Good All Day Then 4pm Tumble Into Overeating!

You probably need to eat more at breakfast and lunch, your body is screaming for easy calories because you undereat.

Another trick I use: We decide what we will eat for dinner in the morning or at least before I have lunch. Then I already log what I will eat in the evening (for example, he wants Lasagna. Then I search for a nice recipe, and log one portion of it in my food diary). This way, I can see how much is left for me to eat for lunch.

I love doing this. Every morning I plot out what I'm going to eat so I know if I have room to slip or cheat a little bit, or if I'm under eating. I can also tell if I'm likely to be over for that day, so I can make a point of finding some more calories to burn.

It could be food-related, like everyone else said, but I'm wondering if it goes a little deeper than that. I have the same problem. I eat very well in the mornings and afternoons and then at night it's a problem. I binge eat though. I don't know if this is a concern to you. Part of it might be, like you said, you've created a habit where now you sort of expect yourself to overeat once that clock hits a certain point.

Here are some tips my therapist has me use when I want to binge eat. I'm not saying you're a binge eater, but some of the tools I use might still be useful.

1. Drink a glass of water before you eat something. Sometimes we mistake dehydration as hunger.
2. Make a distraction list, essentially things you could do to busy your hands and mind. I found that a lot of my binge eating came from needing to do something with my hands. It tricked my brain into being productive, which was one of my triggers to turn to food.
3. Focus on low-cal volume. Eat something like a salad, a cucumber, carrots, or celery to fill you up without the guilt.
4. The 20 minute rule. If you eat a lot in a short period of time, then try waiting 20 minutes between food items. or even if you eat and watch a show, then say "no more bites until commercial break". It's all just about making you more mindful as you eat.
5. Log as you eat. It's a pain, but does work. You see how everything is adding up in real-time.
6. My therapist also made me put up little post-its around my house reminding me of my goals. I stuck them on places where I most often visit when overeating--the plate cupboard, the fridge, the pantry, etc. She also had me make this 4-squared piece of paper with each box labeled something different. Positives to binge eating, negatives to binge eating, positives to not binge eating, negatives to not binge eating. It's just another tool to look at to be mindful of your food choices.
7. Spend a little time somewhere else where there's no food---spend an hour at the library or at the park or volunteer.

Good luck!!

I'm the exact same way! I can do great all day, but the evening is where it all goes wrong. I don't know if it's because I'm bored or genuinely hungrier then, but whatever it is, it's a constant struggle. I find it's not so bad when I'm at home because I don't have much food that tempts me here. But if I'm spending time at my family's where there's lots of food I don't usually have, that's when I go nuts. So I just try to avoid foods I know I shouldn't have, exercise that day to offset at least some of what I'd eat if I slipped, and just try to keep busy and distract myself with something.

When I come in from work I feel hungry too so I try to do some small task to keep me occupied until it's time to eat!

I pre-log everything so that I don't go over board with my meals :-)

I'm sorry to hear about your CFS, you must find it very difficult to regulate your body. Can I recommend a small snack at around 3pm? A handful of cereal or nuts or fruit or a grain bar, just to sit on your tummy a bit.

Kaela x

I to have that problem, what i do is keep busy. I walk the dogs, i make my husband play cards with me, i call my friends and chat on the phone. When all else fails, i have carrotts, cucumber or something along those lines. Good Luck OP and so sorry to hear about your CFS

You know, I am doing the exact same thing. Eating first thing in the morning. I do love breakfast foods, but I am not usually hungry for it first thing in the morning. I eat anyway, and find myself eating (albeit healthy) more often. This completely makes sense to me. I am not losing anything like I want, but hopefully will see some changes soon.

My calorie goal is 1350. I have Chronic Fatgiue Syndrome so can't exercise. This should be pulling off half a pound a week as long as I don't eat too much in the evening!

I looked up Chronic Fatigue on WebMD and exercise improves energy levels for those who suffer from it.
The trick is "graded exercise". Start out with very little and then gradually increase it day by day. It will help you feel better and eventually give you some extra calories to work with!

You probably need to eat more at breakfast and lunch, your body is screaming for easy calories because you undereat.

Nope, couldnt disagree with you more.

This used to happen to me between 3 and 4 PM every day, like clockwork. I used to tend to want to seek out small farm animals, put them into my oven and devour them until nothing was left. Especially the heart. Mmmmm YUMMY.

Until I STOPPED EATING BREAKFAST.

The earlier I ate, the more I want to eat the rest of the day and into the evening and before bed it was bad also. It was actually very easy for me to stop this as I really wasnt hungry in the morning for breakfast anyway. I was eating breakfast because I believed I needed it to "jumpstart my metabolism" or because breakfast was the most important meal of the day or the best one was, if I dont eat it my body will be in starvation mode.

Anyway, I wasnt hungy and I drank coffee instead. So then around 11am I got hungry, so I ate then. Simple really. I ate when I was hungry, not when the clock told me it was time to eat. Sometimes I dont eat until 1 or 2pm. Ever since, I havent been hungry, much less ravenously hungry in the afternoon ever since.

Hope this helps OP

Whether a person can function without breakfast is up to them. Personally I can't, I try to make breakfast my largest meal. BUT what I was going to suggest is eat smaller "main" meals, and have a snack at 4pm. Preferably something with protein or another food that will provide satiety until you can get to dinner. That way you don't feel the need to devour a Diplodocus when you do get to dinner.

It takes some planning, but it helps.