How to Stop Overeating at Night
Are you struggling with mindless snacking, overeating, or binge eating happening at night time? It’s as if you finally get to wind down from your busy day, get a moment to yourself, and just automatically reach for the food. Maybe you’re left wondering “Why do we overeat at night?” And probably more importantly why you’re here reading this article is to learn how to stop overeating at night.
You’ve probably been there before. It’s the end of a long day, you click the TV on, grab a full bag of chips or box of cookies from the cupboard and plop down on the couch. “Ahhh” the sweet sweet relaxation of this. Which can be totally fine sometimes! But then next thing you know the whole bag or box is empty, you overdid it, and you feel stuffed and guilty…
Before we get into the how-to, we first have to explore and understand why we overeat at night time. I’ll be the first to let you know that there are so many folks that struggle with overeating at night, my past self included. So if you’re struggling with this right now, please know you’re not alone.
Why Do We Overeat at Night?
There could be many reasons behind why we overeat at night time. To help give you some clarity, I want to share with you the main reasons I see overeating happening for my clients. Of course, this is a non-exhaustive list. Overeating and binge eating are very complex, multi-facted things. So, please keep in mind that there could be other things going on for you that are not listed here.
Not eating enough during the day
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – If you’re not eating enough throughout the day, your body is going to drive you to eat more. Your body needs adequate energy and nutrients to be able to support you and your body best. Your body is smarter than you think it is. It can lead you to “overeating” at night if it feels as though it didn’t get enough during the day. Which can be very frustrating.
There’s also a pendulum or rebound effect that happens with hunger and fullness. What I mean by this is that if you allow yourself to get to a place of being overly hungry, it’s much easier to “swing” into being overly full. This is because of the biological drive of hunger, and also the fact that it’s much more difficult to actually be mindful when you’re super hungry.
Stress and emotional eating
Food can easily become a coping mechanism to soothe our negative emotions. Stress eating is a very common one in our world today because of our constant go-go-go nature of society. There are also other emotions that can be a culprit for overeating at night time like boredom, loneliness, frustration, sadness, anxiety, and more. The thing about emotional eating is that it’s like a bandaid solution. It makes you feel a little better for a brief moment, but isn’t necessarily helpful in the long run.
A way to relax and soothe
A very common reason for overeating and feeling out of control around food at nighttime is using food as a way to relax. It was a long day doing whatever your life is filled with – working, commuting, taking care of kiddos, maintaining relationships, supporting your friends, working on your own selfcare, taking care of all the responsibilities, you name it. There’s a lot that we do and are responsible for on a daily basis. And that can be overwhelming. Food can become a source of relaxation.
Food rules and guilt
Having many food rules or food guilt can also drive overeating. When we place certain foods “off limits” it interestingly makes us want them even more. This is where things go sideways with trying to use willpower as a form of stopping yourself from feeling out of control with food. There’s a psychological component of wanting what you can’t have even more. It’s as if those foods become magnetic because we’re “not supposed” to have them. (Spoiler alert: you can enjoy all foods without guilt, more on this below!)
Tips to Stop Overeating at Night
Now, let’s dive into what to do about this and learn how to stop overeating at night!
Eat consistently and enough during the day
Eating consistently and enough during the day is a great (and necessary) first step to overcoming the night time binge eating or overeating. You need to properly nourish your body to stop driving that primal hunger that kicks in! Get started with:
- Learning to honour your hunger throughout the entire day to prevent hangry ravenous eating later on.
- Viewing eating consistently throughout the day as an act of self care for your body.
- No longer skipping meals. Yes, breakfast is important!
Get in tune with your emotions
As we chatted about above, emotional eating including stress eating can be a big driver of overeating at night. So, to combat this one, ask yourself some questions:
- What do your emotions feel like?
- Can you pause and ask yourself what emotions you might be feeling before automatically reaching for the food?
Getting in tune allows you to cope with emotions with kindess instead of automatically reaching for food to soothe or shove them down.
Make peace with all foods
The concept here is that making peace with all foods allows you to feel more in-control of your decisions around those foods. Rather than continuing to place them off-limits and feeling out of control around them. This stops the “forbidden fruit syndrome” from happening.
- Make a list of all the foods that you place “off limits” or feel guilty about eating.
- Slowly (going slow is key) work your way through the list and give yourself unconditional permission to eat each of those foods.
This process is scary at first, I know. This is why it can be super beneficial to get the support of a professional, like an intuitive eating dietitian, to help guide you through this process when it feels overwhelming.
Practice mindful eating habits
Mindful eating is something that you can do tonight. Here’s some thing to think about as you’re using mindful eating to stop overeating at night:
- Take a deep breath before having your snack/food.
- Plate your food instead of eating out of the bag or container. (NOTE: This is not meant to be a limit, but just to help with mindfulness. Know that you absolutely can get more if you want it!)
- Check in with yourself throughout eating. Maybe this looks like pausing the TV for a brief moment mid-eating to check in with how you’re feeling.
Final Thoughts from an Intuitive Eating Dietitian
Overeating at night is a very common struggle. If you’re experiencing this, you’re absolutely not alone and you deserve to find more peace and freedom with food.
There is also a specific type of eating disorder that is not frequently discussed called Night Eating Syndrome or NES. This has many similarities to Binge Eating Disorder, but is not exactly the same.
Regardless of whatever classification of disordered eating or eating disorder you may have, or not, you deserve support and freedom with food. Never give up on your recovery and pursuit of living a life without the stress and shame surrounding food. You got this!
Remember: this article is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
Take the Free Why Do I Binge Eating Quiz
If you want to take this journey to food freedom a step further – I created a free Why Do I Binge Eat Quiz that you can take right now. And it only takes a couple of minutes to get your results! This free quiz will allow you to figure out what’s keeping you stuck in the binge cycle and holding you back from food freedom the most at this time. You’ll get a personalized action step that you can do today. So you can get a little bit closer to food freedom!
Jenn is a non-diet Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor that helps women overcome binge eating, overeating, and emotional eating so that they can embody their version of food freedom. Jenn is dedicated to helping guide her clients and community to leave all of the “shoulds” of diet culture in the past and find confidence in their own inner wisdom to guide their eating decisions, increase their self-worth, and embody their most authentic selves.
References
Carnell S, Grillot C, Ungredda T, Ellis S, Mehta N, Holst J, Geliebter A. Morning and afternoon appetite and gut hormone responses to meal and stress challenges in obese individuals with and without binge eating disorder. Int J Obes (Lond). 2018 Apr;42(4):841-849. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2017.307.
Kaur J, Dang AB, Gan J, An Z, Krug I. Night Eating Syndrome in Patients With Obesity and Binge Eating Disorder: A Systematic Review. Front Psychol. 2022 Jan 5;12:766827. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.766827.
Lavery ME, Frum-Vassallo D. An Updated Review of Night Eating Syndrome: An Under-Represented Eating Disorder. Curr Obes Rep. 2022 Dec;11(4):395-404. doi: 10.1007/s13679-022-00487-9.
