How to stop night eating?

I've only been using MFP for about a week, but I've been dealing with binge eating disorder my whole life and in the past 2 years, have discovered some great tools to stop binging. I've managed to stop binging all together, so hope that some of these tools also help you

Here are a few things that have helped me along my eating disorder/binge eating journey

-Eating every few hours, but pushing meal times back to ensure that I am eating at the same time as everyone else I will be around, so I don''t feel the need to eat twice.

-Exercising at night keeps me busy, stops me from eating more during the day (because when I exercise I get really hungry and want more calories than are allotted,) and sets up a night time routine; exercise, shower, meditate, sleep I also find that if I exercise at night, I'm more likely to avoid eating because I feel proud of myself for burning those extra calories.

-Practice meditation. Mindfulness has been an incredible tool for me when it comes to thinking about food, what is inspiring the need to eat (boredom, emotions, etc)

-I only keep foods that have to be prepared in the house. In the beginning I found that if I was in binge mode and wanted to eat everything in the kitchen, having to prepare the meal would take the power out of the insatiable desire. As I progressed and gained control of urges to binge, I found that I would start to prepare a meal and end up turning a boiling pot off or tossing 1/2 prepared food out, knowing that I didn't really want to eat it.

-If you've got to eat, air popped popcorn, celery, and cucumber often give me the crunch I need to keep me from snacking on foods that have higher calories

Good Luck!!

low carb diet helps me a lot too btw.
it curbs my appetite and makes it so easy for me to stay on track.

Agree... I'm a total night eater too. I often don't eat until 3 pm then push my meals back to save most of my calories at night.. My dinner is ten to eleven every night. I'm usually not even hungry during the day and of course low carb helps more than anything ..

I'm interested in ideas here.....my problem is waking up in the middle of the night and eating junk. I guess we need to find something better to do than eat! LOL I feel like I get the munchies.

ME TOO!! I find myself waking up and thinking I don't care and eat fruit snacks or a cerial bar or whatever. Its like your half asleep and your inhibitions are gone lol. I do find that if I cave about an hour before bed and eat half a banana or a small bowl of low cal cerial it helps and I don't wake up in the middle os the night. As for getting rid of the night cravings I dunno. I am worse when I really cut my carbs throughout the day. Guess it's something you just have to work at and train yourself not to do.

I read somewhere that when you are eating out of boredom rather than actual physical hunger, your food cravings only last around 20 minutes to half and hour.... perhaps you could find something to do that takes about this long so you can "ride it out"
Examples:
Crossword
Read a chapter in a book
Have a quick tidy or clean
Do some laundry
Read a magazine
Play a computer game like solitaire or minesweeper
Go for a walk (helps if you have a dog!!)
Knitting?
Have a relaxing bath
Give yourself a pedicure/manicure
Check the news on the internet

I think you get the idea lol.

Also, lately as i have been dieting, I find it helpful to think of my progress when I crave something naughty... and i visualise how I want to be... healthy, strong, confident. Then how I will be in a year if I give up .... suddenly that sweet treat doesn't seem as appealing!
Good Luck

I use two already-mentioned things: one that I close the kitchen and just do not eat after dinner unless it's a dire emergency (stomach growling), and second, I eat more fat in dinner than probably most people do - fat is what keeps me from being hungry.

If you're not comfortable eating something higher in fat, then at least reduce the carbs with dinner that get your blood sugar up, just in time to crash as bed time approaches. More protein, and cut the refined carbs from that meal if you possibly can.

I bought a SodaStream and only make carbonated water (like Talking Rain brand up here in the PAC NW). It's nothing more than CO2 and a zero calorie fruit essence (orange, lemon/lime, or berry) that has no sugar and even if it did, you use only a couple drops per quart that it would only add a calorie or 2 anyways.

This way it is similar to drinking soda, but it's way better for you, and without all the fake junk.
At first, it takes a bit of getting used to, but after a few weeks, the "regular" diet soda and sugary soda all taste way too sweet.

HTH-
(I am in no way connected to the Sodastream company).

Plan for night eating. Save a bunch of calories so you can eat at night while still moving toward your goals.

... Well, it was a good idea at first, but eating at night just gets absorbed as fat.

My favorite saying and since it hasnt really been said here (not being rude, just really wanted to say it).

DON'T EAT

I work evenings as well and it is hard to adjust your eating schedule when it's completly opposite of everyone else! I get off at midnight and get up at 8am to go work out then try to catch a nap before I have to leave to come back to work at 2:30p. So I try not to eat alot when i get home at midnight. I've found that water, gum, and sugar free popscicles work really well for me! That and I don't really eat "meals" so much anymore. I pretty much eat 6-7 snacks a day. I eat like every hour and a half to two hours while I'm awake and just enough to satisfy me then I'm done until later. Good luck!!

Go to bed earlier... LOL>>> Actually, I am somewhat serious with this comment. Most of us do not get enough rest.. That is part of the reason the studies show an inverse relationship between hours slept and weight gain. The more hours you sleep, the less you gain... The more you are awake, the more you eat and hence the more you tend to gain... Sleep more; weigh less.

That being said, you can also save some calories for later in the day and eat some fruit, vegetables or even a snack bar at night so that you can feel fuller. Best wishes on your journey.

I have to disagree somewhat with your statement, sleeping too long is bad too. You miss out on eating correctly and either have to force eat more to get calories or not have enough which can be unhealthy. You are right though that more sleep is good, it raises your metabolism if you get a good nights rest and long enough to be fully rested.

Meal frequency has nothing to do with weight loss/gains.
In fact most people who Intermittent Fast have better results than those who eat 6x a daiyyyyy......day...

Sorry i'm getting light headed...
All the brozone in here...

try taking a protein shake before you go to bed. It fills you up and also helps speed up your metabolism in the night.

^ This

I dont know what is is but seems to many of us are like this, we can go all day on nothing much and then it hits you at night, the cravings for something really tasty. I get this a fair bit, but what i do now is go have a teaspoon of nutella or peanut butter as thats only one small tsp ans not loads of cookies etc.

Plan for night eating. Save a bunch of calories so you can eat at night while still moving toward your goals.

... Well, it was a good idea at first, but eating at night just gets absorbed as fat.

huh?

I can't tell if this is just sarcasm, or if you actually meant it.

Do you think your body switches off and stops burning energy through the night?
does your hair stop growing, your nails stop growing, you stop breathing, stop repairing muscles?

most people's BMR accounts for at least 80% of their calorie burn, and that continues 24/7.

Well I have the same problem, I started by not buying any junk that I like to eat, so now if i really feel the urge to eat something late I have some 100 calorie packs on hand along with carrots and celery so I can grab a quick snack depending what I am in the mood for. I also look at my food diary for the day and remind how hard I have worked and why screw up a whole day for a snack.

I forgot to add that I also make sure my vitamins are all in check and that I take them every day. You can be tested for vitamin deficiencies with your GP or a nutritionist. I find that on the days that I do take my vitamins (B12, D, Iron, Magnesium, Salmon Oil, Calcium, and Vitamin C (but these wont be the same for everyone)) I operate much more smoothly and have little to no cravings because my body is not begging for the nutrients I needs.