I know what I should be eating. I know I should not eat mindlessly at night. I know I am not even hungry! but i am stuck! i will hit all my macros, and then it goes to crap at 10pm. it's not really about avoiding having junk around, because something comes over me and I will eat whatever is available (string cheese, dried fruit, leftovers, crackers, anything.) it's not like i'm seriously depriving myself during the day, either. i will have 1600-1800 cals of balanced food (protein veg fruit healthy fats, some whole grains, dairy, avoiding too much sugar) spaced throughout the day. And I still become a bottomless pit after dinner.

I don't want or need to lose weight fast. i just want to lose a pound a week. i have probably 60 pounds to be a healthy size, this should be easy. what is wrong with me?

I just took a look at your food diary for the past week, there are a lot of days that you show nothing at all for dinner or lunch to eat and I do believe if you are skipping meals you are going to find yourself eating more late at night. I found out for me I was snacking late at night due to not getting enough protein in my day especially on the days I work out for 2 hours. Once I increased my protein at dinner time I didn't have no desire to snack. If you would like to look at my diary feel free to, you will see I eat good and don't go hungry at all. You can friend me if you want to, would love to have you as a friend :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

I looked at your diary and I think you might want to try eating more protein and less carbs especially at dinner the carbs break down faster usually and this could lead to that restless feeling later at night I go with a 40 40 20 now and don't have as much trouble at night I didnt think I was hungry but my body was " LOOKING " for something more so when I worked out hard. with the higher protein at dinner I was more satisfied

You are right on target with this!!!! I couldn't figure out why I was so hungry after dinner and always wanted to eat, then I started looking at my diary and on the days I worked out heavy I wasn't getting enough protein now I don't snack late at night do to being satisfied with enough protein and little carbs. I think the carbs cause you to want to eat more.

I agree from experience. recently upped my protein and vegetable intake, balancing healthy fats and fibre also. for me it was a big difference in terms of energy and satisfaction. I have to push myself a bit now to make sure I eat my cals for the day.

LoraF83, even saving calories won't help. if i start eating that late, I just don't stop at the right time.

I have even tried shifting all my meals so that my regular dinner is later in an attempt to just schedule my eating for when it is already happening. Again, i lose control and overdo things.

That is sounding more and more like self control. If water does not help...it is self control. Just as an addict needs to quit drugs, gambling, drinking...you must stop binging....simple.

^^this. you have to promise yourself no and keep that promise. and i agree with the recommendation to replace the activity with exercise. exercise will burn off some of the stress that comes with quitting a bad habit, too.

This is also helpful, because if you're having cravings and you really don't want vegetables, you can use that as an indicator that you're not really hungry.

^^ i love this, so true.

I know how you feel! My suggestion is to eat a filling dinner relatively late in the evening (7-7:30?) and not even start with the snacks. Have tea or even hot chocolate if you're feeling hungry. Just don't open the snacks!