Late night eating??

[dreamrawalwz]

Simple question, anyone know how to stop this!? It's a pattern for me. I'm never hungry when I do it, but I just do. I know this is keeping the weight off. I think once I get into a habbit of not eating after a certain time, maybe a week?, I'll be good.

What is the set time you have that you won't eat after "not even a grape," as Oprah says lol?

[blesshisname]

I try to stop as early as possible. But sometimes working doesn't permit that. Usually I eat before 8 PM.

[twinyoga]

I have no answer for this one. I like a bed time snack though I usually don't need it, too. I've tried every mind game possible. Most of the time I just allow room for a small snack. I hope you get good advice. But don't be hard on yourself.

[rawfigure]

Hmmm, as I read this at 10:04 PM I just ate my "dinner" had 1 Large Apple and a few nuts. I just got home from work and if I hadn't had that snack I would be under 1000 cals for the day. SO for me eating at night, late is normal. Last night I got back from a 3 mile run at 10:30 PM and since I ran in the AM too, it was a must to have an apple before bed, even though I wasn't hungry.

If you eating pattern is to have a late night snack and you are not gaining unwanted weight, then no big deal to eat after the traditional mealtimes.

[PATH301]

Hmmmmm...... good question. For me I'm usually just thirsty late at night so I 'll take a swig of some spring water or an orange or some grapes.

[dreamrawalwz]

I guess I should add that whenever I eat I binge. So they are usually large (i mean serving size) bowls of veggies (carrots, celery, tomato, pepper) or a bowl of fruit. It's the whole digestion issue I guess and metabolism if I eat this close to bed. It's for weight loss as well. I know that many people drop faster if they don't eat after a certain time, I have done it before, but I cna't seem to do it again. I'm especially worried about my digestion though because of internal issues that I've had all my life.

[blesshisname]

I guess I should add that whenever I eat I binge. So they are usually large (i mean serving size) bowls of veggies (carrots, celery, tomato, pepper) or a bowl of fruit. It's the whole digestion issue I guess and metabolism if I eat this close to bed. It's for weight loss as well. I know that many people drop faster if they don't eat after a certain time, I have done it before, but I cna't seem to do it again. I'm especially worried about my digestion though because of internal issues that I've had all my life.

Try upping your water intake after the time you stop eating. I also suggest eating a bigger meal, right before the time you stop eating. (Maybe eat a serving of fat with it). Listen to your body. Take it one night at a time.

[Im2Fruity]

Give yourself a little credit: there are much worse things to binge on than fruits or veggies!!

But, since of course it isn't good for your body and you do want to stop here are a couple of suggestions:

Ask yourself why you're eating...

are you bored? ....find something *anything* else to do to keep busy
lonely?.... call friends, chat online, go for a walk, go to a bookstore
anxious? ...ask yourself why, do some yoga and deep breathing, listen to music and enjoy some art
just want something to taste? sip some tea or lemon water, or even once in a while *gasp* chew a stick of sugarfree gum...it may not be raw but it might save you from binging which to me is the better deal

If those aren't the case, and maybe you're body is hungry for some nutrient you didn't get during the day...if so, either as someone else suggested, eat a larger meal at the end of the day, or split up the meal in half and eat the other half later on, so you don't feel deprived.

Once you get into the good habit, reward yourself!! :D

Good luck!!!

[wyjoz]

Here is a simple rule: at sunrise Seratonin is our main body control. It digests our food and keeps us going. At sunset our eye sends a signal that it's time for Seratonin to retire and Melatonin takes over. It cleans, it regenerates it processes everything that Seratonin did not do and prepares the body for elimination. HOWEVER. Melatonin does not have anything to do with 'digestion' so when we eat after Seratonin goes away it interferes with the nightly processes and some functions do not get done because it has to wait for Seratoin to sort of come on call basis and do 'digestion' and then Melatonin is running behind and sometimes some of it's duties do not get done. At sunrise the Melotonin is signaled to retire and Seratonin is called to perform it's daily tasks. Seratonin does not come in and do any of the Melatonin's functions that were left undone. It's not made that way. I made this very very simple as there are names for all the functions each performs. You can search: Functions of Seratonin and Functions or Purpose of Melatonin. This is amazing.

We should not have any undigested food in our body at sunset. And here is a color chart access as to how it works. Hope this helps. http://www.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2005/september/chekchart1.jpg
write down Seratonin in the day area and Melatonin in the night area.

[rawfigure]

We should not have any undigested food in our body at sunset. And here is a color chart access as to how it works. Hope this helps. http://www.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2005/september/chekchart1.jpg
write down Seratonin in the day area and Melatonin in the night area.

Interesting graph ...but I wonder if due to different schedules if that changes somewhat. After all my activity curve accelerates at sundown, my curve starts later and lasts much longer !!!!!!!!!

[juliebove]

I almost always have a snack before bed. I'm up late, so I usually have it around 11:00. It is a planned snack. I have diabetes so I need to have this to prevent my liver from dumping glucose before I awake. I do not keep eating after dinner because I know I will have this snack later. If I feel the need to eat, I look at the clock and tell myself that I will be eating soon. If I am really super hungry and just can't stand it, I'll have a few nuts, seeds or coconut and some celery or lettuce. But this rarely happens. Tonight I chewed on a few fresh mint leaves. I love the flavor and there are not enough calories in it to matter.

Another thing I do is have a drink with me at all times. I am one of those people who tends to have an oral fixation. I love to talk. And after smoking for 27 years, I know that I have the need to put something in my mouth. If there's a big bottle of water sitting next to me, that's what I drink. I also take a bath before bed and tend to drink another big bottle of water then. I must have a very good bladder because I rarely ever have to get up at night to go.

[rawpriestess]

Well, this may or may not be a good thing, but I don't limit my food at all.


I figure staying raw is what it's about, not depriving myself of anything, especially if I am eating because I am tired or stressed, I feel it better to eat raw during that time, instead of sacrafice my desires, then break later, and binge on cooked food.

so, for me, I eat what I want, when I want as long as it is raw, I figure eating raw is the best thing that I can do for myself.

[Lucinda]

I think that you should find something that will take your mind off food at those times when you are binging.

You have realized that you binge at night, so could you maybe do something else at night?

I used to have this problem, but it was simply a matter of braking a pattern/habbit. I now go to yoga classes most nights, when I come home, I don't feel hungry or the need to binge, so I don't eat.

I also stopped watching tv. I noticed that it was when I was sitting in front of the tv that I wanted to eat/binge.

:)

[dreamrawalwz]

Here is a simple rule: at sunrise Seratonin is our main body control. It digests our food and keeps us going. At sunset our eye sends a signal that it's time for Seratonin to retire and Melatonin takes over. It cleans, it regenerates it processes everything that Seratonin did not do and prepares the body for elimination. HOWEVER. Melatonin does not have anything to do with 'digestion' so when we eat after Seratonin goes away it interferes with the nightly processes and some functions do not get done because it has to wait for Seratoin to sort of come on call basis and do 'digestion' and then Melatonin is running behind and sometimes some of it's duties do not get done. At sunrise the Melotonin is signaled to retire and Seratonin is called to perform it's daily tasks. Seratonin does not come in and do any of the Melatonin's functions that were left undone. It's not made that way. I made this very very simple as there are names for all the functions each performs. You can search: Functions of Seratonin and Functions or Purpose of Melatonin. This is amazing.

We should not have any undigested food in our body at sunset. And here is a color chart access as to how it works. Hope this helps. http://www.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2005/september/chekchart1.jpg
write down Seratonin in the day area and Melatonin in the night area.

That's very good information, thanks! I wonder if this has something to do with my pituitary gladn and hypothalmus...they're underdeveloped since I was a primi (sp?). I used to have a lot of trouble with ainsomnia as well and I know those two chemicals deal with it.

To everyone else thanks for commenting. I'm going to resist that urge to binge at night, no matter HOW hard it is. It'll feel like I want that fix, but I just have to get past it.

[rawfigure]

dreamraw....if the late night eating is an issue for you then by all means give it a try ...not eating at night. It may be a challenge for the first 20 days but once you do it you may learn from it and then as time passes find value in having a small snack at night.

I did find that making a raw recipe at night (to keep for the next day) was something I could not do. I would eat to much of it before I got it into the fridge or freezer ! So my challenge was not to raw-bake at night.

Funny, if I made a desert in the daytime no problem with that, something about doing it at night casued me to over indulge. If I have an sweeter apple at night I can eat just one !

Best wishes

[Eveleaf]

Eating at night used to be a huge problem for me. In fact, at times I would even take food to bed with me! I think this was mostly because my moods and energy fell sharply after about 7pm and eating food (junk mostly) was the only way my body knew to combat that horrible feeling.

On raw, however, I find this is almost a non-issue. I do try to stay away from food after my dinner salad, because if I don't I get bloated and feel like crap the next morning. It's not about deprivation for me anymore - I just like the way my body feels in the morning when I eat very lightly at night.

So my #1 tactic would be, if you want to stop eating after a certain time, is get outside! Even if you're just wandering around the lawn in your bare feet, breathing deeply and enjoying nature. The fresh air and natural goodness of the outdoors raises my energy levels and mood so much that the craving for food completely disappears. I feel so happy and at peace and I don't want to eat at all!

Good luck with this!
Cheers :D

[Sunshine9]

OH my dear dreamrawalwz!!! I can TOTALLY relate. Eating late has been a big challenge for me. There are a number of things i've done that have really helped.

--First just imagining waking up bloated, groggy, and constipated is a huge turn off.
--If i'm still reaching for something, I make a huge green juice, and that almost always satiates me. I think that overeating is usually your body calling for minerals, so the green juice is satisfying.
--At first, I would also make a large meal to eat in order to be done at 7:00, and would intentionally make MORE than I wanted. After finishing exactly what I had served myself, I would clean up and then leave. Ideally leaving the house until 10 or 11 pm (go see a friend, or I would even just go to a bookstore to read/work), or even just turning off the kitchen light and going to another part of the house. A cup of peppermint tea and a lot of water can help too.
--in order to not feel deprived, if I am truly feeling famished and the greens juice, tea, and water aren't cutting it, I might make a green smoothie or nut milk and that always handles it.
--deep breathing while you eat, and eliminating triggers. my big one was ANY dried fruit.

feel free to email me if you need support. this has been a big one for me, and I haven't eaten late in a really long time now.

love and light!!!
~*~sunshine~*~

[wyjoz]

As RP stated we should not limit ourselves from food. But food gets digested and stored during day hours. At night the food does not get digested only utilized via blood from stored sources.

This is such a 'balanced' and 'precice' function. And without making it a long story. (just learned this in my Depression Class) ***Im not depressed*** Yeah! that the sleep that we get before midnight is the most important and beneficial sleep that we need. Anything after midnight is essential but not as important. here is a quote:::: The Purpose for Sleep

There are two primary modes of operation for our bodies.
Activity and Regeneration.

Sleep is when we regenerate.

Insufficient deep sleep may be the primary cause of
degenerative disease, which is premature or rapid aging.

Sleep is a key component to having your own personal
Fountain of Youth. http://www.radicalhealth.com/issues/2004-03-19:deepsleep_1.html read the rest of the article, he has a few more on sleep. good ones I must say.

So snack @ 11 p.m. is really more damaging than we think and not helping our body, our 'sugar' 'insulin' levels or 'diabetes' controls. It's recommended to be in bed 9:30 or 10 the latest and get up @ sunrise. Do 10 mins of sunrise 'gazing' and have good life. Deep breathing!!!!!! One hour per day a must; 3 breaths per minute, yah, I tried! it's a strange feeling but I got it on about the 6th try. Usually 6 breaths per minute is o.k. that will help our blood get oxygenated and help with so many medical conditions.

The Book (the 2nd best) I'v read on Depression is "DEPRESSION the WAY OUT by Neil Nedley, M.D. you can find it by search by his name. The other book is Toxic Psychiatry WOW! and the book that really 'cured' me of depression in the past, present, and future is A Few Buttons Missing

Talk about fine lines of us being "fearfully and wonderfully made"
Dr. Bisci, Tonya Zavasta, David Favor, David Wolfe, I think Gabriel Causens does also(but don't hold me to it) etc do not eat anything after 2-4 p.m. *****yes I said 2-4 p.m.***** It's not that difficult to stop eating at night, especially since we'r RAW conscious and want the best for our health/well being. You body might 'rebell' for about 2 days but then it will get better. Take a hot/warm bath, do a facial, get a relaxing book to read, go to bed early and your body will THANK YOU for it and reward you with GOOD HEALTH Joz
p.s. it's Serotonin not Seratonin I did not spell check.

[jamesdixon222]

I had similar experience with this behavior. I accepted the over eating because I had just gone raw and was still losing weight. I would get up in the middle of the night and eat a banana or apple. I would eat upon first waking and eat all day long. I let it happen, I was listening to my body and for some reason I wanted to eat. In my mind my struggle at that time was to stay raw at all cost, so I continued to eat at will.

Then one day and I remember the day I ate a few pieces of fruit and was not hungry, the desire to eat had subsided. I learned to listen to my internal instinct.
I no longer listen to external clues about eating as a result of this experience. Most of us eat by the clock, 12 is lunch, dinner at 5. The clock becomes an external clue, like Pavlov's Dog. We all have a innate intelligence, that when listened to knows a lot more than we can think...literally

[juliebove]

As RP stated we should not limit ourselves from food. But food gets digested and stored during day hours. At night the food does not get digested only utilized via blood from stored sources.

This is such a 'balanced' and 'precice' function. And without making it a long story. (just learned this in my Depression Class) ***Im not depressed*** Yeah! that the sleep that we get before midnight is the most important and beneficial sleep that we need. Anything after midnight is essential but not as important. here is a quote:::: The Purpose for Sleep

There are two primary modes of operation for our bodies.
Activity and Regeneration.

Sleep is when we regenerate.

Insufficient deep sleep may be the primary cause of
degenerative disease, which is premature or rapid aging.

Sleep is a key component to having your own personal
Fountain of Youth. http://www.radicalhealth.com/issues/2004-03-19:deepsleep_1.html read the rest of the article, he has a few more on sleep. good ones I must say.

So snack @ 11 p.m. is really more damaging than we think and not helping our body, our 'sugar' 'insulin' levels or 'diabetes' controls. It's recommended to be in bed 9:30 or 10 the latest and get up @ sunrise. Do 10 mins of sunrise 'gazing' and have good life. Deep breathing!!!!!! One hour per day a must; 3 breaths per minute, yah, I tried! it's a strange feeling but I got it on about the 6th try. Usually 6 breaths per minute is o.k. that will help our blood get oxygenated and help with so many medical conditions.

The Book (the 2nd best) I'v read on Depression is "DEPRESSION the WAY OUT by Neil Nedley, M.D. you can find it by search by his name. The other book is Toxic Psychiatry WOW! and the book that really 'cured' me of depression in the past, present, and future is A Few Buttons Missing

Talk about fine lines of us being "fearfully and wonderfully made"
Dr. Bisci, Tonya Zavasta, David Favor, David Wolfe, I think Gabriel Causens does also(but don't hold me to it) etc do not eat anything after 2-4 p.m. *****yes I said 2-4 p.m.***** It's not that difficult to stop eating at night, especially since we'r RAW conscious and want the best for our health/well being. You body might 'rebell' for about 2 days but then it will get better. Take a hot/warm bath, do a facial, get a relaxing book to read, go to bed early and your body will THANK YOU for it and reward you with GOOD HEALTH Joz
p.s. it's Serotonin not Seratonin I did not spell check.

In bed at 9:30 or 10:00? This is just not natural for me. Even as an infant I could not fall asleep before 10:00. I've always been a night owl. And the snack is not to do with insulin levels. It has to do with dawn phenomenon. Everyone goes through it, but it's not a problem for non-diabetics. I personally don't care what other people say is ideal. I know what works for me, and we're all different.

[DrBulldog]

From what I've heard from various sources is that eating after 7, if you must do it (which I do), you should only eat fruit and only ONE kind of fruit. So, if you are hungry and want to eat, eat grapes, but only grapes for after 7. The next night if you are hungry again and want an apple, eat only apples. The only fruit you can't eat are bananas because they are too heavy.

The reason for this is that it's easier on the digestive system to only have to process one type of food overnight. First thing in the morning, drink water because you've been exhaling it from your body all night. (Breathe on a mirror and notice the fogging? That's moisture and you do it all night long so you lose a lot of water.) Don't have your first thing to eat until 9 am but drink plenty of water before that.

Most of this is from a seminar I attended end of May, thought I'd chime in with it. Hope this helps!

John

[scott]

This whole discussion, I believe, is way off track. All of these ideas are taken from the SAD "lifestyle" and food obsessions. This is exactly what Miss Cohen is trying to get us away from. She would tell us to eat 100% raw EVERY day, not even 99.9% and yes there is a huge difference with that .01%.
Miss Cohen is trying to teach us that by being 100% raw, we can finally, finally understand all of those signals that our body is trying to convey to us and we can only understand these after a long time being 100% raw. There is no other way period. Then we can free ourselves from ALL of the SAD obsessions and everything else that encompasses the SAD. We need to understand the feedback our bodies are sending us. 100% raw - very simple. Just do that. Exercise, rest, meditation, discipline, hard work and most of all BALANCE, FUN, and FREEDOM. Please it's getting too complicated.

You all have wonderful posts - I truly enjoy all of your ideas and comments.
Keep them coming.

Thanks.
Scott

[rawfigure]

This whole discussion, I believe, is way off track. All of these ideas are taken from the SAD "lifestyle" and food obsessions. This is exactly what Miss Cohen is trying to get us away from. She would tell us to eat 100% raw EVERY day, not even 99.9% and yes there is a huge difference with that .01%.
Miss Cohen is trying to teach us that by being 100% raw, we can finally, finally understand all of those signals that our body is trying to convey to us and we can only understand these after a long time being 100% raw. There is no other way period. Then we can free ourselves from ALL of the SAD obsessions and everything else that encompasses the SAD. We need to understand the feedback our bodies are sending us. 100% raw - very simple. Just do that. Exercise, rest, meditation, discipline, hard work and most of all BALANCE, FUN, and FREEDOM. Please it's getting too complicated.

You all have wonderful posts - I truly enjoy all of your ideas and comments.
Keep them coming.

Thanks.
Scott

Well said Scott

[dreamrawalwz]

This whole discussion, I believe, is way off track. All of these ideas are taken from the SAD "lifestyle" and food obsessions. This is exactly what Miss Cohen is trying to get us away from. She would tell us to eat 100% raw EVERY day, not even 99.9% and yes there is a huge difference with that .01%.
Miss Cohen is trying to teach us that by being 100% raw, we can finally, finally understand all of those signals that our body is trying to convey to us and we can only understand these after a long time being 100% raw. There is no other way period. Then we can free ourselves from ALL of the SAD obsessions and everything else that encompasses the SAD. We need to understand the feedback our bodies are sending us. 100% raw - very simple. Just do that. Exercise, rest, meditation, discipline, hard work and most of all BALANCE, FUN, and FREEDOM. Please it's getting too complicated.

You all have wonderful posts - I truly enjoy all of your ideas and comments.
Keep them coming.

Thanks.
Scott

I know it could be considered a SAD way of eating, but I'm referring to emotional binging at night. I don't have any cues or hunger for it...only to calm my nervs and I know that's not a healthy act. It's also a medical reason I have to stop this so it's not just the SAD thinking...I don't want to get into detail of that reason, but there's a basis behind it. I undersatnd waht you mean though and I agree, but just not in my case.

[scott]

Everyone's posts here have valid points and I'm neither agreeing nor disagreeing with any of them. Maybe there is or isn't the "right time" to stop eating, I haven't a clue. My point is that only by eating 100% raw, will we release ourselves from all of the SAD baggage, garbage, emotions and obsessions and learn to let ourselves know what and when and how much nutrition our bodies truly are craving. Some people may truly have nutritional reasons and needs for their "late night binges". That's in quotes, because for some people it may truly be nutritionally valid for their late night binging. Just that term brings to my mind a SAD emotion and obsession. We are trying to untie any emotional attachments to food through all of our years on SAD and free ourselves from that and only 100% raw will accomplish that goal.
We want to have total freedom.
Dreamrawalwz,
You have fantastic posts and raise some thoughtful issues, and I really appreciate you candor. You have your own individual reasons for your "binges" and I'm just concerned with all of us being able to free ourselves from all of the emotions we have inherent in our food issues, so that we can be totally free and to be able to know when we need to eat and when we need to stop eating also.

Thanks,
Scott

[codajess]

Yeah, it's tough. I work 2nd or 3rd shift. The earliest I wake up is 12:30 pm.

[Brianna]

I guess I should add that whenever I eat I binge. So they are usually large (i mean serving size) bowls of veggies (carrots, celery, tomato, pepper) or a bowl of fruit. It's the whole digestion issue I guess and metabolism if I eat this close to bed. It's for weight loss as well. I know that many people drop faster if they don't eat after a certain time, I have done it before, but I cna't seem to do it again. I'm especially worried about my digestion though because of internal issues that I've had all my life.
I used to do the same thing at night. I would eat tons of nuts or nut butter and dried fruit or whatever I could find to eat in the house! It left me feeling terrible and gaining weight like crazy! What really helps me is a nice large glass of lemon water sweetened with stevia so it tastes like lemonade. That's my night time treat and I absolutely don't allow myself to eat after dinner. The first few nights are the hardest, but once you get out of the habit it's easy. You won't even think about it anymore.