night eating disorders

what are you eating habits like during the day? does it happen regardless of whether or not you've had your full allotment of calories during the day?

if you are hungry, i don't see how it is a disorder. if you wake up in the middle of the night, aren't hungry, but eat a ton of food anyway, then yeah maybe i can see that as a problem.

it happens to me alot. i try to leave extra calories for this because i know i am going to end up snacking at some point and time during the night. i think most of my eating is anxiety induced,

Are you talking about sleep walking and eating? Like you don't realize you are doing it and eating strange things? or is it night time cravings and you end up snacking a lot before bed?

Night eating syndrome is a form of of sleep walking. Some people suffer it as a side effect of sleeping pills, like Ambien. If you take any anti-depressants or sleeping aids and are experiencing night eating, you need to talk to your doctor so that adjustments can be made. But even if it is not drug induced, it requires professional treatment. It’s not just something that you overcome. Some additional information can be found here: http://www.casapalmera.com/articles/how-to-treat-night-eating-syndrome/

if you are hungry, i don't see how it is a disorder. if you wake up in the middle of the night, aren't hungry, but eat a ton of food anyway, then yeah maybe i can see that as a problem.

This. I would be posing this question to a doctor or psychologist. There could possibly be an underlying issue. And you're at a healthy weight. Calorie restriction (and cardio if you do it) will just cause muscle loss. Your body wants to hang onto what little fat you have.

http://www.hussmanfitness.org/html/TPAdaptation.html

Working With Your Body - The Basic Strategy
By John P. Hussman, Ph.D.
All rights reserved and actively enforced.


Every change you throw at your body triggers a response. The problem with many diet and exercise programs is that they can accidentally encourage your body to defend fat, shed muscle, increase appetite and even lower its metabolism. The key to fast results is to know exactly which actions will cause your body to adapt by becoming fitter.


The law of unintended consequences
Your body is an amazing feedback system aimed at balance and survival. Humans are at the top of the food chain because they are able to adapt to their environment. Every action produces a reaction. Every change in its environment triggers a survival response. It's important to keep that in mind when you plan your fitness program. If you treat your body as an enemy to be conquered, you'll produce unintended results.

For example, if you severely cut off the supply of food to your body, it will defend itself by slowing down its metabolism to survive starvation. The body will shed muscle mass the same way that you would throw cargo from a plane that was low on fuel, and it will reduce its thyroid activity to conserve energy. The body will also actually defend its fat stores. In anorexia, muscle loss can be so profound that fat as a percentage of body weight actually rises. Extreme carbohydrate restriction also causes muscle loss, dehydration, and slower metabolism, which is why even successful Atkins dieters can have a significant rebound in weight after they stop the diet (don't worry – the advice on this site will prevent that from happening).

As another example, if you put your body under stress through overexertion and lack of sleep, it will respond by slowing down, reducing muscle growth, and increasing your appetite for junk food, carbohydrates and fat. If you feed your body excessive amounts of sugar and quickly digested carbohydrates, and it will shut off its ability to burn fat until those sugars are taken out of the bloodstream.

This website will show you how to work with your body to quickly produce the changes you want. In order to do that, you need to take actions that push your body to adapt – to build strength, burn fat, and increase fitness. You need a training program, not an exercise routine. You need a nutrition plan, not a diet. You need a challenge, not a few good habits you usually try to follow except when you don't.

Setting the right goal
John Dewey once said that a problem well-stated is half-solved. If you want to reach your goal, you have to define it correctly. See, a lot of people say “I want to lose weight.” Well, if losing weight is your goal, go on a no-carb diet. You'll lose a lot of weight – some of it will be fat, a lot of it will be water, and a dangerous amount will be muscle tissue. You'll lose weight quickly, but you'll slow your metabolism and gain fat more quickly once you go off the diet. Trust me on this. I've been there, done that.

The problem is that you've set the wrong goal. If you want to look better, have more energy and enjoy better health, the goal is not simply to “lose weight.” The goal is to improve your fitness level and body composition. That means losing fat, improving your aerobic capacity, training your strength and defending your muscle tissue. You can't do that with a no-carb diet. You will do it using the approach you'll learn on this website. Trust me on this one too. I know what it's like to feel fat, tired and helplessly out of shape. The whole point of this site is to help others avoid that, by sharing lessons that I had to learn the hard way.
Ready to change?

Right this minute, your body is the way it is because it has adapted to the lifestyle you've thrown at it, in an attempt to survive. Ever seen the directory at the mall with the little red arrow that says “you are here”? Well, fitness is the same way. You are here. You can't start anywhere else. So be kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up. Don't worry about how much there is to do. Change your self-talk from “My body is my enemy” to “My body is my partner.” Accept where you are right now as the starting point, and start moving.

Changing your body requires more than just “going on a diet” for a few weeks. If you want to change your body, you have to make some changes to your lifestyle (which requires some discipline, but isn't as hard as it sounds). If you create the right environment, your body will adapt to it by becoming leaner, stronger, and more energetic. You can do this.

If its sleepwalking...you should have someone you live with keep an eye on you or lock your cabinets... I took a patient who at dried apricots while she was sleepwalking and didnt chew them...once here saliva and body fluids absorbed into the dried fruit, they became large and lodged themself in her stomach and esophagus. She was choking on food she ate hours earlier...She ended up needing a surgical procedure to have them removed!!

If its sleepwalking...you should have someone you live with keep an eye on you or lock your cabinets... I took a patient who at dried apricots while she was sleepwalking and didnt chew them...once here saliva and body fluids absorbed into the dried fruit, they became large and lodged themself in her stomach and esophagus. She was choking on food she ate hours earlier...She ended up needing a surgical procedure to have them removed!!

Oh goodness O_O
I hope she's okay.

you could always handcuff yourself to your bed like dr. jekyll.

i tried this once and almost broke my wrists trying to get out of bed

I had a friend who sleep walked and ate...chocolate, crisps, dry breakfast cereal, whole boxes at a time! Basically anything in packets or boxes, she had to stop buying dried veg, pasta and rice as she would just shovel those in too and those posed a health problem as they swell inside you, imagine eating a 1/2 lb bag of them...thats what she did. The dr's wouldn't help her as she was skinny...was told if she started putting weight on to come back and they'd try treatment!

We tried alarms on her kitchen cupboards but they only woke her young son who was extremely upset at finding his zombie like stark naked mum shovelling food in like she hadnt eaten for days. Locking the cupboards didnt help either, she lived alone with her son, she had to know where the key was and in her sleep she'd still get it.

you could always handcuff yourself to your bed like dr. jekyll.

i tried this once and almost broke my wrists trying to get out of bed

I sleepwalk and my husband has to lock the doors so I dont know where the keys are - I wake up with dirty feet .. so have been taking trips outside ! I also try to cut food - knives are moved sometimes and doors left open - usual signs! Hubby gets very freaked out when Im just standing over him
Dont eat though!

It's really hard, I am half asleep and I will eat up hundreds of calories. I take Ambien so I know this is a major contributor to why I eat at night. I am obese because of this. I am going to my Dr tomorrow to talk to her about it. Addiction sucks

I have been able to quit taking Ambien and it has helped enormously. It was rough at first but now I sleep like a normal person. Well worth the 2 mos of inadequate sleep to be able to be off that stuff!