‘Ry, I eat enough during the day, and I can't stop snacking at night, making me feel terrible. How do I stop?'
First, I would ask, how do you know you are eating enough during the day? The number 1 reason why snacking happens at night is simply that you didn't eat enough during the day.
Sings you have eaten enough during the day:
- stable mood
- no thoughts about food (other than when hungry)
- regulated energy levels
- no urges to overeat/binge
- can stop eating when full
If the above checks off for you, I want to make a quick point that there is nothing inherently wrong with snacking at night. However, if it's not making you feel well physically, let's look at what might be happening. There are three main reasons why we go to food when we are not hungry: pleasure, numbing, and/or habit.
Reason One: Pleasure
If you're not experiencing pleasure in any area of your day. it makes sense that you would look for pleasure in food at night. If this is the case for you, here is what you can do to help:
- start incorporating little things into your day that bring you joy throughout the day
- look for other ways you can experience pleasure at the end of the long day
Reason Two: Numbing
If you don't want to face any uncomfy emotions from the day, it makes sense to look to food to numb at night. If this is the case for you, here is what you can do to help:
- get curious about what emotion you are trying to avoid by going to the food
- start challenging yourself to face the uncomfy emotions of the day
Reason Three: Habit
If you go to the pantry mindlessly every night, it makes sense that you now do it automatically. If this is the case for you, here is what you can do to help:
- challenge yourself to bring more mindfulness into the snacking
- change up your nighttime routine
Identifying the reason is the first step. From there, you can begin to unpack!!
