How to Cure Night Eating
First, it was a protein bar. And another. Then I opened a bag of salty cashews. When those were gone, I rummaged through the cupboards, found my diet nemesis, the chocolate-covered almonds, and I ate the entire bag.
It was now 11pm. I was so full that I was sick to my stomach. And all of this was after eating a regular, big dinner of steak, baked potato, and vegetables.
That was the kind of diet disaster that I suffered from a couple of years ago. Once I started, I couldn’t stop.
It happened every two or three months, usually after a few drinks. I would find myself in a destructive pattern, eating until I was almost sick. The next morning I’d wake up with a bloated belly. Even my fingers were swollen from the sugar and salt.
If you binge eat or simply are prone to a midnight snack, I know how you feel. There’s helplessness as you eat, knowing you should stop, and there’s the morning-after guilt, wondering why you didn’t.
But it can be fixed. In fact, it can be completely cured with a simple little mindset trick.
So if you want to stop, here’s the solution.
This little rule has worked for me. I beat my battle with nighttime eating two years ago once I made this change. The solution was to create one new “rule” for my life. And that was…
The Daily 12-Hour Fast
It’s very simple.
My Rule => “Every day I stop eating for 12 hours between dinner and breakfast.”
That’s it.
And yes, it’s “all in my head.” It’s a rule I’ve set for myself, and once I set a rule, I stick to it.
Setting the rule was like flipping a switch that immediately and automatically allowed me to beat night eating – just as quickly as snapping my fingers.
Now you’ve probably heard of fasting for weight loss. Intermittent fasting works, and I highly recommend my friend Brad Pilon’s program, Eat-Stop-Eat. His is a once- or twice-weekly fasting program.
There are others, such as the daily 16-8 plan. But I find that one really annoying. I don’t mind being hungry for an hour or two, but not for 4-8 hours in the morning. That’s too much.
My 12-hour daily fast is much easier. If you eat a couple of hours before bed and sleep for 7-8 hours, then all you need is another hour or two in the morning and then you’re done.
It’s really, really easy for me, and research from the Salk Institute in San Diego found that animals are healthier and have less fat when they restrict their daily food intake to a 12-hour period.
My 12-hour fast is more practical than the 16-8 fasting program. It forces you to finish dinner early if you want to have breakfast before work. More importantly, it provides a mental “Cut Off” so that you stop eating when you’re full and don’t go back for 2nds (or 3rds!).
Having a RULE that you don’t eat after a certain time (like 8pm), makes it easier to avoid midnight snacks that ruin your fat loss program. And it gives you a feeling in the morning knowing that you have won a big battle against your belly fat and belly bloat.
I hope that helps.
Here’s another diet trick you can use to boost your metabolism.
Use this INSTANT metabolic factor fix to jumpstart your morning fat-burning
So now we’ve solved your morning metabolism issues, and we’ve helped you conquer night eating. Combined, these two tricks will help you overcome any fat loss plateau that you might be fighting.
Always remember: No matter what your struggles, you can change.
Keep trying to get better everyday,
Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer
Former Night Time Eater
PS – To get better, invest in yourself.
Invest in yourself for the sake of others. Take care of your health and energy so you can deliver maximum love, life, laughter, and living to those that matter.
Place a high value on your time. Don’t let others steal it away through insignificance. Remember… every moment wasted in meetings, traffic, surfing the web, gossip, etc. steals it from your children, your spouse, and your well-being. Be ruthless with your time and energy for the sake of your legacy.