I am full. Totally and completely full. I made vegetable soup which has little more in it than chopped veggies and tomato sauce, so it's almost no points on the WW scale. And I've eaten a ton of it—to the point where I feel sick. And I'm lying here in my bed, I can't fall asleep, my stomach hurts, and all I can think of is eating. I want to eat more. I want to cram something into my mouth.
This happens a lot at night before I go to bed. I make it through the day fine, but then just before bed, I lose it. I don't know what it is, I don't know why it happens, but I don't think it's very fair.
Does anyone else experience anything like this? I feel pretty alone out here...
The same thing happens to me! I just wanna go into the kitchen and eat eat eat!!! Drives me insane. So I just get up and get a big glass of water. That usually does it. Or munch on some ice. That gives me mouth something to crunch on, and numbs my mouth.
Your soup sounds very yummy, and I am the kind of person who needs volume. If I can't eat a lot of it, then I don't want to bother with it. I'd rather have a whole pot of veggie soup than a tiny blob of peanut butter or something. The volume and taking a long time to eat a lot of food are usually what make me full and satisfied.
BUT, there is something to be said for making sure you get the macronutrients to keep your body functioning efficiently and satisfied. It sounds like you got a fantastic serving of vitamin-rich vegetables, which is great, but you didn't mention eating any protein or healthy fat. And that protein and healthy fat is what will give your body the nourishment it needs to feel fed. Right now your tummy is getting filled up with veggie soup, but it's not getting the macronutrients that your body needs. Think of your tummy as a manager of a project and he's not getting the supplies he needs. He calls up the logistics manager, your brain, and says "Hey, I'm not getting anything useful down here, send me something I can work with!!" So your brain tells your hands and mouth to "Eat!!! Eat something substantial!" And that's when you're laying in bed trying to fight it.
So try eating a big chunk of chicken breast with your veggie soup tomorrow.
On the emotional side of it...try to focus that energy somewhere else. You may feel like you need to treat yourself or comfort or soothe or entertain yourself by eating. Believe me, I've been there. At the end of a hard day of work, you better believe I think I deserve a big piece of chocolate cake. But in reality, you DON'T deserve it because eating garbage is a punishment. You'll have a few moments of pleasure, but then you'll feel guilty, remorseful, gross, worried about the scale, mad at yourself, etc. Why punish yourself with junky food you don't need, extra calories, and guilt? You DON'T deserve punishment. But you do deserve a treat and comfort and to spoil yourself, of course you do. You just need to realize other ways of rewarding yourself. Shut yourself up in the bathroom for a bubble bath with candles, pretty music, and expensive bath soaps. Window shop online for a super cute outfit that you might splurge on when you get to goal weight. Read a cheesy trashy but delightful romance novel. Write an email to a friend you've lost touch with.
Find something pleasurable and enjoyable that will keep you busy and make you feel like a million bucks. Of course, the best reward will be that satisfaction of knowing you stayed on plan.
I also love eating at night. You could go to bed earlier or save up some calories for nighttime nibbles. Gosh, I so understand what you are going through! Last night I made a mixup of peanut butter and honey and dipped animal crackers into it. Agggh!!! WTH was I thinking????
This can be a problem. Find something to distract yourself with - read a book, knit a sweater, phone a friend, write a letter, come on 3fc to chat, brew yourself a nice cup of tea - the list is endless.
Thighs Be Gone...this isn't at all helpful to the purpose of this thread, but your animal crackers and PB/honey concoction sounds amazing, lol.
And I totally agree with you about shifting some calories around to have some snacking room in the evening. I'm a calorie counter, so as long as I stay within my calories for the day, I can eat it whenever I want. If I ate 1200calories all in the evening, I'm sure I would be heavier on the scale in the morning than if I had eaten 1200cals spread through the day just because of *ahem* passing food weight. But over time, if I was eating 1200calories every day, no matter what the time of day, I would lose weight.
That said, I personally prefer later meals and snacking in the evening. I DON'T like eating breakfast or even a big lunch. Seriously, by about 2pm, I will have only eaten about 250cals. That includes the milk in my coffee in the morning and a light lunch (usually soup or salad with veggies and protein). Other people would feel absolutely starved on that. I don't, I feel quite satisfied. And it leaves me a ton of room to have an afternoon snack, have a substantial dinner, AND have an evening snack.
On the emotional side of it...try to focus that energy somewhere else. You may feel like you need to treat yourself or comfort or soothe or entertain yourself by eating. Believe me, I've been there. At the end of a hard day of work, you better believe I think I deserve a big piece of chocolate cake. But in reality, you DON'T deserve it because eating garbage is a punishment. You'll have a few moments of pleasure, but then you'll feel guilty, remorseful, gross, worried about the scale, mad at yourself, etc. Why punish yourself with junky food you don't need, extra calories, and guilt? You DON'T deserve punishment. But you do deserve a treat and comfort and to spoil yourself, of course you do. You just need to realize other ways of rewarding yourself. Shut yourself up in the bathroom for a bubble bath with candles, pretty music, and expensive bath soaps. Window shop online for a super cute outfit that you might splurge on when you get to goal weight. Read a cheesy trashy but delightful romance novel. Write an email to a friend you've lost touch with.
Find something pleasurable and enjoyable that will keep you busy and make you feel like a million bucks. Of course, the best reward will be that satisfaction of knowing you stayed on plan.
Megan--> i LOVE this, what you wrote. I struggle with nighttime "emotional" (boredom? habit?) eating as well. Blow a whole day of perfectly on plan in the 30 minutes before bed. I will remember what you wrote, "why punish yourself with junky food you dont need, extra calories and guilt" something about the way you wrote that.... i dont know, it struck a chord, i guess.... Im copying it down and putting a sticky note of it opn my pantry and refridgerator door, if thats alright with you?
mkroyer, absolutely I have quite a few sticky notes of various 3FC quotes also, haha.
I'd love to say I lived by my mantras 100% of the time. Really, I'm speaking to myself just as much as everyone else when I write posts.
I have "rewarded/comforted/soothed/entertained" myself with food several times. I either obsess all day over that huge cheat I'm going to treat myself to later and how amazing it will be or I give in on a whim and just decide I deserve it. But what happens? It's NEVER as amazing as I think it's going to be, and then I just feel like poo afterwards.
I really have to force myself to think through the whole situation. We focus so much on the "yay, I'm going to eat a delicious ooey gooey huge piece of chocolate cake!" (or whatever it may be). But when we're at that critical moment of either resisting or giving in, we rarely stop and think "wait, if I eat this cake, what are the consequences." The thought of being up on the scale in the morning or eating light tomorrow or doing an extra hour of cardio might cross our minds, but I know I personally never think "Well, yea, I could eat this cake, but then I'll feel like a guilty mess if I do. Is it worth it?"
So then I eat the cake, and I feel terrible about myself. Guilty, gross, frustrated, mad, sometimes scared that I lost control. And I'm rarely satisfied, the cake is never as amazing as I think it'll be, but I usually still want to eat eat eat more anyways which never ends well.
So we really just have to make a conscious effort to think about the WHOLE situation before we make a decision. We could eat the cake and feel like poo or we could resist the cake and feel great about ourselves. So if we really think we deserve a reward or a treat, which one is the logical choice? Which one, in reality, is the punishment?
That said, I am all for setting up a plan in a way that's enjoyable for oneself. In my last post, I described how I save most of my calories for afternoon and evening snacking. That's the most enjoyable way of eating for me. Also, on occasion, you better believe that I save room for a planned and counted treat. Sometimes eating a big piece of chocolate cake IS on plan. And then I can eat it completely guilt free.
Some great suggestions in this thread! My favorite weapons in the arsenal against nighttime bingeing are:
~"Hydrotherapy" (bath or shower) - it's lovely to look forward to a tub after dinner, especially as the weather gets cooler.
~Doing my nails- the smell of the nail polish remover usually takes my mind off food for awhile, too, plus when I wake up with nice fingers I feel like I've won a little victory.
~Fun color journaling - I bougth myself some Sharpie markers and will scribble in a journal (write down the day's calorie intake, feelings, water consumption, etc.)
From personal experience, it takes awhile to break the habit of nighttime noshing, but if you can just tough it out the first few days, it gets easier.
Just vegetables will not keep your feeling full and satisfied. Protein is the #1 for satiety and that is followed by good fat. Even WW says you can't eat unlimited vegetables. If you have more than one serving of the same thing, the points start accumulating. Vegetables do have calories so even vegans can be overweight.
I didn't mention that there were four servings (large pieces) of beef in the soup. I mean it was vegetable soup, but it did have beef in it....
I totally think that it's a great idea to look at it as what is really the punishment and what is the reward. Like right now, I'm sitting here at 10:12 pm thinking about eating. I think it is just a habit. Like something I do every day and have done for years and years even when I was thinner so I keep doing it. It's going to be hard to break... but really, what is the reward of not doing it... I mean the reward of not doing it is so much greater than the reward of doing it....
I just poured myself a giant glass of ice water....
I'm the same way. Frankly, I'm too stressed during the day to eat much, so I consume most of my calories in the evening. So I anticipate dinner all evening, and then I spend too much time thinking about food.
Distractions are good. I also like my Wii Fit. Its not a super intense worker, but its better than snacking
I followed the advice of another 3FC member who suggested counting my calories from 6pm - 6pm.
This was sort of a godsend for me. It is totally psychological, but works wonderfully to keep my calories around 1500.
First, at 5:59pm, I get to feel the wonderful accomplishment of staying within my calorie allotment for the day.
Second, I literally cannot "blow my entire day" at night. Even If I eat 1000 cal., I still have 500 to hold me over until 6pm.
Third, I simply am much busier and have much more discipline before it starts getting dark. I seem to think more rationally. I also love the fuzzy, satisfied feeling before I sleep.
Before I started the 6pm - 6pm, I was barely making 1700 cal. a day. Now, I am hitting 1500 daily.
Of course you don't have to do this - but maybe you need to brainstorm and find a better way to fit your diet into your life. I would never rely on discipline alone because our discipline is slim to none at the end of the day.
Ugh! - emotional eating is the worst! Day, night, anytime!
I have to find ways to distract myself, but admittedly, that's harder to do at night, esp. nearing bedtime. Other times you can get up & go for a walk or call a friend or any number of things to do - but just before bed... not that many choices! Laying there... thinking about food... OMG, I just hate that.
The only thing that works for me during that time is sheer willpower, and seriously, I do NOT say that with tongue in cheek. IT'S HARD. But I have to FORCE myself to think of ANYTHING ELSE when I have those moments. Luckily, the longer I am on my weight loss journey, the less & less those moments seem to attack me.
I wish I had some mighty advice for you, but I don't. However , I'd like to suggest you read The Beck Diet Solution if you haven't already. It's not a "diet book"; it's more about using cognitive behavior techniques to help you combat things that make your diet (any diet) more plausible.
Emotional Eating at Night
I have quite a few sticky notes of various 3FC quotes also, haha.
