Alright y'all. I'm going absolutely insane. I need major help for real.

Every day is the same thing. I do wonderfully throughout the whole day and come come about...10pm or so I just start pigging out like there's no tomorrow. I've done alot to try to reverse it. Like writing up all my food ahead of time, going to the gym at night, but no matter what I seem to justify eating a ton at night time.

I'm just very discouraged. After losing the first 40 lbs I've been at 207 since May, and it's starting to drive me crazy. I've been at this weight so long that I don't even feel good about myself anymore.

Any tips would be sooooooo helpful.

Hi Allie,

It sounds like you may not be getting enough food during the day. This happened to me when my metabolism kicked up a notch about 20 lbs into my weight loss. I told my trainer that I was suddenly sooooooo hungry all the time even though I was eating basically the same amounts of cals/fats/carbs that I had been eating for months. I was really bummed out because I started waking up in the middle of the night and eating because I was just starving! I thought I was slipping down the road to failure. But my trainer said that my body had reached a new metabolism level and that I needed to start eating more to feed my new muscles. I had also become more thirsty all the time, I started sweating quicker (and more) on the elliptical, and my digestive system seemed to be working faster and more efficiently -- that's the most polite way I can think of to say "I was going to the bathroom much more frequently." My trainer says these are all signs of a quicker metabolism. Remember, if you're adding new muscles, they need to eat! Fat doesn't need fuel, but muscles do -- all day, everyday.

I know how frustrated you feel...eating in the middle of the night was a bad habit I had when I was heavy, and when I started doing it again I was convinced it was over and that I'd seriously blown it! Hang in there, though, because if your night hunger is about your metabolism, that's a VERY good thing! You'll just need to re-evaluate your eating plan and add more protein, etc. I eat just about every 2 hours (healthy snacks, etc.) each day, and if I didn't, I'd be up all night munching.

Good luck!

Allie -

Are you getting enough sleep? I've noticed that I want to eat eat eat at night when I'm very, very tired and that it's time for me to *go to bed* when I start craving more than I allow myself for a late night snack.

I am a night time over eater myself and the only way I can keep from eating too much at night is to just stop eating all together 2-3 hours before I go to bed. For me, one cracker turned into a box of crackers and so not eating that first one helped me a lot. At 10pm I just stop eating. If I have to I'll go in my room and shut the door or take a bath, anything to stay out of the kitchen.

It sounds hard, but once I got into the cycle of doing it and eating at regular hours I started to feel a lot better. I hated waking up with a belly full of bad foods trying to motivate myself throughout the rest of the day.

I also remind myself that food is fuel for my body, not stress-relief and not entertainment. My body doesn`t need extra fuel before bed because our metabolism really slows down when we sleep.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the tips...this is such a frustrating problem. But ya know...weight loss is 99.999999999999999999% mental. haha, at least for me.

Vacation is officially over in 12 days and then it's back to my routine. hopefully that will help.

LovesBassets -- thanks so much for all the advice. I'm on LA Weightloss though and the more weight I lose the more food they take away from me. so...I don't know whether eating more will work. But I completely see your point and it's worth trying

mnemosyne -- I never get enough sleep. I think maybe another part of the problem is I'm also addicted to TV...so I stay up when I should be sleeping. A better sleeping schedule will do wonders I'm sure

WastedThermos -- yup. a kitchen closing time, brilliant! Which would be way easier if I had roomates that were in the same situation I'm in. 'cept they're gorgeous and eat whenever they want...and do! Anyway, when I move, in a couple weeks, I think it'll be better...I may have to invest in some steel bars to keep me out!

I know you said that you have tried planning all of your food in advance. Are you including a late night snack in your plan? I find it helps to save 100-200 calories for just that purpose. I know the general consensus is that you shouldn't eat within three hours of bedtime but it has never inhibited my weight loss.

Planning that snack worked for me I think because it is only after we get the kids to bed that I really get to sit down and enjoy whatever it is that I'm eating. Something about getting to have a quiet time to really savor something helps me stay on course for the long haul. And, depending on how many calories I have to spare, it doesn't have to be food necessarily. Sometimes it is as simple as a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate. Also, I found that planning for a late night snack sort of took the desire for one away. I don't know why. Maybe early on it was the mental block of feeling like I COULDN'T have a snack even though I wanted one. So, once I started allowing for one I found I needed them less often. I usually only have one a couple of times a week now.

LovesBassets - I wondered about the digestive system working overtime! I've just started weight training and it's really speeded things up! NICE! I guess it's all good then!

Allie, maybe try a distraction like knitting or needlework or something when you get home. or paint your nails, who can eat chips with stinky nail polish on?!!

There are times when I take to snacking. One is when in front of the computer. So I started keeping things like apples, raisins, and sugar free gum by the computer. If I'm gonna snack, I'm gonna snack on something that's not going to take my weight up.

So if you still feel a need to snack even if you try various other ways of stopping it, change what it is you snack on at least.

For some reason a glass of V-8 juice (with extra lemon and hot sauce) will stop most cravings for me.

also, you might try some muscle-relaxing stretches before the urge hits....and you'll sleep deeper. less tension, more control...

this is a challange for me too.. I will do so good all day and I'll wake up in the middle of the night just starving!! Or... about 10 or 11 I'll start wanting to snack..
I try to keep a bowl of cut up fruit on the top shelf of the fridge.. sometimes a bite or two of watermelon or a couple of strawberries will do it. If I'm really, really starving a teaspoon of peanut butter..licked off the spoon really slow.. will usually get me in check..
I've been trying to drink a glass of water and go back to bed.. but that is a tough time for me too..

You said you exercise in the evening. Do you eat after exercise? A lot of people think that if you eat after exercise you'll be undoing what you just accomplished. I eat about 1/2 hour after I exercise. I plan my day to do that.

You SHOULD eat after you exercise. First, within the first half hour after, with something carbohydrate, and then follow up with something protein-y. The carbohydrate is utilized the very best right after a workout. Your body needs it then. It restores glycogen to the liver, your insulin cycle will utilize it without the nasty craves that can happen, and you will find this helps a lot with later craving. The protein works to build muscle and slows down whatever craving for carb remains.

If you are exercising and then getting hungry, this is what is kicking it off. Your body NEEDS to eat after a good workout.


If exercise isn't the trigger when you are getting food craves, load up on protein at dinner, and cut the carb foods and keep the food available and easy to get to healthy choices like yogurt, salmon, green veggies and bad food choices out of sight or out of the house.

Review your diet and make sure you are eating enough to begin with. Your body may be signaling that it isn't getting enough during the day.

Like someone said you might not be eating enough during the day, or at least not enough protien. Pick a few high protien foods to add to your meals, it fills you up more and satisfies your body better.

But it could also be a habitual thing. When I was living with my ex boyfriend he would come home from work and eat supper (at 10-11pm) and so I would eat. I got into this habit and just wanted to eat. I also tend to eat when I am bored while watching tv. Lately I haven't been watching tv as much so therefore I haven't snacked as much. I spend more time on the computer. I find it hard to snack while my hands are busy.