Night Eating HELP

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mommyjen7
mommyjen7 Posts: 12
in Food and Nutrition
I'm totally fine every day up until about 9/10 pm when I lose all control and eat 400-500 (usually nuts,dried fruits) putting me way over my calories for the day. This happens a few times a week. It is now become an unbreakable "habit"..... Any suggestions?
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  • twimom03
    twimom03 Posts: 19
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    You just described my bad eating habit as well! For me...I think it is because I'm busy all day long and as soon as rest time comes...later in the evening...Iassociate relaxing with eating...and eating alot! I do better if I have a mini bag of popcorn (I feel like I am getting alot out of my snack) or not snaking at all after dinner. Once I have one snack in the evening...it usually triggers me to want more to eat and it is difficult to hold back. I know that I am not hungry...it is as you said, "a bad habit"...
  • missy1970eb
    missy1970eb Posts: 1,209
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    keeping drinking water:smile:
  • steve1126
    steve1126 Posts: 22
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    That's me to a tee also! The only way I've found to beat it is to go to bed early, between 9-10 o'clock!
  • Jawwdan
    Jawwdan Posts: 19
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    I know this may sound silly. But have a cuppa tea. Put an extra sugar in to make it a wee bit sweeter. I do this and it take me crave away for sweet things late at night. Then if it kicks up again i just think to myself that i'm going to bed soon so there is no point in wrecking the day by over-eating. It might sound kinda weird- but hey, it helps me! :)
  • diet45
    diet45 Posts: 392 Member
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    I don't eat anything after dinner....so I know that is it. If I get hungry I just tell myself I'll have to wait until tomorrow. It has really helped me at night because I use to get junk food at night while watching tv.....now just water!!!
  • lifesabeach2629
    lifesabeach2629 Posts: 28
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    food cravings at night are a MAJOR weakness for me too! twimom03 hit the nail on the head with associating eating with relaxing - i do the same thing.

    lately though, i'm finding that it helps to drink hot tea at night (negligible calories), which fills you up, and the warm water is comforting as well (promoting relaxation!)

    another related point: if i've been craving something for a while, say, a brownie, and i go for an alternative snack like fruit or wheat crackers, i sometimes end up taking in more calories than if i had gone with the brownie, b/c i keep eating in the hopes of satisfying my underlying chocolate craving. point is that if uve been craving something all day, maybe it's better to just have a small serving of that very thing and be done with it!
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Night overeating and especially night-binging is a big problem for me. I think one of the reasons might be lack of a roughly set time to go to bed. Coupled with some insomnia problems, I tend to use carbs for energy at night when I should just go to sleep.
  • Monicqua
    Monicqua Posts: 21 Member
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    Same with me one munch leads to another if I just do not stop then in the red I go. Before it use to last for days but since having the support of MFP's it happens less :happy:
    I excercise a bit more when I can in the evening unless it's a weekend and I have tried to replace snacking with drinking more water :drinker: in my fridge I have a bowl of grapes as soon as I open it I end up picking one and that seems to do the trick.

    Although, it's really tempting I try not to buy things I know I am going to end up eating the whole packet and surround myself with less temptation again if possible


    Good luck :smile:
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    Munch on celery, the worst damage your stomach could possibly do is 40 cals in about 5 large stalks.
  • its_betty
    its_betty Posts: 104 Member
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    I like to have hot tea at night: seems more satisfying than cold water. (I have a selection of herbal teas and decaf teas for nighttime.)

    If you know you like to have fruit at night, can you try to save some calories for it? Eat 100 calories less at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and you could have a 300 calorie snack and still be even. Or exercise a little more to earn more calories. (I often crave sweets after dinner, but I find that taking a walk then cuts the craving AND is good for me. Bonus!)
  • tinalina81
    tinalina81 Posts: 81
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    I'm totally fine every day up until about 9/10 pm when I lose all control and eat 400-500 (usually nuts,dried fruits) putting me way over my calories for the day. This happens a few times a week. It is now become an unbreakable "habit"..... Any suggestions?



    I sooo feel your pain. This has been my eating habits for the last 10 years and it is the main reason I am now overweight! I still have a tough time not eating at night but have decided that if I REALLY don't want to eat that late I just go to bed. Sometimes I have a tea with some honey in it and a low calorie little snack or cookie. It is a battle every day though! And don't be too tough on yourself, sometimes you just have to have a snack that late, as long as it doesn't happen every night.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    If I brush my teeth after having a small snack after dinner I usually don't eat again :)
  • Fleur933
    Fleur933 Posts: 156 Member
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    This is a HUGE hurdle for me too. I find that if I force myself to go do something else for 10 minutes (fold laundry, put the clean dishes away etc) then I can often make my body beleive that I really don't want or need the snack anymore. HOWEVER, it doesn't always work. So...I plan for a snack in the evenings (leave a few calories for the end of the day, usually some of my workout cals) and I try to plan for what it will be. Often it's popcorn or 1/2 a cup of icecream (depending on if I'm craving salty or sweet). I find that planning to have something keeps me from eating EVERYTHING (although not last night...like I said...it's a battle). Goodluck!
  • mkrafferty
    mkrafferty Posts: 1 Member
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    I've cut back on this by eating something very small (4-5 almonds, 1/4 pita w/hummus, a 4-year-old's serving of Teddy Grahams) with a full glass of water, then waiting an hour. Once the hour has passed, if I'm still hungry, I might eat something more substantial - because I can safely say I'm ACTUALLY hungry. It also sets my mind at ease if I don't lie to myself and say "there's no way I'm eating more tonight".

    Also, dried fruits are insanely high calorie once I looked at the labels more closely, and the high sugar means you'll get hungry fast. Sure, they're GOOD for you compared to candy. But by taking out all the water, the calories-per-handful goes WAY up. Look at 1/3 cup of frozen cranberries (30 calories or so?) vs. a serving of Craisins (130 calories). Maybe switching to fresh fruit would help?

    Finally, if I don't eat within about 2 hours of going to bed, I get headaches in the morning, so I am definitely in the late-night-eating crowd. There's no way I'm going to *not* eat late at night, but might as well pace it and fill it with fiber/protein that will stick around longer. Good luck!
  • LARPkitten
    LARPkitten Posts: 19 Member
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    Totally seconding on the tea thing. A nice herbal tea with a little bit of honey in it is JUST the thing to curb an appetite. Green tea is a natural appetite suppressant, as well as peppermint supposedly. You can also get relaxing teas that will make you feel more sleepy, which also means you're less likely to munch on things. And that little bit of sugar plus the heaviness of the water makes your body feel more full.
  • Boladefuego326
    Boladefuego326 Posts: 143 Member
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    I know this may sound silly. But have a cuppa tea. Put an extra sugar in to make it a wee bit sweeter. I do this and it take me crave away for sweet things late at night. Then if it kicks up again i just think to myself that i'm going to bed soon so there is no point in wrecking the day by over-eating. It might sound kinda weird- but hey, it helps me! :)

    I do the same. I think about how hard I've worked throughout the day and think "Well, I'm going to sleep soon anyways...I won't be hungry." So I always drink a cup or two after dinner, then keep one by my bed as im unwinding either reading or watching tv. :3

    If all else fails DANCE! :D I love to turn on the radio or last.fm and just shake until my mind's off of food :D

    Good luck!!! :D
  • roylawrence87
    roylawrence87 Posts: 970 Member
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    Go to sleep! Works every time!
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
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    Are you actually hungry? If so, you may need to change up the time of your dinner or look at the nutrient composition of dinner to make it more filling by adding fats and proteins.

    If you're not hungry, then what is going on at 9-10 PM? Is is boredom? Is it too much time to think, and therefore feel things you don't like to feel? If you can figure out what the food is masking, you may be able to more successfully resolve the problem.
  • Dawntodusk
    Dawntodusk Posts: 262 Member
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    I drink most of my water at night. And, then - as others suggest - sip herbal tea if I'm hungry.
  • mommyjen7
    mommyjen7 Posts: 12
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    I guess I should add I also have insomnia.... So I would LOVE to just go to sleep but cant sometimes until 2-3 in the morning, most likely waking up during the night as well. Tried several medications, must have developed a tolerance. Unfortunately, if I'm really full, its easier to go to sleep? probably because of all the heavy carbs? I dont know but yesterday I ate 900 calories all day (until 10 pm) and then had 2000? what the?

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