Late Night Binges....Can you help?

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  • deepwoodslady
    deepwoodslady Posts: 10,859 Member
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    RachelElser wrote: »
    Start off with not having that stuff in the house- can't binge if it's not there!

    I can binge on anything. Peanut butter on bread. Cinnamon toast. My meal prepped diet meals (eat a couple of them). I have a family so there are foods in the house for them that are healthy even if they don't fit into my diet macros. I have even binged on milk! That is what a binge is. When you eat anything and everything in sight. I don't keep "junk food" in the house. I just eat and eat and eat until I am finally full. It is not WHAT I am eating that is the problem. It is the amount. Thank Goodness it is not every day. But it is easily once a week. Any real suggestions?
  • khlokins
    khlokins Posts: 31 Member
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    1. Log anything that you eat while you binge. Even if you lie to your diary, your body will keep an accurate log.
    2. Drink a tall glass of water or hot tea before you binge. See if maybe your body is just telling you "I'm thirsty."
    3. If you're depriving yourself of certain items that you find yourself craving at night, then you should find a way to spin those items into your diet in a healthier manner. Craving potato chips every night? Add a smaller snack portion into your calories, and either work them off, or make room for them in your log.

    Depriving yourself of foods because they aren't "healthy" will almost always leave you binging for them sooner or later. So take care of your cravings in a healthy way before you spiral.

    It could also be your body trying to tell you you're missing key nutrients. So you could also try alternatives before you binge.

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    I hope that helps ^^'
  • grogers511
    grogers511 Posts: 476 Member
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    I have that problem also. I think it’s mostly habit - and addiction. I’ve tried different things. Brush, floss - and whitening my teeth helps. Lately - I plan a late night snack - tonight it was half a pear and a slice of cheddar cheese with a cup of hot tea. Establishing this as my late night “thing”. A signal to my brain - “Ahh! So satisfying.” I also recommend the book (and podcast) Brain Over Binge. The author - Kathryn Hansen - writes about her own experience and has a 5 step plan for working through it. I also began journaling after the binge. I track carbs and fiber - and make notes about binges to try to identify triggers - and come up with a new response (behavior) for each trigger. Retrain the brain. Hey! I quit smoking in 2013 after 34 years of a pack a day - I should be able to figure this out. I’m still working on it. Habit Cycle: trigger —> behavior —> reward.
    I also recommend Charles Duhig’s book - The Power of Habit.
  • deepwoodslady
    deepwoodslady Posts: 10,859 Member
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    Thanks so much to
    khlokins wrote: »
    and
    grogers511 wrote: »
    .

    The list is great. The ideas fantastic. Also, the recommendation of podcast and books is something I will take you up on! I hate when the bingeing happens as it just unravels all the plans, hopes, dreams and progress I have made. But you guys are right. There has to be a reason for it.

  • alexmose
    alexmose Posts: 792 Member
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    Bump
  • Derpes
    Derpes Posts: 2,033 Member
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    Find low calorie popcorn. It is filling and will not hurt much calorie wise.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    deepwoodslady wrote: »
    I do fantastic on my diet all day (when I am busy). Then late at night when I finally settle in for a little TV I suddenly get over-the-top hungry and binge on absolutely everything I can think of. I snack, I even get up and cook. Any suggestions or ideas to help me. This self-sabotage is what is keeping me from all of my goals and my good health. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    How much weight do you have to lose and what is your weekly goal?
    Are you fitting in some treats and fave foods during the day at all?
    If you are being very aggressive with your plan this could be your body asking you to slow down.

    If that's not it, are you hitting your protein, fat, and fiber goals? Any of those three can affect satiety, and if you're short it could be making you hungry.

    I save 200 calories (or more) for a late night snack, which can be pretty much whatever I want. No guilt. Sometimes I even go a little over. Ever once and awhile I go a little nuts, but it's not too often! Try brushing your teeth when you've used up your calories or drinking some flavored tea. Leave post-it notes in the kitchen and maybe on the couch reminding you to log your food before you eat it. I find seeing the numbers will sometimes stop me in my tracks!
  • thisPGHlife
    thisPGHlife Posts: 440 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    deepwoodslady wrote: »
    I do fantastic on my diet all day (when I am busy). Then late at night when I finally settle in for a little TV I suddenly get over-the-top hungry and binge on absolutely everything I can think of. I snack, I even get up and cook. Any suggestions or ideas to help me. This self-sabotage is what is keeping me from all of my goals and my good health. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    How much weight do you have to lose and what is your weekly goal?
    Are you fitting in some treats and fave foods during the day at all?
    If you are being very aggressive with your plan this could be your body asking you to slow down.

    If that's not it, are you hitting your protein, fat, and fiber goals? Any of those three can affect satiety, and if you're short it could be making you hungry.

    I save 200 calories (or more) for a late night snack, which can be pretty much whatever I want. No guilt. Sometimes I even go a little over. Ever once and awhile I go a little nuts, but it's not too often! Try brushing your teeth when you've used up your calories or drinking some flavored tea. Leave post-it notes in the kitchen and maybe on the couch reminding you to log your food before you eat it. I find seeing the numbers will sometimes stop me in my tracks!



    As people have already said, do something besides watch TV to break the cycle. If that doesn't work or you don't want to give up tv, make sure your satisfied. Protein, fat, and fiber. But also making sure you've built in tears that are worth the calories that are only there to bring you joy. If it isn't that, drink a big old glass of water to see if it's Thursday. This pretends to be hunger sometimes.

    If you've tried all of that, think to yourself, does eating a piece of baked chicken sound good right now? Does eating a pile of leafy greens without dressing sound good right now? If yes to this questions, then you may actually be hungry. Feel free to give yourself a break and have a small snack that has protein, fiber, and fat and be done for the day.

    If all else fails, go to bed. I know that sounds silly but I've gone to bed at seven in the evening before to about eating mindlessly. I tell myself I'm heading an off day and that I want to go to bed so I can wake up and start over sooner. Then, because I end up walking up earlier, I start the day with a big glass of ice water and some yoga to start my day off on the right foot.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    I just pre-log and plan to have food at night. I usually have a smoothie that has a fiber-filled food (usually pumpkin, bananas, spinach,etc) to help keep me full. I don't like to go to bed without food in my stomach, so I just count it as like a fourth meal.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    I leave 100 calories for an evening snack. By some miracle I have been able to contain myself to that by eating a snack size bag of cheetos (super healthy! haha). I found when I was eating rice cakes I would end up eating more calories. I hate the extra garbage but I can't be trusted with just one bag that i weigh out a portion :P it's more of a "thing" if i have to go open yet another bag of cheetos VS sneak in an open bag for a few extra.

    do consider if you are undereating all day and it's just catching up to you.

    If I feel I may eat more i will go have a bath, go check the garden or go brush my teeth.

    And funny thing, I watch mostly food tv in the evening (no commercials, but it's ALL FOOD TV)
  • deepwoodslady
    deepwoodslady Posts: 10,859 Member
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    So Many great ideas. I do think that maybe I am sometimes to strict on my diet. But I feel satiated and satisfied at the time. Maybe it catches up to me in a few days? Also, I don't always overeat one food when bingeing. I have a small portion of something (in sticking to my diet). Then something else. Then another food. Then yet another. All small portions which give me no immediate guilt until I realize that I've been eating "healthy" or "dietetic" NON STOP FOR 2 HOURS. This racks up huge carbs and calories. Example: Carbs 300. Calories 3,800. It also causes belly bloat from the sodium and an inability to sleep because of the chocolate or sugar. Undoing 1 night of this can take over a week to get the scale back to starting weight.

    I very much appreciate all the great ideas. I will be implementing many of them. Just know that when I was at my highest weight (in my case, very fat) I never saw myself as a binge eater. I, obviously, ate whatever I wanted when I wanted, hence the weight. But now, I am really seeing that maybe I was a binge eater all along. The problem, not new? The solution VERY NEW to try to find. I also am trying to learn triggers. Thanks for all the great ideas. Keep them coming! I am sure I am not the only one out there.

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