Binge eating at night

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  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    just save most of your calories for night time
    Looking at her diary, that's what she's doing... hardly eating at all during the day and then wondering why she's so hungry at night.
  • erinrose07
    erinrose07 Posts: 140
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    I've got total control in the daytime. I work out for an hour to an hour and a half each day. Mostly cardio, and some strength training.

    My biggest problem is night-time. I get really hungry and I binge eat. I try to make good decisions, but I never seem satiated. Should I go to bed earlier so I forget about my grumbling tummy? I'm trying to find out why I eat so much at night. Though I admit it is getting easier the more I stay on my calories and the more I say no to myself. My favorite foods at night are going in the meat drawer and eating the deli turkey/chicken by itself. Slice after slice - four or five slices. The other night I had a small piece of lasagna + two eggs. I seem to be my hungriest at night time.

    Any suggestions?

    I would guess you're doing this because you're needing comforting before going to bed. It's probably more psychological attachment to food than it is physical hunger....try taking 10 mg of melatonin. It's a safe herbal supplement and it will put you to sleep within 30 minutes....So you could have it during dinner if you wanted and by the time you're done, you'll be tuckered out. Put yourself in bed, stay away from the kitchen and let the medicine work. you'll drift off and forget your cravings. This is a quick fix of course, not a solution. You could also try sleepytime cocoa to have in bed. Satisfy a sweet tooth and drift off.
  • Miriamreal
    Miriamreal Posts: 33 Member
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    Plan your meals like I do everymorning or the night before, you will be amazed of how much healthy food you can eat if you make the right choices. or do what I do, I cook and clean my house after work, then I do my work outs at night, so I dont really have time to think about food. what you can do at bed time is, have 1 string cheese this will keep you full througt out the night. Good luck!
  • tahoemads
    tahoemads Posts: 64 Member
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    I'm sure there are both psychological and physical reasons as to why you're binge eating at night, so I will simply share what's worked for me:

    1. Eating several small meals throughout the day - no matter if I'm not super hungry. It keeps me from eating everything in sight at night.
    2. Staying away from television. For some reason, I want to snack. I'm not necessarily hungry. It's just a psychological response to watching TV and wanting to eat.
    3. Drinking tea. Everyone always says, "drink tea! it staves off hunger" and I always wanted to punch people in the face. Really though, it helps. Chamomile and peppermint are my favorites. And go for a loose leaf tea! They are so much more pungent and satisfying.
    4. Seems a lot of people do this too: Go to bed earlier. Staying up late tends to kick your body into gear for a "second meal."
    5. And last but certainly not least: I had to train myself to not binge eat/snack at night. I am on week 3. Yes, week 3. Week 1 was really hard, but once I stopped eating 2-3 hours before bed, and went to bed feeling slightly hungry, I woke up starving, ate a hearty breakfast, and broke the late night eating cycle. It takes time, but if you stick with it, your body will be trained to know that dinner is over, it's time for your digestive system to rest, and to go to sleep. This, out of all my tips, has worked the best. And in these short few weeks, I've dropped the 2-3 pounds that have been super stubborn for me. My theory is it's because I used to eat right up until I went to sleep, and it became pure fat storage.
  • skincareadvisors
    skincareadvisors Posts: 1
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    Having gone through this problem myself. I concentrate on increasing my water intake during these times of less self control. In stead of na quick snack, grab a large glass, fill it with crushed ice and water. Then, after consuming the water, munch on the crushed ice until the cravings stop. You'd be surprised how this helps me avoid out-of-control binging.
  • spyork
    spyork Posts: 187
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    Hi,

    If your working out for that long you may need to have more protein, IE a protein shake after your training and maybe one a couple of hours before you train. You could also try a casien shake at night as this will fill you up and slowly release into your system over night. Hope this helps
  • exiledforestfan
    exiledforestfan Posts: 15
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    Whilst saving calories for the evening may be a shirt term solution it will not help in the long run as you need to try and manage your binge eating. There is a very good book which I use with clients who binge eat. It is designed for people to use by themselves. Getting better bit(e) by bit(e) by Janet Treasure and Ulrike Schmidt. It is available on amazon at a reasonable price. I hope it helps.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I totally get wanting to save your calories for later in the day just in case but obviously that's not working for you so it's time for a change. That never worked for me either - I used to skip breakfast then eat a huge lunch and still be starving all afternoon so I'd snack and snack and that's how I got to my highest weight.

    Something that's worked really well for me is to eat 4 meals per day, all with a pretty good mix of carb and protein and also stick to around the same calories per meal (300-400 for breakfast, 300-400 for lunch, 100-300 for snack) and also get a calorie burn of 300-500. That way I know I've got about 600 calories left over for dinner on average and that should pretty much cover whatever I'm in the mood for.

    Also, it sounds to me like you're boredom eating and you might be like me where TV can be a huge trigger too. Maybe try to do something else to keep yourself away from the fridge (and maybe the TV too) - read a good book, play a game, go for a walk (or do an exercise DVD), call a friend, hang out on MFP, do something crafty, etc.

    Good luck!
  • jskaggs1971
    jskaggs1971 Posts: 371 Member
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    Nighttime snacking made me the man I am today. That's the problem with it.

    I find a couple of things have helped me control it: Healthy dinners with plenty of volume -- green salads are a great way to add bulk to your meal without a ton of calories, as long as you go easy on the high-calorie additions like nuts, dried fruit, or croutons; drinking plenty of liquids after dinner, like black coffee, ice water, or flavored water (I like the Ocean Spray mix-ins); exercise in the early evening; and planning for a relatively healthy evening snack. I try to keep a few hundred calories available for a peanut butter & banana half-sandwich if I get the after-dinner munchies.

    I'm finding that for me, my food follows the 80/20 rule. About 80% of the calories come from 20% of the things that I eat. Logging has really helped me understand this. So, when I'm hungry in the evening, I try to reach for the relatively bulky, non-calorie dense foods that will keep me feeling full without adding a ton of calories.

    Edited to add: I find that hitting the "complete entry" button on my food diary helps me mentally stave off the snacking as well -- It's like I'm telling myself and all my MFP friends "That's it, I'm done for today." I try to do that soon after dinner, and BEFORE I sit town to watch the tube or read a book.
  • janiedoe111
    janiedoe111 Posts: 161 Member
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    All great ideas! Thanks for refreshing my mind to these coping plans.
  • FaithHopeBELIEVE
    FaithHopeBELIEVE Posts: 626
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    Same here. I recently have tried keeping alot of calories for afternoon evening hours because I know I do this. I have tried to just not buy my snacky foods I cant resist but I have 3 kids and a hubbie that want the food soooo. I also try to keep myself busy in the evening and then brush my teeth if I get a craving. Then whewn we get the kids to bed we stay upstairs away from the kitchen.
  • bethdris
    bethdris Posts: 1,090 Member
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    Just looking through your diary quickly here are my suggestions:

    1. Eat more protein and less carbs
    2. More veggies/fruit (raw) They are filling
    3. Spread your meals out and eat more often

    Good luck to ya!
  • oaken
    oaken Posts: 35 Member
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    Thanks everyone!

    A little self-control has helped as well. Thanks for all your suggestions!

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