night eating

sendtoharvey
sendtoharvey Posts: 135 Member
edited November 21 in Motivation and Support
I've always struggled with eating at night. so I don't buy chips anymore, but I caught myself staring at all the stuff in the house that I could eat (leftover lasagna, brownies, sweedish fish, snickers bites, chocolate and granola, bagels, grilled chicken, corn dogs, chicken tenders)... I even thought about making a 2nd salad, just because. maybe I'm just one of those people who needs to chomp chomp chomp all day, does anyone else struggle like that? I've always been a night eater my whole life, and have friends that mock my "4th meal"...
opening the fridge over and over again thinking new things will appear is crazy, but I do it.....
suggestions to take mind off of food?

Replies

  • Halloweenmom31
    Halloweenmom31 Posts: 56 Member
    I also eat at night!! I don't eat all day because I'm not hungry. I over eat in the evening. I eat dinner then feels like I just keep eating until I go to sleep! I take meds for bipolar and anxiety and to help sleep so I think they make me hungry. I have lost 12 pounds now and have been allowing myself to eat what I want but count calories. I add in my night eating so I don't go over. I found it to be very helpful. Good luck!
  • strawberryswirl01
    strawberryswirl01 Posts: 31 Member
    Apparently dark chocolate helps with cravings. I find if I eat dark chocolate I don't crave more, like I would do with milk chocolate or any other junk food. If dark chocolate isn't your bag, you can get flavoured ones. I tend to eat mint flavour.
  • GlassAngyl
    GlassAngyl Posts: 478 Member
    I'm not a night time eater cause.. I lazy :grin: ! But I do tend to over do it at dinner.. so I generally either skip breakfast except for coffee.. or skip lunch. Or have so low calories I'm safe. If I DO eat normal those times.. I WILL go over my allowance.
  • wiktoriavictoria
    wiktoriavictoria Posts: 2 Member
    When I get hungry at night, I read. It's calorie-free!
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
    I've been saving dinner for right before bed time to solve this very problem. So it's dinner and then I go running off to bed asap before I get hungry again.

    But this is one my hurdles too. The fact is that you're eating at a deficit so by the end of the day, that's when you're really feeling that deficit, because it's gotten to the point that you've eaten all of your allotted calories and you can't have more.

    Personally I'm just trying hard to accept the craving. Acknowledge them and mentally own them without judgment or guilt. Make a firm decision about whether you will succumb. And once you've made that decision, you don't have to worry about it. The decision is made.

    The whole mental process is harder if you just keep yourself in the decision making zone, trying to decide whether you will or not.

    In other words, [hunger+mental and emotional turmoil of going back and forth and wondering if you'll succumb or not] is waaay more stressful and counterproductive than JUST [hunger] .

  • neenaexp
    neenaexp Posts: 38 Member
    When I was dieting for weight loss, I would eat a small meal @ 10 pm. Never had a problem with it!
  • nursebravo14
    nursebravo14 Posts: 23 Member
    I feel you... I'm awesome through the day.. get home... then start munching like a fat girl at fat camp who just found the combination to snack locker.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I think it might be useful for you to separate "what you need" from "what you like" from "what you're used to do" from "what is effective" from "what you feel compelled to do".

    Nobody needs to chomp all day. That is learnt behavior. But we need enough food, and a range of nutrients every day.

    If you have a normal weight and eat well, you have to find out if you're in fact happy with the arrangements, or if you want to change it. Don't change things just to try to live up to a perceived "normal". There is no proper and right way to eat or proper and right times to eat. Your lifestyle just has to be right for you.

    If you like to eat at night, and it has no negative effects, eat at night. Ignore stupid comments. You don't have to tell everybody about the things you do in private. Number of meals per day and the times you choose to eat is nobody else's business.

    If you find your diet to be not like you want it, stop buying things you don't want to eat (so much of) and more foods you want eat (more of).

    If you want to break the obsession with eating ("staring into the fridge"), set some boundaries. For instance, the last meal of your day is eaten at X o'clock; after that, the kitchen is "closed".
  • MissyCHF
    MissyCHF Posts: 337 Member
    wiktoriavictoria wrote: »
    When I get hungry at night, I read. It's calorie-free!
    Reading does not solve the problem for me. I can easily eat and read. I just save some calories so I can do both.
    Take heart sendtoharvey, you are one of many. :)

  • sendtoharvey
    sendtoharvey Posts: 135 Member
    appreciate all the tips/advice from everyone so far. I've managed to make an adjustment to what I'm snacking on at night, and limit the quantity.

    @shimmer_glo I've also tried adding a 30oz of ice water to the mix as well to help with the fix
  • sendtoharvey
    sendtoharvey Posts: 135 Member
    nursebravo14 wrote: »
    I feel you... I'm awesome through the day.. get home... then start munching like a fat girl at fat camp who just found the combination to snack locker.

    too funny.
  • Mahdi22
    Mahdi22 Posts: 229 Member
    The only thing that helped me was to sleep earlier. I used to stay awake past midnight everyday and was always hungry in the night and never in the morning. Now that I have to wake up early every day at the same time, including weekends, I'm so tired that I don't eat as much in the night because I'm sleeping.
  • hughjazz74
    hughjazz74 Posts: 64 Member
    Night eating is my biggest issue, too! Intermittent Fasting has helped a bit...I don't eat anything until 11am or so (awake around 6am)...so gives me more room in the evening when I have issues stopping myself. I'm learning not to fight it, just reorganize how I plan my eating.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I eat dinner around 8:30 PM...I'm usually in bed by 9:30 or 10:00
  • GettinFitInMN
    GettinFitInMN Posts: 24 Member
    I read we need to eat smaller meals more often, it helps metabolism and you won't get really hungry at night. I know how you feel, I get hungry at night about an hour after dinner and that's my worst time. Try finding things to keep occupied with. It's often night time when we stop and sit down and eat in front of the tv. When I worked long hours in front of the computer at night, I never snacked. Was too focused on tasks to eat. Lost 20 lbs in a few months. Find a hobby that distracts you and you really enjoy. It's a tough habit to break, I know it too well. Hang in there!
  • MissyCHF
    MissyCHF Posts: 337 Member
    GettinFitInMN wrote: »
    I read we need to eat smaller meals more often, it helps metabolism and you won't get really hungry at night. I know how you feel, I get hungry at night about an hour after dinner and that's my worst time. Try finding things to keep occupied with. It's often night time when we stop and sit down and eat in front of the tv. When I worked long hours in front of the computer at night, I never snacked. Was too focused on tasks to eat. Lost 20 lbs in a few months. Find a hobby that distracts you and you really enjoy. It's a tough habit to break, I know it too well. Hang in there!
    I agree, because more often than not, it's boredom or appetite rather than hunger.

  • Toni1071
    Toni1071 Posts: 12 Member
    Love this thread because I have struggled with nighttime snacking. I am still working on it but I have improved a lot. What works for me is I moved dinner out a little later than normal so I would still be full later in the evening. Sometimes this works and I don't want to snack. Other times, it doesn't help and the urge is there. (because let's be honest, it's rarely about being hungry) In those cases, I have a measured snack, I log it and then I tell myself that the kitchen is closed. Most of the time that works for me.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    sendtoharvey wrote: »
    I've always struggled with eating at night. so I don't buy chips anymore, but I caught myself staring at all the stuff in the house that I could eat (leftover lasagna, brownies, sweedish fish, snickers bites, chocolate and granola, bagels, grilled chicken, corn dogs, chicken tenders)... I even thought about making a 2nd salad, just because. maybe I'm just one of those people who needs to chomp chomp chomp all day, does anyone else struggle like that? I've always been a night eater my whole life, and have friends that mock my "4th meal"...
    opening the fridge over and over again thinking new things will appear is crazy, but I do it.....
    suggestions to take mind off of food?

    Honestly, I do most of my eating at night. I have a protein bar for breakfast, typically have coffee around noon which keeps me full until 4 or 5, have a small meal and then at 9PM or so I snack while in bed. There's nothing bad or wrong about it...as long as you aren't overindulging and going over your macros for the day. Make sure you still make nutritious food choices at this time as well. If you know you're going to eat at night, why don't you try pre-logging? Works for me.
  • mistydawn82
    mistydawn82 Posts: 4 Member
    That was a big issue for myself as well, and I still struggle with it time to time. A combination of things have helped me out. One thing is I just avoid going into the kitchen as much as possible. Hungry or not, if I walk through the kitchen I feel compelled to look in the fridge or cabinets. Another thing is I always feel guilty after a late snack/meal, that guilt helps me avoid eating because I don't want to feel bad. I weigh myself almost every morning too, so I'll think about that, is this snack worth a possible gain on the scale in the morning? Usually one of those three things will keep me outta the snack box. If not though, I try to just grab a banana or orange, or a small spoon of peanut butter, then I book it on outta the kitchen before I can gorge myself. Good luck though, it's hard breaking old habits and creating new ones for yourself.
  • sendtoharvey
    sendtoharvey Posts: 135 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I eat dinner around 8:30 PM...I'm usually in bed by 9:30 or 10:00

    that's crazy talk. If I sleep at 10, I'm up at midnight-2am. scientific fact. it's unfortunate
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