Serious, Major Self Control Issues

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Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I had the benefit of the support of a therapy group as I lost weight. Here's a list of tips to help you figure out what is happening during your night-time hungers.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/halting-a-binge-session-715131

    You've called it hunger. Is it hunger, or habit? Is it hunger, or craving? Is it hunger, or boredom? If it really is hunger, change your eating patterns to allow for a controlled evening snack. You might cut back on a mid-day meal for instance to compensate.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    By the way, many African cultures stay up to the cooler wee hours of the morning, and have their dinner between 8:00 and 10:00 at night. That might work for you.
  • Ati13
    Ati13 Posts: 10 Member
    I know I can control myself, I've done it before. I honestly do feel totally out of control after dinner these last few days, though. Like, I'll decide to have some carrots for a snack and when I come to I've had carrots and crackers and cheese and made dessert and eaten too much of that and I'm standing back in front of the fridge again...

    And then I realize I've shamed myself and my family and sort of want to jump off a bridge a little bit. I resolve to do better tomorrow. Have a healthy breakfast. Restrain myself at lunch. Cook something healthy for dinner. And then blow it 4 hours after dinner

    Exercise is awesome, and I'm totally down to put more effort in there :) hydration is something I'm weak in, so I'll give that a go today. Protein too... I was just going to have an apple a low fat banana muffin for breakfast, but I think I'll add in some nuts or an egg. Thanks!
    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    You CAN control yourself, you are just not choosing to do so.

    You can train yourself not to be a night eater. Here's what helped me:

    1. Eat substantial meals early in the day, with significant protein.
    2. Stay VERY well hydrated. If you are a larger person or more active, 8 glass a day might be be nearly enough.
    3. Eat dinner later. There is no rule that you need to have dinner at 5PM. I like to have a light dinner between 8-10 PM. An alternative to that would be to plan/budget for a snack later at night.
    4. Establish an earlier bedtime and be as consistent about it as possible. Sleeping pills or a nightly Benedryl might be helpful--obviously something to run by your doctor before you try it.
    5. Exercise regularly. If you put a lot of effort into exercise, it's not so tempting to ruin your progress by overeating.

    It takes about 3 weeks to start establishing new habits. If you can force yourself to stay on track for that long, you might see progress.

    Good luck!

  • Ati13
    Ati13 Posts: 10 Member
    He did it in three months, too. And then LOST it in three months. Freaking insane.

    I have two small children, so I think saving snack calories is more feasible than moving dinner within 20 minutes of bed time lol.
    ellarishee wrote: »
    Ati13 wrote: »
    LynndyStarr wrote: »
    in your pic you look like it thats why i say so

    Huh? That's fat Mac from Its Always Sunny. I put it up when I was diagnosed with prediabetes because Mac having "diabetis" is one of the best episodes lol. In what universe is that profile pic anorexic? Or were you even talking to me? Or were you being facetious? I'm so confused! Lol

    I am definitely the opposite of anorexic.

    I love It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.. It's funny when you think that we're all on here talking weightloss, and that guy gained 50 pounds just to play fat mac.

    Anyway, I have the same problem. I eat dinner, and unless I've been particularly diligent with my food choices that day I don't tend to have much left for after dinner snacking. I used to eat dinner between 5 and 6. But then when you think about it, if you eat at 6 and go to bed at 12, its SIX hours since you've last eaten, and it's no wonder your hungry.

    I personally have moved to dinner to around 7 ish, and try to keep anywhere between 80 - 120 calories left over so I can fit in a couple of crackers if I'm really that hungry before bed time.

  • Ati13
    Ati13 Posts: 10 Member
    No, it means I go without enough sleep until I can catch up on the weekends lol. I have to be up for work at 7:00. I get my kids ready for school, get ready for work and take lunch around noon. I get off work between 3:00 and 5:00, get home and make dinner. Then lose all semblance of self control around 8:30 or 9:00 lol.
    hamelle2 wrote: »
    Being a night owl ...does that mean you sleep later in the morning? I have a friend who stays up until 2 or 3 am and then sleeps until 11 am or so. She then gets ready for work at 1pm. Works until 10 pm. I asked her if she does her cleaning, laundry, exercising during these late night hours and she laughed at me.
    It seems to me she needs to adjust life to her work/sleep habits.

  • Ati13
    Ati13 Posts: 10 Member
    I'm a chick, I just love the "diabetis" episode of It's Always Sunny, and that profile pic helps remind me why I'm doing this in the first place. Hormones are very much a problem for me lol. Maybe that's what's up these last few days...

    Protein is a challenge for me, but I know for sure it helps. I just need to find sources that work for me.
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Personally, I usually have dinner at 5pm too, and most of the time I'm fine afterwards. Sometimes I'm not but I ignore the hunger because I know it might lead to eating too much... On the rare days when I'm so hungry that I just can't think about anything else, I eat (and yeah I end up going way over, like last night, but it's hormones - shouldn't be a problem for you, lol).

    Anyway, make better choices during the day (more protein and good fat, less carbs), or leave calories for a nighttime snack. And adjust your calorie goal so you don't end up starving every single night. No diet is going to work if you're starving all the time. There's nothing wrong with setting your goal to 1.5 or 1 pound a week, if it's going to make you stick to it instead of making you want to quit and overeating at night.

  • Ati13
    Ati13 Posts: 10 Member
    I get in my workout, do my second job (if I can get a keyword to write about... I'm an SEO content creator by night and a property manager by day), take care of my kids, cook, do the grocery shopping (which I basically have to do every day because SOMEONE *glares at husband* doesn't like to shop for more than a day at a time), take the puppy for a walk, clean, help with homework, then I crash and get really lazy and don't do squat lol.
    kozykondition1 wrote: »
    So what do you do in the 6-7 hours between dinner and bedtime? Many people here would be envious to have that much free time to exercise. If a 5 o'clock dinnertime is inflexible, plan for four meals.

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    OP, try pre-logging your days, and including something you will enjoy eating in those dangerous hours. I always leave 200-ish calories for a snack at 10PM, because I can't fall asleep if I haven't eaten for more than a couple of hours.

    Also, as @jgnatca mentioned, is it really hunger or habit that keeps you eating? Whenever it is late and I know I ate plenty of food for the day but I start to fixate on pretzels or ice cream or whatever craving is taking a turn, I make myself get up and do something that needs to be done, like finish unloading the dishwasher, or pick out my clothes for tomorrow. Or I'll make myself a cup of mint tea, which tastes a little sweet and keeps my taste buds busy. If after that i still feel hungry, I have at least taken myself out of the mindless eating mentality and have a better chance of not over-doing it. It doesn't ALWAYS work, but it does a lot of the time.

    And if you have one of those nights where you still go overboard, the most important thing is not to get so discouraged and mad at yourself that it turns into a week-long slide. Everyone has bad days, and one bad day here and there is not the end of the world. So use it as motivation to stay on track tomorrow, rather than guilt to fuel another bad day.

    Good luck!
  • umayster
    umayster Posts: 651 Member
    Ati13 wrote: »
    No, it means I go without enough sleep until I can catch up on the weekends lol. I have to be up for work at 7:00. I get my kids ready for school, get ready for work and take lunch around noon. I get off work between 3:00 and 5:00, get home and make dinner. Then lose all semblance of self control around 8:30 or 9:00 lol.



    You are tired. I get really bad at making good decisions when tired, hungry or thirsty.

    Priorities -
    Air
    Water
    Food
    Sleep
    Other Stuff

    Take care of your basic needs and everything else gets easier.

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