Help with late night eating

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apalanca
apalanca Posts: 1 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have been avoiding the scale because I knew I was up. I have slowly but surely been gaining weight over the past 5 years, but now after I stepped on the scale I'm at my highest weight. I kept telling myself it would normalize, but I don't change my eating habits. I have a horrible late night eating problem and every morning I vow that I will stop but once the night hits I do it again. I can always find a justification. My pants are tight and I feel bloated and slow. I eat very well during the day and work out 5x/week, but the nights are always my downfall.

I typically eat out of boredom and routine, and maybe a bit of stress. It turns into a ton of excess calories for really no reward, just guilt.

I've tried a lot of tricks (drinking tea, distracting myself) but usually fall into bad habits. Any advice?

Thanks!

Replies

  • mgalsf12
    mgalsf12 Posts: 350 Member
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    Just remind yourself why you are logging your calories every day. There is no trick, it's just will power.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    You don't mention if you've set up MFP to set some goals and start tracking. I'd suggest starting there. Also, there are some really helpful and informative stickies you can read through. Good luck.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    I'm a night time eater so I eat very little during the day then eat my calories in the evening.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited November 2017
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    You can use routine eating to your advantage. Plan and schedule your meals, and decide that from now on you'll only eat for hunger and pleasure.
  • swanfam4
    swanfam4 Posts: 41 Member
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    I struggle with the same issue… I’ve always been a night owl and tend to snack. This might seem like a ridiculous question, but do you have the option of just going to bed? It’s really hard for me to just go to bed “early” because I like the quiet time after my family is asleep. I have to set a bedtime for myself and a stop time for eating as well. Another trick for myself is to have a big glass of water (with lemon sometimes) and I also suck on those red and white peppermint candies - then I feel like I’m getting something sweet, but they are a whole lot let calories than what I’d be eating otherwise. Best of luck - you can do it!!!
  • dexjanelle
    dexjanelle Posts: 10 Member
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    Yes, it can be the absolute worst time of day. What I do is spread food throughout day evenly so I don't spike insulin. That helps me to not feel like I have to eat a big dinner. In turn, that leaves me room for a snack and, yes, it's right before bed. My "go to" is 6 saltines and 18 grams of peanut butter. 3 benefits of this. 1st, the small amount of sugar kicks in and I get immediate reward WITHOUT spiking insulin. 2nd, the peanut butter has fat which lasts until I fall asleep. It actually lasts quite a while, releasing slowly (remember sugar). If I just wait about 10 minutes after eating it, it keeps me from running to the ice cream binge. 3rd, if I fall asleep quicker so I get enough sleep so I don't have the issues of comfort food issues to make up for being tired throughout day. Not enough sleep also causes hormone release that causes body to think it's starving and store fat.

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