overnight eating

I have developed this vicious cycle where i just can not stop waking up what seems like every hour of the night to eat something involuntary. I feel as if i am almost in "zombie mode" and cannot stop myself. I realized that i seem to always go for things with lots of carbs mainly ice cream. Peanut butter is also a big one.

Because of my overnight small binges, when it comes time to actually wake up I have stomach pains and guilt and end up not eating for half of the day. Most of the time i just vaguely remember the episodes over night.

I have tried many things firstly being to up my calories during the daytime but this gave no relief. As per MFP, I am getting enough calories during the day.

Two things you should also know about me is that I am gluten intolerant and also work a very busy stressful schedule.

Any thoughts?

Replies

  • fushigi1988
    fushigi1988 Posts: 519 Member
    Stress can cause might eating and not being able to sleep.
  • Stress causes sleeping problems, I had severe insomnia for most of my childhood, due to huge amounts of stress. Weirdly enough as a 12-13 year old I used to get up in the night to eat ice cream, toast, sugary cereals and popcorn then never remember it until my mom found the wrappers when I was at school.
    You could bring a glass of water to bed and put it on the night stand or even put signs on your cabinets, it sounds really stupid but it's all i could think of.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    What is your daily calorie goal?
    Current weight?
    Height?
    Exercise?
    ETA-you may have night eating syndrome.
  • Swiftlet66
    Swiftlet66 Posts: 729 Member
    Along with the questions above, also:

    Exactly how many calories are you eating, what are you eating during the day, and also, when your last meal usually is? Perhaps have a bedtime snack high in fat/protein will help curb the midnight craving. Things like warm milk, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or even a piece of chicken.
  • chelseasans
    chelseasans Posts: 73 Member
    What is your daily calorie goal?
    Current weight?
    Height?
    Exercise?
    ETA-you may have night eating syndrome.
    Along with the questions above, also:

    Exactly how many calories are you eating, what are you eating during the day, and also, when your last meal usually is? Perhaps have a bedtime snack high in fat/protein will help curb the midnight craving. Things like warm milk, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or even a piece of chicken.

    I eat between 1500 and 2000 calories a day depending on exercise. I do yoga every day. I run between 3-8 miles a day with one rest day a week usually.

    My last meal of the day is actually usually right before i go to bed due to my work schedule and at that point I'm starving but still eat healthy. For instance last night i had a grilled chicken salad at midnight right before falling asleep

    I was researching the night eating syndrome thing as well but its almost impossible to cure. I feel so helpless. I have even tried sleeping pills and they just make me not remember anything and find wrappers.
  • Mykaelous
    Mykaelous Posts: 231 Member
    You might want to see a doctor. I have heard of certain conditions dealing with metabolism that required individuals to eat every 2 or so hours to maintain blood sugar levels.