Emotional night time eating...

I had the same problem, still kinda do.... What I do is force myself to go to bed.....or I eat popcorn... I really think this is the reason my weight got so out of control...

my nightime eating was anxiety I used to hear my parents non stop fighting. But i still have memories

I'm running into this problem again when I quit smoking

GUM
Teeth whitening strips....the kind you have to leave on for like 30mins
Hot tea
pre planned snacks

I tend to eat in the evenings out of boredom my go to snacks are air popped popcorn - hold the butter lol a hot cup of tea or some fresh fruit. My favorite snack being chips...and I still have those just not as often or as many at a sitting

Guilty. Absolutely guilty. It's something about putting the kids to bed; I finally have some me time and I don't know what to do with myself, so I tend to mindlessly eat. I have managed to avoid doing this for about a week now. I drink hot tea in the evening and read a book to calm my mind from thinking about other stresses. Good luck!

i have dealt with that in the past...some stratgies that have worked for me and i have passed onto my clients:
make sure you are eating regularly during the day...there is nothing worse than to come home from a stressful day FAMISHED and start eating your way through to bedtime to make yourself feel better.
take some time on your drive home to unwind. whatever works best for you...sing, scream, meditate, pray, or simply enjoy the silence. prepare yourself for the evening to enjoy your time at home.
GET RID OF THE JUNK AT YOUR HOUSE! whatever you find to be your trigger food...GET IT OUT! i can't keep candy or sweets in my house...my family got over it real quick. out of sight, out of mind. not saying your should never eat it. if we have candy or desserts, i usually buy single serving, bake half the recipe, or go out for ice cream...if there are any left over, they are usually sent with the kids to school, shared at work, or in the trash.
water, water, and water...lots of time we eat when we really are hungry.
praying to God and asking Him for help will help me or i literally will have to tell myself to stop! get a grip and walk away. we can control what we do with our bodies, it just takes discpline and gets easier with time. we don't have to be perfect (because Lord knows i miss it sometimes) but we have to strive to be the very best we can be no matter where we are :0)
best wishes to you on your journey!

Everyone stated the obvious "remove junk food etc", you still have to treat yourself or you will wind up binging. But more importantly you need to address the emotional part of it. I am the same way. I use a couple of things to help me get through this.

Someone once told me that when they attended weight watchers meetings long ago, thier leader said If at the end of the day , you are still hungry and you have used up all of your points, then go the hell to bed. I laughed at that when she told me, but if you think about its true. If it is 9:00 at night, then go to your bedroom, read a book, catch up on tv shows. If it is late enough just go to sleep.

Even more so, you should think about why your emotions are leading you to eat. Start writing in a journal at night. Take a time , away from the kitchen, to sit and contemplate on your thoughts. It could be something stupid like, I will not go eat that chocolate, over and over again. Or maybe something really deep about how you felt when you were young going to bed hungry. I find journal writing very helpful.

Lastly, I also have read and tried. Brushing your teeth after the last meal of the day. The freshness of the mint will deter you from wanting toput anything else in your mouth.

This was such a problem for me, too, in the not-so-distant past. I would do so well in the day and felt proud of myself and that I was finally on the "right track"... then I'd get home and open the fridge. I could say a lot more about how painful that time was and how angry and depressed I got but i think it would be more helpful if I told you what i did to help myself. Here's a short list:

Wrote daily affirmations that I repeated throughout the day, especially as I was walking home:
I weigh [amount I want to weigh] and nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.
I weigh [amountand I always have enough time, energy, and desire to prepare healthy meals for myself.

Another thing is planning for exercise and feeling good about the time I spent doing it. Also wrote an affirmation for that.

I had a very successful experience with OEA for about three years. The tools that I learned while a member have definitely been helpful in my efforts today. For example, i know that sugar and flour are trigger foods for me. I've tested it a thousand times and the results are always the same... that I cannot control my eating and weight and end up overweight and unhappy. I also learned to plan and prepare my meals one day in advance and only eat that food. One other thing, I called someone and told them I was about to binge and wanted help... Whoever I called was willing to help, no matter how many times I called. And that pause gave me the strength to keep on the plan for that day. If you think you might benefit from that, I strongly encourage you to try!

Oh, and having a stress ball or a thing of Silly Putty by where I sit in the living room helps too. Keeps my hands moving without putting food in my mouth. We are worth taking care of, we deserve better, we can do this.

I plan my day in the morning so that I know I have enough calories left to have some snacks. Also if you like low fat yoghurt I suggest that you freeze them and then it takes about a half an hour to chip wway at the yoghurt. It worked for me and I know that if I plan the day then I just can't go over. Once I have reached my calorie goal THAT"S IT. If you want to lose weight you have to realise that it is your mind that will be the hardest thing that you have to work on. If you eat the right foods you can feel full. I'm not saying it's easy, it's a lifetime of bad habits that we are going to change but you just have to work on it and have a positive attitude. It's not hunger that makes us want those night time snacks, we are not starving it is emotional and habit eating. Imagine a day when we conquer these bad habits and how good you will feel without the guilt of overeating. Good luck and remember that it takes time and it is only after about 2 months of me being on MFP that I am finally developing new habits that will stand me in good stead for the rest of my life.

Everything is in your mind. If you can convince your mind that your body is an engine and just needs fuel when is empty, after while you won't even think about snacks. It takes practice, but it is possible. If you think you hungry, try to wait another 20 min and if you still want to eat, that means your body needs it. If your body doesn't need no fuel, you won't be b hungry anymore and then you know it was just your mind craving food.