please help with night time binging

pchristie · July 2010

I have a very odd but serious problem, and I don't know how to solve it. I was hoping that perhaps one of you may have experienced this or may be able to give me some advice on how to stop doing this. I have been logging my food and exercise and blogging daily for nearly a week. This seemed to stop me from binging in the middle of the night - until last night. I woke up this morning with an empty plate beside me and painfully remembered that at around 1am I woke up starving, went into the kitchen, and ate whatever I could find not caring about the calories. Last night it was a tuna melt complete with regular fat american cheese and a full size hershey bar.

At the time, I am half asleep and I justify eating the food in my mind by telling myself that my body is telling me I'm hungry, so I must be, so it's okay. The next morning I feel awful. I will add what I ate to today's log, but it's going to mean that I will have a lot of working out to do to not be in the red today.

When I woke up this morning, I looked at the empty plate and immediately felt so discouraged because I thought that I had stopped doing this. I think I am PMS too which may feed into it - I'm not sure. I turned on the television and the infomercial for SENSA was on. I thought about trying that - but I have spent so much money on weight loss aids, and they never work, and I can't afford to spend another dime on something that doesn't work.

I need a pill or something that will turn off my appetite. I feel like a food addict. I am very discouraged. How can I stop waking up in the middle of the night and sabotaging all my efforts? Thanks so much.

kwardklinck · July 2010

It's all about choices. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I drink water first. If I'm still hungry, I'll have a piece of lunchmeat or a small piece of cheese. It never affects my weight the next day if it's protein. That's enough to settle me back down to sleep. I know it stinks and I get food cravings too, but it's my choice to give into them or not.

MissNova · July 2010

I understand exactly. I had the same problem until I realized I was not hungry at all I just wanted to eat. There is a big difference. I started a challenge where I would not anything after 7pm. If in fact I did eat after it would be something healthy maybe like a hand full of nuts or something. Do not eat just to eat. Have a glass of water. Trust me it will work if you are determined. Good luck!

MelissaBranch · July 2010

I still have that problem. I'm currently working on mine too. Last night was peanuts and granola bars...barS. Im not going to say how much I ate lol, but I'm not feeling to well this morning either. Good luck..we can do it!

pchristie · July 2010

Thanks so much. I think it would help if I had a glass of water first. I have noticed that since I started doing this, my body does confuse thirst with hunger. When I am fully awake, I can make that choice, but when I wake up in the middle of the night, it's like I'm not even thinking about what I am doing. Maybe I should put a sign on my nightstand saying "drink water first" as a reminder

Does anyone think that diet pills are a good appetite suppressant? Probably not, but it would be so cool to just shut off my cravings. It seems that the older I get, the harder it is. I wonder if that's hormonal too. It just seems that it should make sense for us to eat what we need, stop when we are satisfied, exercise regularly, and be healthy. We are way too complicated.

I entered all the food I ate at midnight - 773 calories. I can't believe it. I am already over my fat limit today and I haven't even had breakfast yet - it's ridiculous. I'm so discouraged. I am going to go work out now. I have a lot of work to do. Thank you for any advice or help you can offer.

amg_89 · July 2010

I sort of understand what you are struggling with. I just recently was able to calm down over a year of severe binging and 20+ lbs weight gain. However, mine always occurred during waking hours and I imagine being half conscious is much harder to battle than being totally conscious. Still, maybe some things that I did can help you too.

I analyzed my stress. When I felt stressed out I would automatically binge. Instead, when I felt stress coming on I would figure out what exactly was stressing me out and what I could do to take care of that stress. If it was school, I would just sit down and do whatever school work I needed to do. If it was something out of my control, I just kept telling myself that it was out of my hands, so there's no point in worrying about it.

I stopped dieting. Before my binging started I was a borderline anorexic and allowed myself a very limited number of calories from a very limited range of sources. After I gained so much weight from binging I decided to stop counting. Yes, I was uncomfortable with my weight and with myself, and I still held on to a lot of healthy eating habits, like whole wheat bread, lean meat, and lots of fruits/veg, but I would eat dessert, I'd eat lasagna, I'd eat granola. And it wasn't always a small piece or a half a cup. I'm a foodie, I ate food.

Eventually my binges became smaller and smaller and now, sure I overeat a little sometimes, but I don't eat till I'm sick, I don't eat in secret, I don't blow money on binge food.

I hope these tips help you some, I know how terrible it can be. I know the shame and the depression and the plummeting self-esteem. You're not alone, just remember that.

Also, you mentioned diet pills that can help? There is a thermogenic called OxyElite Pro. It's expensive, as are all appetite suppressants, but I took it for a while. It did suppress my appetite, but it also nearly made me sick. I would salivate a lot and my heart rate would get really high. I also didn't take it consistently so I'm not the best critic. But there are website reviews on it if you want to check it out.

Sorry this was so long!

moosenbratsmommy · July 2010

i would suggest keeping a bottle of water next to your bed. it will take at least a month to train yourself to not get up to eat- determination! follow that 21 day rule, by day 21 your body should just be so used to it that you think its normal... i used to be too lazy to get out of bed to eat (odd i know) but i'd wake up starving in the middle of the night and i'd drink- so, you have to get up to pee but its better than eating! maybe in the beginning, keep a low-cal snack nearby or ready to eat if you walk to the kitchen.

my 6 year old used to wake up around 1 telling me he's starving! when he stayed with grandma she would get up and make him a pbj sandwich, but i made her quit- he gets water in the middle of the night as well and its been at least 6 months since i've had that problem with him- for me, i cut it out years ago!

good luck!

anikab · July 2010

oh wow this has been a problem for me the past 2 weeks so I'm def gonna try just drinking water and/or eating a slice of cheese or lunchmeat because I was just eating to eat, not even hungry just waking up in the middle of the night to eat for no reason UGH

carolanne1972 · July 2010

Hi,

Ive recently been given a very good tip from a friend who has lost 56lb gone from a UK size 20 down to a size 12 from August last year.

She told me to try drinking (before bedtime and first thing in the morning) 1 pint of water will 4 tbsp of Cider vinegar added. It tastes a little funny to start with by you get used to it. That may stop you waking in the night because you're body will think you're full and you might just stay asleep.

Worth a try and it works for me when I think Im hungry but know I've already eaten enough
Cx

suejonestx · July 2010

Drinking water instead of eating is a great idea, but if you know that you will want to eat something in your half-sleep stupor, why not fix something healthy for yourself ahead of time? Like cut up a bunch of melons/fruit or pre-make a healthy sandwich (whole grain + egg for example) before you go to bed? Then, you might be swayed to grab the healthy "ready" food instead of making something else. A glass of (skim) milk might also be a good alternative.

You could also setup a video camera and tape yourself eating. Watching the video the next day may serve as a deterrent.

Allibaba · July 2010

I have done this before, I try not to keep any junk food in the house, that way if I do eat in the night it will not be something unhealthy. I also was taking PGX supplements, they really helped me with my cravings. I try to eat more of my calories before dinner, that way I am full by the time I finish that meal and I try not to eat anything else after then. Evening snacking is something I struggle with as I am eating out of boredom. It is a one day at a time thing, and if you really want to stop then a conscious effort to not eat after a certain time may help. I like the suggestion of water on the nightstand or advance prep of a healthy snack. It is about baby steps, and you will get there!

jdsouthernbelle · July 2010

You could also keep low cal stuff like String Cheese around...that way it wouldn't sabbotage your meal plan completely if you did eat in the middle of the night.

pchristie · July 2010

These are all great ideas. I am definately a stress eater. I am going shopping now to buy more fruits and vegetables. We go through them so quickly now - this is a good thing. I will try having something healthy available just in case, although the ironic thing about last night is that I could have chosen fat-free chocolate pudding instead of the hershey bar - it was right there - yet I didn't. That frustrates me. I am going to bring the water to bed and write a note to myself. I think that now that I have spent so much time contemplating this, I should be okay for a few nights. I also want to document when I do this to see if it is hormone driven? Thank you all so much for your wonderful ideas and help. I love this web site. It makes me feel like i'm not alone.:happy:

moosenbratsmommy · July 2010

checking it out to see if its hormonal is a great idea! i know i do some very different things that i can't control :ohwell:

Mindful_Trent · July 2010

Someone already mentioned this, but definitely keep water very close to your bed. I had a similar but different problem... I have medicine I need to take around the same time every morning, before I normally get up because I have to take it 30-60 min. before I eat. My medicine alarm would go off, but I would wake up, reset my alarm (while justifying w/myself that I could take my medicine later) and go back to sleep - your issue is similar in that you're doing things half-asleep and justifying it to yourself. By keeping water right next to my bed with my phone alarm and my medicine, I now have no reason not to take it. Hopefully if you wake up hungry and see the water first thing, you'll remember to drink that and go back to bed instead of going to the kitchen.

Skinnytime · July 2010

You're not by any chance taking Ambien, are you? I know than night time eating is associated with it.
Can you eat a healthy snack before you go to bed? Something with protein and fiber that will be slow digesting?
Also, make it harder for your sleeping brain to get into the fridge. Put a lock on it. Put an alarm on it. Maybe an alarm (like the ones they have for hotel rooms) will wake you up and make you think twice before eating.
It's become a habit, it sounds like, and you'll need to break it.
Good luck

Rmeikel · July 2010

Interesting challenge! I used to get really hungry about 10pm. At the time, I was working on another diet plan. The advice I was given worked for me. I had to look at all the things I was eating during the day and WHEN I was eating them. It turns out I was going very light on food in the morning and lunch so I could "eat normally" with my husband and son at night. It turns out that I nearly completely kicked the nighttime snacking habit when I ate more during/throughout the day instead of all at dinner. I just needed to spread calories out better. It might be worth trying.

snowmanluv · July 2010

Try a protein shake 7-8 in the eveing made with water and 1 scoop of whey protein or make your own. Drop in blood sugars can create the "craving". Protein tends to keep it more even without having the sugar/carb craving. You can find brands with 90 calories for 1 scoop and 1 fat gram. Or you could have the fridge stocked with a special drawer of things you can have - fruits/bvegetables/100 calories paks in cabinet. cheese slices already in single serving sizes. - frozen treats like skinney cow or sugar free popsciles also help too. Don't avoid eating - just choose something out of these catagories.

please help with night time binging

Replies

Categories