Late night eating (mostly venting)

HealthyKt78 · July 2010

I had a pretty bad day. I woke up at around 1pm and started out the day really well. I had egg whites with spinach and a yogurt for breakfast, an english muffin with peanut butter and banana for lunch. I was doing pretty well. Then I went to get the mail. I had a letter from the company I interviewed for saying I didn't get the job. A job i was more than qualified for and where the interview went better than any other interview I've ever had. Came to the conclusion that I obviously don't deserve a job. Still... I didn't go on binge eating. About an hour later my mom brings me home a mcdouble which actually wasn't bad because I was still going to be within my calories for the day. I ate it, finished my water for the day and said that was it. Boy was I wrong. My dad brought home grilled chicken wings which I've had about 10 of and I literally just devoured a waffle with way too much syrup and a giant glass of chocolate milk. If I wasn't gonna be asked where I was going by my parents, I would have gone to the store and gotten a few candy bars to binge on also. I know it's so cliche to sabotage a diet late at night. I hate being a cliche but how do I stop. I'm a night owl so until I actually find a job (which will never happen) or start fall semester I won't go to sleep until about 4am every night. No matter how good I start out the day I always ruin it by the end. I've been on here for nearly 2 years and I have nothing to show for it. I should be a success story by now but I'm a failure. It's kind of hopeless for me. I'm constantly eating, constantly thinking about food. Cliche and typical, I know. If you actually read this, thank you. I know how pathetic it is. I wish I had another place to go to so I didn't have to burden you guys with my problems. Be harsh if you wish. It's what's deserved.

melodyg · July 2010

Have you tried planning out meals? I find that when I don't plan and try to be "good" that I don't end up eating much... so by the end tof the day I am hungrier and more likely to overeat at night. I also find that when I stay up late (or anytime after midnight, typically) that I get hungrier... while if I just go to bed I don't have the urge to eat

I'm sorry you didn't get the job... I went through too many job interviews myself before deciding to be a SAHM for a bit. Job interviews are NO fun and not get the job even less so.

fabmst · July 2010

Dear Friend. Don't beat yourself up! We all have our days and the fact that you are an emotional eater doesn't help. I am one too. I have found that before I eat anything I write. I keep a notebook with me and write out anything I am feeling before I stress eat. It really helps. It is a way to get those feelings out before I put something in. It's hard when I know I feel like no one understands. I am on here at least once a day usually at night so if you want to vent to me then feel free. :flowerforyou:

HealthyKt78 · July 2010

I'm having to live at my parents house right now (another thing in my life that sucks) so I don't really have the power to plan. Everything here is pretty healthy so it's not like they're sabotaging me (I do that to myself) or anything but planning what I eat is really difficult because the food that's here changes all the time. I would love to go out and do my own grocery shopping and plan everything for the week but I can't. I also cannot fall asleep at a normal time. It's just how I'm wired. I could wake up at 7 in the morning but I just can't fall asleep that night until at least 1 or 2.

To fab: I know you mean well but I'm really not an emotional eater unless being an emotional eater means you eat no matter what emotion you're feeling. The binging at night thing is pretty much an everyday thing. Matter of fact, when I first opened the letter I didn't eat anything. It was way later in the day after I had already accepted things that I started to binge because I have nothing better to do. Thank you though.

ladybug1620 · July 2010

I'm sorry you had a bad day. I definitely know how that goes. One thing that struck me about that post is your family contributing to the bad eating habits. Do they know you are trying to lose weight? Shouldn't they be supporting you by not bringing that type of food around you? Maybe you can ask for their help on your weight loss journey.

HealthyKt78 · July 2010

I'm sorry you had a bad day. I definitely know how that goes. One thing that struck me about that post is your family contributing to the bad eating habits. Do they know you are trying to lose weight? Shouldn't they be supporting you by not bringing that type of food around you? Maybe you can ask for their help on your weight loss journey.

Actually they aren't. My dad is very healthy. He's naturally thin but he was a little chubbier a few years back and he lost it all and is so health conscious it's almost annoying. He's always trying to help. This just happened to be the one of the very very few days my mom brought home mcdonalds. It rarely happens. I have no one to blame it on but myself.

rosemary10 · July 2010

Hey girl, you are NOT pathetic. :flowerforyou: You deserve every consideration. There is a lot of great support here on MFP. We have a thread going called "No late night snacking - July". Lulabellwoowoo started it. The accountability is helpful and they pick you up when you fall. As we all do. It's pretty much the only thing I really keep up with because I work nights and the snacks everyone brings :grumble: to pass around can really get to you. Plus it's a high stress environment and a bunch of us stress eat - not helpful. I'm so glad you posted this. I'm sure you'll get lots of good ideas and support. We are here for you. Don't give up. Answers are out there for YOU. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: ( And sorry about the job. )

diet45 · July 2010

I guess I feel upset that your parents brought you Mcdouble and chicken wings. Do they know you are trying to eat healthy? We all have bad days....how about exercise or go for a walk?

HealthyKt78 · July 2010

I guess I feel upset that your parents brought you Mcdouble and chicken wings. Do they know you are trying to eat healthy? We all have bad days....how about exercise or go for a walk?

UGH!!! for the third time, it has nothing to do with them. My mom hardly ever brings home things like that. It was a one time thing and I would have still been within my calories had I only eaten the cheeseburger. The chicken wings are grilled and actually pretty healthy. I don't know the exact calorie count for them because it's just a local restaurant but I am sure they're pretty healthy for chicken wings. Regardless, I ate them knowing it would put me over my calories. He didn't force me to eat them. I chose to eat them. I have no one to blame but myself. I know you mean well but it isn't their fault, it's my own choice. I really don't like it when people blame others for messing up their diet. Yes it's hard and obviously I don't succeed when temptation is put in front of me either, but I know that it's no one's choice but my own to give in. No one forces you to eat anything, unless of course you actually are being forced.

And it's 12.20 here on the east coast. No chance for walking and I would wake everyone up if I started exercising.

matthewpaulbreuer · July 2010

You said "Be harsh if you wish. It's what's deserved." Maybe you are right about that. You have people on here reaching out to you to try and help, and all you do is push them away and tell them they are wrong for trying to help. I find it rude and offensive to people that you said "UGH!!! for the third time." I think you owe the other members an apology. If you have been on here for two years, and not making progress, maybe you are right about personal responsibility. Get your stuff together, do the work, and stop complaining. If you want to think McDonald's is fine when trying to live a healthy life, be my guest. That's your choice. Obviously something is not working in your life if you are not achieving your goals. You are all up on the self-blame, so why don't you go with that some more. That seems like a beautiful way to live. Is this harsh enough for you? Is this a good kick-in-the-pants? Good grief.

johnjely · July 2010

As far as some recommendations go, I'm afraid I have very few. We can provide a lot of advice but it's really up to you to make good on it. It's a matter of self-control and perseverance, traits that you definitely have but may have trouble utilizing.

If you think this late-night eating could be centered on boredom, try focusing on something else. Perhaps something in your bedroom, away from the kitchen. Anytime you feel as if you might want to chow down, do ten sit ups. And then do ten more. If you feel like this stems from some type of oral fixation, try to replace the motion of food-to-mouth or chewing with an alternative -- perhaps try keeping a water bottle nearby and take a drink whenever you need something close to/in your mouth, or chew copious amounts of gum to keep occupied.

Late-night exercise is difficult in a house where you have to be aware of everyone else's sleeping habits, but it's not impossible. Do calisthenics or strength in your bedroom, exercises that will heat up your body without producing much noise. It won't make you break a sweat like jogging a 5k, but hell -- you're still getting some stuff done, you're still exercising, and you'll feel great about it. Sit ups, push ups, planks, lunges, etc. Anything.

My last comment for now: I agree with matthewpaulbreu. He called it as I saw it when he said that he found your response to much support and help (requested, even) to be offensive. I agree. In my experience (and it pales in comparison to yours; I've only been here for about a month), the members of MFP are genuine. They are kind. They may not know exactly what they're talking about, especially in regards to personal problem posts such as yours, but they call it as they see and they try to provide advice in tackling that situation. They may be wrong, or they could be 100% correct, but regardless, they are exerting time and effort to try to help. I've found this support to be monumental in my success, so I know that I personally want to keep them around as much as possible.. which will include genuine thanks when they offer support, even if that support isn't exactly spot on.

Regardless, I hope you find a way to tackle this issue. Your head's moving in the right direction, you just need to find a way to make your actions follow that mindset and logic. Best of luck and keep us updated.

HealthyKt78 · July 2010

You said "Be harsh if you wish. It's what's deserved." Maybe you are right about that. You have people on here reaching out to you to try and help, and all you do is push them away and tell them they are wrong for trying to help. I find it rude and offensive to people that you said "UGH!!! for the third time." I think you owe the other members an apology. If you have been on here for two years, and not making progress, maybe you are right about personal responsibility. Get your stuff together, do the work, and stop complaining. If you want to think McDonald's is fine when trying to live a healthy life, be my guest. That's your choice. Obviously something is not working in your life if you are not achieving your goals. You are all up on the self-blame, so why don't you go with that some more. That seems like a beautiful way to live. Is this harsh enough for you? Is this a good kick-in-the-pants? Good grief.

You are just telling me things I tell myself everyday. I mentioned in two previous posts how my parents were not the problem. I'm not going to get defensive because I know that's exactly what you're looking for. I agree with everything you said as I originally stated.

I am all about honest opinions. However, when I see someone who needs a "good kick-in-the-pants" such as myself, I always give it to them in an eloquent manner. Again, I agree with everything you said. Obviously something is wrong in my life. Obviously it's my fault I can't get my 'stuff' together. But next time find a more elegant way to say it so you don't come off looking like a complete *kitten*. I am so glad that with my post you were able to up your self-confidence for the day by trying to put someone else down. It really didn't work. It actually made me feel better knowing that while I can be harsh on myself and others, I know how to state in a way that makes me look intelligent and caring rather than insulting and rude. This is your third post on this site, is this really the first impression you want to make? In case you didn't know, MFP is all about being supportive to other members when they are down on them selves. Thank you, you actually made me feel better about myself (maybe this was your goal, I don't know).

To the people who tried to reach out, thank you. I do apologize if I offended you but I wanted to make it clear that my parents are not sabotaging my diet and they actually do try to help. I was just really frustrated when everyone was suggesting it after I had already said that wasn't the case. I should have originally said how mcdonalds in my house was very rare. Thanks again to you all!

HealthyKt78 · July 2010

As far as some recommendations go, I'm afraid I have very few. We can provide a lot of advice but it's really up to you to make good on it. It's a matter of self-control and perseverance, traits that you definitely have but may have trouble utilizing.

If you think this late-night eating could be centered on boredom, try focusing on something else. Perhaps something in your bedroom, away from the kitchen. Anytime you feel as if you might want to chow down, do ten sit ups. And then do ten more. If you feel like this stems from some type of oral fixation, try to replace the motion of food-to-mouth or chewing with an alternative -- perhaps try keeping a water bottle nearby and take a drink whenever you need something close to/in your mouth, or chew copious amounts of gum to keep occupied.

Late-night exercise is difficult in a house where you have to be aware of everyone else's sleeping habits, but it's not impossible. Do calisthenics or strength in your bedroom, exercises that will heat up your body without producing much noise. It won't make you break a sweat like jogging a 5k, but hell -- you're still getting some stuff done, you're still exercising, and you'll feel great about it. Sit ups, push ups, planks, lunges, etc. Anything.

My last comment for now: I agree with matthewpaulbreu. He called it as I saw it when he said that he found your response to much support and help (requested, even) to be offensive. I agree. In my experience (and it pales in comparison to yours; I've only been here for about a month), the members of MFP are genuine. They are kind. They may not know exactly what they're talking about, especially in regards to personal problem posts such as yours, but they call it as they see and they try to provide advice in tackling that situation. They may be wrong, or they could be 100% correct, but regardless, they are exerting time and effort to try to help. I've found this support to be monumental in my success, so I know that I personally want to keep them around as much as possible.. which will include genuine thanks when they offer support, even if that support isn't exactly spot on.

Regardless, I hope you find a way to tackle this issue. Your head's moving in the right direction, you just need to find a way to make your actions follow that mindset and logic. Best of luck and keep us updated.

You actually did provide a lot of great suggestions. I really like the sit-up thing and I will definitely try it next time. I agree with matthew too. However there is a difference between being harsh and being rude, at least in my opinion. You said things I may not have wanted to hear but wrote it in a much different manner which is exactly what I would have done for someone else. Thank you for your constructive criticism. Very much appreciated. Thanks to everyone else too.

Ryhenblue · July 2010

I am a night owl also. I normally go to bed around 2am and sometimes stay up til 4am. I try and keep healthy snacks to munch on. I eat fruit, vegetables (fresh or frozen), protein shake, yogurt, or crackers. Sometimes I have chocolate too. There is nothing wrong with eating at night specially since you aren't going to bed til late. I also like doing pm yoga to help relax and get ready for bed. I'd try eating more protein at night. It keeps you satisfied longer.

dumb_blondes_rock · July 2010

I am the champion night owl, even in highschool i wouldnt' go to sleep til about 12 or so.

"planning" your food is really easy, you are making excuses and trying to quit before you even get started. All you need to do is wake up, go to the kitchen, look in your fridge and/or pantry, see what you have and make up a meals for the day. Write all the food down in your mfp food log, and fill it up until you get all your calories in. That way, if you are wanting to cheat, you type it in before you eat it and then you have to see if you are going to exercise those calories off first before you eat it, or if you aren't willing to exercise and just leave the food alone. My dad is the ultimate sabotager....he says he's going to the store to get us sodas(diet) and comes back with TONS of popcicles...i mean like 5 boxes worth....so I allow myself 2 otter pops a night, 30 calories and i don't feel so bad for eating them. Life is alllll about balance.

Also i find that if i were to eat a mcdouble(even though i gave up red meat and pork back in march) i jsut want to eat bad food ALL DAY....it like creates this monster inside me that wants something salty since i jsut had something greasy and want some icecream(something sweet) and then since i already cheated all damn day i might as well have a HUGE side of fries for dinner...it's a horrific cycle, so just because something fits into your "calorie intake" doesn't neccisarily mean its the best choice in the long run.

if you are having late night munchies one of the BEST things i have found for myself is to get some celery with peanut butter...it gives you the crunching muching you need and the peanut butter is the salty sweet to fill in that bored void. and drink a LOT of water before you eat anything and see if you are really as hungry as you thought you were, 60% of hunger pains are actually form dehydration(body wants water)

And as for being on here 2 years and not doing a thing, I am going to be 23 on aug 10 and i was supposed to have lost all this weight before my 19th bday...somehow that plan miserably failed....granted i lost a lot, gained a lot, lost some again, and gained somemore and here i am....so don't let time get you down, instead let it inspire you to change. next time you have a temptation in front of you tell yourself "you know what, i have been trying for 2 years to lose weight, i think i'm gonna skip out on this for right now"

I know its hard, but if you are SERIOUS about it then you WILL succeed. I hope this has helped you some

dumb_blondes_rock · July 2010

To fab: I know you mean well but I'm really not an emotional eater unless being an emotional eater means you eat no matter what emotion you're feeling. The binging at night thing is pretty much an everyday thing. Matter of fact, when I first opened the letter I didn't eat anything. It was way later in the day after I had already accepted things that I started to binge because I have nothing better to do. Thank you though.

you are what we call an emotional eater in serious denile haha. It doesn't say negative meotional eating or upset emotional eating....it says EMOTIONAL eating....meaning happy sad bored angry anything. I am an emotional eater...so that's how i know, i eat when i'm sad or angry or stressed or tired(how the hell i think food will wake me up i have NO clue haha) any reason to eat i do it(well not anymore thanks to medifast and planning my meals out) but i reallly do love food in all its glory. hell ill even eat food if i don't really even like it all that much, jsut because i love the feeling of being full, like almost glutton full. I had to retrain myself that food is only fuel for your body. Its great when it tastes nice, but i don't need such an ample amount of it inside me, because all in all, i'm really not hungry like that.

And stop being such a debbie downer. at the end of you post you are basically asking us to beat you up. that is NOT what this site is about. We all have out food issues and we are all here for support and to support others. Maybe if you didn't eat all those bad things you wouldn't be so damn harsh on yourself. Literally, like why would we need to pick on you when you already do it plenty. negative thoughts or feelings are only gonna make it worse. Tell that company to go eff themselves(not literally, but you can say it in your head) because they lost what would have been a GREAT asset to their team, and when the time is right the company rthat deserves you will want you. Don't make it into an eeyore fest where you are saying oh woe is me ill never get a job....everything in life happens for a reason so keep that chin up missy! I know this personally becasue i have been told SOOOO many times how i am the exact perosn they are looking for, i have the look they want or the personality(bartending) but never ever get hired, do i freak out? no...sure i get upset then i say in my brain "hey,(name of bar establishmen)' eff you, i have a HUGE network of friends that would have gave you TONS of business and yet you chose someone else, oh well you didn't deserve me anyways"

melodyg · July 2010

I agree with the pp on planning. I do try to do planning for the week... but more importantly than that, I plan for the day ahead (usually). If you know what is in your house, use some of your late night time to plan a healthy breakfast/lunch/snacks (including evening snacks!). Then you just have to adjust after-dinner snacks depending on what dinner is ( I'm assuming you don't have much choice in that and your parents cook).

Other things you can do... drink plenty of water. It keeps you full longer, stops you from drinking calories, and has all sorts of other great benefits.

Another idea I've used at times to curb late night snacking: eat dinner or whatever you have planned for the evening, then BRUSH YOUR TEETH. I don't know about you but it is tough for me to eat after brushing my teeth.

I would also take a hard look at your evening routine. What do you do at night? How does that lend itself to mindless snacking? Do you want to snack then or are you just doing it because you are bored or food is there? If you want to snack, plan some healthy snacks to choose from (I do that, because I typically get hungry between supper and bedtime). If you don't want to snack, plan some activities that do not lend themselves to snacking. Get out after supper (and before dark!) and get in a walk. Plan a snack for after that (and lots of water).

You can do this! Good luck!

msmonarae · July 2010

I can understand your pain of being out of work. I got fired from my so-called dream job on Feb 19th and I had never been fired before. I had just left my boyfriend/moved into my own place and my rent/bills was very high plus and I was stressed out my mind. The good thing for me is that I do the opposite when I am stressed I do not eat and I lost some weight but I was so stressed that I could not make myself leave the house and I did not work out the whole time I was out of work. One of the things that kept me from gaining weight while I was out of work was the fact that I did not have the money to eat out so I cooked every day and for four months I did not eat out and I had more control over my food. I could have used the time to shed more weight but I let the depression and stress keep me from focusing on my health to hit my goal weight. Use this free time to cook for yourself and workout because I wish I had done that and you can look on-line for some low cal healthy late night snacks. I can understand your stress in a down job market but try to keep a positive attitude and keep your healthy food around. Good Luck and stay motivated.. do not give up when you have a bad day.

matthewpaulbreuer · July 2010

HealthyKt78,

First off, I think a time delay in posting responses might be responsible for different people posting similar thoughts without having your follow-up responses to base their post off of. If one looks back at the time stamps during some of the conversation about 'parents', one can see that they are only a few minutes apart. Second, if you have been on MFP for two years, and have been receiving mostly warm, fluffy support and encouragement, than maybe somebody telling you things in a more blunt manner is what you need. I am fine with being considered rude and an *kitten* if that is what it takes to give you a reality check. My post was not about doing anything for myself or my confidence, but its purpose was to help you, to give you a push in the right direction. This push is more forceful than the nudging that some other members might give. This thread is about you. We all have our different methods of supporting you, and maybe it was time for a new way of hearing 'the message'.

As to me fitting into the MFP community after only have three posts, I appreciate your concern. But please notice that I had another member agree with me, and nobody seemed to correct me but you. Even though you seem to take responsibility for your health, you also seem to be placing blame all over the place, including yourself. This whole idea of blame seems unnecessary; there seems to be lots of negative energy surrounding your posts. Maybe being more upbeat and positive, and saying nice things to yourself could help. Congratulate yourself when you do something healthy.

HealthyKt78 · July 2010

Thanks everyone!!! Normally I'm pretty level headed and (somewhat) positive but everyone has their days. I'm doing much better today. I actually lost 4 pounds between yesterday and today but that's mostly due to the times of my weigh ins. I seldom get that way but so much went on yesterday that I just broke. Thanks again everyone!!! In the 2 years I've been on here I haven't gained any weight which is a change from every other year of my life so I guess that's a good thing.

HealthyKt78 · August 2010

Hey guys!! I wanted to let you all know that I found a job. Finally! I'm working at Old Navy. I started today. Pay isn't as good as the job I was up for but it'll be good enough as long as I can get enough hours. Thanks for everything!

Late night eating (mostly venting)

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