Eating at night/Cravings before bed

Does anyone have cravings before bed? I do and it drives me crazy. Have not been able to break that lousy habit. I'll consume 30%+ of my daily caloric intake from 8-10pm. It's almost muscle memory for me to wander in the kitchen and grab food.

Replies

  • Clive_1963
    Clive_1963 Posts: 52 Member
    I did (do sometimes) and it also put my weight up by about 4-5kg's in the couple of months during lock down. I was fooling myself I would eat quark or Greek yogurt with a spoonful of jam in it and then once I had started I would find cakes and cookies etc.

    Since starting this new diet if i get a craving or hungry I grab 3-4 cherry tomatoes as I am allowed 100g of these per day just and drink fizzy water so I trick myself into thinking I am eating.
  • kungfujayne
    kungfujayne Posts: 1 Member
    Hi, yes i'm the same, it totally ruins my eating for the day, I get really miserable if I cant have toast or crisps in the evenings!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    What do you do in the evening? Are you active somehow or just watching tv? One reason to eat could be simply boredom. Thus have you tried keeping yourself busy with something interesting? Another option: some people find their hunger gets reduced when they work out. Doesn't need to be much: a walk around the neighbourhood, a bit of stretching or yoga (hey, one is never to old to work on the front splits. Now that's a stretch target!) or anything else really. What happens if you go to bed at 20:00?
  • Clive_1963
    Clive_1963 Posts: 52 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    What do you do in the evening? Are you active somehow or just watching tv? One reason to eat could be simply boredom. Thus have you tried keeping yourself busy with something interesting? Another option: some people find their hunger gets reduced when they work out. Doesn't need to be much: a walk around the neighbourhood, a bit of stretching or yoga (hey, one is never to old to work on the front splits. Now that's a stretch target!) or anything else really. What happens if you go to bed at 20:00?

    Mine kicks in when watching TV. If i sit playing games on my PC I do not have the craving. (a 57 year old gamer whoo hoo) I also go to bed at 00:00 on a work day so try to stop gaming around 22:00 to allow myself to chill before bed.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    Hi, yes i'm the same, it totally ruins my eating for the day, I get really miserable if I cant have toast or crisps in the evenings!

    So it's more of a behavioral thing then? If so then it's something you have control of. what happens if you eat a big piece of water melon or something else low calorie? What if you just have the amount of salt that corresponds to the amount of crisps you'd eat?
  • mullanphylane
    mullanphylane Posts: 172 Member
    I'm in the same boat. If I remain mentally active in the evening I don't snack, but if I sit in front of the boob tube I feel as though I'm starving. So, I spend time with hobbies in the evenings. Or try to.

    There was a time I could eat the way Igfrie described and not gain an ounce. But no more, and those habits are hard to break. He's also right about it being a habit that can be broken.
  • Love_2_Hike
    Love_2_Hike Posts: 103 Member
    It's your Circadian Rhythm out of sync. Night time is for sleeping, not eating. You are not hungry, you are tired, so go sleep. Google it, its a very interesting biological process.
  • Oneka5
    Oneka5 Posts: 106 Member
    I don't have many night cravings anymore. If I have a set schedule during the evening after work and then after dinner then I usually don't snack. I also try not to keep any "bad" snacks in the house like chips and cookies. But, I've been drinking tea at night which helps get me relaxed for the night, winds me down.
  • RobWPowell
    RobWPowell Posts: 8 Member
    edited July 2020
    Excellent advice @lgfrie. Hell, all of you have excellent advice. I firmly believe the hunger is a byproduct of my idle mind at night - or boredom. I have started putting notes in 'interruption spots' around the house that say NO FOOD AFTER 7:30pm. And I've made sure my fruit and unsweetened tea are front and center in the kitchen. I have to stumble over them to get in there. Hopefully this helps start a good habit, otherwise, I'm installing speed bumps on the way to my kitchen. c6p1caigq3oh.jpeg
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    Food commercials set me off. Streaming means fewer triggers since there are fewer commercials for food. Another trick is to get up and brush your teeth. Take up a hobby that keeps your hands busy in front of the TV -- mine are loom knitting, pin loom weaving, and just doing paint by number on my phone. Go to bed early and read -- can be "junk reading" (i.e. formula fiction like cheap mysteries, romances, sci fi, etc.) Listen to a self-hypnosis recording -- there are lots of free ones out there. Cruise the web and haunt forums. Anything that takes your mind off the snacking urge. Eventually, you'll start building new habits. I'm starting to.