Binge eating in the evening
Peaches160
Posts: 78 Member
It seems like I do a good job of monitoring what I eat until evenings. Do anyone else have the same challenge? If so how do you manage this problem? Please share.
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Replies
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replace the bad habit with a good habit... like.... binge on apples or grapes.0
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Assuming you are busier during the day?
Stay active.
My yard, garden and house have never been so clean!0 -
I guess I can get myself some more fruits.... thanks.0
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I'm a night eater as well. I found that eating slowly really helps me out. Like eat slow and when you think you are eating slow, eat slower.0
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What kind of binge eating are we talking about? Do you mean full-on, out of control, emotional binges? Or are you using the word more colloquially to mean just snacking above and beyond your goal?
I always think the first step to binge eating is to figure out why you're doing it. Try to be mindful while you're eating.
It could be something as simple as your calorie goal being set to low and your body is looking for nutrients. Double-check your goals and make sure you're not cutting out any foods or food groups that you love.
If you're an emotional eater it can be a little harder to pin down. If you eat out of stress, anxiety, boredom, anger, sadness, etc. then you need to find some way to focus those emotions into something other than food. That can mean staying busy, talking to someone, journaling, meditating, yoga, taking your frustrations out in kickboxing, or whatever works for you. But it can be a tough road.0 -
I really have this problem if I drink alcohol.
But, for the day to day, like today, I eat the majority of my cals in the evening. It works for me.
Today breakfast 400
lunch 425
snacks 350
I get home, log my dinner, and froyo for desert = 950
leaves me a deficit of about 400 for the day
But I also burn 1K cals a day
My point, I work out early, eat small amounts all day, and then load up in the evening. I sleep much better. I pay the price in hunger and such during workin hours when I can distract myself.
hope that helps to know you are not alone.0 -
What kind of binge eating are we talking about? Do you mean full-on, out of control, emotional binges? Or are you using the word more colloquially to mean just snacking above and beyond your goal?
I always think the first step to binge eating is to figure out why you're doing it. Try to be mindful while you're eating.
It could be something as simple as your calorie goal being set to low and your body is looking for nutrients. Double-check your goals and make sure you're not cutting out any foods or food groups that you love.
If you're an emotional eater it can be a little harder to pin down. If you eat out of stress, anxiety, boredom, anger, sadness, etc. then you need to find some way to focus those emotions into something other than food. That can mean staying busy, talking to someone, journaling, meditating, yoga, taking your frustrations out in kickboxing, or whatever works for you. But it can be a tough road.
Exactly!0 -
brush your teeth, chew gum, sip some tea, paint your nails, and go to sleep!0
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For me, binging in the evening is tied to watching tv and relaxing. It is a habit and when I start watching tv the habit is triggered. When I do anything else...read, browse the internet, clean...I don't have the urge. So I have been reading a lot in the evenings instead of tv watching and it makes it a lot easier to resist. I also try have a hearty breakfast and eat well throughout the day. I find that if I eat too light for breakfast and lunch, I am so famished at dinner and in the evening that I can't stop eating.0
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I'm a night eater as well. I found that eating slowly really helps me out. Like eat slow and when you think you are eating slow, eat slower.
This helps me too. Eat slow, drink a lot of water with your food.0 -
I do the exact same thing. During the day everything is already prepped, such as breakfast and lunch. Once I get home nothing is set aside for dinner so everything is fair game. I think I might try prepping dinner ahead of time so I know what I am allotted for that meal.0
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When I get the idea - I go grab a piece of seriously peppermint or spearmint gum and start chewing on it. Helps the craving and I know if I try to eat anything it will be nasty! Brushing my teeth helps too!0
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I have been dealing with night time binging too, and recently the only thing that helps is to keep myself busy. Which means avoiding the kitchen and staying in my room. I usually read to get my mind off of food.0
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What kind of binge eating are we talking about? Do you mean full-on, out of control, emotional binges? Or are you using the word more colloquially to mean just snacking above and beyond your goal?
I always think the first step to binge eating is to figure out why you're doing it. Try to be mindful while you're eating.
It could be something as simple as your calorie goal being set to low and your body is looking for nutrients. Double-check your goals and make sure you're not cutting out any foods or food groups that you love.
If you're an emotional eater it can be a little harder to pin down. If you eat out of stress, anxiety, boredom, anger, sadness, etc. then you need to find some way to focus those emotions into something other than food. That can mean staying busy, talking to someone, journaling, meditating, yoga, taking your frustrations out in kickboxing, or whatever works for you. But it can be a tough road.0 -
Is the 'binge eating' in the evening taking you over your allotment of calories? If not, then I wouldn't worry about it.
People worry too much about "when" they're eating during the day. In my opinion, the "when" doesn't matter, only the "what".
Otherwise, I would suggest eating really "filling" foods in the evening. For example, eat something with a lot of beans in it. Eat one portion, then just wait about 10 minutes and see if you're still hungry then.0 -
Try changing your macros to incorporate more protein and fat. MFP sets those goals too low, IMO, and they really help you feel satiated longer.0
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I snack on evenings.... I don't think I'm an emotional eater however when I'm at home on evenings in I do eat unhealthy foods/ snacks.... Thanks you have been really helpful :-)0
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I have the same problem - I find it easy to control my eating during the day when I'm at work, but once I get home it's more of a struggle. Everyone is different, so I'm not sure if our "binges" take the same form (mine is defintiely sweet!), but here are a few tips that help me:
Keep busy! Another user mentioned this, but I honestly beleive the reason I find it easier to control my eating at work is because I'm distracted by work. At home when you're relaxing it's very easy to be drawn towards the snack cupboard... so try to distract yourself.
Exercise. Kind of links to the above, but I find going for a run after work both keeps me occupied, and creates a deficit. You want to eat a bit extra? That's fine - just burn a bit more.
Plan. I try to log what I'm planning to eat in the day before I eat it, rather than at the end of the day after I've eaten it. That way I'm able to see the "damage", and if I don't have room for that chocolate biscuit, I just won't have it.
Keep a good stock of snacks. OK, so this one might be a bit weird, but hear me out. I have a massive sweet tooth, and find it hard to go a day without eating something sweet. But I realised that I don't actually have to deprive myself of that sweet hit. I was amazed to see that there are ACTUAL chocolate bars/sweets that exist around the 100 calorie mark. A 2 finger kitkat is 107 calories, a Penguin chocolate biscuit bar is 106 calories, a pack of chewits is 115 calories, and you can buy frozen yogurt that is around 80 calories per 100g. Do you like jelly? A quarter pint of sugar free jelly has 9 calories. Seriously. If you have this stuff available, then if you want a treat you can have it without doing to much damage to your calorie goal. (The same can't be said for your sugar macro though... I do need to work on that!)
Hope that helps! xx0 -
I understand how that urge to eat sneaks up on you at night. There I am in the recliner all relaxed and have my calories all balanced out . Gradually I notice I have started thinking about eating a little more. Pretty soon I am mentally reviewing inventory in the refrigerator and pantry. I happen to eat pretty fast and it is a hard habit to break. However I drink really slow. Almost always I don't even finish a drink unless it is super tasty like gourmet hot chocolate. So, my strategy is to fix a Big cup of tea or iced tea and add a little lemon and sugar. I can sip on that for an hour and the craving to eat seems to go away. Another thing I do often, when I find myself drooling about the last 3 Oreos still in the cooky jar, I say to myself----self if you are still hungry for this in 30 minutes go ahead and eat one. Most of the time I have forgotten all about the temptation within a short time and never do eat it. Hope this helps you, good luck and find out what works for you!0
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Hey ! I had this problem before as well. I would do very good all day and then have a reasonable dinner and before I go to bed, I used to start eating crap like chocolate, bread etc etc..
What worked for me is the fact that I want to eat healthy not just lose weight. So I think of all the crap that is inside. Thats the first thing.
The second thing that worked for me and helped me stay on track is to eat my dinner early, sometimes I eat it as early as 4. After 6 or whatever time works for you, eat only veggies and fruit. No matter what and how much. Only fruits and veggies. If you eat a reasonable dinner at 6 then you shouldn't be hungry by the time you go to bed. If I get really hungry, I eat some boiled cauliflower/broccoli or raw carrots/tomatoes/cucumbers any veg really. Also I eat a lot of fruit
I mean this is just a suggestion. It is the only thing that works for me. Good luck !0 -
I've always had the same issue.
I find a few different things help:
1. Set a time for yourself after which you will not eat. I've heard people say 6/7 but with our schedules, that doesn't work. So, I say 8:00 is my "no more eating time" - it should be a couple hours before bed.
2. Brush your teeth, floss, swish listerine after that last meal. For me, that's too much work to wanna do twice at night, so it's a good incentive to not eat.
3. In your dinner, try to get more protein and higher fiber - these two elements can really help you feel so much more full, which in and of itself makes you not feel a need to continue to eat.
Good luck!!!0 -
Because of me and my bfs schedules right now, I have the same issue with evening eating. In order to combat this, him and I eat a 300-400 cal breakfast around 9am - 10am, and then barely nothing until 9PM or so.
I will drink like 5 cups of tea a day, lots of water, and if i get hungry have 100 or so cal salad or piece of fruit for lunch to hold me over. Yeah, I spend most of my day feeling hungry, but it helps me not go over my calories at night. If I have 700 cals left over at night, I can usually eat til I'm satisfied and sleep well.0 -
I must say all your responses are really providing me with a lot of insights and I am engaging in some deep introspection. I am definitely going to make some changes.... Got to find some ways to use up my evenings. I also recognized that I have not been planning meals/ snacks for the evening period.0
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It's because you're tired in the evening and the stress of the day gets to you. Make yourself a soothing cup of tea. Buy a couple of stalks of celery, so that you can gnaw on them. Celery has a lovely, satisfying crunching sound!
If you're really tired, just go to bed with a glass of wine and a good book! Read until your eyes are drooping and then fall asleep.0 -
I don't know if this would help, but you could try pre-tracking. I put my plan for the day, including the evening in early, then once I hit that "entry complete" button, I'm more likely to stick with what I tracked...0
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this used to be a big problem for me, i gradually weaned myself off. made a rule that i won't eat after dinnertime (between 5-6pm) except for fruit which i can have lots of. also i drink lots of cups of tea which helps me feel full for longer. if i absolutely have to then i would have some cereal, porridge or microwaved weetabix in the evening 0
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Sigh. This is my biggest problem too. I try to fill up on water, that somewhat helps. I also try to leave enough calories since I know I tend to eat more in the evening. Lastly, when I'm really hungry, I go for a run. For some reason, it helps my appetite 0
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I find that when my kids go to bed, that's when my hunger rears its head.
Sometimes I fight it. Brush my teeth, drink water/tea and tell myself I can wait until the morning.
Sometimes I give in, have a bowl of oatmeal or some nuts and cheese. Whatever snack I'm hungry for at the time that won't completely derail me from my goals.
Depends on the day or mood or level of hunger.
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they say idol hands... well I fall into this. If I am bored, stressed, or otherwise I will eat. I have been trying to not allow myself so much time to do nothing. I have been planting flowers, doing full time college and work, and cook and clean. I still somehow find down time. Looks like I need to get my shoes on and hit the pave.0
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