Night Eating Solution?
I'm a huge night eater. Does anyone else have the same problem, or have a successful solution for reducing night time calorie intake?
I use gum whenever I can, or tea, but sometimes after dinner I just eat way, way too much. Occasionally I'll end up packing in 500 extra calories from my night eating, and although its somewhat unpleasant feeling, it doesnt seem like that feeling deters me from eating at night at other times.
Any solutions? =S
edit....removed post
i love to snack in bed while i read every night before sleep. so what i do is allow myself a couple of hundred calories out of my daily allowance to do so. sometimes it's a cup of special K vanilla cereal (110 calories), 25 almonds (180 calories), a fat-free yogurt, a 100 calorie bag of popcorn, an all-bran honey-nut bar (130) or granola-type bar (around 150) sometimes i have two of the above listed items at the same time for a 200-250 calorie total. -and whatever it is i'm eating, i eat very s-l-o-w-l-y, so as to fool myself into thinking i'm eating a lot lol.
this way i stay within my calorie intake for the day, and satisfy my munchy habit at the same time.
i know lots has been written about late night eating, but i have been successfully losing weight with what i do...the key is to leave enough room in your calorie budget and to try and eat relatively healthy things...not chips, chocolate or ice cream..although any of those things would be fine, in moderation 
I would say coffee, but since it may keep you up even longer, how about hot water with a little bit of lemon juice?
hot cocoa!!!! mmmm
Hot cocoa...too sweet in my opinion. That's just me though.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll give them a shot, especially the first two. Allowing space in my diet for them seems like a very good idea--I dont know why I didnt think of it myself xP
Usually instead of hot cocoa I try Sleepytime tea, because it doesn't have any calories or caffeine. I like my hot cocoa when I'm snowboarding ;).
Allowing space is a good idea - I can't believe I didn't try that. I find a cup of decaf stops me feeling hungry for quite a while (flavoured with almond essence or cinnamon if I feel like dessert's missing), and diet instant soup fills me up for a while. Brushing my teeth after supper helps, too. But when it comes to the night before a big deadline, I just give up and eat through the night. In the long run, I'd rather have an A for that essay and be 50g heavier (or whatever).
With my job i sometimes don't get home till 2 am. I've learned that a yogurt can help out a lot. The chocolate mousse whips tams my sweet tooth and i believe its low in carbs.
Hey there,
Maybe your dinner isn't big enough. Make sure that you have enough healthy fats and fiber and then as I say to myself "Its time to shut it down!!!"
I like this analogy and it has helped me some....
Think of your body as a fire. In the morning you need to add wood to the fire to get it going (or have a large breakfast) but at the end of the day you should let the fire burn out (you don't need to keep fueling the fire for sleep)..
Good luck!
Things that work for me: one of my cc friends suggested a "DO 50" challenge. Before I eat something after a good dinner, I have to do 50 FIRST, 50 abs, 50 pushups, 50 squats, etc -- or a combo thereof. Usually after than, the urge has passed. Other times, I cut an apple in tiny slices and eat that slowly. it is sweet and tastes like dessert -- works well for me. Decaf tea and cocoa are good too.... Keep cut up beggies on hand for snacking -- guilt free (celery, fresh spinach leaves -- YUM!, carrots, mushrooms, broc, cauliflower, green peppers, etc.
I like the idea that I can snack --- I just have to choose wisely. ( :
When you get hungry at the wrong time, try a large glass of water. Wait 20 minutes and you may not be hungry. Also an apple does wonders for me, filling and delicious. Also, I eat when I'm bored. Another thing you can try is taking a walk. Solves three problems, hunger, boredom and excercise.
AMEN, chbd3!!! ( ;
I find that something like oatmeal or a multigrain hot cereal really fills me up without "stuffing" me. I add lots of cinnamon and use stevia (a non-chemical, no calorie sweetner) and maybe a little bit of agave nectar (a sweetner with the lowest glycemic index) plus a little soy milk or regular low fat or skim milk. It's got enough protein and fiber that it keeps me from waking up hungry in the middle of the night -- but it's not heavy food so it doesn't affect my sleep.
I also keep lots of sugarfree popsicles and fudgesicles in my freezer which satisfy my sweettooth without lots of empty calories.
I agree with what someone else said that as long as I've set aside some of my daily calories for these, it works fine. And I think my hunger at night is emotional and/or true physical hunger. And the above mentioned snacks (hot creamy cereal, popsicles and fudgesicles) seem to satisfy both hungers.
How did I forget? I like Edy's sugar free popsicles in raspberry, tangerine and strawberry (variety box) for 10-15 cals (can;t remember) and Blue Bunny Fudgesicles for 35, so creamy and good. ( :
Note to self: Fudgesicle for dessert =P
another trick I like is to make my normal sugar free cinnamon and spice oatmeal with a little extra water, a little sweetener, and a little soy milk -- yum and super filling.
I forgot cucumbers earlier too. Sometimes when I feel munchy, I fill up a salad bowl of all kinds of cut up veggies, sprinkle some Mrs. Dash and really low cal Italian dressing on em, and munch away -- guilt free.
Original Post by laurenalicia13:
Hey there,
Maybe your dinner isn't big enough. Make sure that you have enough healthy fats and fiber and then as I say to myself "Its time to shut it down!!!"
I like this analogy and it has helped me some....
Think of your body as a fire. In the morning you need to add wood to the fire to get it going (or have a large breakfast) but at the end of the day you should let the fire burn out (you don't need to keep fueling the fire for sleep)..
Good luck!
Dear Lauren,
I have had a night eating problem for YEARS!!! What you wrote helped me to get through my first night of not getting up and eating. The fire visualization worked last night, and I am hoping that it's a permanent fix. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Pam
