Over eating in the evening

crazydogladyjess
crazydogladyjess Posts: 128 Member
edited November 9 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all! I need some advice....

I have a bad habit of overeating in the evening time on junk. All day I eat reasonable portions, healthy food... then in the evening I just keep eating and eating until I am so bloated and full, then it is time for bed.

Anyone have advice?

I am starting a tumblr blog of various motivators, and hope to look at it in the evening to trigger me to keep on track... but am still looking for more tools - I need all the resources and help I can get!!

Also - If you are looking for mfp pals who are active on the site, please feel free to add me. I am looking for friends to stay motivated with.

Thanks in advance!
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Replies

  • Erihppas
    Erihppas Posts: 121 Member
    That's been my problem! I like to eat at night...
    I think it's a good idea to eat smaller portions in the morning this way you have more calories to use in the evening.
  • Tasha3105
    Tasha3105 Posts: 20
    I have this problem, I do great all day then come night time all I want to do is eat. It has a lot to do with boredom for me though which is tough! I always try and keep some calories for at night and munch in low cal stuff so it feels like I'm getting more :)
  • festerw
    festerw Posts: 233 Member
    Popcorn, you get a lot of it for the calories.
  • Kellyfitness128
    Kellyfitness128 Posts: 194 Member
    Night time snacking has always been my weakness as well. I like to make a cup of tea after dinner.. I've found this really helps satisfy me and after I finish the tea I brush my teeth. I also need to find something to do to keep me entertained because the majority of my night time snacking comes out of boredom. Put on some netflix, read a book, knit...anything to take your mind off food!
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    edited January 2015
    Jessaha, give yourself a manicure in the early evening after dinner - when you are sitting in front of the TV, cause I bet you are when you feel the hungries. Since you don't need a manicure every night, the other evenings, slather your hands in a nice hand crème and put clean socks over them (not mittens or spa gloves because you can actually handle food with those, lol) After a couple of weeks or possibly less if you are like me, your night cravings will be gone.
    - Make sure you eat some good fats in your dinner or you will not feel satisfied with it, and keep wanting more food.
    - BTW I work nights 9pm-4am but I only allow myself a protein snack at midnight so that I can sleep properly when I get home at 4:30, then 'lunchtime' becomes my breakfast, I actually lose weight on night shift because I don't eat as much.
  • crazydogladyjess
    crazydogladyjess Posts: 128 Member
    Thanks for the good tips everyone! I am definitely going to try to them :)
  • ThunderMonkeyy
    ThunderMonkeyy Posts: 30
    just quit buying junk
  • crazydogladyjess
    crazydogladyjess Posts: 128 Member
    When I lived alone , not buying junk was an easy option - but when you live with other people you can't control what your partner and family want to eat or buy
  • Mango08
    Mango08 Posts: 3 Member
    I also have this problem and love the tip about the home spa services .... I do exercises while watching TV and I find that it helps.

    Jessaha .... so right .. it is hard to not have treats in the house when you have a family. I know! So if you can't influence them to come along (and I could not) then just have your own stash of good treats and put theirs in a cupboard that you don't have to open. That seems to work for me.
  • Mango08
    Mango08 Posts: 3 Member
    BTW everyone I am just starting my diet again as my daughter is getting married in July so I really need to stay focused. You will likely see me on the blog boards looking for support.
  • PatsyFitzpatrick
    PatsyFitzpatrick Posts: 335 Member
    I am a compulsive eater and am working to change this deadly habit. For me night time is really about one watching TV and the habit to eat in front of it. So I do not eat while watching tv. If i need a snack due to hunger and not habit I sit in the kitchen relax and eat a snack. Two bored TV mostly sucks, love to read but I get bored. So I plan to walk the dog or go to gym and go to bed earlier. If I am sleepy i want to eat. Pretty much want to eat anyway but I am working to stop these thoughts. I am responsible for meals in the family so this is always a conflict. one day at a time for me. Good luck and never quit your health is truly your first wealth.
    <>hug
    Patsy
    Lutz Fl
  • bmalone62
    bmalone62 Posts: 57 Member
    I do the same thing. I find that planning ahead helps me a lot. I plan a night time snack. For me, I eat late at night because it's when I'm not active, just sitting in front of the tv. If I'm truly hungry, I eat something. If I'm wanting to eat because I'm bored, I get up and do something like go for a walk.
  • wilsonctenney
    wilsonctenney Posts: 13 Member
    I try to push my dinner to 6:30pm at the earliest. I have found that a high fat/low carb dinner results in a low desire to eat late at night. That is just what works for me, but every now and then I will reward myself with a cookie or some other kind of treat but am always mindful of the calories and track them. I find if I eat dinner before then, the night cravings/conpulsive eatings will creep up on me and I will either give up and eat like a pig thus wiping out almost a week of hard work or have to white mickle it until I go to bed. One solution to go along with trying to eat a later dinner would be to go to bed a little earlier. I rarely go to bed after midnight now so my cravings will kick in when I am asleep. And lastly, I stopped smoking the herb. That REALLY helped lol.
  • sizesixorbust
    sizesixorbust Posts: 114 Member
    when i find myself in the kitchen about to aimlessly eat, i force myself to clean something. last night i really wanted a bowl of cereal (but the bowls were all dirty haha) and ended up taking 25 minutes doing the dishes instead, didn't even want to eat when i was done! cleaning will do that to you haha.
  • purinpeggy
    purinpeggy Posts: 8 Member
    I have this problem as well as my partner works evening. He always have a big dinner around 11pm when he finishes work. I now skip breakfast, have lunch and dinner plus a late night meal and evening snacks. I have managed to lose over a stone
  • krawhitham
    krawhitham Posts: 831 Member
    I'm the same way. I can't not eat at night. I can't sleep if my stomach isn't good n full. I don't eat breakfast. I don't eat until 1pm or so, and then I have a reasonably sized lunch around then. Then, when I get home from work around 6-9pm I basically can eat whatever I want and still be under my calorie goal for the day.
  • silentKayak
    silentKayak Posts: 658 Member
    Try going to bed earlier.
  • Slasher09
    Slasher09 Posts: 316 Member
    My evening cravings are also bad. I plan to have a protein shake after dinner as part of my diet around 8pm. It helps SO much with night time eating, plus it is already accounted for.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    My nemesis as well. When I get that "I'm must eat anything not nailed down" feeling at night I need to get away from the food, food tv, and food ads. Going to bed and reading junk fiction until I fall asleep works best for me.
  • ttcbelieve
    ttcbelieve Posts: 181 Member
    Try 0 fat plain greek yogurt with fresh blueberries or apple for late night eating, start with this before you grab the ice cream or chocolate and drink water. does wonders , will make you full and unable to eat more
  • fitandstrong2014
    fitandstrong2014 Posts: 11
    I have this same problem. im gonna have an after dinner snack ( fruit or a veggie) and tea instead and try going to bed earlier because I find that the cravings start to hit as the evening gets later.
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
    I'm the same way. I'm just more hungry in the evening. What helped me is saving the majority of my calories for that time of day, and I also eat dinner rather late. Sometimes I don't even eat lunch until 4 or 5 p.m., and then I eat dinner close to nine. During the day, I eat a pretty light breakfast, and usually just a snack in the afternoon. This helped me tremendously, and I've been doing this for about 4 to 5 months.
  • CheekyWu
    CheekyWu Posts: 12 Member
    Im sooo guilty of this but unfortunately found this discussion 30 mins too late as the dammage is now done :(. Im in love with the manicure idea. For me when im dedicated and motivated enough its because i aim to create a new habbit. I like to drink peppermint tea when i get the signs of my 1st after dinner cravings then take a shower and go to bed. Even if that means im in bed by 8.30pm. I wont eat in my room let alone my bed so that's a bonus and it allows me to maneuver around mfp and get my motivation up till i fall asleep!(means i also get that all important 8 hours - unlike my munchie days)
  • crazydogladyjess
    crazydogladyjess Posts: 128 Member
    Next time I want a night snack - I am going to re read these posts first!!
  • novembersuse
    novembersuse Posts: 77 Member
    Same here. I have tricks that can stall me a bit - paint my nails, brush my teeth, look at pictures of celebs and think 'I bet she's not thinking about junk food'...!
  • Deekay8008
    Deekay8008 Posts: 44 Member
    This is my problem too and for me it does align with the fact I associate relaxation with tv and tv with snack foods. The only one thing has worked for me in the past and I've started doing it again now is - the 14 hour fast.
    Every day I have my breakfast shake at 10am, this gives me until 8pm at night to eat. As I need to leave 14 hours in between. I have heard this is good for the metabolism but for me its more about stopping snacking.

    As I normally don't sit down to dinner until 6.30pm this isn't too difficult to stick to and I usually have the lions share of my daily calories at dinner. At 8pm I brush my teeth and its only water from that point on until bed. I get really hungry about 10.30pm and so I then go straight to bed rather than straight to the fridge.

    More water, less snacking, more sleep, it's the only way I think I'll beat this habit - zero tolerance approach ha ha!
  • Deekay8008
    Deekay8008 Posts: 44 Member
    I also pre programme in all my meals/snacks for the day around lunchtime each day , so I know I can have popcorn and a smoothie lolly and I space these out after dinner.
  • huango
    huango Posts: 1,007 Member
    This also is my worst problem. It totally nullifies me being good all day, meals and workout-wise.
    It's Day 6 of no eating at night.
    My 2 things:
    1. I brush my teeth soon after dinner, and put in my night-time mouth guard.
    2. I haven't needed it yet, but I'll allow myself a snack of crunchy apples or carrots with 1-2Tbs of peanut butter.
    I find that popcorn, w/out any fat or real content make me want more/something else.
    So the fat in the peanut butter along w/ the crunch of the apple or carrots are more satisfying.

    Good luck.
    Take it day by day.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    push your food back.

    I don't start eating till noon/1 typically- then when I get home- I can eat and not worry about it.
  • intrepie
    intrepie Posts: 24 Member
    canadjineh wrote: »
    Jessaha, give yourself a manicure in the early evening after dinner - when you are sitting in front of the TV, cause I bet you are when you feel the hungries. Since you don't need a manicure every night, the other evenings, slather your hands in a nice hand crème and put clean socks over them (not mittens or spa gloves because you can actually handle food with those, lol) After a couple of weeks or possibly less if you are like me, your night cravings will be gone.

    Such a good idea! It is difficult to snack when your nails are drying or your hands are covered in lotion. Lol
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