Night eating/binging

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tlw7
tlw7 Posts: 41 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone had success in stopping this cycle? I'm a former college athlete, lift 4x a week, and run 4x/week. That's not my issue at all...its food! Always has been. I've had a few times where I was able to stop but always fell back into it. Please share if you have been able to successfully overcome this.
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  • jessicagreen1828
    jessicagreen1828 Posts: 133 Member
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    I have the same struggle. I try to eat foods that are less calorie dense and more filling like popcorn or yogurt or veggies and hummus. Or drink some water or tea. Sometimes you just have to save calories for a square of chocolate. Just logging it keeps me more accountable and mindful of what I'm eating
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    If you like eating at night, eat less during the day so that your daily calories fit into your goal.
  • Marcel182
    Marcel182 Posts: 143 Member
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    Doesn't happen to me all that often, but just last night I woke up craving something to eat and had 3 small cookies, against my better judgment. Oh well, I'll walk it off today.
  • tlw7
    tlw7 Posts: 41 Member
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    It's not just eating at night..it's a binge-that walking won't take off the next day. You know if you binge. It's like nothing fills you up and you can't stop.
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
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    Try some very strong minty gum or some ginger - kind of goofs up your taste buds for a bit so things don't taste quite right
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    What do you binge on? Are there specific foods you can remove from the house and eat them only on occasion?

    For example I don't bring a big bag of potato chips into the house only one single serving when I want chips with a sandwich.
  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
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    Can you determine the cause of the binge? Stress? Aniexty? Depression? Tired?
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
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    tlw7 wrote: »
    It's not just eating at night..it's a binge-that walking won't take off the next day. You know if you binge. It's like nothing fills you up and you can't stop.

    It's a habit. I know believe me. Only way I have been able to stop it is to simply lay down a hard rule - no eating after a certain time - like 7 or 8. This has nothing to do with "fitting it into your daily calories". This is just an issue of plain ol' discipline. Write notes on the refrigerator, put up mirrors everywhere. If all else fails, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE. Walk. Go to the gym. Go to the mall. Eventually you'll break it.
  • tlw7
    tlw7 Posts: 41 Member
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    I've had this issue for at least 12 yrs now..I don't know the trigger. It has become an almost unable to break habit. Gum doesn't work. I don't keep 'bad' foods in my house but eating even too much of good foods isn't good for you. I eat great all day..then after dinner I just crave food-doesn't matter. I'd prefer ice cream or cake or something really good but I don't keep that in my house so I'll just grab anything. It's such a strong craving/pull.
  • ClintonnGottaDoItAgain
    ClintonnGottaDoItAgain Posts: 17 Member
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    I (HAD) an annoying notorious habit of binging on "Carrot Cake". My psyche was using logic in this fashion: A Carrot is a VEGETABLE so it must be good for you. #EpicFail. I do love carrot cake, it's my favorite "Comfort Food", it relaxes my nerves. My other vice is Lay's Ridged BBQ Potato Chips, a potato is a good carb, #Fail. I will murder a whole family size bag in one sitting if I am stressing over something. So I realized that I have "Food Triggers". I now buy Microwave Popcorn to replace the chips. I also buy Natures Valley "Bars" to replace the Carrot Cake. I don't allow my body to get away with "Dictating" to me when to eat. I will not allow myself a "Bowl" of ice cream. I take a tablespoon and "Rake across the top", no digging or scooping. I allow only enough to successfully get a tablespoon from one side of the container to the other (Straight Across). It's about discipline with me. I LOVE to eat and I am good at it but I have to train myself to not overeat.
  • Christa_Smith
    Christa_Smith Posts: 24 Member
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    tlw7 wrote: »
    It's not just eating at night..it's a binge-that walking won't take off the next day. You know if you binge. It's like nothing fills you up and you can't stop.

    I know this all to well. I wish I had a solution to share with you. ☹ I suffer from this too but have learned a couple of my triggers - excess stress & PMS.

    I lose ALL control & will even hide from my family in the garage & eat secretly. I will look in the mirror & ask why are you doing this to yourself with tears streaming down my face.

    I've learned to develop a mantra to tell myself it will pass soon, remember the guilt and shame you will feel as soon as you eat that... it helps, some..i can go months without a binge.

    Best of luck to you!
  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
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    tlw7 wrote: »
    I've had this issue for at least 12 yrs now..I don't know the trigger. It has become an almost unable to break habit. Gum doesn't work. I don't keep 'bad' foods in my house but eating even too much of good foods isn't good for you. I eat great all day..then after dinner I just crave food-doesn't matter. I'd prefer ice cream or cake or something really good but I don't keep that in my house so I'll just grab anything. It's such a strong craving/pull.

    I've binged on celery until I vomited, I can relate to this.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
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    I can't see my snacks, they're in the freezer, in the pantry away from me and unseen. I also redirect. Last night I swore I was hungry, was thinking about bread with peanut butter, but I started reorganizing and cleaning, reading, etc. and eventually I went to bed. I'm not saying I'm 100% successful, but it definitely helps me stop most of the time.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    I overcome it by fasting until 1pm so that I can eat 1/3 of my calories after dinner. Eat when you prefer to eat, just make it work with your macros.
  • jdbulger1018
    jdbulger1018 Posts: 14 Member
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    Your story sounds just like mine ..... it actually just happened to me tonight. All of my hard work I did today was ruined from 7 pm- 10pm. Now I feel huge and I'm mad at myself
  • findthekey
    findthekey Posts: 1 Member
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    I am up all night watching movies and ESPN and I have to always be eating or drinking. I'm not a huge fan of celery but I have now ended up cutting up 3 -4 cups of it and sit down with a huge glass of water and a huge cup of coffee. When I was a little girl I used to dip it in peanut...now that I'm cutting calories I dip my little celery chunks into salsa or mustard. And it works awesome for me. Cuz I love eating a shitload of food...especially at night. You should at least try it!
    I also do it throughout the day. Or air popped popcorn. And I just sit and eat for hours, because I can, fin when the calories are that low. Also, drinking a ton of propel helps me because its delicious and no calories..and it fills me up while I'm eating like a pig. Good luck!
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,514 Member
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    I used to if i was doing nothing but sat watching tv. I would just want to eat everything i could find

    Now i redirect. I want allll the foods...... ill clean
    Still want foods..... ill take a bath, read a book, get out the treadmill, phone a friend, leave the house just anything that keeps me occupied until it passed
  • bee_bee8
    bee_bee8 Posts: 96 Member
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    I always get cravings at night; it's when I get bored and just want to sit around and veg. Because of that, I only eat about 1/3 of my calories during the day. I keep my meals small (around 300-400 calories) so I can snack pretty much all evening. I tried to find foods that aren't super calorie-dense, like certain cereal or popcorn, so I can eat a lot of them without going over my limit. I also usually fit in a light workout in the evening, because any time spent exercising is time NOT spent eating ;-)
    The other main thing I do to keep from over-indulging is just go to bed. I'm a bit of a night owl and I rarely fall asleep right away so forcing myself into bed can be tough, but I just try to suck it up. Try drinking some herbal tea or other non-caffeinated beverage, too - sometimes drinking liquids helps me curb my cravings.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    First, avoid temptation by not keeping super convenient high calorie snack foods around your house. If you have a habit of binging, then that bag of chips is the pantry is going to get eaten.

    Second, keep lots of healthy convenient snack foods around. Eg, fruit, cottage cheese, deli slices, etc. I don't care how much you like to bing, eating 3 apples ain't easy!
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    It's a habit for a lot of people to eat when they have downtime in the evening.

    Sometimes setting hard rules like 'no eating after a certain time' or 'no eating while the TV is on' or 'only eating at the table when home' will work.

    Not having calorie dense 'cravy' items around that are easy to grab quick and munch on helps (in my case, this means any lunch meat or cheese I might use when doing meal prep is otherwise kept in the freezer, and no snack food in the house).

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