NOCTURNAL MUNCHIES

Amy Steppe

Amy Steppe

Cathlete
I have a serious case of nighttime munchies.

I am trying my best to control my pre bed snacking.

Any tips on how to survive these wretched cravings?

I am not really hungry; I think I am eating out of habit.

I feel so guilty the day after a munchie attack!

Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and eat and don't remember what I ate until I see the mess the next morning!

God, that makes me sound like some stoner from the 70s who is smoking weed.

Seriously, I have a hard time with my nighttime munchies and there has GOT to be a way to control myself.
 
Sorry...I don't have a solution..just wanted to say I understand! Typically, I eat really well all day long..lots of veggies, protein, some fruit. Then when I get home, it sometimes feels like constant eating from 6-9. It's amazing what kind of damage I can do in even one hour! In three short hours, I end up consuming at least 1/3 of my daily calories. Am I hungry? No..so you are not alone!

I think that I am going to begin using my Crest Whitestrips. This should help keep me from snacking, even if only for 30minutes. I'm also going to work on always keeping a glass of water next to me and drinking that whenever I want to nibble.

Some people brush their teeth, but that hasn't worked very well for me. I just brush them again ;-)

Anyway, I do understand your guilt--I'm right there with you.

Lisa
 
Amy, I have never experienced that but as I was reading....I was thinking man if I woke up and saw a mess I would FREAK! I am kind of a neat freak! LOL. I know this doesn't answer your question. Just thought I'd share! ;-)
LD
 
Kind of a weird question, but are you taking Ambien? I know that there have been cases where people who take it get up and eat in the middle of the night and don't remember the next day.
 
Oh wow. That's a bit extreme. I don't really get the munchies. Even when I was a stoner (in the 90's not the 70's), I wouldn't get them THAT bad.

I did have an episode while on Ambien, where I let the dog out in the middle of the night and thought I had let her back in. But when I woke up hours later, she was locked out on the front porch. That was a bit weird.

Hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, but maybe you should talk to your doctor?
 
try spacing your cals throughout the day so there is room for some type of snack before bed. this is what i do. it really helps
 
This is something that happens sometimes with anorexics. Its the body/mind response to being deprived. It's like a survival mechanism for the body. Are you eating enough during the day, or have you begun a vicious cycle of depriving yourself during the day to make up for the night before? Sounds like you also need to do some kind of behavior modification to change the habit...try some different things...but aim for some type of night time ritual that can replace this. Good luck! It's no fun to be punishing yourself all the time...think of what you would say if it was your best friend and not yourself. :)
 
I get the same way at night. I have been trying to stop eating by 7:30 pm and find this really hard sometimes. I use to tipically eat a snack right before bed and I was finding it was adding way to many unnecessary calories to my diet. If I feel asleep on the couch and woke up to get to bed I would normally head to the kitchen like a zombie wanting to feed and anybody trying to stop me is going to get it.

I find what works for me is drinking water, lemon tea, low calorie hot chocolate, veggies, or just go to bed early. If you hold out on the munchies just think how good Breakfast is going to be the next morning!
 
>Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and eat and
>don't remember what I ate until I see the mess the next
>morning!
>

Are you on an antidepressant?
There were news stories about one (can't remember which one) that actually caused 'sleep eating': people would get up in the middle of the night, snack out or even prepare entire meals, and not remember it in the morning.
If this is the case, it's not a question of fauly will power, but of a 'side effect' of medication.
 
I am not one bit offended about your advice to see my doctor.

My psychiatrist and I have been through all sorts of chemical cocktails for 10 years now in search of helping alleviate my major depressive disorder.

I have no intention of turning my depression into a topic of discussion at Cathe's forum. There are forums for depression all over the place.

That said, I do take Ambien and I am not good about going straight to bed after ingesting the pill.

No, Stupid Me has to stay up and read or watch a DVD, which is when I get the munchies.

I have never been a drug or alcohol abuser, ever.

I watched both kill my parents, so I rebelled by becoming a health and fitness fanatic.

I do know that Ambien is one heck of a hypnotic and I need to follow my own advice.

Take the pill, turn off the lights, and go to sleep!

Ambien is a safe drug, but is not for anyone who does not have sense enough to go straight to sleep -- meaning ME!

Cheers!

Amy
 
Hi Shelly!

No, your question is right on!

I take 10 mg of Ambien each night plus 200 mg of Seroquel.

Ambien CR is not one bit better than the regular Ambien.

The regular Ambien is now generic, so the pharmaceutical company that makes Ambien made the CR formula so they could continue to milk the public of their "improved" product.

My doctor told me that almost all his patients saw no difference between Ambien and Ambien CR.

He said he thought the few who felt the Ambien CR was better was due to the placebo effect.

The drug is good and quite safe, but not without its little munchie side effect!
 
I do that and I think that is the only reason I have not become an Orca.

I space my calories.....if I did not, I'd look like Shamu!
 
I have at times been really good about not snacking and it was because I took my Ambien and when I did think about food, remembering how great breakfast would be the next morning.

I never skip breakfast -- it's my favorite meal of the day!
 
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