How to Stop Eating Compulsively, Especially at Night

If you’re like me and struggle with compulsive overeating, you probably put food in your mouth other than three times a day.

But if you ever want to stop and get control of your problem, you need to learn the freedom of abstaining from compulsive overeating—especially between meals and after dinner.

It’s easier than done, I know. But if you work hard and have a burning desire to stop eating compulsively, it can be done.

First of all, you determine to not skip any meals. Many nutritionists and health professionals will tell you that you need three square, welll-balanced meals a day and no more. On the other hand, some dieters do well with six mini-meals rather than three and if it works for you, then don’t fix what ain’t broken as the saying goes. In fact, some dietians stress that it’s better to give your body a little fuel at a time rather than three big meals.

However, the emphasis here is on overeating—-not how many meals you have each day. In other words, it’s a matter of just getting in the needed calories and nutrients you need each day and no more.

If you do have a problem with compulsive overeating, I believe it is better to only eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you resort to six, rather than three meals, this sets you up mentally to be obsessed with food.

When you do sit down for a meal, make eating your top priority. Turn off the TV and let the answering machine take your calls (unless, of course, it’s an emergency.) Eat slowly and actually bring your hand down to your lap, pausing between bites. Make sure you have at least two to three servings of fruits and vegetables at your meals. Also, drink a glass of water before you start your eating. Not only is it good for you, but it will help fill you up.

Most overeaters fall off the wagon sometime after their dinner. They may have faithfully stayed on their food program all day. Then comes evening, along with the nightly TV programs and of course, you have to have something in your mouth, don’t you?

How can you successfully break the evening munchies? Here a few good tips that have worked for many a compulsive overeater…

*Brush your teeth long before you go to bed. Not only should you brush, but also floss and use mouthwash. After giving yourself a clean mouth, why would you want dirty it up, again? It just takes too much effort to redo your brushing and flossing routine.

*Keep your hands busy—-Rather than reach into the chips and other night-time munchies, take our an unfinished craft project or learn to knit or crochet. Busy hands don’t get into as much trouble as idle ones. What’s more, your mind will focus on something besides food.

*Use evenings to exercise—Go for an evening walk, put on an exercise tape—do anything other than just sit and vegetate in front of the TV.

*Call a friend—-Not only will you refocus your mind away from food, but you’ll be reaching out and touching someone. If you’re part of a support group such as Overeaters’ Anonymous, why not call a friend. It’s probably your very phone call that will rescue your friend, as well as save you from breaking your food abstinence of overeating. If you’re not plugged into an OA group, go to

http://www.oa.org/index.htm and find one near you. Or you, you can always go to online meetings (every three hours, 24 hours a day), at the Recovery Group. Just visit http://www.starchat.net/chat/?chan=Recovery.

As an added motivation to keep you from munching after dinner, consider this—-The time after 7 or 7:30 PM is when you stomach usually calls out for more food. If you ignore its cries, you’re forcing your body to burn fat rather than feed it more. The worst time to eat is at night because you don’t have a chance to burn it off as your body rests. If you feed your body more food, it can’t burn the fat it needs to burn to help you loose weight. You actually need to feel a little hungry. The more you ignore your cravings, the sooner they’ll go away.

Finally, rest assured you can overcome your compulsive eating between meals and nighttime cravings. You just have to make up your mind that this is important and that you’re well worth it!