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

Go to sleep.

Oh man. I've tried this. I end up not being able to fall asleep because I'm thinking about the food that I never snacked on a night. So I get up, snack, and THEN I'm able to fall asleep. Otherwise, I lay in bed for hours.

Okay. I used to be just like you. Since my teenage years, I've had sleep problems. Early on (when I didn't ever care what i weighed) I got into the practice of eating a bowl of soup every night as a "snack" (It was prolly like 700 calories) and that helped me sleep. It was so bad that as recently as last year, I was still eating Ramen Noodles three or four times a week before going to bed. This has been going on the better part of the past twenty years. It got so I COULDN'T sleep without eating something.

What I've found is that it's much easier to control my cravings in the morning than at night. By pushing back all of my meal times, I've been able to narrow the window between dinner and bedtime; which has significantly helped this problem.

If you have supper with your family, don't forgo that. Just split your dinner. Eat half with your family and enjoy that time with them. Then after the dishes have been done, kids put away...eat the other half.

Boring but lots and lots of protein leave me stuffed. And I drink gallons of decaf green tea in the evening. And there are NO snacks in the house. I've tried, moderation ISN'T my middle name just yet.

Good luck.

Boring but lots and lots of protein leave me stuffed. And I drink gallons of decaf green tea in the evening. And there are NO snacks in the house. I've tried, moderation ISN'T my middle name just yet.

Good luck.

Gotta agree with Nix143, the extra protein is what is knocking down my cravings. My cravings were not at night but mid-late mornings. I changed my breakfast from cereal, bread, etc... to meat and eggs. I can get to lunch without any difficulty at all now. I hadn't thought about decaf green tea... sounds like a good evening drink to try.

I do the same thing sometimes, although it has gotten much better lately. It's like being so aware of the calories used to make me freak out and eat randomly at the end of the day. Idk why. I did this at first, so I started making sure I had about 300 extra calories for after dinner. Then I would eat a quest bar, a fiber one brownie or something that felt like a treat but wasn't actually junk food later on that night when I had the urge to snack. I eventually got past it. It was just a mental thing.

Late night eating is a problem for me. Due to my activity levels in my formative years, I was able to consume LOTS of food and not suffer for it. Different story now, but the "bedtime snack" is a habit that I struggle with constantly.

Now when I want one, I drink another glass of water (I have a soda maker at home, so it's usually "fizzy" which makes it feel more like a treat), then get ready for bed and actively think of things that AREN'T that snack. That currently does the trick, every time.

Other times, I too have gone to the store for treats. I'd buy them, bring them home and put them down and get busy with something else that would require my full focus (studying or playing games). I'd usually forget about the snack and put it away later on when I didn't want it anymore. If that failed, I ate it.

If your craving is habitual, you can also plan for it. Just make sure you're actually eating enough food overall!

Make sure your calorie goal is appropriate for you and your activity level. And then work those late night cravings/snacks into your calorie goal.

I am having a really hard time lately counting my calories. I'm entering all of them accurately, but the harder I try to meet my daily goal, the more I end up binging late at night. And it's not healthy snacks I'm having- high fat, high sugar, low quality packaged foods are what I seem to crave. For a few weeks I've really been trying to get my late-night eating in control, but the harder I try the more I give in.

Has anyone experienced this and, if so, how did you combat it? Thanks!

I stopped counting calories and started counting carbs and sugar. It works better

This content has been removed.

I have been collecting low-calorie sweets recipes (thank you, Pinterest) so that when I get my late night sweets cravings, I can take some time to bake a bit of food (because, really, who feels worse after baking?) and then be able to enjoy a treat as well. And there's usually leftovers, which are good for snacks and lazy nights that I don't feel like baking. A couple I've really enjoyed are chocolate chip meringue cookies, 22 calories each, and mini blueberry muffins, 89 calories each.

Of course, it's way tempting to go for that huge piece of coconut cake that my parents have sitting in the fridge, but I feel more accomplished when I bake something myself, eat it, and get to know that it is not going to ruin my day. :-)

As for counting calories making me want to binge, I feel that way at times. But I don't restrict myself. I used to, and let me tell you, when I fell off the bandwagon, I fell hard. I've learned to control my portions, especially since I usually do feel full after eating my smaller plate, even though I thought I needed all three of those pork chops I cooked. I also keep myself occupied - that tends to help with boredom eating and stress eating. Lots of little things help keep me on track, and I feel so proud when I stay on track. But, I also do no beat myself up when I'm not on track, because then I have a harder time getting back on it. Just have to stay positive!

1. Consider raising your calorie allowance. Since you didn't state your calorie target and your diary's not open, I can't be terribly specific here, but a deficit of 500 calories might be a good moderate goal. If you are trying to lose weight FAST, remember that it just won't work if you're going to be so miserable from deprivation that you simply CAN'T adhere to your diet. Think big picture here.

2. Consider re-adjusting your meal planning to have more calories at dinner / in the evening than in the morning. There's a myth that eating calories after a certain hour is more likely to lead to fat, but it's simply not true. Meal timing does not have a significant impact on metabolism. And even if it DID, again, it doesn't do you any good to try to optimize your metabolism to increase your effective daily burn 5% if it makes you increase your daily calorie intake by 20%, right?

3. Do you pre-plan your day, or eat and log as you go? Consider pre-planning your day if you don't already, and specifically save calories all day to PLAN for a treat between dinner and bedtime. I wouldn't have made it as far as I have if I didn't plan for a 200-300 calorie treat at the end of the day. Having a piece of toast with a carefully measured tablespoon of peanut butter or a few squares of chocolate seems to send a signal to my brain "okay, you got a treat. happy? eating time is over and you can freaking RELAX now, crazy."

Boring but lots and lots of protein leave me stuffed. And I drink gallons of decaf green tea in the evening. And there are NO snacks in the house. I've tried, moderation ISN'T my middle name just yet.

Good luck.

Yep, when I upped my protein and fat intake, cravings lessened considerably. Also, staying away from the kitchen at night, if you can, is great. I have green tea at night while watching TV and have managed to stay away from evening snacks now for 6 months, except for our monthly family pizza and movie night.

Go to sleep.

THIS!!!!!! (Try some Almonds to keep the hunger pains away, if you are still thinking of food, it is probably emotional eating)

I thought the same thing.

http://www.niashanks.com/20-tips-binge-eating/

Thanks for posting this link. That's the best advice I've seen for addressing my personal binging habits. I will have to save, print, and refer back often.

A small glass of milk helps me. But I know some people consider milk the devil. It's good to fill you up a bit and feeds your muscles while you sleep.

Maybe your calorie goal is too aggressive. 1200 can be hard to do. If it's making you binge, maybe try 1500.

^^^ this

because overeating and binge eating are a normal survival response to eating too little (in some cases it's emotional but in most cases it's the direct result of eating too little). Most women seem to underestimate how many calories they need. There's a thread on here "your guide on your path to sexypants" which explains how to calculate how many calories you should eat for slow and steady fat loss, while eating enough that you don't succumb to issues like rebound overeating and binge eating.