Good Morning!
So last night I went out to dinner with my sweetie, ate a pretty comfortable amount, loved what I had, all that good stuff. After dinner we ran a million errands, mostly for him: the mall, a sportswear store, the grocery store, Home Depot. When we were at the grocery store I told him to get me something chocolate while I filled up our water containers. When we found each other again he'd gotten me this thick, chocolaty spelt and walnut brownie from the bakery, something we couldn't give back but that scared me.
Scared of a brownie? Yes! It was so thick and rich looking, and I know there was real butter in there. On the drive home I was actually getting a bit hungry again because it had been hours since the sushi and, well, sushi, especially the veggie kind I eat, never holds me over for long. I planned to have a teeny bite of the brownie and maybe some dry cereal to stop my rumbling tummy. However, that's not what happened! I ended up eating the teeny bite, plus a couple of pretzels and a handful of cereal, but then I went back for more brownie. I ended up eating the whole thing!
This is what happens to me: I overeat and start worrying about gaining weight, beating myself up for eating late, try to come up with a plan so I never overeat at night again, and end up back on a diet. Obviously this is not an option right now. I was eating the brownie and about halfway through my body told me, "Eh, I've really had enough of this. It's rich and delicious, but it's beginning to be overkill" and my brain said, "eat, eat, finish it, don't let it go, it's delicious, you should just keep eating it." And my brain one.
So, I want to stop late night overeating without turning to dieting or restricting or some plan that limits the times I eat. I want to pay attention to my body's hunger and fullness signals all the time, including late at night, when I struggle with it the most. I'm not exactly sure what my plan is, at the moment, but I wanted to write about it.
In other news, happy Friday! I'm not working today and I plan on taking a nice walk, relaxing, maybe doing some very overdue cleaning, and I don't know what else. Tonight I'm going out to dinner again. I swear this isn't normal, but my parents had been planning on taking me and my boyfriend out tonight for the last week or two, so it just ended up that I'm going out a bunch of nights in a row. Should be fun, though!
How do you guys cope with late night eating?
Taste of North Garden Winemakers Dinner
11 hours ago
I've never been much of a late night eater, but if you do, make yourself wait between what you eat. Have a little snack and if you're still hungry ten minutes later, have another healthy little choice. Your body knows what it needs, so just judge by that. :D
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can ask your sweetie to help you by not buying yummylicious things for the moment until you have a better handle on the situation?
ReplyDeleteI also find that I want to snack at night if I haven't had a really filling dinner. And if I'm really hungry, I may make a smoothie because they are crazy filling and can be very very yummy. Not in the crunch, crunch way- but perhaps that's more of a mouth-hunger than a tummy hunger. This is what helps me. You'll find what works for you! Keep up the good work and don't get discouraged. There are ups and downs ALWAYS- don't beat yourself up! :-)
Perhaps you just need to allow yourself a chance, now and again, to eat what you want and as much of it as you want. If you're telling yourself you can't or you shouldn't then you just sometimes want it more.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay, too, to indulge now and again. So maybe just eat the brownie and not eat a bunch of other stuff trying to avoid it - because you really wanted to brownie in the first place but just didn't want to allow yourself to have it. So you end up eating more overall.
And maybe instead of thinking about being on or off a diet - you just think about health and balance. So you ate a little more one day, the next day you just have a little less. Not obsessive dieting or restricting, but just maybe eating healthier the next day, knowing you enjoyed your treat the night before.
I know eating at night is a tough habit to break. I just started reading the Beck Diet for Life book - which talks about night eating and how you need to prepare ahead of time. Get your mind in the right place and be prepared with distractions - stuff to keep you busy so you won't eat.
Good luck with it! :-)
This is something I relate to.This is why i don't ever keep anything yummy ooey gooey unless it's a planned eat that night. My fridge has sugar free ice pops and some frozen fruit. My bins might hold some protein powder or fiber 1 but nonoe of it is binge worthy.
ReplyDeleteSomeday soon i hope that I can keep anything I like in the house and have the balance and resolve to eat just a nibble here and there.
Just know you are far from alone!
B