How do you fight Night eating?

kegla72
kegla72 Posts: 8 Member
in Getting Started
I'm looking for some tips to curb my night time cravings. Being a stay at home mom to 5 kids can be a bit monotonous at times my kids are older now but Throughout the years I have used food to entertain me. I get very tired and bored in the evenings and tend to turn to food for something to "look forward to". Yesterday was day 1 for me. I stopped eating at 7 p.m. I am a night owl and didn't go to bed until 12:30 a.m. Sometimes I feel ravounous at night. My go to snacks are a late night bowl of cereal, donuts, ice cream or greek god yogurt with granola (the full fat kind). Last night was very hard but I made it thru and felt really good about it. This moring I was Soooo hungry. I never usually eat breakfast but I did this morning lol. Oatmeal with brown sugar and a splash of milk. It was so good but I was still hungry after :(

Replies

  • jeffers11
    jeffers11 Posts: 1 Member
    I struggle with this if I have to stay up working late, which is sometimes the case. Otherwise the answer is easy: go to bed earlier and sleep through it.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,404 Member
    I have to go to bed much earlier. I used to stay up, but staying up late always led to snacking. If you're eating dinner at seven, it makes sense that you'll be hungry again in 3-4 hours. If you don't want to go to bed earlier, why not save 300-400 calories for your late snack? Or eat dinner later. Just because the kidlets eat at 7PM doesn't mean you have to.
  • Emmygm
    Emmygm Posts: 80 Member
    Whenever I feel hungry in the evening I brush my teeth and it usually stops me from wanting to mess up that minty clean feeling.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    edited July 2017
    You might not be getting enough daily calories. Or enough protein. Consider opening your diary. I make sure my dinner is healthy and I eat a lot of it. Then I have a planned small snack that fits in my calories.
    Not easy. But it can be done. You're not on a 1200 calorie diet plan are you? Are you sleeping enough? There are some studies showing that getting enough sleep can help a person stay slim.
  • Emmygm
    Emmygm Posts: 80 Member
    cterks wrote: »
    1. WELCOME! I am new here also.

    2. I totally understand the struggle with night time cravings. Something my dietitian suggested was to wait 15 mins, have a cup of herbal tea, busy myself with something else and if I am still feeling like I'm hungry THEN allow myself the evening snack. But sit at the table and eat it mindfully (not in front of the computer or while doing something else. ...focus on enjoying the food, eat one portion on a plate or in a bowl and nothing else. Then drink some more water or herbal tea.

    3. As far as being hungry in the morning for breakfast that is GOOD! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and will kick start your metabolism. If you're still hungry after oats try adding in some protein and healthy fats to keep you for a bit longer than just a carb based meal.

    Hope this helps :)

    this. I agree with all of these suggestions!
  • kegla72
    kegla72 Posts: 8 Member

    cterks wrote: »
    1. WELCOME! I am new here also.

    2. I totally understand the struggle with night time cravings. Something my dietitian suggested was to wait 15 mins, have a cup of herbal tea, busy myself with something else and if I am still feeling like I'm hungry THEN allow myself the evening snack. But sit at the table and eat it mindfully (not in front of the computer or while doing something else. ...focus on enjoying the food, eat one portion on a plate or in a bowl and nothing else. Then drink some more water or herbal tea.

    3. As far as being hungry in the morning for breakfast that is GOOD! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and will kick start your metabolism. If you're still hungry after oats try adding in some protein and healthy fats to keep you for a bit longer than just a carb based meal.

    Hope this helps :)

    It definatley helps :) I will keep these all in mind. I like the herbal tea idea. I like tea but don't drink it often.
  • kegla72
    kegla72 Posts: 8 Member
    TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »
    You might not be getting enough daily calories. Or enough protein. Consider opening your diary. I make sure my dinner is healthy and I eat a lot of it. Then I have a planned small snack that fits in my calories.
    Not easy. But it can be done. You're not on a 1200 calorie diet plan are you? Are you sleeping enough? There are some studies showing that getting enough sleep can help a person stay slim.

    I am on a higher calorie plan bc I have about 95 pounds to lose. I probably don't sleep enough. I average 7 hours on a good night. I don't want to go to bed earlier...in such a large family night time is my "me time" ;) I may have to change some things though.
  • RachelX04
    RachelX04 Posts: 1,123 Member
    I too am a night owl and a night time snacker. what works for me is Intermittent Fasting. I skip breakfast and start eating at 2 in the afternoon. By doing this I have room in my diary for my evening snacks. This seems to work for me, Nutrition wise I am still a work in progress, but this IF has been helping me.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I eat my dinner around 8:30 PM...I'm in bed by about 9:30/10 most nights.
  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
    Why don't you save your Calories for nighttime. Just eat less early on so you can have a bit more for nighttime snacks. It doesn't matter how late you eat as long as you keep within your daily intake.
  • work_on_it
    work_on_it Posts: 251 Member
    I love eating at night - I love to snack... deadly combo... unless you manage it.

    I basically try to allot myself about 150-300 calories every day to have something at night. Pre-planning is not sexy... and kind of a pain... but it is totally a recipe for success. I love my salty snacks... so i realize - it doesn't take many cheeze-its to hit 150 calories... but after a day full of "behaving"... they taste sooooo good.

    Also drink water. I probably drink 4-5 big glasses of water every night. It helps with my cravings.
  • King_Spicy
    King_Spicy Posts: 821 Member
    Snack a lil while you prepare their dinners. Eat yours in solitude late at night. I enjoy 10-11pm dinners
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    I don't, I fast until 12-1pm and save my calories for the evening when I am the hungriest.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,404 Member
    I just want to refute that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

    No. It really isn't. It doesn't matter one bit how you allocate your day's calories. Do it in the way that works best for you. If you like to eat first thing, do so. If not, it does not affect weight-loss, metabolism, or health in any way.
  • joinn68
    joinn68 Posts: 480 Member
    Personnally when I started I would go to bed earlier to deal with night time eating. But if that's not something you can do, you should eat according to your schedule. You go to bed at 12h30am, you probably have your dinner later than 7pm instead of leaving all that extra time to get hungry and to eat more. Timing of meals doesn't matter for weight loss; but for your satiety it totally does!
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    I have hungry all the time at night. I am often up at 11 or 12, legitimately hungry and wanting to eat.

    I have 2 approaches. Either I just go to bed hungry, knowing that I will fall asleep and not know I'm hungry and eat first thing when I wake up. Or, I will go ahead and have a cup of cereal (literally a cup....I'll put it in a coffee mug instead of a big bowl) with some skim milk. That way it's not a huge calorie bust and it's satisfying. (I should also note that I'm a cereal fanatic so this is my favorite comfort food)
  • kmshover
    kmshover Posts: 41 Member
    I have to leave a decent amount of calories for my night munchies which I love!!! I also usually eat a later dinner. I am a night eater for sure. Adjust to what works for you.
  • Lizakabibbis
    Lizakabibbis Posts: 370 Member
    We eat dinner around 5:30 or 6 but I'm a person that has to have some type of dessert so I just build it in my plan and have a yogurt, fruit, halo top, or some type of sweet every night around 8-9. I don't know if you are making it a goal to stop eating at 7 but it's just what I would do.

    The easy answer is of course go to bed - but that's rarely how it goes down!
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    a cup of frozen berries. 70 cals according to bag and very satisfying to me.
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
    You seem similar to me and I don't fight the night eating at all. Instead, I embrace day fasting. I go most of the day with no food. I don't eat until at least 2 and I usually wake up at 5am. I eat pretty much all of my food between 2 and 9, go to bed at 10.

    It's also easier for me to do since I've been doing keto. I no longer feel the need to eat something to fuel my workouts. I have ample energy to run or strength train even when I've not eaten for 15 hours.
  • KimbersNewLife
    KimbersNewLife Posts: 646 Member
    Gum... staying super busy! ..... bubbly water (lacriox) :-) Keep that mouth and those hands busy that's the key!!!!!! ;-)
  • mfranz42
    mfranz42 Posts: 16 Member
    Try for a late night sweet snack- tablespoon of whip cream with only 15 Calories:)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,404 Member
    mfranz42 wrote: »
    Try for a late night sweet snack- tablespoon of whip cream with only 15 Calories:)

    lol, this isn't a snack - it is disappointment.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Perhaps you could budget your calories to have a snack of 200-300 calories between dinner and bedtime? Perhaps you could exercise late in the evening and earn more calories to eat more?

Categories