Night Eating

Let me give a small background because I have never introduced myself.  I am a 23 year old female with a long history of ED.  I guess I have really battled from a very young age.  I was never preoccupied with food or even hungry, but I was always a very picky child.  My ED quickly intensified when I started college because I was afraid of gaining the freshman fifteen.  Unfortunately, I lost about 30 pounds in the process.  I am 5ft 0ins and my current weight is 90 lbs.  My lowest weight was 84.  I have really been eating much more over the last three months, and I have been learning as much as possible about the proper way to gain weight and the amount of calories needed.  I realize that I need to eat 2500 or more, and I have never really been afraid of fats or fatty food.  In fact, I really enjoy those foods.  Unfortunately, I like some foods that are really bad for you, such as fast food and such, but I know that since I am in recovery that I need to view all foods as just fuel for my body.  I know that the best way to approach eating is to view that every type of food has its place in a healthy diet because moderation is the key to sanity when involving food. 

The thing that I am struggling with now is my sleep patterns.  My body is like a clock almost because I wake up in the middle of the night around 4:00am every night, and I generally have to eat something or I cannot go back to sleep.  No matter what I eat though, I am still starving by the time I get up for work around 7:30.  I am just wondering if anyone else has had an issue with this.  I have been increasing my food intake throughout the day in hopes of sleeping through the night, but I still constantly wake up.  Any advice would be appreciated, and I really do admire everyone on this forum for trying to beat this horrible disease.  It really does rob us out of so many life experiences.

That's awesome. You really nailed it in your first paragraph: No, you don't want to gain all of your weight back in fast food, but fast food IS healthy in moderation. Healthy, not just okay or not not-unhealthy. That's because it's healthy to want fun foods once in the while, and healthy to let yourself have them. 

My advice would be not to worry about your night eating if you are still hungry in the morning. That probably just means your metabolism is fast. I used to have this problem every single day, except that I would eat anywhere from 2,000-10,000 calories at night, be stuffed in the morning, not eat all day, and then be so hungry I'd do the same thing again at night. But it doesn't sound like that's your problem. 

If you want to stop it, maybe you could try heavy protein at night? Cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, or a glass or milk or hot chocolate prepared with milk. Also it's very possible that you're not eating enough during the day, so you get hungry at night. I had a friend who ate around 4,000 calories during the day, would wake up starving at night, had to eat, and then went back to sleep. She upped her calories to 4500 and the problem totally went away. Hope that helps! 

I don't think you have anything to worry about..i had a similar issue and i would crave carbs in the middle of sleeping...well basically, i would wake up eat a handful of cereal and go back to sleep. eventually it stopped when i reached my goal weight. i am almost the same height as you and i need almost 2000 to maintain my weight. 2500 for gaining isn't really much and you might find yourself less hungry if you have around 3000 calories daily, make sure you eat FAT!! that will keep you satisfied and whole grains. how long have you been recovering?

Chrissy:  I have been in recovery for about three weeks.  I have tried recovery many times before, but I lose motivation and end up restricting.  I never knew about the website, so I am very motivated to hear that everyone goes through these same struggles.  Thanks!

Original Post by blueberry_lips:

That's awesome. You really nailed it in your first paragraph: No, you don't want to gain all of your weight back in fast food, but fast food IS healthy in moderation. Healthy, not just okay or not not-unhealthy. That's because it's healthy to want fun foods once in the while, and healthy to let yourself have them. 

My advice would be not to worry about your night eating if you are still hungry in the morning. That probably just means your metabolism is fast. I used to have this problem every single day, except that I would eat anywhere from 2,000-10,000 calories at night, be stuffed in the morning, not eat all day, and then be so hungry I'd do the same thing again at night. But it doesn't sound like that's your problem. 

If you want to stop it, maybe you could try heavy protein at night? Cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, or a glass or milk or hot chocolate prepared with milk. Also it's very possible that you're not eating enough during the day, so you get hungry at night. I had a friend who ate around 4,000 calories during the day, would wake up starving at night, had to eat, and then went back to sleep. She upped her calories to 4500 and the problem totally went away. Hope that helps! 

4000 calories to 4500 calories? damn that's a lot of calories to begin with I think.  If its normal..then damn have I been undereating.  I have a nighteating problem too. I wake up anywhere from 2-5am and eat carbs or sweets or something. Mainly carbs then I fall back asleep stuffed. I don't like it and i've been gaining weight. Help