Affiliate Disclaimer
Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we find useful to our readersHow often do you wake up in the middle of the night with a growling stomach and an urge to eat something unhealthy? Happens quite a lot, doesn’t it? If that is something you have been having complaints about, it is important you know the ways to stop binge eating at night.
While many might think there’s nothing wrong with this, the later light snacking is one habit that definitely does have impacts on one’s health over time. It is thus important that you do adhere to stricter means to keep things in check.
By the end of this article, you will have an overall idea of the ways to stop night eating habit and know why it isn’t the best for your health.
Is Eating Late At Night Bad For You?
Studies (R) show that people who tend to eat more during the night are more prone towards eating carbs and that too the simple carbs which not just affects their health but tends to have impacts on their sleeping cycles too.
It is thus very important to ensure that you do take the time out to assess your choices and know why it is not just eating but does have impacts on your overall health and that too, for the worse.
If you have been suffering through the binge eating, it is best suggested to ensure that you do keep your priorities in check. If you want to keep your health in check, it is very important to ensure that you do the needful.
Eating late at night not just impacts your weight but can also end up causing issues for your overall well being as well which is why it is important to keep this at bay.
If you feel like it’s tough for you to let go off of this habit, scroll down to read through the ways to stop binge eating at night.
How to Stop Eating Late At Night?
In order for you to fight back through this syndrome, it is very important that you do adhere to effective ways of overcoming it. Finding the ways that work for you isn’t going to be the easiest as there is nothing standard about the situation.
This is the primary reason why we are here to share some of the easy hacks that can bring this habit of yours in control.
You can’t necessarily end up losing this habit in a matter of day which is why it is important that you keep doing so on a regular basis till you do end up achieving the results in the end.
Check Out These Ways To Stop Binge Eating At Night.
1. Identify the Cause Behind It
As we did mention before, nothing about this condition does have a standard routine to it which is why it is important to ensure that you keep an eye out on what is causing you to eat more.
It could be a habit or even happen because of the restricted daytime eating which makes you feel hungry at night.
If you have been suffering from this condition quite consistently, it is best suggested to ensure that you do keep certain things in mind. Knowing the cause helps you target the trigger.
Experts also suggest that the condition can also occur because of some eating disorders like binge eating disorder or night time eating syndrome (R) (R).
Additionally, people who have been stressed or suffering from an obstacle through their life tends to further suffer from this condition all the more. This is why it is important to keep an eye out on the habits and the causes to be able to help stop eating late in the evening.
2. Eat Properly During the Day
If you are finding yourself binge eating through the day, it is quite possible that you aren’t eating well through the day. This is what you need to change to help in preventing the dangers of eating late at night.
When you are preparing your meals for the day, make sure that you do the needful to ensuring that they are satisfying meals that won’t make you feel hungry at night. It goes without saying that the correlation between the satisfaction with the meal with eating a balanced meal plays a very crucial role in handling the signs and symptoms associated with the condition of binge eating at night.
Stop restricting yourself to eat a full meal during the day because of diet or any other circumstances. This ends up imposing negative impacts in making you eat late at night which is not good for one’s health.
3. Know the Difference
Often times, even when we know eating late at night is bad for health, we tend to end up doing just the same. There is a difference between emotional eating and the prospects of actually being hungry and eating.
It has been found that people who tend to eat during late at night tend to mistake their urge of eating as physical hunger and thus stuffing their face with the food that’s available. It is always best suggested to ensure that you be cautious and actually understand what the difference between the two is before jumping into stuffing your face with food at night.
If you are emotionally eating, chances are that you are going to crave unhealthy and carb filled food to keep you satisfied and satiated at the same time.
This is the reason why it is important that you keep the possible differences in mind and hence move forth with the consumption of food accordingly.
4. Consume More Protein and Fiber
If you tend to have issues with your habit of binge eating at night, it is possibly because you aren’t eating well throughout the day.
The best way to keep that in check is to ensure that you load up on the protein (R) (R) and the fiber (R) (R) with the meals during the day. If you have been struggling to find better ways to keep your problem of eating in check, it is time that you assess the kind of meals you are consuming.
If you want to prevent the effect of eating late at night, it is important that you do keep your eating habits in check. Proteins and fiber has been found to make you full quicker and even keep you satiated for a longer period of time.
The best way to stop binge eating at night is to make changes to your meal and include more protein and fiber to the same to keep your health in check.
5. Eat a Nutritious and Heavy Dinner
It doesn’t matter what kind of situation you are in, if you want to keep your satiety in control, it is important to ensure that you do eat a healthy and hearty dinner without fail.
It is important that you do lookout for what you are consuming though. Don’t go overboard with the food but ensure that you eat till you are completely satiated. This ensures to prevent you from eating later at night.
As we did mention before, the combination of protein and fiber has been found to have beneficial impacts in handling the problems of you waking up with a growling stomach at night.
6. Keep an Eye out on the Hormones
There are a number of hormones in the body responsible for managing the symptoms associated with the condition of satiety and hunger – insulin, peptide YY, ghrelin being the pivotal ones. If the levels of the same in the body are mismatched, chances are that the same does end up affecting your issues with the dangers of eating late at night.
If you have been looking around for ways to correct that, it is important that you get your hormone levels checked out without fail.
There could be a number of factors resulting in the imbalance in the hormonal levels in the body which is why it is important to ensure that you do look out for the signs along the way.
Consumption of high-calorie foods and a sedentary lifestyle can often end up being the problem for this condition in the long run.
If possible, get the hormonal levels of these specifically mentioned hormones checked out by the doctor to keep your doubts cleared.
7. Stop With the Restriction
If you have been suddenly restricting yourself when it comes to food because you want to lose weight or even for any other reason, it is important that you do make changes to the same.
It is completely futile if you make drastic changes to your routines and diets because the same will end up affecting your overall well being. Our body is programmed to function in a certain way and if you make abrupt changes without easing the body into it, chances are that you are going to experience the repercussions of the same.
Instead of depriving yourself off of the foods that you have cut out from your diet, it is best suggested to ensure that you do indulge in healthier switches in your life. It is best suggested to do that instead of pulling them out of your diet completely.
8. Identify the Triggers
If you are awake late at night watching food videos, chances are that you will feel hungry even when you aren’t physically hungry.
These are one of a kind trigger that you need to keep account of. Apart from knowing about the causes, it is also best suggested to ensure that you do know what the triggers of the situation are.
It could be anything from a sudden craving for a type of food to watching such recipe videos at a stretch at night. It all comes down to the kind of habit that you are indulging yourself in.
It is important to keep track of your eating habits and such because the same has been found to have beneficial impacts on your health.
It is also often suggested to keep track of your mood and the kind of cravings you are subjecting yourself to by opting to write everything down (R) on a diary.
9. Focus on Eating a Healthy Breakfast
Breakfast is possibly the most important meal of the day. If you have been struggling to keep things in check, it is possible because of the lack of proper breakfast. Instead of running through with your diet plans, focus on eating a hearty breakfast without fail.
Eating a healthy breakfast has been found to have beneficial impacts in setting things in place for the rest of the day.
Don’t just eat a piece of toast and call it breakfast because that is typically not the case at all. It is important that you do consume a balanced meal – in terms of nutrition and even the kind of satiety that you need to keep you charged through the day.
Stick to eggs, granola, oats, and similar healthy breakfast ideas which are rich in protein and fiber and keep you packed through the day.
10. Get Optimal Sleep
Lack of ability to fall asleep has also been found to have negative impacts on one’s health, especially when it comes to the prospects of binge eating at night or the night time eating syndrome.
Studies have found that lack of sleep has been associated with the altered functions of glucose metabolism which further impacts the degree of sleep that you get through the day.
The lack of proper glucose metabolism has been found to have impacts in the satiety and hunger related hormones in the body, thus causing you to eat more during the day.
Our minds tend to have the habit of confusing the tiredness with hunger, especially during the nights which is why it is important to keep a close eye on the signals.
If you are lacking sleep, chances are that you will crave unhealthy carbs during the night to make up for the same. This definitely does end up contributing to the dangers of eating late at night.
11. Eat the Dessert Later
There is nothing wrong with having a treat after dinner. It has been found to have amazing impacts in helping with the proper sleep as well.
But, if you want to stop binge eating at night, it is important that you eat your dessert an hour or two after you are done with the main meal.
This helps in letting your dinner settle down and even maintain the optimal space required for the dessert that you are about to consume all the more.
When you eat the dessert just before bed or half an hour or so before bed, chances are that your cravings won’t creep in at night.
12. Plan your Meals
It isn’t the most exciting thing around but if you know what is causing you to eat more or contributing to the night time eating syndrome, chances are that you will understand the importance behind the prospect of meal planning.
Take out a journal and find the kind of meals that you can eat throughout the entire week. This might not seem like a lot but can definitely help you keep an eye out on the amount of calories and nutrients you are consuming through the day.
Don’t jump into everything and instead, it is best suggested to ensure that you keep your options open. Don’t rush into the process and ensure to keep your prospects in check.
13. Keep your Hydration in Check
It is not a myth that we do mistake our thirst for hunger at times. Having proper hydration also ensures to keep your health in check too which is definitely something you can’t necessarily skip out on.
When you consume optimal levels of water, the same has been associated with the reduced rate of calorie intake, especially during the night.
Listen to the instincts your body is subjected to. Drink water whenever you feel thirsty and prevent it from making you feel like you are just hungry when in reality, you are just thirsty.
14. Seek Professional Support
If you are suffering from binge eating disorder or even the nighttime eating disorder, chances are that you might end up needing professional help to overcome the condition effectively.
Getting the necessary amount of help ensures to help you manage the triggers and the problems associated with the condition.
Cognitive behavioural therapy is possibly one of the most common forms of therapy that you can opt for.
Having the necessary emotional support surrounding helps in faster and better recovery of the condition all the more.
15. Manage Your Stress
Stress is often one of the primary reasons that can make you binge eat. The best way to keep the same in check is to ensure that you keep your stress in check as well.
Relaxing yourself can help in keeping the signs of the night time eating syndrome in check that you didn’t even know of.
Breathing exercises, meditation and other forms of relaxing techniques have been found to have amazing impacts on your health.
Dangers of Eating Late At Night
If you have been trying to stop binge eating at night but have not been getting the motivation for the same, it is important that you do know of the dangers of binge eating late at night.
It is important that you know about some of the repercussions of the condition that are very likely to come along to your health.
Some of the side effects of late-night eating include:
1. Weight gain
One of the most common dangers of eating late at night is the fact that it contributes to weight gain at an unprecedented rate. If you have been trying to shed off the excess pounds, it is important that you do keep an eye out on the amount of binge eating you are doing at night.
Owing to the fact that you are more prone to eating unhealthy foods during the night, it is always best suggested to ensure that you keep a check on this condition.
2. Lack of sleep
If you have been waking up at night with hunger pangs and cravings of eating something unhealthy, chances are that you will feel like your sleep cycles are all messed up.
It is important to ensure that you do keep an eye out on the binge eating habits that you have been having.
3. Hormonal Imbalance
Yet another one of the problems with eating late at night is bad for health mainly because of the fact that it can very well induce hormonal disbalance in the body.
Given that you are eating an unprecedented amount of food in an uncontrolled amount of time, it is most likely that the same can be because of the imbibed hormonal disbalance in the body.
Given that binge eating at night can end up inducing obesity and the risks of diabetes, it is best suggested to keep these side effects in mind and prevent the same from getting out of hand.
These are some of the best ways to stop binge eating at night. It is best suggested to ensure that you do keep an eye out on your habit and find better alternatives to your habit. It is important that you do tend to this condition before it gets out of hand.
In this Article