Struggling with Nighttime Eating

For as long as I can remember as an adult, I have indulged in nighttime eating. There’s something about … after the day is done and I’m sitting down to relax, I have major cravings for snacks. I would estimate that I usually consume between 300 to 500 calories at night.

Previous Attempts

I have tried, without success thus far, to curb my nighttime eating, if not stop it completely. Willpower definitely hasn’t worked for me. Distraction with another activity hasn’t worked. And my most recent endeavor in trying to replace the comfort of food at night with the comfort of hot tea, didn’t work. So … I was at a loss.

A New Approach

Part of me started wondering if maybe I should embrace nighttime eating as something that will be with me always. In doing some research online, I read that some fitness professionals recommend a protein-rich snack at nighttime to fuel your morning workout. Last night, as I was sleeping, my subconscious arrived at a possible solution, incorporating this information and solving another dilemma I've been facing in the process.

The other dilemma that's been bothering me is oatmeal-related. For months, I was eating oatmeal in the morning and feeling pretty virtuous about it because I incorporated all sorts of healthy seeds and nuts in my oatmeal mix, used one third of a cup, and mixed it with water, a banana, a tablespoon of PB2, and some cinnamon (recipe here). Recently, I've opted for an egg on an English muffin for breakfast instead, but a little voice in my head kept exhorting me to return to oatmeal.

The potential solution I'm going to try is to have my oatmeal as my nighttime snack instead of for breakfast. In place of eating a variety of snacks that add up to an unknown number of calories, I will get my daily oatmeal in, and it will be a pre-planned (no additional decision-making required), nutritious (fiber and protein-rich), and portion-controlled snack. It will be filling, a little sweet from the banana, and also soothingly warm. Tonight is the first night I'm giving this a try, and I'll keep you posted on how this new approach goes!