No doubt many of us can put our hand up and say we’ve reached for the Tim Tam’s, chocolate or a bowl of cereal or toast after a delicious fulfilling dinner. But have you ever given it 5 seconds thought as to why you do it? A study of 1700 cases on binge eating out of the University of Michigan suggests that in less than 5% of all occurrences, the cause of binge eating is actually hunger. The remainder, yep you guessed it; emotional triggers.

As such, this post is designed to first explore how we can better understand this concept and then, secondly, set ourselves up to create roadblocks which restrict our desire to unnecessarily eat late at night. As a general rule, and for the purpose of this article, I am referencing food consumption later than 8pm as late night binge eating. The guidelines and tools we will explore aren’t rocket science nor are they going to be sustainable if not worked on regularly but, having said that, they will change the relationship you have with food at night. Guaranteed.

So why is it important to restrict caloric intake after 8pm?

1. When food is consumed at night, we exponentially increase the likelihood of food being converted to carbohydrates and fat to be stored rather than being utilised as a source of fuel. Your body is preparing itself for a period of rest and repair. The influx of calories isn’t necessary for your body’s overnight functioning.
2. Increased caloric intake shifts your body’s internal processes to digestion rather then rest and repair. The significantly impacts your sleep and circadian rhythms which will limit your body’s ability to commence melatonin production (our sleep hormone) and move efficiently into deep sleep and REM sleep phase.
3. Roll on effect. Ever notice when you have a late meal that you wake up feeling heavy? Lethargy, heavy eyes, drowsiness and a struggle to bound out of bed? This is otherwise known as postprandial somnolence. The cause is a shift in blood flow to the digestive system rather than to the brain. The roll-on effect is a restricted decision-making ability and has been shown to impact creativity and motivation in the morning following.

So now we know its not good for us and the ramifications it has, how am I going to stop it?

Don’t expect to go from zero to hero overnight. If you eat half a block of chocolate after dinner every night followed by an ice-cream, you can’t remove that completely starting tomorrow. After all; something like sugar is more addictive than heroin. Equally important is the fact that you have created this as habit. The European Journal of Social Psychology suggests that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. So you need to give yourself the ‘adaption time’ to ensure the sought change is not only delivered but, most importantly; sustained.

So here are the 8 key steps which will point you in the right direction to cutting the habit;

1. Identify the cause: What is the true cause? Restricted daytime food intake? Is it just habit? Is it boredom? On the other hand, the phenomenon “night-time eating syndrome” where people tend to graze throughout the evening and wake up during the night to eat is real! This cohort tend can consume more than 25% of their daily calories at night.
2. Identify the trigger: Are their patterns or events that set off eating behaviour? More commonly than not, we use food for a reason that isn’t hunger and is directly tied to our emotions and mindset. We need to work out what this is and understand the triggers to find a way around it or to soften its impact.
3. Ask yourself if it’s worth it. Say it out loud and in the mirror. This simple technique will blow your mind. The answer 95% of the time will an overwhelming no. I find myself using this technique nearly once a week. My hard work at the gym, my clean dieting and intermittent fasting is important to me and I’m not willing to just to let a solid day’s work go over one late night binge
4. Establish a “Food and mood” journal. Keep a note pad in the kitchen. For two weeks, don’t try and change anything, simply observe. When you eat after 8pm, clearly identify why and make a note of it. After a fortnight, you will quickly identify trends and cycles of behaviour in which we can determine the key triggers of why you reach for the pantry late at night. Stop using food for emotional reasons. Easier said than done right? I get it. Consider this; food only helps you feel good for so long. Sometimes I know that I’m overeating whilst I’m doing it because I’m trying to stuff down my emotions. If there’s something bothering me, I can always tell since I seem to have an uncontrollable desire to eat more. Identifying the reasoning behind your eating habits will help you along your journey.
5. Shake Up Your Routine. Most people are amazing at having a sharp morning routine, commonly because we are on the clock and need to be at work by a certain time. Things need to operate like clockwork. But, for more than 60% of us, we tend to lose all routine when it comes to the evening. Work can sometimes stretch out to 6pm meaning you don’t get home until nearly 7pm, dinner is thrown together at the last minute with a lack of time to prepare, a bit of tv afterwards, probably a few more emails attended to and some more work (or mindless social media scrolling) means that bedtime can be any time between 10pm and midnight. We all have routines – for almost every part of our day. Creating more definition in your evening routine can help break the habit of eating at night. For example, if you’ve developed the habit of eating while working on your laptop at the kitchen table, move to your office. Or if TV is the cue to begin snacking, consider whether it’s essential to watch TV at night. Maybe you could go for a walk instead? Routine and habit eliminates variance. Structure your eating and sleeping times so that you don’t give your mind the opportunity to even explore the possibility of eating after 8pm
6. De-Stress. Anxiety and stress are the two most common reasons why people eat when they aren’t hungry. However, using food to curb your emotions is a bad idea. A 2018 study out of the University of Arizona has shown that relaxation techniques can help manage eating disorders including binge eating. Techniques you may find useful include breathing exercises, meditation, hot baths, yoga, gentle exercise or stretching.
7. Don’t Keep Junk Food in the House. As I write this, I can identify 4 varieties of junk food in my pantry at home right now! If you are prone to craving high-fat, high-sugar junk food at night (like me), remove it from your house. If unhealthy snacks aren’t within reach, you are 78% less likely to source them and then eat them. Instead, fill your house with food that is still tasty but a little more healthy, including; fruits, berries, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese. These are filling macronutrients and probably won’t cause you to overeat in the event that you do end up becoming ravenously hungry in the evening and search for something in the fridge.
8. Distract Yourself. If you are preoccupied with thoughts of food because you’re bored, then find something else you enjoy doing in the evening. Is it sport? Is it hitting the gym? Is it reading a book? Or watching a movie? Or maybe you can be planning your next holiday? Just find other stimuli apart from consuming food to keep your mind occupied. If all else fails, try brushing your teeth! There’s no research or study that backs this in – and believe me I’ve tried to find some – but it seems to completely eliminate appetite.

The bottom line on binge night eating is that it’s more than likely to be caused by an emotional trigger, an unnecessary habit or nothing more than boredom. Identify what the catalyst is for you, change up your routine and, after 66 days, hopefully you can enjoy a new evening routine which doesn’t include food, is non-detrimental to your health and has you leaping out of bed the next morning 🙂

Live the life you love.