How to avoid over-eating at night

[Rosie29]

Hi,

I have to lose weight. I eat breakfast and don't snack at all in the morning and eat lunch. Then I work in the afternoons into the evening. I am busy at work, might have some fruit, a sandwich whilst there.

However as soon as I get home I eat pretty much another helping of lunch and snack. Of course I then go to bed stuffed.

I have decided I have to change from today, it is definitely more psychological than real hunger. Yes, I am hungry but a cup of tea and a piece of toast should be enough but I watch tv to relax and seem to stuff myself.

Can anyone help on what to eat so late (I get home at 10.30). I plan to tell dh to put all leftovers in the fridge and have some herbal tea ready for when I get in.

Thanks

What do you eat for breakfast and lunch? At what times do you eat?

Breakfast is usually homemade muesli, toast and marmite, porridge etc at 8 and lunch, chicken, tuna salad, lentil soup, pasta either sauce at 1 ish before I go to work at 2.

What are you eating for your evening meal? What time do you get home? a piece of toast and a cup of tea really isn't sufficient for an evening meal.

You should probably eat lesser at night and have a nice silent sleep with restful sleep. You should probably sleep early than you do now. Also along with the diet, you should also try exercising to lose weight. Eating light at night with early sleep and early rise would potential give you a boost to reduce weight.Leafy Vegetables are good for your health and you should try it at night. Also avoid pasta for lunch Pasta andcheesy stuff as these things are the ones that make you fat at a faster rate. Avoid spaghetti as all these yummy food items are responsible for increasing the amount of calories in your body. Just go through this article for thing to do for losing weight www.medstorerx.com/weight-management/top-13-quick-ways-to-lose-weight.aspx and follow them if you really want to loose weight.

Try and eat fruit and a big salad at night, if you need something carby try low calorie crackers such as Fiinn Crisp (20 cal each) or rice cakes (31 cal each). If you want something warm as a comfort meal try Miso soup - the real kind (not just dry dust). I like Kikkoman Instant Tofu Miso Soup (35 cal a bowl) - have all of this: Miso Soup, big salald (as much as you want of fresh salad) fruit and crackers and it still works out low cal.

Maybe you need to try and eat something around 5 to 6ish because are you really not eating from 2 to 10:30? That could be most of the problem the third meal is much too late and making you get crazy cravings. Eating a big meal that late will wreck your weight-loss goals.

It's hard when work shifts mess up a normal eating pattern. It's true that eating lots at 10.30 won't be helping your weight loss.

Can you take/get a similar meal to your lunch for the time when you would normally eat sandwich/crisps at work? A tuna or chicken salad sounds great (make sure you dress it with good olive oil based dressing). Lentil soup also good, maybe with a side salad, perhaps avocado and tomato? The protein and fat will give you a longer spell of energy and satisfaction at work than a sandwich and crisps. Also - this is quite important, can you get a 20 minute proper break to sit and eat it quietly? I think part of the issue may be that by grabbing a sandwich etc on the run you don't feel like you've had a proper meal so still maybe feel like you should/deserve to eat when you get home? Focussing properly on a that meal at work may help. Then, when you do get home, have a small snack or 'dessert' prepared. Something like one or two boiled eggs, perhaps with some smoked salmon, or some full fat Greek yoghurt with berries and raw nuts, some sliced apple with nut butter spread on it. All much better than random stuffing or a slice of toast . Again, sit, relax and eat before you switch on the tv, enjoy it.

Wonderful help, thank you!

Last night I had some salads and a Cup of tea when I got in. Rice cakes and low cal crackers are on shopping list.

I will definitely sit down when I get in to eat rather than munching in front of the TV. It is not possible to have a break longer than a few minutes in my job unfortunately.

Today I made a big batch of muesli with oats, bran, dried fruit and dome almonds. I had it for breakfast. Lunch is bean stew with salad. Fortunately I love raw veggies and salad.

I have started couch two five, plan earlier nights, especially on non work days.

Off to check your link CarsonH

I have thought about doing 5:2 too. I think I will cut down the night food first and then see. Perhaps I should also buy some weighing scales and see how much I weigh too!

My "method" at the moment is to just try and eat healthily during the day (I am avoiding pasta, bread, potatoes etc and hardly any dairy - barely any meat) with the occasional days when I will try and drastically cut calories, so I suppose it's a DIY version of 5:2. I find I am most hungry early in the morning and late morning - as I wake up at 5:45 with DH and get up around 6:30 I generally am very hungry after the school run around 8:15. So I have a big breakfast without fail, it sets me up for the day and I can feel a bit "naughty" by eating loads of food and enjoying it! I then have quite an early lunch 11:30-12:30 I think the early rising makes me hungry earlier. I then seem to be able to withstand lighter meals later in the day.

I am not a food Nazi, I let myself eat something I really want and balance it out later. But I am avoiding all extra fats (no butter on bread etc.) and with hardly any dairy and not bulking out on carbs I keep losing. I am down to 142.5 and lost another lb in the last couple of days! If I crave some toast I eat it - I just try and have it earlier in the day.

I get bored putting info into MFP about food but I do like to still enter weight loss as it's motivating for me. I felt I ate a lot yesterday and would just be happy to maintain and not gain but I still lost! I had a luverly snack about 5pm while I was cooking a veggie soup for the family for dinner.

Wasa Rosemary cracker with two slices of thin chicken plus mustard and rocket salad. Sooooo yummy. I had about three, no idea what the calories were as I consumed about 6 slices of chicken but they were GOOOODDD!

I'm really not into depriving myself. I am actually very happy to see how little I miss big steaming bowls of pasta and my tum has shrunk dramatically, my jeans are starting to get loose. The first few days of changing my eating habits about a month ago were the hardest, I had been eating A LOT of food and my body felt sorry for itself the first few days and it did feel difficult to begin with but it's actaully easier now as I feel better and definitely not as bloated, tired and clumpy.

Oh and I do still have plenty of carbs (porridge, special K, slice of whole bread with soup etc.) just not overloading just enough so I don't have cravings. I usually have them earlier in the day too.

Protein I get from beans and veg mostly and a few meat substitutes. I do like to have one or two boiled eggs in the morning. I would suggest boiled eggs are another good option for your packed meal at 6pm at work. Easy to eat and give you a protein boost at work. Eat as much fruit as you want, blueberries, raspberries, banana, apples etc. and the same with veg if they are not too carby. I love to roast parsnips and carrot slices and eat them like chips in the evening soo tasty! Don't go hungry, eat plenty but stay away from stuff that bulks you up without much nutrition.

I believe the largest issue is this diet mentality. The more you restrict and keep on dieting, the body will experience cravings which will start the compulsive binge eating.
I had been a binge eater for more than ten years and that i finally completely recovered and dropped a few pounds.

Do you have a proper meal in the evening, op, or do you just fill up on toast and other snacks?