late night snacking!

I wish I had more helpful advice, but I have the same problem,I can do awesome all day and then at night I could eat everything in the pantry. I try to have a spoon full of Peanut butter and if I'm still hungry I try a piece of fruit and drink down a glass of water. If I'm still wanting more, I go to bed cause thats the only way I'm going to control my eating.

Like you said, most of the problem is not eating during the day. Depriving your body of food for long periods of time can be really detrimental to your health and metabolism, not to mention your weight loss efforts I think the fact that you can recognise this means you've taken the first step to wanting to conquer it! I'm a recovered binge eater myself and I know EXACTLY how you feel. It's a hard cycle to break but you can do it!

Obviously the first thing to try and do is eat regularly throughout the day. The key is planning - this is honestly what saved me. Plan your MFP food diary ahead of time so you know exactly what you're going to be eating and when. And another huge thing that took me ages to get my head around is allowing yourself to eat at night. Factor it into your calorie allotment. There's no point trying to go cold turkey and stop your late night snacking all together - you'll just feel deprived! Allow yourself to have a snack at night. If chocolate is your thing, factor it in - but just a few squares, not the whole block. Let yourself enjoy it instead of thinking of it as 'bad' or 'wrong'. After a while of sticking to these healthy habits, you'll be really proud of yourself and what you've achieved and you just won't want to binge anymore.

I'm sending you a friend request, I'm here any time you need advice or want to chat!

I recently responded to a post like this. Forgive my laziness, but I'm just going to re-post the strategies I'd already put up.
Late night snacking is a BIG problem for me. My strategies:
-hot tea (herbal, non-caffeinated)
-keep one cup of high-fiber, high-protein cereal nearby at all times. Any time you get a craving, take a bit of cereal and eat it painstakingly slowly (almost like eating a lollipop)
-keep hands busy at down-time (ex: play solitaire while watching TV)
-keep a water bottle nearby to limit your reasons for going to the kitchen
-brush your teeth after dinner
-when you get the cravings, stretch out. Side stretches, spine rotations, neck rolling, forward bend, etc. Somehow this helps me... possibly by making me aware of my whole body, not just the stomach.

Clean out your kitchen of foods that are tempting. If I have a bag of chips in the house, I eat them. So I just don't keep them in the house. I also realized the more protein I eat in the morning, the less likely I am to over eat throughout the day. You may be hypoglycemic. I am and I notice that when I eat sugar and anything high in simple carbohydrates I actually get hungrier. If I have a cinnamon roll for breakfast every morning I would be hungry in two hours. If I have eggs and bacon, I can wait 4 to 5 hours.
If this doesn't sound like you, you may enjoy chewing and be a volume eater. Try snacks like Annie's Whole Wheat Bunnies which have 52 crackers for a serving or Pirates booty which had 130 calories for about two cups of puffed corn. Try drinking hot herbal or green teas which are satisfying. Cut up carrots and celery or sunflower seeds in shell so you need to work to get them out. I would leave yourself 150-200 calories at night to enjoy. Just try and remember that 1200-1500 calories of lowfat and complex carbs is much more satisfying than just counting your calories.

I too am a night owl. In fact I have a sleep disorder called delayed phase sleep dysphasia. Basically my body's natural rhythm is to sleep late and stay up all night. Needless to say, I am not a morning person. What I have found to nauseous. Then make sure you get in at least 2 snack during the day. I eat almonds, but only 10 - 12. Almonds are perfect because I can put them in ziplocks and stick them in my bag as I go throughout the day. Make lunch your biggest protien meal. I try to only drink water through out the day. When I am sitting by the computer at night I make sure to have my water bottle next to me and complete my water for the day I may add a bit of lemon or even a capful of natural apple cider vinegar (the kind with the mother in it). if all else fails I will drink a cup (8oz) of vanilla rice milk or almond w/ a sprinkle of nutmeg in it. As a special treat, )maybe once a month) I will buy the mini cioa bell sorbet cups.

My biggest aid was not to bring anything I tend to binge on in the house.

thanks guys! thanks amysambora. its nice to kno im not the only one dealing w these issues and you give me hope that I can fix this problem

You sure can! It's not always easy - I still struggle with it. You'll have good days and bad days but there are lots of us in the same boat who can help you through!

My goodness Im friend requesting you right now for taking the words right out of my mouth about late night eating. Im a night person too and eating late (and all of the bad kinds of eating) gets me nearly every night! whether im watching the bad girls, or facebooking, or just bored, NOT EVEN HUNGRY but with a craving for something in my mouth, I must admit. I too am guilty of the late night munchies. lol. I started drinking hot tea/ theraflu/ or chugging water to avoid the urge. I recently picked up on this new gum that tastes like common desserts which is nice because its only 5 calories per stick of gum, and you`d be surprised how simply chewing reduces the urge to want to snack. Hope that helps!!

-BJ<3

I'll add another vote for popcorn and dry cereal. Clementines are also good 'cus the peeling and sectioning keeps your hands busy.

I also have this issue. A few things others have mentioned have worked for me, although I wish I could just keep the junk out of the house:) My fav late night snack is Graham crackers with peanut butter. Not really "junk" but it is something I start eating & just can't quit. Lol. Anyway, what works the best for me is to not watch tv unless I'm working out. I'm lucky enough to have a treadmill at home. I will also sit on the floor and stretch or do some sit-ups, push-ups or squats while watching:) I still slip back into that mind-less nibbling every now & then, but I try to count out one portion of whatever I'm craving, instead of taking the whole bag with me in front of the tv.