Eating at night

I always plan to eat about 25% of my calories after dinner. I think I'd be far more likely to loose control and overeat if I didn't have that cushion there. There's nothing really wrong with nighttime snacking as long as you choose healthy foods and stay within your calories.

As katherine stated there is nothing wrong with eating at night..I have a habit of wanting to eat at night as well..When i'm laying in bed watching tv my mind starts wandering and thinking about food..With my workout routine i usually have plenty of room to eat a little something at night..I also drink about 20oz of water so it will help fill me up.Don't beat yourself up if you eat at night..Maybe try adding more exercise into your routine so you have more room to say binge at night..Good luck!!

We have a group for this exact problem!! The group is called Evening Eaters. I do this all the time too, it is crazy how quicky I can ruin a "good" day just by overeating after dinner. I really think it is more habit than anything, I know I'm not hungry but I still do it. I think the key is to learn to replace the habit with something else. Some people in our group have suggested drinking tea, chewing sugar free gum, and eating fruit. For me, since it seems to be a habit, I'm going to try to replace evening eating with exercise. I have 2 boys that usually go to bed at 8:00, I have a treadmill in my house and I think I'm going to start walking in the evenings after they go to bed because their bedtime seems to be the trigger that sets me off. Its like they go to bed and then that's our quiet time to watch TV and just veg out then I eat. I'm thinking that if you replace it with something else, like exercise, you won't be able to eat. I've also thought about having an eating cutoff time. I know that it doesn't matter what time of day you eat, but for those of us that save our calories and then eat a ton at night it might really help. I know what you mean about beating yourself up, I did the exact same thing last night. I ate perfectly all day then got home and went crazy. I think we just have to take it one day at a time because if you look at the big picture it can be overwhelming. Feel free to add me as a friend so we can support each other and check out the group!!

Are you within your calorie and macro goals for the day? If so, I'm not sure what the problem is.... there is nothing wrong with eating later at night as long as you are still within your calorie and macro goals.

Evenings are my downfall as well. I will often do very well all day only to ruin it with my eating after dinner. I saw a post above mention the group Evening Eaters. I've joined and I'm hoping it will help me to be more successful!

There is nothing, per se, wrong with eating at night, as long as your total caloric intake for the day is within whatever limit you set. Calories are calories regardless of what time of day you eat them. Some people find eating at night disrupts their sleep, but I find a bedtime snack helps me sleep since I'm not hungry when I go to bed.

Same. You have nothing to feel bad about as long as you don't go over your calories!

And if you do, add them on to the next day and then eat less that day to compensate, maybe that will make you feel better? I've done that once or twice where I've had a snack at midnight and thought ah rather than go over for today I will just add that on to tomorrow (or that would technically NOW be today at midnight) and burn it off then.

I have a practice that seems odd, but works for me.
After dinner is cleaned up, about 7 or so, I do this:
I announce, out loud, even if I'm alone: "The kitchen is Now Closed!".
Then I turn out the light and don't enter that room until morning. If I need water for later, I bring it out before "closing".
I'm lucky, I can close the door to the kitchen and make that room off limits until morning.

My mom struggled with late night hunger too. Save up a bit of calories and eat peanut butter on something like an apple or celery or rice cakes. For some reason my mom found peanut butter was filling and helped control the late night hunger.

whats wrong with this if you have the calories?

My after dinner eating is triggered by the kitchen. When I walk into the kitchen for any reason, my mind tells me "I'm hungry". I guess old habits die hard.

Now that I'm aware of this behavior, I know that I'm not hungry, I'm just in the kitchen - and I get the hell out ASAP.

I eat up till 11:00pm EVERY NIGHT. Meal timing doesn't matter if you're within calorie limits.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

This. Eat whenever you bloody want as long as you're within calorie limits! Bring on the late night eating

When you feel guilty about eating normally, that is a sign of an eating disorder.

I have a practice that seems odd, but works for me.
After dinner is cleaned up, about 7 or so, I do this:
I announce, out loud, even if I'm alone: "The kitchen is Now Closed!".
Then I turn out the light and don't enter that room until morning. If I need water for later, I bring it out before "closing".

I love this idea. The mind is so powerful, and retraining the way you think is an important step in being successful.

Ugh, me too. I can go all day and then be starving right before bed. If I eat one bite I get obnoxious hunger cravings.