Night Eating Syndrome/Disorder -- anyone dealing with this?

hi guys!

exploring this with a therapist who works w/eating disorders.  this is in the new diagnostic manual used by mental health professionals, but that's really neither here nor there.  There are a variety of critaria and googling it will give you some good resrouces.

the part that really resonates for me is that you are taking in more than 25 per cent of your calories at night (as in after a healthy dinner), that you are eating if not hungry, eating carbs, and that you realize that you don't really need to eat and are unhappy about the pattern.

this is soooooo me!  i either have crap in my house and eat it or have nothing and become frantic, like, almost addict frantic about not having "anything to eat".  i do have food in the house, but it's not what i'm craving.  scary.

one suggestion that my nurse practitioner gave me quite a while ago is to plan in the calories to be eaten then instead of stressing about the eating.  the carb part is a problem.  i think you can be addicted to carbs.  i'm so scared to give them up.

and, kids, this is after close to 3 years!  welcome to the fun of mainenance!

I don't think I suffer from a late night disorder so to speak but on nights that I was staying up super late I would always want to eat waaaay more than my daily calories.  Dinner for me is around 6:30pm after I get off work at 5pm, pick up my kids, then get home.  On nights I would be up after midnight, I always wanted to eat & it's probably natural in a way since we are talking 6 hours since my last meal.  I'm convinced that this caused most of my regain earlier this year.  Now I try my darnest to get to bed at a decent hour; I have to anyway to function & not be a walking zombie at work.  It's actually a pain in the ass for me to make it a point to go to bed earlier since I'm a night owl but it does help me.  Do you have to go to bed late or are you just a late night person like me?

I have always been a night time eater - well, at least since my college days. After college I worked nights and that really set the pattern. So what I do is plan for a portion of my calories to be eaten after 4 pm each day. I drink a protein coffee for breakfast, have a morning snack and then lunch. I have a small meal around 4 or 5 and then dinner around 8 or 8:30. I know I will want something to eat in the late evening, so I make sure that I have something appropriate in the house at all times - sugar free jello, sugar free pudding, non fat no sugar yogurt, berries, etc..... I don't usually go to bed before 11:30 or 12:00, so I don't worry about the eating later in the evening. I honestly don't think it is so much when you eat, as to what you choose to eat.

Anne, I'm guessing the type of carbs you are craving are not low on glycemic load, right? I know that I tried some of Ron's cereal (and a healthy one at that - Kashi Go Lean crumble something or other) which must have a far higher load than my Fiber One and I will tell you that it set me to Jonesing for more carbs pretty darn quick. Try sticking to berries, low glycemic load, and sugar free types of things for those evening episodes. I think you will find that your cravings will eventually lessen if you stick to that pattern.

Ann,
I have the same issue that you are having.
Yes we can get and are addicted to bad Carbs.
You are not alone.

Thank you for posting this. Now I know I am mot crazy. I can eat on program all day but come night time I hunt for food. Carb addict is putting it mildly I wish someone would lock me in a room and push food under the door, lol.

This has been my issue all my life!  I already knew I had this disorder, just didn't know it was in any diagnostic manual or even acknowledged.

If I don't get enough calories earlier in the day, I am ravenous in the evening. I have learned to eat al title more earlier. And like Kari****ep appropriate snacks stocked for after dinner. One of my faves is Fage 0 with Splenda and blueberries. Really hits the spot!

Lynda

Hi,

One thing I did to help with evening eating is that I shifted my meal times later in the day so that I eat dinner at 8pm.  Then I go to bed at 10pm leaving little time for snacking.  I don't ever feel hungry in the morning, so this was a good solution for me.  I eat my first meal at 10-11AM,  my second meal at 3-4pm and dinner around 8pm. 

Also, I can relate to the carb addiction.  I have to keep my carbs under 20 g per day or I will be wearing a path to the refrigerator.  I avoid carbs as if my life depended on it.  - In fact, it does!

best wishes,

Carol