Late night eating

kakaovanilya
kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
edited November 23 in Motivation and Support
I have been wanting to lose 8-10 kgs (17-22 lbs) since september but I just couldn't lower my calorie intake. So I decided to maintain my weight instead of trying to lose because I've been gaining since summer. So I set a mini goal and decided to keep eating whatever I want during the day and stop eating at 7 or 8 pm for a week but I just can't do it. When I see the time, I feel like eating junk food and I eat. How am I going to overcome this? I read the success stories on the forum occasionally and people are doing great jobs, losing 50-70-100 lbs but me, zero progress since september. I can't even lose a small amount of weight. I feel so desperate.

Replies

  • lilac_bunny
    lilac_bunny Posts: 137 Member
    Last night I was eating celery with low fat cream cheese and raisins as a late night tea lol. Are you drinking enough? Do you need to swap to more low calorie high volume food so you feel fuller? You could try a milky drink at night. A hot chocolate made with skimmed milk works for me if I've had my tea early.
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  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    Does "eating whatever I want" mean that you are not logging the calories into MFP? If not, that's a big part of why you weren't losing weight. Also, it doesn't matter at all when you eat during the day or night, you just have to stay within your calorie allotment. SO, plan to have an ounce of something you like, junkwise, log the calories in, and savor your treat slowly. Just make sure it fits within your goal. I was eating a piece of pie every day for a week because my cherry tree was just loaded with fruit. I planned to eat low calorie breakfast, lunch and dinner foods, then splurged with the pie and still came in at my calorie goal. Good luck!
  • 93pear93
    93pear93 Posts: 48 Member
    time when you eat doesnt matter!
    you can have 1 meal at 10 pm, go to bed at 11 and you will be still losing weight if the meal contains less calories than you need, did you get the point ? :)
    eating whatev you want and avoiding dinner sounds crazy.
    I will even tell you even that I eat most of carbs before bed
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    lilac_bunny wrote: »
    Last night I was eating celery with low fat cream cheese and raisins as a late night tea lol. Are you drinking enough? Do you need to swap to more low calorie high volume food so you feel fuller? You could try a milky drink at night. A hot chocolate made with skimmed milk works for me if I've had my tea early.

    I drink 4-5 cups of coffee with some skimmed milk. I don't drink water unless I'm thirsty. Should I try drinking skimmed milk tomorrow night until I'm full :D
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    Timing up your eating doesn't matter in terms of weight loss. But a lot of people crave junk food in the evening. The best way to overcome this too is to simply not have it in your house. That is a very perfect and logical solution. Good luck.

    I've tried not buying junk food but there are a few markets that are 2-3 minutes walk away from my house so when I crave, I go buy :(
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    DebLaBounty wrote: »
    Does "eating whatever I want" mean that you are not logging the calories into MFP? If not, that's a big part of why you weren't losing weight. Also, it doesn't matter at all when you eat during the day or night, you just have to stay within your calorie allotment. SO, plan to have an ounce of something you like, junkwise, log the calories in, and savor your treat slowly. Just make sure it fits within your goal. I was eating a piece of pie every day for a week because my cherry tree was just loaded with fruit. I planned to eat low calorie breakfast, lunch and dinner foods, then splurged with the pie and still came in at my calorie goal. Good luck!

    I've joined mfp 5 or 6 days ago and I'm logging the calories since then. I take around 3000 calories :( I will try what you said. I wouldn't be eating this much if I sleep early. I am up until 3 or 4 am.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    I'm a coffee drinker, too, but coffee can be dehydrating, which can make you think you're hungry when actually you are thirsty. You need to be drinking water before you feel thirsty. Plus water might make you feel more full. And maybe you should stop drinking coffee a little earlier in the day so you get sleepy sooner and go to bed to sleep instead of strolling to the market for a snack. That's what I do, anyway.
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    93pear93 wrote: »
    time when you eat doesnt matter!
    you can have 1 meal at 10 pm, go to bed at 11 and you will be still losing weight if the meal contains less calories than you need, did you get the point ? :)
    eating whatev you want and avoiding dinner sounds crazy.
    I will even tell you even that I eat most of carbs before bed

    yes I got the point :) I tried to stop eating at 8 pm because that was the time when I started to eat junk food. I eat normal during the day so I thought I would eat the junk food early but it didn't work out :D
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    DebLaBounty wrote: »
    I'm a coffee drinker, too, but coffee can be dehydrating, which can make you think you're hungry when actually you are thirsty. You need to be drinking water before you feel thirsty. Plus water might make you feel more full. And maybe you should stop drinking coffee a little earlier in the day so you get sleepy sooner and go to bed to sleep instead of strolling to the market for a snack. That's what I do, anyway.

    I will try stop drinking coffee little earlier. It is 2 am here now and I'm drinking coffee right now :( you are right, I should drink water. I am going to make some changes tomorrow.
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,498 Member
    Go to bed earlier?

  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    7lenny7 wrote: »
    Go to bed earlier?

    I will try that soon but I have some work to finish up and it will take at least few weeks
  • pogiguy05
    pogiguy05 Posts: 1,583 Member
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  • Moxie42
    Moxie42 Posts: 1,400 Member
    If you're avoiding food after 8pm but not going to bed until 3am, I can see why you'd be hungry! Personally, I had the same struggle for years. What worked for me was to stop trying to force myself to do something I hated, and instead find a way to adjust my nighttime snacking habit so that it was in line with my goals. I no longer put an end time to eating (because the time of day you eat doesn't matter anyway) and started eating dinner a little later instead of forcing myself to eat by 5pm even though I wasn't hungry. I started buying and making healthier snacks/desserts that I still actually liked. Those 100-cal bags of popcorn are great because you can graze on that for quite a while- it's not just one or two bites that are gone in 5 seconds. Also, baked apples with cinnamon, individual trail mix bags (the kind with chocolate!), etc.
  • jocan11112017
    jocan11112017 Posts: 21 Member
    I also find that I think I’m hungry but I’m actually tired. I also find that since I’ve cleaned up what I eat during the day I’m better at night. But sleep is key.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited November 2017
    If you want to maintain/lose your weight badly enough there comes a time when you just have to say no when you've reached your daily calorie allotment :/ sad but true.

    I was formerly an evening grazer and this would have took me very close to my maintenance calories when I was still wanting to lose a few pounds, it took strong willpower to stop eating after I have my last cup of tea/coffee. Its not that I NEEDED anything to eat, it was just a notion/habit.

    In the beginning the habit of wanting to eat something was really powerful, but I stuck it out, sipped water or diet tonic water and eventually stopped looking to eat just for the sake of it. It took about 2 weeks of being really committed to not grazing before the habit became normal.

    I'm a firm believer in whatever we really put our minds to we can achieve :smile:

    By the way, its not when we eat, its how much (and staying within our own calorie budget). So if you want, you can save calories for your night time eating.
  • kakaovanilya
    kakaovanilya Posts: 647 Member
    Thank you for your comments. I will count my calories today, drink more water, less coffee and eat snacks at any time :)
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  • vinerie
    vinerie Posts: 234 Member
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    Timing up your eating doesn't matter in terms of weight loss. But a lot of people crave junk food in the evening. The best way to overcome this too is to simply not have it in your house. That is a very perfect and logical solution. Good luck.

    Second this. We've got some treats in the house for Thanksgiving and I managed to dig in early. :( Can't do that when there is nothing bad to dig into.good luck, though. It's not easy establishing new habits, but we can do it!
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