Excessive Night Eating!

stigward
stigward Posts: 2
in Food and Nutrition
I'm sure that this has been asked or discussed before, but I couldn't find anything on it!

I have the HARDEST time resisting the urge to eat junk food right before bed. Throughout the day I have great self control on making healthy food decisions, but come 9pm, all self control goes out the door. I'm curious to know if anyone else has had this struggle and has come up with routines that help them overcome the strong urge for junk food? If you have any advice I'd love to hear it!

Thank you!
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Replies

  • sonnyOclock
    sonnyOclock Posts: 20
    dont buy junkfood lol
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Eat more protein, it keeps you fuller :)
  • sdps745
    sdps745 Posts: 33 Member
    Saw an item on TV called a 'Kitchen Safe' It was on a show called "I Want That!" It locks for a set amount of time that you set it for, so it can be locked during the evening!
  • stigward
    stigward Posts: 2
    sdps745 wrote: »
    Saw an item on TV called a 'Kitchen Safe' It was on a show called "I Want That!" It locks for a set amount of time that you set it for, so it can be locked during the evening!

    Hahahaha I love that.
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
    What works best for me is not to give myself permission to snack, especially after dinner. Unfortunately, it seems like letting a particularly needy and undisciplined genie out of the bottle if I let myself do it.

    I know limiting eating to meals ain't everyone's thing, but it works for me. It allows for a reasonably substantial dinner, which works out well.
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
    I usually try to save some calories or carbs for a night snack from my daily totals. THEN If I decide I do not want the snack I am that much ahead. Since my plan is Low carb my go to snack is a table spoon of heavy whipping cream. Satisfies my cravings if I have some.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
    If you want to eat junk food then just make room for it in your day. You might even find, like I did, that simply removing restrictions and eating food you enjoy without demonizing it in any way makes you less inclined to eat junky food just for the sake of eating it. I calculated my junky food intake for the last week, it's been 4% of my total intake. I have lost about 25lbs eating junk food pretty much weekly.
  • keefmac
    keefmac Posts: 313 Member
    I have some salted pistachios around 9pm, 300kcals worth.

    The fact it takes a while to shell/ eat them makes it appear to be a bigger snack!.
  • MissSusieQ
    MissSusieQ Posts: 533 Member
    clean your teeth at 8.45
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    edited December 2014
    Let yourself have a salad with protein like cheese.
    Or a wrap or small burrito with protein.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    From personal experience, I have learned that the main reason you get cravings for food is not enough calories during the day. This forces me to overeat at night.

    Another problem is that when we start logging food and going on a caloric deficit, we just aren't used to eating "less food". For this purpose, I recommend for a couple of weeks eating at maintenance or decreasing your goals to only 1/2 lbs per week and go from there.

    Hope this helps.
  • clarion_r
    clarion_r Posts: 53 Member
    Maybe plan so you have enough calories left at night for a snack? I have a casein protein shake - it's chocolate flavoured so it's a bit like dessert as well :)
  • poke987
    poke987 Posts: 348 Member
    If I'm out of calories for the day, and really don't want to go over (when I know I'm not hungry... Just a bad craving) I brush my teeth, I use a super minty paste, never want to eat after that!
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    Save some room in your allotment for a little treat after dinner. Drink a nice big glass of water to fill up your stomach. Brush your teeth. Distract yourself doing something else.
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
    Either you eat out of pure habit then, or you eat because you're hungry.

    If you're hungry, you need to look over when, what and how much else you eat during the day.

    If it's psychological only, you have to find the reason and break the habit, or break it without finding the reason. This may sound dense, but it really is this simple.
    What causes you to lose self-control, why do you want to give in?
    Why do you label things as non-junk and junk?

    The more you tell yourself something should be forbidden, the more your mind is focussed on those food items, and the more you will crave them. If you reverse it by thinking of what you are allowed to eat, you will want to eat those items, whatever they may be.

    Breaking habits is difficult, but you are successful if you do it step by step. If you want to figure out how to change, you will. No one here can tell you exactly what will work for you, but you can get ideas and then need to claim responsibility yourself, figure out your own situation. Good luck.
  • shartran
    shartran Posts: 304 Member
    Instead of abstaining from telling yourself 'I will not have anything before bed', plan out a yummy - but healthy snack at that 9pm hour. Perhaps you enjoy oatmeal? Maybe with a drizzle of real maple syrup and a few toasted nuts? Sugar free jello? toast with nut butter/banana? Frozen banana or strawberries drizzled with dark chocolate?
    Good luck...
  • dieselbyte
    dieselbyte Posts: 733 Member
    I eat a serving and a half of Ben & Jerry's, plus another 1/2 serving of gelato every night before bed. It hasn't hampered my goals in the least bit, because it's part of my daily intake... Make room for the foods you like and enjoy. You won't sabotage your progress because you ate "junk" food at 9pm. You sabotage your progress because you are overeating. If you eat "healthy" food at 9pm and it puts you over your caloric goals, you will still gain weight. Overeating is overeating, no matter the source...
  • EZDUZIT68
    EZDUZIT68 Posts: 1,168 Member
    Something I've struggled with my entire life. In my case, it's not hunger or cravings (in the classic sense), it's more out of a sense of entitlement and good old fashioned "emotional eating" so to speak. I find I'm never actually hungry when I eat late at night; although I GET hungry when I start thinking about what I could dive into.

    I find the only thing I can do is put it out of my head and just fight it. No tricking myself with brushing teeth, or treating myself during the day so I won't want it at night - that's never been what it's about for me. Like any other unhealthy habit, you need to commit to stopping it without crutches or gimmicks.
  • Swiftlet66
    Swiftlet66 Posts: 729 Member
    edited December 2014
    Brush your teeth at 8:30 pm, lay down in bed, eat a mint, put on music, drink 1 glass of water, relax and do a quiet activity before you sleep. :#
  • Juvenica
    Juvenica Posts: 460 Member
    u kidding ?? if he goes 2 bed at 8:30 he'll probably wake up at 2 a.m craving whatever he can find . so , I would advice as previously mentioned make sure u make room for it , eat less during the day, buy less junk food ( if you don't have it in your house you're less likely to go out at 9 p.m to buy it) , and last but not least , read the nutritional values of everything you eat, u'll soon come to realize they're not worth the calories and fat they have.

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