Help please! Nightime eating out of control

[Bandana 0]

Hi girls and guy,

How is everyone tonight. Has the bewitching hour started. It has for me but so far I'm safe. I ate dinner at 8pm, eastern time, and maybe that will last longer for me. It's 11:20 now and I feel like I'm getting ready to attack.

Becky - I like you're idea of going into a chat room. I thought maybe we cvould instant message but chat room would be better. I don't think you can instant message - does anyone know about this? Also does anyone know if we could start our own chat room for nightime eaters, or do we have to enter the one that already is going on???

Starting our own would be my first preference so we could all get to know each other.

CATHY why are you a parrothead? is that a nickname?

Anyay I do eat when I'm sitting and watching t.v. I like the idea of a walk after dinner but it's still kind of cool here. Hope the weather is warm for this weekend.

OH NO - WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS LONG HOLIDAY WEEKEND WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS EATING THE GOOD STUFF (you know the really bad stuff for us banders)

Good4me I also graze all night due to head hunger and sometimes I am hungary. I ate 3/4 of a box of honeynut cheerios last night, among other things. I was really wondering why so much was giong down (where was my lapband?)

Mech I saw you on another site and I have to say again your weight loss is awsome. Hooray for you. I don't have "bad" food in the house right now. Buty I could still go to down and chow down on the 'good" food (popcorn, Peanut Butter, Cereal. I keep going to may pantry. Thainking about getting some kind of lock on the door, LOL, no really

Libby - I tried the ww ice creams and they are delicious but I couldn't eat just one, I was up to 3 in a night, and then went for the regular icecream. So for me I really can't trust myself with the ice cream.

Kristy -I know exactly what uyour talking about. Starving during the day because of restriction, and the band loosens at night , get ready - time to binge.

Hi to Claudin,erinshel and Jennifer. Glad your here with us. WE all have to support each other.

[Bandana 0]

Hi to all

I can't believe it. I just wrote up this long post to everyone and then somehow I pressed something and I lost my post.

I like the idea of the chat room, could we start our own for nightime munchers? or do we have to enter into the one already going on? Or we could get that big gorilla to stop us. My teepee is my pantry. Thanks for all the suggestions you made. I think I'll go for that walk after dinner once it gets warmer here. I was still wearing my winter coat today. Burrr

How are we going to handle this big HOLIDAY WEEKEND. Any ideas when everyone else is eating all the "great food" and we need to "diet".

I also understand starving all day (or having bad restriction) and making up for it in the evening. Bad habit but if I would get an fill it may be more trouble than it's worth, but maybe not. I am thinking about it.

Last night I ate 3/4 box of Cereal. I keept wondering, while I devoured the cereal, where is it all going, where is my lapband

Good4me - how did you fill go today? Did he add alot. Let us know how you are feeling. are you on liquids?

WElll goodnight everyone. I hope to go to sleep on an empty stomach and maybe lose a lb tomorrow. wouoldn't that be nice.

I see now where my origional post went. Forgive me for being repetive. Talk to you tomorrow

Edited May 19, 2009 by Bandana

[OH Juli 15]

Hi gang.

I'll say in my pre band days you could find me in the refrigerator in the middle of the night eating cold left overs.

After banding before I got to the right restriction I was able to eat at night and have no issues. I had to fight the wars you all are fighting. I found that hot tea (caffiene free) was soothing and special and would keep my mouth from seeking food.

But there were times I'd eat before bed time and be fine. It was hard just like you all are describing.

However things changed when I got my last fill about a year ago. I would get reflux if I ate after 7pm when I went to bed around 11. I needed 4 hours for the food to go down. I'd still do tea at time. If I ate anyway I'd wake up with reflux or vomiting in my mouth. It took three days of choosing food over reasonable behavior before it sunk in that sleep was the better option.

Am I saying that you need to be that filled? No, but maybe if you are still seeking the perfect fill level that's something that consider.

My point is that if you have the night eating monkey on your back put into place survivor tactics like chatting or planning a healthy mini meal/snack for your harshest times.

I'm amazed that I still struggle with food "issues" this far into the journey, but the reality is that I feel I'll have issues with food until the day I die. It's just a matter of how well controlled I have them.

Good luck!

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

CATHY why are you a parrothead? is that a nickname?

Anyay I do eat when I'm sitting and watching t.v. I like the idea of a walk after dinner but it's still kind of cool here. Hope the weather is warm for this weekend.

OH NO - WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS LONG HOLIDAY WEEKEND WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS EATING THE GOOD STUFF (you know the really bad stuff for us banders)

Parrotheads are Jimmy Buffett fans. There are Parrot Head Clubs all over the US as well as out of the country. All started with my club, in Atlanta, Georgia, 20 years ago. Yeah, we love the music (other Trop Rock artists as well as JB) but we love the lifestyle....the laid back, island time thing. Those who are members of Parrot Head Clubs have made a commitment to community service as well, just as Jimmy Buffett has. If you'd like to know more, you can go to www.atlantaparrotheadclub.org and www.phip.com . My club presents a cruise every year (wwwparrotheadcruise.com) and through that event we have raised more than a quarter million dollars for breast cancer research. The Parrot Head motto is Party With A Purpose.

Holiday weekend....I'm headed to the beach on Friday morning and will spend much of my daylight hours outside. Walking on the beach is a favorite pastime and I will get to do my share of that! Get your chicken, steak, fish, fresh veggies and even fruit and FIRE UP THE GRILL. There is a grill accessory to put fish on to grill it,you just spray it with PAM and it works great! To keep your chicken and steak from getting too dry, marinate it first.

The band isn't a punishment. Make the most of it! Oh, you can mourn your french fries, pizza, giant bags of chips and stuff but the fact remains that you can have a great meal every meal and still eat within the guidelines we've been given. It's not what pirates of old called "piss and punk" (warm beer and stale bread). Don't make your holiday food-centric! Play badminton, volleyball, take a hike, walk on the beach, move your body as much as you can. Then, when you sit in that chair in the sun, relax. You've earned it.

[JENNIFER7375 3]

hey ladies i found a great night time sweet snack. the fiberone granola bars are really good, they taste great and satisfy the sweet and the chocolate craving. they have 140 calories and 9grams of Fiber. they really fill me up and seem to hold me over for a while.

[Bandana 0]

I just spent time looking at the chat room and I don't see any option for starting a new group. Can anyone else find other information about this. Anyway, what do you think about meeting in the Chat room Wednesday night?

[kristy6 0]

Well i told you so................I went all day yesterday and all i had was like a couple peices of deli turkey, the really thin sliced kind.. anyway. ...... Low and belhold my hubby comes home with pizza and my horns came out..lol

count em ladies and gents I ate 4 peices of thin crust cheese pizza. And the bad part is i could have eaten more i just made my self stop.

Just wanted to drop in with my confession for today.lmao...I know its not really funny but the past is already done so all we can do is move on withthe future and try to do better.

Good luck tonight folks.

[JuneAct2 0]

Well i told you so................I went all day yesterday and all i had was like a couple peices of deli turkey, the really thin sliced kind.. anyway. ...... Low and belhold my hubby comes home with pizza and my horns came out..lol

count em ladies and gents I ate 4 peices of thin crust cheese pizza. And the bad part is i could have eaten more i just made my self stop.

Just wanted to drop in with my confession for today.lmao...I know its not really funny but the past is already done so all we can do is move on withthe future and try to do better.

Good luck tonight folks.

I just read through these posts and yours kept jumping out at me. There's nothing in the world wrong with eating at night when you're hungry. With that in mind, go over to www.livestrong.com and track your food on the daily plate. I don't agree that eating late will make you gain weight, unless you've already eaten too many calories during the day. If you plan your meals according to when you "can" eat, then you won't overshoot your calorie goal. You may find that you're not eating ENOUGH. I eat most of my calories after 3 pm because my band is tight in the mornings. I hope this helps in some way.

[Claudine1975 0]

I believe big time in tracking and I do use the daily plate on Livestrong.com. I find that if I don't get enough in during the day I am HUNGRY at night. I try to do good Snacks during the day and that helps...a little. I try to fix a cup of tea around 8:00 and make it really hot so that I have to wait 15 minutes for it to cool and then I sip until bed. Oh the tactics I try to keep the hunger monster at bay.:redface:

[moonbeam 1]

Hello. I'm totally in the same boat. I'm new at this and have only had one really ineffective fill of 1 1/2 cc. Isn't the band supposed to help with this? Shouldn't we not be able to easily consume and binge? I'm worried because the evenings are my witching hour and I do tend to binge sometimes. I was under the impression that the band would help with this. Not CURE, but at least help.

[Claudine1975 0]

moonbeam,

You will need more then 1 fill to get to optimal restriction. The band will help with hunger, but not "head" hunger. Most of us are not truly hungry at night we are just in a habit of snacking and munching at night. The band can only do so much we have to muster that self control and close the pantry and refrigerator door. It is a struggle, but being properly restricted does help.

[gilliebean 1]

I to have a major problem with night eating i always want something at about 10 and i work night shift so that doesn't help. So what I do is leave myself calories for that time and i eat two packs of oatmeal and that works for me and holds me till Breakfast at about 9 in the morning.

[snow princess 0]

hi.. am a night eater too.. i tried to exercise mostly at night and this helped me alot.. also drink alot of Water because i knew that am not hungry its brain hunger... sleep early so dont keep myself struggling with food issue and had my dinner almost late at 8 or 9 pm… thanx for my band really made me afraid of food because of the pain I had after binge eating

[Bandana 0]

Today I got on the scale and was my lowest ever. I was thrilled. I was onthe tread mill for 30 minutes and everthing was great. Then nightime came.

I left the house, went to the supermarket and bought all the ice cream, Cookies and candy I wanted. I had a good humor bar, and a pint of ice cream. I also had a candy bar earlier in the night.

I know you all have great ideas, but when it comes to me I still have no self-control even with the band. I think I'm in big trouble. If being my lowest weight can't be enough to keep me on track I'm in big trouble. Tomorrow night Ihave a lap band support group with my doctors office sowe'll see what happens.

[JENNIFER7375 3]

bandana all I can say is I'm here for you. I know that awful feeling well myself. Just know you're not alone and were here for you when you need us. I'm up all night every night so if you need someone to talk to when you feel like bingeing Id be more than happy to help. Send me a private message and we can exchange emails or phone numbers if you want. And you just hit your smallest size in years so you must not be doing too bad. Don't be so hard on yourself that you depress yourself into eating even more.