I have a problem since… Don’t know, it’s like since a decade. It is night eating or night snacking “syndrom”
Almost every night, when I am waking up,
I am standing up to have a snack or a bit more!
Sometimes it’s a piece of dark chocolate, some almonds or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, sometimes it’s a bit more, like leftovers or eating some (or whole) prepared go-to meals for the next day.
It’s not like really being hungry, or having cravings… It’s like totally programmed reaction when waking up. Mostly it is around 1 or 3 am.
Something in my mouth is calming me down somehow… Feeling safer, that’s what I identified until now.
I tried several things, like signs on kitchen entry, locking doors with a key, sugar free bonbons, teeth brushing, writing down my feelings…
Okay tried these things more or less constantly!
I would really like to let go this habbit…!
It’s not good for general weight management, health and resting time for my body… I want to keep my not eating times long… To give my body time to heal.
I am mostly eating enough and healthy during the day… 3 meals and having at least 5 hour break.
Does any one of you struggle with similar problems…?
Or even found a way to manage it?
Or not struggling but having an idea?
Hello! You aren’t alone in this. My husband is a night eater. I don’t know the answer but if you find it let me know. He is a very clean person in general but after a rough night of snacking I find peanut butter or cheese crumbles everywhere!
I try not to judge him so I would never judge you for it. Some theories I’ve found in my internet searches: restricting calories during your day, anxiety, sleep disturbances like apnea.
I never really had a problem waking up and eating. But I would wake up and slam a beer or two in the middle of the night which I know most likely had to do with anxiety. You ever tried taking some kind of sleep aid like melatonin to help keep you asleep?
Ha! Here I thought I was a weirdo for persistent night eating. It’s been going on for years.
I eat a lot during the day and I’m super attentive to my nutrition. So it’s not because I’m hungry etc. It’s always fatty stuff for me – peanuts, walnuts, etc, even though I get a lot of healthy fats in the daytime. I had to stop buying peanut butter years ago because I’d crush the whole jar in the night.
It sounds silly, but it works: after dinner, I take the foods I know I will go for, put them in a grocery bag, and put it in the trunk of my car for the night. I don’t keep snacks around in general, but I use nuts etc in my cooking quite a bit and that’s usually what I’m after - in the trunk they go.
Night eating used to be really bad for me when i was on certain medications. When i stopped them, it also stopped. Thought id mention that in case that could be a reason for it
Your body and mind are used to metabolizing sugar at this time since your body turns alcohol into a form of sugar. Your body is craving these calories because it has learned for years that it’s job is to metabolize these at night.
Thank you Joe…
I have a melatonin spray, doesn’t make a huge difference. Is there a spray for oxytocine too?
I will try keeping the room real dark and some new routines when waking up…
Like writing down what I am really feeling in that moment and what it needs, to identify it better. Will write an update here in a week
Haha… You know what I am dealing with!
I even had a bucket with cold water where I put the key of the bedroom into, after locking the door to get a shock when I am putting my hand in it… It had a touch of a escape room game
I also crave on high fat stuff… Also don’t have stupid unhealthy snacks at home…
Maybe i will try your trick with the trunk if I prepared a go to meal for work (which is very often the victim of my “nighty sleep walking eating” - other side.
So relieving to know others struggle with this a lot during pre and post-sobriety honestly! I could’ve written this myself lol
Despite my best intentions, i struggle a lot with this one thing in particular. It’s sort of filling that ‘i need a substance to relax’ part of my mind i think, from end I’ve learned with my therapist and nutritionist. It’s a real battle getting the resolution and the strength at the same time, and keeping it up. It can be done though!
Clearly we’re not alone on the struggle bus here. I’ve made visual reminders on my fridge, put a sort of “do not cross or you’ll binge” tape/ strap thing on the doorway up to the kitchen. There’s a lot of other good suggestions here for sure.
I’ve heard these cravings, like most, last about 15-20 minutes at peak, which feels like forever sometimes, but maybe try to distract with songs/a video/etc. while waiting it out?
This…is one of those silly things that also sounds brilliant honestly lol. I’m gonna steal this idea and see if it helps. I’m the same way, I just can’t even if it’s in the house. I will find it and i will kill it lol.
Not my op thread but thanks for the good idea!
Also oh lord the peanut butter… it’s just a crime, especially the Crunchy, that’s the one lol!
There have been 2 times where I’ve gotten dressed and gone out to my car in the middle of the night to grab a few handfuls of peanuts, lol. But overall the success rate has been great since I started doing it a year ago or so.
Yup! The crunchy, natural PB was killing me.
I use PB2 now. Harder to “abuse” (lol) but I have still eaten spoonfuls of the powder in the night - sometimes inhaling some of it by mistake - so that goes in the trunk, too.
If they ever find peanut butter in my lungs in the autopsy, ya’ll know what happened to me.
Ive a big problem with night eating. Ive managed to calm it down the last couple of months as ive been training alot and trying to get in shape. Unfortunately i smoke alot of cigarettes aswell which i kinda substituted the food for but one thing at a time right?! Ive been told by other people to substitute eating with other things like training e.g doing pushups when you think of eating whwn you dont need too. Hope thos was abit helpful
If I wake, not too often anymore (fortunately), I will grab a cluster of grapes & that’s all. I slowly eat about 15 quietly on the couch in the dark. Then, back to bed. Harmless I feel.
Oh, good to hear there’s peanut butter in Europe. Was a little worried as it was never on the shelves in Asia when I was living there. Sleep well!
Hi Smitty,
Hi All of you sober people…
Thanks so much for sharing!
Yes we have peanut butter in Europe
In regular supermarkets, Asian stores or biological stores or in the internet of cause. I just ordered a biological one, it’s pure peanuts and its a f*cking 1l glass
Good training!
I love a tablespoon in my porridge, protein shake or making asian peanut butter sauce for chicken, tofu, or highly recommended - Broccoli!
Let’s open a peanut butter thread?
The grape routine sounds good.
I am already not eating that much at night,
as I did in earlier times… Maybe it’s also a way to have a healthy snack ready. But I would rather like to snack nothing… To have a longer fasting slot for my body.
Will get back here later…
And maybe write a summary of all the ideas until here!
