Evening food binges

I would also like any help! I can avoid this but its difficult!

I read the headline and I was going to say - drink two bottles of water and you'll be too full to crave anything - BUT then i saw that you stop drinking water.... eh- maybe go to bed? snack on celery or something that burns calories while you eat it. My fave snack at night is frozen yogurt but I always measure it and make hubby fuss at me if i eat more than that. lol.

I struggle with this too! I find the nights I don't binge are when I occupy myself with other things - go on a walk, skype with friends, read, maybe even work out. And don't stop drinking the water!

Do you eat a decent breakfast. I find that if I eat breakfast...a good one with a lot of protein, I don't eat as much at night. If you eat plenty during the day and not let yourself get too hungry, it won't happen.

I have the same problem, too. I know what causes me to do it: catching up on the DVR. You just want to sit and snack. That's usually what knocks me off the wagon. There's a couple of things I do to combat the evening munchies:

1) Do some kind of work out at night: I've been doing the INSANITY workout for the past two weeks and have been doing the work-out at around 5-6pm which means I'm done about dinner time. To keep from un-doing my hard work, I tend to eat a lighter dinner.

2) Eat a bigger breakfast: This "myfitnesspal" has shown me that the nights that I consume more calories coincide with the MORNINGS that I eat LESS. My doctor said eating MORE calories in the morning is okay because you have all day to burn it off with your daily activities.

3) L-Carnetine: a personal trainer I had turned me on to this stuff. It's a liquid and you can buy it at GNC. It's a helpful fat burner and it has a sweet taste to it. If you get a food craving (especially for sweets), take a swig out of the bottle. I keep it in my fridge. I buy the NOW SPORTS brand. It has an orange/citrus flavor.

Hope that helps you a little bit

1) are you getting at least 1g of protein per every pound you weigh? protein keeps you fuller longer, so get enough of it!
2) are your meals typically 3-4 hours apart?
3) are you restricting? (eating less that 1200 cals a day) dont kid yourself, DEPRIVATION LEADS TO OVER COMPENSATION.
4) are you drinking enough water? 8 glasses or more a day?
5) are you getting enough sleep? (8 hours per night)
6) are you exercising a lot and burning off a lot of calories? your body could be telling you that you need more nutrients to repair those muscles.

make sure you are honest with yourself....and find a nighttime replacement activity you enjoy that will keep you from binge eating (an after-dinner walk, writing a page in your journal, playing with the kids, calling a friend, visiting your mother, etc.)

and get to sleep early!

When I have evening food cravings I usually suck on a low-calorie, sugar-free popsicle. I think this works for me because a lot of it is the action of placing something in your mouth or the oral fixation thing, similar to smoking. I make sure to buy the sugar-free, low-calorie popsicles that have less than 30 calories each. That way even if I eat 4 popsicles at night its only 120 calories at the most.

i have a problem with after dinner booze binging.... is that the same?

Didn't read all responses first... but I have this issue too. When I binge, its usually after 4pm. It often means that I'm craving a lot, TOM, or didn't eat enough filling foods in the day.

Try...

~distracting yourself. Do something else for ten minutes (someone posted a topic on here and suggested have 5 things on a list to distract yourself and do first, before you cave in.
~ if you've distracted yourself a while, and or drunk a bunch of water, tried a healthy snack (if you are actually hungry) then go ahead and have some. Sometimes it will just build and build if you don't.
~ what are you feeling? Write or journal about it. Call a friend. Are you sad or bored? Try to think of something that will rememdy that? And remember that every good choice makes you healthier and brings you closer to your goals. Its okay to fail sometimes, just remember that your choices are important for who you want to become.
~are you getting the food you need each day? (healthy food, not just about calories). Make sure you are doing the healthiest diet you can enjoy. Live a little. But also be as dedicated as you can.


Having said all that... I've caved in to chocolate like 3 times in the last few weeks. It was pure deliciousness... but once it had gone down my throat it offered me no more enjoyment. Just added to my cal fat and sugar totals. Was it worth it? For the most part. I love chocolate. Having said that I have been good for about 6 days so far! (knock on wood). I would be more laid back and have it more often if I were not as obese as I am.

I have the exact same problem!! I decided to try to save my daily snack (typically I only have one daily) for after dinner so that I can allow for my evening binge. I think my problem at night is because my family snacks then and I see them eating a bag of chips, cookies, ice cream, and the such and that is also when I sit down to watch TV. Prelogging my snack for evening has helped me over the past week or so to just eat the one snack. If I am still craving something (taste bud craving not hungry), I will drink a diet pop to subside that craving.

Great topic. My diet gets sabotaged after 4p.i eat great all day, not craving anything. But this switch goes off after 4p. I am pretty sure it's because I'm a comfort eater, and after a long stressful day it's my way to relax. I recognize this, but it still is a battle every day. I think to some other people's points set up a routine at night if you can. Night is the only time I don't have something on my calendar, so my mind is free to wander...hmmm, what can I eat? So, now I get home, cook the dinner I've already per-determined. Then relax with a book and a cup of tea on the back porch (when it's not a million degrees like its been in Chicago lately), maybe a hot bath or shower before bed. I also recognize since I don't have kids this is possible for me. For you Moms out there will small kids, I respect the heck out of you because I know it takes a whole lot of energy and you have no time to yourself. Anyway, that's my two cents. Feel free to friend me and we can keep each other on track ...

From my own experience, the things that lead me to bingeing in the evening were...

- depriving myself of the foods I wanted
- not eating enough during the day
- not drinking enough water
- being tired

A lot of the time when I felt like eating at night, I realized it was just because I needed to go to sleep instead! These days I snack on a cup of cereal or a handful of dark chocolate chips in the evening. And if I still feel like I want something sweet, I'll sip on some tea or a Powerade Zero, to get some flavor for no extra calories.

I totally feel ya. I can do so well all day and then mega blow it in the evening. Usually, I think it's because I'm bored, but part of it is because I just want to. I mean, who doesn't want to eat some cheesecake or a Snickers bar in the evening? If weight loss were not an issue I bet everyone would do it. Sometimes I just have to go to bed, but if you wait long enough the craving will actually pass (my prob, however, is that it's usually followed up with another one)