Late eating

ChiaraPic93
ChiaraPic93 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hey there! I'm trying to lose weight but I always end up eating more than I should at night! Any suggestion?

Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Save some calories during the day to cover it.
  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
    YOu can do what deguello says or you can give us more info so that other suggestions become evident.
  • ChiaraPic93
    ChiaraPic93 Posts: 3 Member
    I eat healthy during the day.. Fruit and yogurt in the morning, light salads (200/300 cals) for lunch, fruit snacks..then at night I eat more than I should even if I'm not that hungry! It's a pity, I also work out 1 h a day 5 days a week!
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    It's not a question of eating healthy during the day.

    If you eat when you're not hungry you could eat less during the day so that when you eat later you are hungry. Or you could prelog the day and only eat what's logged. Or you could decide that eating when you aren't hungry is less important than your other goals. Or you could just keep doing what you're doing.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    edited August 2015
    You say you eat at night even if you're not hungry, but I know that if all I ate during the day was fruit, yogurt and a light salad, I'd be chewing my own arm off by dinnertime. Under-eating during the day is a recipe for disaster for me, because by the time the evening rolls around, I'm so ravenous that good choices go out the window.

    As Tex suggested, try pre-logging your day. I do it first thing in the morning, planning everything I'm going to eat that day--including a snack to eat during "the witching hour": that period of time between when I get home from work and when dinner is ready, when I need to decompress after the work day and am likely to just grab anything to eat as "comfort food". Pre-logging has really helped with that.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    Save your calories for dinner. I'm at 1200 a day, and eat about 200 calories each for breakfast and lunch, another 200 calories for snacks, which gives me a whopping 600 calories for dinner. You can do this.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    You can save up your calories to eat them at night or you can break the bad habit. Breaking habits is hard! So, give some thought to reallocating those calories. But habits can be broken. You just have to make up your mind to break them and then be firm with yourself and do it. :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    ChiaraPic93 wrote: »
    I eat healthy during the day.. Fruit and yogurt in the morning, light salads (200/300 cals) for lunch, fruit snacks..then at night I eat more than I should even if I'm not that hungry! It's a pity, I also work out 1 h a day 5 days a week!

    It sounds like you are undereating earlier and that may be affecting your willpower. Also, are you getting enough protein and fat?

    Try to eat your whole calorie goal and experiment with different ways of allocating it through the day.

    Also, are you even going over your calories? It sounds like you are trying to eat super low.
  • Annr
    Annr Posts: 2,765 Member
    For me the kitchen is just closed after dinner, except for finishing my liquids for the day. Its just not an option. I don't put choice into the equation. It isn't a matter of not letting me have anything, its a matter of wanting to be hungry when I wake up. For me, it guarantees that my next day will be a positive one. I have started the ball rolling by waking up hungry and ready to tackle my first healthy meal of the day. I also have my bigger meals at lunch time. Like today was a lunch about 499 calories. Then dinner is just a really small serving of whole wheat pasta, spinach and a spoonful of sauce. Everyone is different but this seems to be working the best for me currently.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    i eat the majority of my calories at night because thats when i like to eat

    do that?
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    I also eat most of my calories at night. I have a large dinner (600-700 calories) and a substantial snack just before going to bed (about 400 calories). My daily total is typically around 1900 so I eat about half at night and the rest spread out during the day.
  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
    ChiaraPic93 wrote: »
    hey there! I'm trying to lose weight but I always end up eating more than I should at night! Any suggestion?
    Late nights were my biggest challenge.
    In my fat times, one of my favorite eating habits was to have dinner all over again just before bed. I just loved that eat-so-much-I-hurt feeling as I drifted off to sleep. That was just the best ;)

    So, when I began this journey, I had to moderate. Over the months, I backed off my quantity and ate that final meal earlier. It just killed me to eat a whole hour before bed.
    In time my final meal was at 7pm and I was able to sleep by 930pm - no problem.

    It was a work in progress for months, and many days I just failed miserably.
  • Annr
    Annr Posts: 2,765 Member
    I am in my mid 50's so eating a large meal before I go to bed is like guarenteeing that all night I will suffer, and TUMS will be consumed like Skittles! So now, I don't eat a couple of hrs before bed, have some peppermint tea before I sleep and I am a happy camper.
  • ChiaraPic93
    ChiaraPic93 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you for your support! Knowing I'm not the only one dealing with this problem makes makes me feel less worried about it. Your support is all I needed to find motivation to break this bad bad habit!

    For those who asked, I eat as much healthy food as I can (my salads are quite big) but I am gluten and lactose intolerant, so I cannot have sandwiches/pasta/paninis when I'm at work, and big salads makes me feel full and energized for the whole day:)
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  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Pre-log your day to include night time snacking.
  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
    shell1005 wrote: »
    I eat little small meals throughout the day and then eat the majority of my calories for dinner and dessert. That worked for me and I had a lot of success doing it.

    I agree with the pre-logging your food. I log my food in the morning and I don't even have to think about it...I just eat what I logged. When I am done with the food I planned, I clicked on the button on MFP, brush my teeth and I am done for the night. If I get the want to eat after that....so sorry, so sad.
    Wow, I can do this now, but early in my journey I stained my pillow with tears after caving in to my cravings.
    Developing discipline takes time for some of us, and to those struggling, it gets easier each time to push through.

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  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
    shell1005 wrote: »
    Pinnacle_IAO wrote: »
    shell1005 wrote: »
    I eat little small meals throughout the day and then eat the majority of my calories for dinner and dessert. That worked for me and I had a lot of success doing it.

    I agree with the pre-logging your food. I log my food in the morning and I don't even have to think about it...I just eat what I logged. When I am done with the food I planned, I clicked on the button on MFP, brush my teeth and I am done for the night. If I get the want to eat after that....so sorry, so sad.
    Wow, I can do this now, but early in my journey I stained my pillow with tears after caving in to my cravings.
    Developing discipline takes time for some of us, and to those struggling, it gets easier each time to push through.

    Discipline takes time for all of us. You have to start somewhere and deciding you cannot control your cravings does nothing to get you to the start line of doing that IMO.
    "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford
    240rj9pm1w26.jpg

  • KathleenCora
    KathleenCora Posts: 160 Member
    Save calories, chew gum, or my favorite go to bed early... That is the only way I don't over eat at night. Good luck!
  • LaurenNotLaura
    LaurenNotLaura Posts: 64 Member
    I broke my late night eating habit by just going to bed. I used to wait until the kids were asleep and then ravage the junk food while watching tv! I made myself get into the habit of going to bed when the kids did. Many nights, in the beginning, I would take 2 benadryl 30 minutes before the last kid went to bed, so I'd be tired and go right to sleep! Now, I rarely make it up past 10 lol. It takes time and patience, you can do it!
  • DaniYelli27
    DaniYelli27 Posts: 17 Member
    I too struggle with getting hungry almost every night on the dot around 11pm whether I'm in bed or not. I figured out that I was really thirsty; the body has a hard time telling hungry from thirsty so perhaps try drinking a glass of water before eating to see if that helps.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    ChiaraPic93 wrote: »
    Thank you for your support! Knowing I'm not the only one dealing with this problem makes makes me feel less worried about it. Your support is all I needed to find motivation to break this bad bad habit!

    For those who asked, I eat as much healthy food as I can (my salads are quite big) but I am gluten and lactose intolerant, so I cannot have sandwiches/pasta/paninis when I'm at work, and big salads makes me feel full and energized for the whole day:)

    If salads do not work, bring some cooked veggies for lunch like broccoli or yellow squash.
    Or some handy canned gluten free soup from the grocery store.

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