Why Do I Keep Overeating At Night?

Do you ever feel like you’re so “good” throughout the day, exercising, logging your food, and doing all the things you “should”, then night rolls around and you eat half the pantry? Now you feel like you messed up all your hard work in just a short amount of time? You feel extremely lost, think you have an addiction to food, or no self control. You’re not alone. Here are a few reasons why you may be overeating at night.

REASON YOU MAY BE OVEREATING AT NIGHT

You’re not prioritizing eating during the day. Life happens and you get busy. It is so easy to ignore the first signs of hunger and finish your to do list first. Or you feel like you don’t have enough time to eat and just have to shovel down a quick snack before your next appointment. When you do finally sit down to eat, you “remember” how hungry you actually are and start to eat to make up for the earlier part of the day.

Not feeling satisfied with what you did eat. You know all those “healthy” substitutes you keep telling yourself you like better than the food you’re actually craving? They may be fueling your overeating. When you leave cravings unanswered, you may find yourself continually looking for food, even if you’re already full.

You have a long list of food rules. Do you have a good food/bad food list? A clean and unclean food list? Or a no-no list of food your not allowed to eat? These list can lead to feelings of scarcity or guilt.

You’re physically restricting food. You may be consciously trying to eat less food to help you “control” your intake. Whether it be a calorie recorded deficit, thinking you need to eat less in order to lose weight, or you feel like you have to earn what you eat, restriction is the leading cause of binge eating. When you keep your body in a constant need for food and not fully satisfy your hunger, your body will continuously beg for more food. By the end of the day, your body has been asking for so long, you end up eating all the food you craved during the day.

You’re mentally restricting food. Ok, let’s say you’re not restricting food consciously, you may still be mentally restricting food. Mental restriction can look like you craving a pop-tart, but believing “I shouldn’t eat that, I’ll just put it away and not think about”. But what’s the only thing you can think about all day? That damn pop-tart! So you finally cave in and grab the pop-tart, but now you’re already being “bad” so you grab another couple snacks and end up eating more than your body finds comfortable.

All or nothing mentality. You “treat” yourself to some of your favorite foods but then feel like you messed up your whole day of eating. Then you think you already blew it so you might as well eat everything you want today and start over tomorrow. You end up overeating and feeling guilty, causing you to restrict, which only keeps you going in this cycle.

You’re ignoring hunger cues. All those tricks you learned growing up to “curb your hunger” (like taking a big drink of water instead of eating when you get the urge or chewing gum nonstop to give your mouth something to do) are actually teaching you to not listen to your body. Your body sends hunger cues for a reason! It needs food to function. You do a lot, give your body what it needs to help carry you throughout the day.

WHAT DO I DO NOW?

Now you know what may be leading to your overeating, you can start taking steps to listening to your body and creating a better relationship with food. For additional pointers check out our blog post on 4 Tips to Stop Binge Eating.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

It doesn’t have to be this way! You don’t have to feel guilty simply for eating food you like. You don’t have to be obsessed with food or think you’re only healthy if you eat a certain way. You are so much more than what you eat!

If you’re looking for some more info on binge eating, learn more and find a therapist or dietitian that can give you the extra support you need here.

Ready to take the leap? Book a call with a therapist or dietitian here.