The more I try to count my calories, the more I binge

I almost started down this road last night. Problem is, I ate a big meal too early in the day. But instead of heading to the store for all the candy, I ate another big meal of veggies with some raisins for dessert and it fixed the cravings. More or less. My brain still wanted it, but that is manageable.

What saved me was: I didn't have any junk in the house. I would have had to go get it. That gave me time to say nah, I'll make a big healthy dinner instead. And that is all that saved me. Because I was looking up vegan candy on the internet with criminal intent.

Brush your teeth...nothing tastes good after toothpaste! Or drinking water or maybe some hot tea.

A hobby might help as well, to help keep you occupied in the evening; reading, writing, painting, burpees...anything you enjoy

For me, I am finding that my brain is viewing the calorie counting as controlling and I do not like the feeling of being told what to do. I actually found myself last night eating a double portion of low carb pasta because it was there. I have been close to perfect with my numbers since April and have lost 10 pounds and counting. Not sure what is causing the issue, but I have realized that I need to cook my portions and limit the junk in my house until I beat this urge to eat what I want, when I want. (I did notice that when it really got to be a strong craving it happened on days that I did not get a good nights sleep, neglected to take my vitamin and didn't meet my 10 glasses of water) Hopefully I will eventually beat this demon out of me and be able to eat normally with a treat every blue moon and not feel like I am being punished when I pass on dessert.

Go to sleep.

I think this is the best advice. If I'm still having a craving after I've already eaten something I just tell myself to go to bed. Or get rid of the junk so it's not even available and snack on something healthier.

Yup, I have this too. I try to save at least 500 calories for evening snacking. Or I'll push some of the calories over to the next day and just eat lighter the next day.

ETA: I also bumped my calorie goal up by 100-200. Progress was slower, but I wasn't miserable.

Your diary is closed, so it's hard to give specific advice.

However, based on your profile (you've lost the weight you want, you want to tone up), you may not be eating enough. Set your goal to maintain weight. Aim to get about 1 g protein per pound LBM (so probably about 100g protein) and exercise, especially resistance training. I recommend lifting heavy (you won't bulk up). That will help you reach the goals, plus having enough calories and protein should help you avoid binging in the evenings.

you look like you're in killer shape. if you're building muscle your body is telling you to feed them. The one thing I would suggest however (*and this is without seeing your diary) is up your water intake. It will fill u up. Not sure of your ht/wt, but assuming avg size woman, go for 90oz a day as a goal.

Why do you have those things in your home ?

OP can you open up your diary your body may need that late night snack but its hard to say because I dont know what your eating or what your calorie goal is

Keep your hands busy. I've been making sure that every night I do housework, as much as possible. Can't eat while I'm ironing, or doing dishes, or sweeping. My house has been so clean since I started this 'diet' trick and I've avoided late night snacking!

The other alternative is just to not keep that stuff in the house. When I do have a bad craving and I go rummage, I don't have snacks in the cabinet. So I shuffle, I look, realize there's nothing there and go sit down.

^^ Good advice!

Also, you could try Melatonin supplements to help with the sleeping.

If the hunger is too incredible, try turkey.

It makes you sleepy and is low cal and a bit filling.

The only time I ever had a problem with that is if I wasn't eating enough during the day. If you're genuinely hungry, I say eat more.

Very hard to give any advice without your diary open.

You likely need to eat more protein during the day, or up your daily intake altogether. If it's just a routine thing for you and you are eating enough during the day, then it's a question of will power. Throw away the high fat, high sugar, processed "trigger foods" to eliminate the temptation. Pick up a hobby like drawing or knitting to keep your hands occupied. Find a treat that you enjoy that won't blow your daily calorie budget (mine is a bowl of frozen berries with honey - it replaced my ice cream routine).

Like you, I love a snack at night. It doesn't even matter how late I eat dinner. I still want a snack right before bed. I try to eat less during the day so I can have a snack. Last night I made ice cream sandwiches. Try 1/4 cup of whatever ice cream you like with 1 graham cracker broken in half. It's generally (depending on the ice cream) under 150 calories and definitely counts as a treat in my book.

If I'm out of calories, I'll go to the gym at 9:30 or 10 when my kids are in bed. By the time I get home and take a shower I'm usually not hungry anymore. I don't like to eat right after excercising.

I feel the same way! sometime I've noticed that helps me is to make sure I only keep high fiber low calorie food around the house so that when I snack, I only have healthy/low calorie options. The moment I buy something sweet or fatty (it's usually ice cream), I only want to snack on that. Good luck with everything!!!!!

I eat one or two medjool dates at night when I'm craving junk food and sweets.

They taste like candy and are incredibly delicious, but aren't filled with any weird or artificial ingredients.