Stopping the overeating at night tips?

Evoletlove24
Evoletlove24 Posts: 27
in Health and Weight Loss
I do great all day but it's like at night my head flips a switch and no matter how hard I fight myself I end up binging half the time. I know it's a hard habit to break and anyone who knows how to do this the right way please tell! I have been saving three hundred cals for at night and so far its working pretty good!:tongue:
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Replies

  • Jordant107
    Jordant107 Posts: 218 Member
    I know what you mean- any tips would be appreciated!!
  • Christine1110
    Christine1110 Posts: 1,786 Member
    I drink lots of water....and I have a sweet crunchy apple of evening. That is it...nothing else.

    I keep pic's or what ever inspires me to stay on track. I know I want to be thin & healthy....sometime I just have to remind myself : )

    Good luck!
  • gertudejekyl
    gertudejekyl Posts: 386 Member
    That wouldn't happen if you went to sleep by 10 pm. Deepak Chopra talks about the 3 period of the day and 10 in the morning and 10 in the evening is the beginning to the hungry/active time or pitta time period :indifferent: (according to Ayurvedic tradition.)
  • secretgirl4611
    secretgirl4611 Posts: 474 Member
    OMG! I do the EXACT same thing.
    But the important thing is: NEVER STOP! NEVER GIVE UP! KEEP ON GOIN! EVEN IF YOU FEEL COMPLETELY HORRIBLE KEEP ON MOTIVATING YOURSELF TO WORKOUT, WITH OR WITHOUT THE RESULTS.. Thats what I do. Even tho, I havent lost alot of weight in 5 months I just keep motivating myself to workout DAILY always.. and try try try again.. its all you really can do. Especially if your like me and dont want to give up the junk foods you love. Yea, I changed my diet ALOT but I still have my sweet treats in the house, Some days I do good and others I do horrible!
    Like yesterday I did really good!
    Then today :/ I ate junk
    14 choc. kisses= 380cal, 4 oatmeal cookies=400cal, and 11 mini cookies that are only 135cal (for that many)HOWEVER, It is alot! I didnt eat it all at once. I ate it thru out my day.. JUST GOTTA KEEP GOIN THATS IT!
  • Evoletlove24
    Evoletlove24 Posts: 27
    lol good idea. I'm one of those people who love being up at night but ill have to try and change it
  • Evoletlove24
    Evoletlove24 Posts: 27
    thanks very good points!
  • hgam1
    hgam1 Posts: 237 Member
    not mine originally this tip, just something i picked up along the way from here "brush your teeth say at 8pm" and stick to that! sounds easy but once you've establish it as a threshold, it will work.:smile: you doing great so far. keep up the good work and please don't give up.
  • FrauHausMaus
    FrauHausMaus Posts: 194
    I have the same problem. If I can get to bed at a reasonable time and STAY there (insomnia issues), I can just sleep through my worst times for eating. Sometimes I make myself some air popped popcorn, since it's crunchy and pretty filling.

    I don't know if I should be giving advice though, I've been "off the wagon" and haven't really lost any weight.
  • jagonthedestroyr
    jagonthedestroyr Posts: 8 Member
    I hate this and fight this as well. If I must snack, I try popcorn non salted etc. Normally low in calories and fills you up.
  • WillPowerYes
    WillPowerYes Posts: 103 Member
    Night eating is my favorite, and contributed to my 20 pounds gain. :(

    To counter it, I now watch closely what I eat at night. Currently acceptable snack in my kitchen:

    1 Rice cracker with instant coffee chocolate flavor (sugar free).
    or
    1 Orange and 1 hardboiled egg
    or
    1/2 cup cottage cheese and 1/2 cup fresh pineapple.

    In other words, I use moderation and stay away from potato chips, etc. And I make sure MEASURE MY SNACK FOODS and log them.

    Good luck.
  • Yukibar
    Yukibar Posts: 13 Member
    i go for crunchy - sweet stuff --Found that fortune cookies help. 35 calories and a bit of fun!
  • Ke22yB
    Ke22yB Posts: 969 Member
    I dont fight it your body doesnt care what time you eat I fought it for a long time I just leave some calories off breakfast lunch and dinner and use these for my night time snack. I have a tendency to go to the basement for an hour of airedyne and treadmill at 9 or so and when I come up I drink about 20 ounces of water first then towel off and clean up give the thirst a little time to slack off then decide how hungry I am and have my last snack
  • scythswife
    scythswife Posts: 1,100 Member
    I have found eating a serving or 2 of cashews fill be up and satisfying.
  • summer827
    summer827 Posts: 516 Member
    Overeating at night was how I gained weight. What works for me is to save enough of my daily calories to make supper my largest meal. Depending on what I eat, I sometimes have calories left over for dessert. I don't keep any snack-y foods, though, in my house. Pretty much anything I eat will have to be prepared and the inconvenience is usually enough to stop me from overdoing it. Also, I've had to change some behaviors. I snacked in bed while reading. When I picked up a book, I thought I needed to be munching. Since I read a lot, that was a problem. It was hard, but no more eating for me anywhere but at the dining room table. Months later, I don't think about it, but it was hard at first. Figuring out if you have triggers (like I did) to eat at night may be helpful! Then you can work out a plan to cope better...without extra calories.
  • Ms_Chai
    Ms_Chai Posts: 86 Member
    I used to make secret runs to fast food restaurants in the middle of the night so my husband wouldn't know! I am happy to say that I have completely stopped my late night eating. What has helped me is to prepare for a bedtime snack. For example, I always leave around 300 calories for a piece of whole wheat toast, a tbsp of natural peanut butter, and a little honey. I have found that the mixture of warm bread and yummy peanut butter with a hint of sweet completely fills and satisfies me. I do this about 1-2 hours before I go to bed and drink a full glass of water at the same time. Knowing that I am going to have a planned treat helps keep me from freaking out and "craving" random unhealthy snacks. I hope this helps!
  • Gilbrod
    Gilbrod Posts: 1,216 Member
    I drink some lemon water, or an apple.

    PS- OP...nice legs. Keep up the good work.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    Eat less during the day!

    I just have a sandwich all day at work, have dinner at 11pm, then enjoy my 500 cal bedtime snack every day :) Remember, it doesn't matter when you eat!
  • bricktowngal
    bricktowngal Posts: 206
    Exercise :happy:
  • cccgrillo
    cccgrillo Posts: 42 Member
    I like to have some cut up berries and a square of dove dark chocolate. And a cup of tea. Fills me up, and satisfies my sweet craving.
  • forsythwendy1
    forsythwendy1 Posts: 9 Member
    I make serving size snack bags for my kids' lunches. I use one of those if I need to have something at night. That way when the small bag is gone, it's gone, and don't go for another one.
  • Sean_The_IT_Guy
    Sean_The_IT_Guy Posts: 168
    Not sure how many of these have been touched on , but here's what works for me:

    1. Eat your supper later.
    2. Eat a mid-evening snack high in protein and/or fiber. (lean chicken breast, beef jerky, steamed vegetables, carrot sticks, etc)
    3. Don't be bored. Boredom is a more insidious trigger to eat than hunger.
    4. Get out of the house. Go work in the yard until the sun goes down, or take a walk, etc.
    5. Go to bed early. If you have kids, hit the sack as soon as they do. You may have less time to do housework, but you'll get more rest and feel better and you (probably) can't eat in your sleep.
  • lisav6
    lisav6 Posts: 56
    I was just about to suggest the brushing teeth thing too, I do this to stop my late night munchies. Also if I find myself on the sofa watching trash TV I will take myself off to bed with a good book and a herbal tea instead.
  • subtractionproject
    subtractionproject Posts: 64 Member
    I tend to do the same - the 'munchies' creep in (no, not that kind) and I want to nibble on crap in front of the tv. The only thing that helps me is a shower, to slather myself in moisturiser (you can't eat chips when your hands are covered in Nivea hand cream) and an early night.
  • mamaomefo
    mamaomefo Posts: 418 Member
    Diet sugar free jello and Wasa crispbreads for night time snacks!
  • mgram2
    mgram2 Posts: 128 Member
    I try to save about 200-300 calories for night time just for this reason.
    My boyfriend and I LOVE making popcorn at night. We share a bag of the 94% fat free popcorn which is about 120-130 calories each.
    I love it cause it feels like you get to eat foreverrrrr if you eat it one piece at a time!
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    I generally consume more than 1/2 of my daily calories after 10pm (but not over my "allowance"-I just don't eat "big" meals during the day). I am usually in bed by 11pm or midnight. I've stopped trying to force myself to not be hungry at night-it doesn't work for me. So I work with it and eat when I'm hungry-but within my goal. I just posted a topic asking why this is considered such a sin-and so far-the consensus is that it's hogwash that you can't eat late at night as long as you're staying within your goals. So I you're saving up a couple hundred calories for your late night snacking-as long as you're not eating more than that-then snack on! It's working for me.
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
    Maybe I'm weird, because I prefer to go to bed a little hungry! Even if I"m really hungry, I hate to eat really late at night. I do eat too much at dinner sometimes just because after work I'm very hungry, but MFP has been helping me not to do that.
  • wrecktechno
    wrecktechno Posts: 145 Member
    Buy some ultra high cocoa % dark chocolate and have a square or drink tea. Lots and lots of tea (pref green). I have about a bagillion cups of tea a day to stop myself eating.
  • douglasmobbs
    douglasmobbs Posts: 563 Member
    go cold turkey, I found that it was uncomfortable for a week or so but then it was fine. It is a lot better to have a week of fighting the urge rather than nurturing it for ever.
  • kare4acure
    kare4acure Posts: 18
    yes, same here. Getting to know your triggers and changing that behaviour!! Snacking while I read was a HUGE one for me too. If I MUST nibble, I try to make it something that is crunchy like carrots, popcorn or sunflower seeds, but I am currently working on just READING and NOT snacking!!! If the book is good enough...Like the Hunger Games Triology, I soon forget about food. (well ok, it helps that the characters are starving most of the time lol) Good advice here, I agree with everything you have said!!

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