Binge Eating
If you are binge eating at night, you are for sure not alone! So many of us do struggle with this specific problem, and it is one of the reasons why the weight we so desperately want to lose does not come off.
I admit, I am one of you – I can be super good during the day, eat my low Gi food and actually lose some weight during the course of the day (yes, quite often I weigh less in the evening than I did in the morning!), but then night time comes and all I do is sit in front of the TV and eat, or do stuff on the computer and – eat.
Have you watched my great weight loss ticker? It came down at the very beginning when I had a couple of days without binge eating at night, and hasn’t moved since. Because I got right back into the old bad habit of eating all kinds of wrong foods at the wrong time.
Is there any way we can prevent this from happening? Is there anything we can do to break this cycle? Because I believe if we do, quite a lot of us would see a downward movement on the scales. Here are some of my ideas that could very likely help with this uncontrollable craving for food at night – if you remember it (that’s one of my weak points 
) I also would love to hear any ideas, tips and tricks you have to help stop splurging at night – just leave a comment below so we can all benefit from it!
Ideas to help stop (or control) binge eating at night:
- Head straight to the tap or your water bottle whenever you feel the urge. Drink a glass of water first!
- Eat a banana – or two!
- Have a good size mirror handy; look in the mirror while you are eating, it can be quite a turn-off.
- Eat very slowly. Savour each bite. You will probably find that you are getting fuller faster.
- Have a lot of raw veggies you really like handy. I love snow peas and sugar snap peas. Could be carrots for you, or something else. Try to have some pre-prepared (like, cleaned up) and grab them when the urge to “nibble” bites. Sometimes all you want is something to chew on for a while – raw veggies are perfect.
Let me know of any other ideas and tips you have, please. Let’s help each other to get over binge eating at night!
Eating at night is one of the main reasons why I put on weight. I only ever watch the TV at night. So when I’m sat down watching my favorite TV shows I find it very hard not to start eating.
Thanks for the tips on how to stop it.
Same here! But if we can get the eating at night under control, we should drop a few kilos just like that. I firmly believe that. – Really, just pre-cut some carrots or something, and nibble on those, it might just help. I find that the chewing, too, is something I seem to “need” so anything we can chew but doesn’t have may calories might help.
I have burst of eating binges especially when I am bored or angry and will just eat. I have found that if I go for a great walk and burn most of that agnger or depression off and have a low glycaemic drink or low GI food bar with a fruits and drink water often I have found I can somehow curb my eating impulses and not eat as much. By adding low GI meals to my diet I have been able to keep my weight down too. eating disorders can be quite painful but why not ask a family memebr to help you and support you through the process of getting your eating disorder probelm under control.
Claude @ Eating Disorder Treatments´s last blog ..Help For Eating Disorders, Eating Disorder Treatment
Claude, you are right, if you suffer from a real eating disorder, you should see a healthy professional. If I can remember next time when I get one of my binge eating bursts I will reach for the water first, and maybe go for a walk or go on the stepper.
Thanks for the interesting post and helpful. Eating at night is something I always do and need to stop. I will try out your tips and see if they help me out. I look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Ouch. I really eat a lot for dinner, and then chips after that while watching movie lol.
The worse habit anyone can acquire is to eat in front of the tube. While watching a favorite show or one that is particularly engaging, it is not easy for those who do, to realise how they shuffle between the sofa and the fridge almost like a mindless automaton. Their hands seem like a programmed robotic appendage designed specifically to force feed them.
Best options; resolve never to eat while the tv is on and you are in front of it. Multitasking definitely is the order of the day, but its effects can be very negative if one of the tasks involved is eating mindlessly in front of a tube.
This is really unfortunate but so many people fall victim to this. Something must be done. I do what I can to help but this definitely needs to be more publicized. Thanks for sharing.
Great Post, I was a vitum of eating doritoes just about everynight. I would buy the family size and eat the whole damm bag before i went to bed. Well I decided to do something about it. I got rid of all the junk food in the house and bought a bunch of vegitables and if i wanted a snack the only thing there was to eat in the house was fresh vegies. This took some time to get used to and i even had sleepless nights over it but in a few weeks it was more normal than something I had to do.
@fat loss 4 idiots, did you end up losing weight by doing this? I bet you have, it must have made a difference going from doritos to vegies!
I like the list you’ve compiled of successful actions. As with handling and resolving any habit we may want to change, it generally isn’t a ‘one-item’ fix, but involves addressing and changing a number of things we’re doing.
Here’s a wonderful book which addresses ‘dissecting and reconstructing’ any/all ’systems’ in one’s life to make solid change that’s easy to maintain. Sam Carpenter has put together a very down-to-earth methodology to accomplish this.
http://www.workthesystem.com/
This isn’t an affiliate link, it’s just a book I found that I’ve put to use, and have found to be very workable. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Mike @ HDTV Cable Box´s last blog ..KeywordLuv, CommentLuv, DoFollow Friendly Site
I must admit that I’ve been know to enjoy the odd “midnight feast” too. I think that it definitely comes down to what you have handy to eat though. If you make sure that there is plenty of whatever fruit you like (bananas or pineapple are my favourites) and try to restrict yourself to only this then you’re OK.
Maybe even prepare a fruit salad earlier in the day and leave it in the fridge for the night-time when hunger strikes.
Rob, really good idea. Or, what I have thought of, to get my favorite vegetables (Snow peas) and de-string a heap of them already straight after I bought them, and have them and some carrot sticks sitting ready in the fridge so that you don’t have to prepare it any more