night-time eating -- help!!

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new here, and loving it so far!  I would love to hear if anyone has any advice for me.  Sorry if this issue's been posted before.  Anyway....

I eat well during the day with no problems.  I eat healthy foods, stick to a reasonable caloric intake, eat at decent intervals, etc.  I never feel deprived.  I eat supper early in the evening, around 5:30 or 6:00, with enough wiggle room for a snack in the evening.  But I so often end up eating WAYYYY too much after 8:00!!  Part of it is actual hunger, but it's mostly (I suspect) some kind of emotional need I have to eat at night.  Last night I ate a whole chocolate bar at 11:30!!  Help!!

I've tried a few things.  Not eating ANYTHING after 8:00 (no way that's gonna work, I get too needy).  Drinking a glass of water or eating something healthy like fresh veggies instead of whatever carb/fat-loaded monstrosity I crave (I almost always give into the craving anyway, the healthy stuff never satisfies!).  Going to bed (I end up not able to sleep and getting up and eating!).  Doing something productive or reading (instead of distracting me from my craving, the craving distracts me from what I'm trying to do!).

Does anyone else have this problem?  How do you handle it?  Any ideas for getting past the 8:00-11:00 night cravings?  Maybe I just need a kick in the rear to stay disciplined!

Thanks in advance for your help, folks.

I have an answer...

Work out later in the day. If you eat around 6:00, go out and work out about 7:00 - 7:30, for a while.
Allow yourself to drink PLENTY of water while exercising :)
When you're done, hop in the shower or bath to clean off, and head to bed. :)

Good luck!

What about delaying supper for a bit?  Instead of 5:30, try 6:30 - 7:00.  Then you can have your small snack around 9:00 and go to bed at 11:00 or so.

well personally if i work out, even if i drink lots of water i'm starving right afterwards.  what i would do is have dinner later at night. i was alwasy told not to eat absolutely anything 3 hours prior to going to bed.  if you ate a chocolate bar at 11:30 that means you're going to bed about 6 hours after you had dinner! if you go to bed at midnight, why don't you have dinner at 8pm instead? that way u'll be full longer and perhaps not crave anything else till you go to bed.

I totally feel ya!  I love to eat at night!  Since it's lighter longer, I am finding myself eating dinner later, which is helpful.  I also invested in a box of frozen fruit pops, at 100 cals each I don't hurt myself to badly. 

The most important thing I do is ask myself, "Amberly, are you REALLY hungry?"  I concentrate on the way my stomach feels, and if I really am hungry I find something to eat.  If I'm not hungry and it's just a craving, I have a hot cup of tea, brush my teeth and go to bed. 

I have a friend who is SO skinny. He snacks all the time, but he snacks on high-fiber cereal. It's filling, it's not that high in calories, it's healthy, and it's not SO yummy that it's hard to stop eating.

So I've taken a page from his book. When I feel hungry in the late hours (I'm a night owl who often stays awake into the wee hours of the morn) I measure out a cup of high-fiber cereal into a bowl, put away the box and eat those Cheerios (or whatever) like candy; no milk, just noshing. It adds an insignificant amount of calories to my log, but it does add needed fiber, and it fills me up!

I sure know how you feel. I do very well during the day then really have to write out what snaks I can have at night. I never do without something I crave or else I would crave it all day. I usually have a few animal cookies and peaches but spread them out. Let say I tell my self at 8:00 I can have some peaches at 9 two cookies. Now I am up real late like 2 or 3 so I sure feel the need for something late. I also allow myself one can of pop and it last all day. When I get that overwhelming urge I take and drink and say I can wait 5 min for another one. Normally I get busy or something else has caught my attention that a good 30 mn or more have gone by.

Oh one other thing for me apple sauce and v8 are very filling for me so I use the apple sauce in mid afternoon/evening snak.

I also write all my food out and include snaks then mark them off as I go if I have some cal left I see what and how much I can have and when.

Just a few things I do that have helped me.

Janie 

Awesome!  Thanks for the tips, everyone.  I'll try to postpone dinner until later tonight, and have a snack around 5 to tide me over.  My excercise is usually running outdoors, and it gets pretty hot later in the day so running in the evening is not fun, but... a brisk walk is probably an ideal solution if I get hungry.  :)

I looove cereals, but I try to avoid really processed ones or ones with trans fats or soy products (which I'm mildly allergic to).  I'll maybe pick up a box of bran flakes to munch on.  And applesauce, excellent suggestion!  Cereal and applesauce are more likely to fill me up than the carrot sticks and watermelon I've been trying to curb my cravings with.

I have this exact same problem.  I do eat dinner later, so that helps some.

I have heard that you are not supposed to eat 3 hours before but I have also heard that it does not matter.  I have started to go with the thought that cals in a day are cals in a day and I am trying to reach some total number and it does not matter what time I eat those.

Also, if  I know that i have no more room for more cals that day I just try to make it through an hour or some other time frame.  little goals.  I have found that if I can do it for one night and wake up and say "wow, I made it through that craving, that was not so bad and I lived" it makes it easier the next day.   

Sometimes I give in but its after I have expended lots of time trying to reach my "mini goals"...then I seem to have more control with what I end up eating...so maybe not the entire chocolate bar but just some.

Also, a good way to avoid those things is just don't buy them so they are not in the house!!!

hope those things help out some.

I do feel your pain on this one though.

That niggly hunger in the later evening is the fat loss process working. If you feed it your body won't be forced to go into its fat store. If you don't feed it, it will. I have the same difficulty; I have a mug of herbal tea or hot chocolate, and that seems to do the trick.

Personally I save up some calories during the day just so I can have a snack or two at night.  I figure I work it off in the morning anyways. Sometimes I take a fiber pill with a big glass of water to help fill me up a little... but I never miss out on my nightly snack.

Here are the lo cal snacks I wouldn't feel guilty about

J E L L O
Pick your flavor or add some fruit

Salad... good any time any place to take up space in your tummy. Try having some oranges on it for a slightly sweet treat. Add a scant Tbs of feta cheese to make it satisfying or a thin slice of ham or turkey.

Oatmeal
Very good for you... Oat Bran makes an even larger serving. I add Splenda mixed with cinnamon with sugar free maple syrup

Orange or Apple or Banana with a little yogurt

Cucumber slices with lowfat yogurt that you mixed some seasonings in

Whole grain english muffin

Sugar Free Cocoa w/ caffeine free coffee (my own mocha latte!) I add a splash of fat free cream

Sometimes just a tsp of peanut butter on an apple slice gets rid of my hunger. I think because the peanut butter is slow to digest.

Good Luck. I hope you work out something you feel comfortable with. You should not have to suffer in the evening. You should not have to feel hungry when trying to loose weight. I think you just have to discover food choices that fill you up and leave you satisfied with out breaking the caloric in take for the day.

Man, oh, man do I have the same problem! I work all day and work out when I get home around 4:30 and then after that, I'm munchy all night until I hit my calorie alotment. I love snacking so much at night that I eat less during the day to allow for more treats at night.& I know this is counter-productive simply because I've been told people who eat more throughout the day have less of an urge to eat at night, but I can't help it! I love to veg out and eat healthy stuff in front of the t.v. sooooooooooooo bad I know! I should turn the tv off, pay attention to what I'm eating and then turn my attention to something else, but for some reason I can't! I'm alone a lot(my hubby works a LOT) so the tv and food comfort me. I also don't know what to do. I have fought against this for years and all that seems to help is to give into it. If I enjoy snacking at night, I do. If I would rather give up certain foods during the day so I can have them at night, I do. I still have lost 23 lbs doing it! I know it's not the healthiest, and it may be setting me up for failure or a more serious problem, but I don't know any other way...sarah

I have a lot of anxiety in my life.  I eat ok durnig the day with no cravings but at night, it get really bad. I wish I could find something for anxiety. I tried strattera but it made me sick.  

I do the same thing. Part of the reason I gained soo much weight is that I love to snack at night, and it is usually sweets that I crave and I always gave in to them. I am a night owl, so I have to have snacks at night. Learning to do things differently is part of this process. I am relatively new to this, but one thing that has stuck out to me in these postings is to make one change at a time. We didn't gain the weight overnight and it is not going to come off that way either. We have to retrain ourselves and that takes time as well. These are all great suggestions. If you cannot preoccupy yourself then definitely snack. Save some of your calories for later, that's what I do. I try to eat healthy sncks, but sometimes fruit just isn't enough. When that happens I have Dreyer's Slow Churned Ice Cream with some fresh strawberries or other fruit or I make a small shake. It only has 100 cals. for 1/2 a cup. Not the best but it is sooo good and I feel better because I have stayed within my cals for the day. Good luck!

I was watching E, and they had tips on avoiding hunger. The station said that brushing your teeth would help you avoid sweet cravings..(i tried this and it worked for me). There was also..chewing sugar free gum, chewing on ice, sucking on hard candy during the day, eating natural foods..i also heard that eating a handful of almonds can help you loose weight. i don't know if these ideas work but i figured i'd give them a try

Try drinking green tea or lemon flavored water.

Or snack on something with super low calories...like a big bowl of sugar-free, fat-free gelatin.

Chew gum you burn 11 calories per hour doing it...also heres a bit of motivation to help you stop. If you stop eating just 3 hours before you go sleep....you can lose an extra 10pounds in a month. So stop around 7 be in bed by 10...chew gum inbetween

I am also a night owl. I have noticed that if I can go to bed a little earlier every night, it helps. The only problem is that I have insomnia. So, now I am trying to wind down doing things like taking a warm shower, listening to a c.d I got at the store, called sleep. It is very soothing. The funny thing is, I put the cd on and I noticed my dog snoring. It knocked her out! lol. So, I guess there must be something to that, because she usually doesn't go to sleep that early. I have also taken a half teaspoon of childrens liquid benedryl. I like it because it does not make me groggy the next day, but I can only take a little bit, too much and I feel groggy. 

Have you talked to your doctor about the possibility of hypoglycemia?  The reason I ask is because I'm hypoglycemic, and I get the night HUNGRIES too!  I'm not a night owl, but in the evenings is when I am absolutely famished, no matter what I have eaten during the day.  Now, when that happens, I have a bit of protein, and that carries me through the night.

That's something I never thought about. What kind of  protien do you have?, I am really bad when it comes to brainstorming ideas on what to eat. My dad has diabetes. I wonder if hypoglycemia  is a precurser to diabetes? I sure don't want to get that.