Cannot stop binge eating at night

Are you under your calories at that time? I would get the munchies at night as well and would generally be under cals but the last 4-500 were crap like graham crackers and popcorn which are easy to eat and moreish. I started making my lunch 100 cals or so bigger and then making sure my dinner is 6-700 cals instead of the 4-500 I was doing and I am fuller much later into the night.

I have this issue too and i totally can relate. I find when I eat dinner later around 7pm , and include healthy carbs (brown rice or quinoa or potatos) that it keeps me fuller much longer and I don't binge. I leave room for a snack after dinner . Also, going to the gym helps me stay on track. Not sure if you go in the morning or night, but for me, going after work around 5-6, helps because I get home later and have to eat dinner later...etc...you get the point. Hope that helps. I think it's an emotional thing too. Maybe finding other outlets for feeling bored or lonely or whatever would help too....I'm still working on that myself. Therapy can also help or writing in a journal when you start to get cravings.

If you're eating the proper amount of calories during the day and you aren't physically hungry, then this is just a habit. Habits can be changed and replaced. If this is the case then you need to change your nighttime routine or your environment in order to break the pattern. Replace mindless eating at night with another (or several) activities.

The struggle is real!!! I have my partner keep chips locked in a room downstairs (he takes them for lunches). I also try to drink a LOT of water. Like 80+oz / day. It’s still super hard but I think it helps a little. When I just can’t resist I reach for something lower in carbs.

stop scolding yourself. That's your first mistake. Research has proven that when we beat ourselves up for "slipping up" we are actually likely to repeat the same behavior. Start by forgiving yourself when you slip.

Say "Oops I slipped once. But it doesn't mean I have to do it again"

Then when you crave the food or whatever it is stop. Count to 5 and say to yourself

"This craving is the normal part of weight loss. My body is going through a change. This is a normal biologic response to change."

If the craving is still there Then tell yourself :
I know my body thinks it wants this [food] but it doesn't need it."

If the craving is STILL there. Stop, observe what is going on and what you were doing that might have triggered the craving. Go do something else. (Like 10 jumping jacks, take a shower,) anything other than what you were doing at the time of your craving.

Weird question but what are you doing at night? Are you bored? Do you watch TV at night?

While there's absolutely nothing wrong with watching TV (so I'm not making a dig at it) there has been some thought that watching TV has a relatively strong relationship with mindless, endless eating. If this is the case, I'd suggest finding something else to do for most nights: go to the gym at night instead, read a book, join a club, etc, etc.

Further, I have dealt with binge eating for about 6 years. I was in a very toxic and abusive relationship, which is actually when I started with the eating. If you really have a binge eating disorder (as opposed to just over eating) you need to consult a professional. Mine hasn't gone away, but it has gotten significantly better since working with a counsellor. Binge eaters can - and do - binge at any time . . . we are often not restricted to a certain time (unless that's a trigger). Over eating at night may likely just be boredom eating. As a binge eater, I didn't binge every day but when I did it was 4,000 (or more) calories in one sitting. I am not saying you don't have BED, but as someone who has dealt with it for a long time, snacking at night is not one of the symptoms I dealt with. They were binges of huge proportions, not every day and were normally triggered by something.

Just some food for thought.

Pay attention to portions. I ate chips & candy while still losing weight. You just have to remember that a portion of chips is 10 -12 chips. Count them out on a plate. Put the bag away. Never eat from the bag.

Eat them very slowly. I had to play games with myself some times: have a chip taking very small bites, wait one full minute, have another, etc. I tried to get it so I could make 12 chips last at least 15-20 minutes.

Tinkachu wrote: »

Have you tried taking an appetite suppressant? I've had issues with binge eating for years. I've read books, tried eating healthy, etc. and appetite suppressants are the only thing that have worked thus far. Right now I'm taking appetite attack by Her Diet.

Judging by the ingredients, those look like expensive caffeine tablets.

First off, hugs and congrats for asking for help/being brave enough to talk about what, for so many, can be a shame-riddled topic.

Many, many of us struggle on some level with eating past fullness/satiety, eating ‘more’ than we planned or something different than we feel we ‘should’ - the spectrum runs from ‘damn, why can’t I stop eating these cookies at work’ to the ‘spend hundreds of dollars on food, cook-eat (maybe puke) all day’ type of insanity.

It’s all sucky and it’s all real and in the course of working with others and figuring out my own relationship with food, I find that what we THINK about the behavior is as powerful as the behavior itself.

Justifying and rationalizing can come in for some of us, especially those that train hard: we tell ourselves that tonight we’ll just eat, we can ‘work it off’ tomorrow. This, quite frankly, doesn’t work.
It puts us in a position to regard movement/exercise as a punitive measure, something that ‘makes up for’ or corrects another behavior, as opposed to something that is good on it’s own merits.

(Conversely, I do find that telling ourselves that an unplanned and perhaps not-biologically-needed evening snack will ‘make me feel well-fueled and super strong’ tomorrow can be helpful to prevent all-out sliding into a binge, the dangerous ‘fk it, today is ruined so I’ll start again tomorrow’ thinking.)

I workout in the morning, super early. At night, as I evaluate my fullness signals versus my ‘desire’ to eat, I try to pause and ask myself how I want to FEEL tomorrow. Do I want to be bloated, sluggish, weighed down by digesting all of that excess food? Or do I want to feel lean, powerful, fueled but not food-hungover?

Another thing that I find useful is to not create drama around an ‘over-feed’, should it happen.
I try to treat it as data: did I under-eat, either that day or over the course of a few days? In that case, binging can be a biological survival skill gone a bit awry- these are ‘compensatory’ binges.
I don’t tell myself I’ve ‘failed’ - typically binging, or the aftermath anyway, already feels crappy.
I don’t need to layer shame on top of that.
Maybe I did something that wasn’t in my best interest- that doesn’t mean I, as a person, am a failure.

Another technique I employ and encourage my clients to do: if you are able to recognize the ‘urge’ to eat (when you know you are not stomach-hungry/don’t have a planned meal) it IS possible to just sit with it.
(‘Yes, I’m having thoughts around binging. My brain is telling me that it will help with X. These are just thoughts. I don’t have to listen to them.’)
Even when it FEELS out of control, we have a choice.
We don’t necessarily have control of the pre-disposition/urges/brain chemistry - but we CAN control the actions that follow the thoughts.

It’s huge, to reach out for help when you recognize that you are repeatedly engaging in behavior that is out of line with acting in your own best self interest or doesn’t further your goals. Sometimes, professional help can be important if it’s an option.