I'm not addicted to food, I don't binge, I don't think I'm compulsive but...
Okay, in the past I've gone to OA meetings. They didn't feel like a right fit at all to me. I'm not addicted to food. I don't binge on anything. I used to graze throughout the day many years ago, but that was for a specific health reason that no longer exists and I don't do it any more.
I don't think about food all day. I have no problem turning stuff down. I can stay away from sugar. I don't do fast food. In fact, my food choices are pretty darn healthy and I don't eat processed foods of any sort. Mostly veggies, some proteins. Basically a Paleolithic eating plan and I feel really good when I eat like that, so I'm motivated to stick to it.
I'm 5'11" and I weigh at around 300 lbs. I struggle with weight loss. I'm PCOS and type 2 diabetic, insulin resistant, etc. I have to stay on top of what I'm eating or I'll just gain back the 55lbs I've lost. It took me over three years to lose that. I'm 50. There will be no tremendous whooshes of weight loss for me, ever.
(Preamble done.)
So, I start my day, everyday, with the plan. The plan to make the right food choices. And I do great, eating an average of 1600 calories a day by 7 pm. (I don't lose weight unless I eat very low carb and keep calories under 1700.)The issue for me is the hours of 7-9 pm. My witching hours. The hours that my Dr. Jekyl appetite transforms into Mr. Hyde. Like the character who gets chained up before sunset, I've prepared my home. There's only healthy food in my house. The snacks are healthy and, more importantly, few. If I want to eat something, I have to cook it. And I bank on my being too tired/lazy to do it. Some nights I'm okay. But there are others...when leftovers aren't safe! And I can make a snack out of anything!
And the later evening eating isn't just a small treat. I can put away up to another 1000 calories without even thinking. I'm not hungry. But I'm intensely edgy. And I don't have the skills to deal with that, yet. Winding down before bed has always been difficult for me. Food has always helped me with it.
This is a really old habit. I'd like to break it. Forever. Because I can't seem to drop below 300 lbs for more than a day or two. Not sure why this is so hard. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
May I ask what your usual routine is during those witching hours? Is it TV or reading or work? Are they things that make snacking easier?
There are a couple of little things that come to mind, and of course, your mileage may vary with them.
Warm liquids. Tea and/or coffee do wonders for me when I'm hungry* (*read: just want to put food in my mouth). They fill my stomach, they feel relaxing and indulgent, and they're often (as someone else said so well recently in another thread) "a period at the end of a sentence".
Brushing my teeth. I know this is a common one to mention, but I use this mouthwash after brushing my teeth at night that REQUIRES I not eat or drink anything for at least 30 minutes after rinsing. (It's just ACT mouthwash.) So if I'm absolutely forced to do something else. After 30 minutes, the urge to eat is usually long gone.
Are there other "winding down" activities that you've considered making routine? 10 minute meditation? A warm bath with a book?
Cleaning?
I know cleaning sounds kind of strange, but I just remember that every time after cleaning my bathroom I never, ever feel like eating anything. A quick toilet scrub and the last thing on my mind is food.
I agree with taking a long bath. Very relaxing and it would be weird to eat in there! Also have you considered saving enough calories for you to have a 200 calorie snack at the witching hours? 200 calories can go a long way- that's: a BIG salad; two 100-cal snack packs; eggwhites with salsa and toast and a yogurt; two or three pieces of fruit; half a cup of reduced-fat, low-cal ice cream in half a cantaloupe; half a cup of cottage cheese and sliced cucumbers and crackers; a whole lot of light popcorn; etc!! The key is big snacks that take a long time to eat, especially if you're not actually hungry! If I were doing 1700 cal/day, I would try to do 400 breakfast, 500 lunch, 100 snack, 500 dinner, 200 snack.
I am an evening eater as well and it has taken me over a year to try to break my habits and it is still a daily struggle. UGHHH! So I feel ya girl. I was calorie counting and have switched up to weight watchers when I plateaued on calorie counting which has got me over my hump. Anyways, I started by just doing healthy snacks after dinner and slowly got healthier and healthier. I will cut up fruit with some soy yogurt on top and sprinkle it with granola (apposed to my old a bowl of granola sprinkled with fruit!)
I also agree that trying to relax by either meditating or going on a walk should help. It sounds like you are emotionally eating, you feel uncomfortable with your anxious feeling before bed and you eat to mask the anxiety and get to sleep. It is normal when you have anxiety to try to mask it with external stimuli and at least you are not drinking or doing drugs. Try to face the anxiety and use techniques that help you relax. You can order anxiety, relaxation and insomnia workbooks on Amazon that are amazing.
Good luck with your battle and congrats on your weight loss so far!
It is all about the anxiety and stress. I bulldoz through my days and once I'm no longer preoccupied with doing, the thinking starts happening. And I've been dampening the noise in my brain with food.
Ok, so I guess that's the next big thing, to manage the anxiety in the evening. To be honest, I'm usually so tired once I've gotten past dinner that exercising doesn't seem to be something I'll be jumping on right away. I do Pilates earlier in the day and it helps me a lot with stress throughout the day. Wish I coulc go to an evening class instead.
On days when I've had more to deal with (mother's hysterias over nothing) than usual, I have been know to drink a glass of wine, but that will usually mess with my sleep patterns so I don't do it often. I have some old mp3's that are guided imagery on stress and weight loss by Beleruth Naperstadt. Need to find them, because even just hearing her voice was so soothing that it put me to sleep.
But the time between dinner and bed is still unaccounted for. Once the weather cools down, hot herbal tea will be nice. Need to develop a broader arsenal for this.
I think sometimes we get too worried about an eating habit that perhaps doesn't need mending. Noted that you know you do not lose weight unless your calories are under a certain amount, even on low carb, so why fight it? Fix a nice large pot of hot tea and serve yourself a plate of low carb meat and cheese pinwheels, olives, cheddar cheese crisps, or one of the thousands of low carb snack recipes made from real food (unprocessed). Make it fancy and OKAY to eat at the bewitching hour. Use a pretty tea pot, a fancy cup and saucer...make it special to you. We spend way too much time trying to deny ourselves food pleasures and it doesn't have to be so. You can plan an evening snack that fits into your particular food budget.
My way of limiting food intake is to use a small bowl that I eat all my meals from. For this teatime in the evening, perhaps a small plate or saucer will help guide you in remembering that one plateful is enough.
I'm not addicted to food, I don't binge, I don't think I'm compulsive but...
