A Dietitian's Advice for How to Stop Binge Eating at Night

So many of my clients who are trying to lose weight do well during the day. But then ask how to stop binge eating at night when hunger becomes difficult to ignore. Here’s my advice as a dietitian.

Overeating at night gets the best of many people, but if it’s happening frequently to you, there are some strategies you can use to help change this. It’s also important to make the distinction between binge eating as an occasional practice or a disorder. Regardless of your struggle, keep reading for my dietitian suggestions for solutions.

What is Binge Eating?

Binge eating is the act of frequently eating very large quantities of food in one sitting. It often happens even in the absence of hunger or people who binge eat will continue even after they are already full. 

There are several reasons people may binge eat. It may be:

• out of stress

• to gain weight for athletic purposes

• to fuel up before a sporting event 

• or just because you got your hands on a meal that was really, really delicious.  

Binge Eating Vs. Binge Eating Disorder

Now, just because you binge on food or snacks might not necessarily mean you have binge eating disorder, or BED. Binge eating disorder is a type of eating disorder that’s recognized as a psychological condition. Experts speculate that BED manifests as a coping mechanism as individuals may eat to feel comfort or to disassociate from unpleasant emotions. 

One of the key symptoms that sets BED apart from just eating a large amount in a short time is that those with BED report their life and mental health being severely affected by their binges. This can show as feelings of extreme guilt, shame, and disgust after they finish a binge. Those with BED also often eat alone due to feeling embarrassed about how much they may eat. 

Those who suspect their binge eating may actually be a case of binge eating disorder should consult with a mental health professional to help them get a diagnosis and foster a better relationship with food.

What Causes Binge Eating?

There are no established causes of binge eating or binge eating disorder, but there are several factors that can put one at increased risk of developing the condition:

1. Obesity

Often, people who binge are overweight or obese. This may be because all of the food they consume led to excess weight, but some people may binge out of shame about their weight. It is also possible that people who are normal weight or underweight binge eat. Weight does not determine this behavior.

2. Trauma or Mental Health

Stressful or traumatic events such as domestic abuse can lead to binge eating disorder as these events may lead to emotions that people can’t always process healthfully. Thus, science shows they may turn to food as a way to suppress their emotions. Additionally, people who suffer from other mental health conditions like OCD or anxiety may binge if they do not receive proper treatment for these illnesses. 

3. Extreme or Prolonged Dieting

Some individuals who are pursuing weight loss may put themselves in a large calorie deficit to lose weight. This happens in some weight-class sports where athletes may be required or asked by their coach to lose a large amount of weight in a short time and thus turn to extreme dieting to make it happen. For example, wrestling is one sport in which the development of an eating disorder like BED is very risky. In short, it has been shown that dieting taken too far can lead to BED. 

4. Changes in Brain Chemistry

Studies have shown that those with eating disorders like BED are more likely to have a brain activity that limits their self-control when it comes to food. They may even feel more temporary comfort from eating large amounts of their favorite food than others, which incentivizes them to choose binging as a coping mechanism compared to others who do not have this brain chemistry. 

Why Do I Binge Eat At Night?

Whether you have BED or you eat large amounts of food or snacks, it’s important to get to the bottom of why this may be happening. Clients in my practice often ask, “How do I stop eating when bored?” This makes sense, considering many people find themselves battling boredom in the nighttime when work is done, but it’s not quite bedtime. This leaves you with a chunk of downtime that, if not occupied, could lead you to turn to food just to have an activity to engage in. 

Potential Reasons for Nighttime Eating

If not boredom, emotional eating, and stress are also common reasons you may find yourself unable to stop thinking about food in the evening. These emotions don’t always have to be sadness or anger, either. When snuggling up on the couch to watch your favorite comfort or holiday movie puts you in a good mood, it’s not a far leap for you to justify having that pint of ice cream in the freezer. 

If you eat dinner early and stay up late, you may experience the same cravings. It makes sense for you to get cravings at night if you eat dinner around 5 or 6 pm, but stay up until midnight. This is because your hunger hormone, ghrelin, releases after not eating for 3 to 4 hours and, since most people aren’t likely to eat yet another meal at 10 pm, one may turn to eating a lot of snacks to satisfy that meal-sized hunger. 

How to Overcome Binge Eating

So, how to stop binge eating at night time? Or how to stop binging in general? Depending on whether you binge more often than you’d like (especially if you are on a weight loss journey) or you have BED, there are different approaches you can take.

Talking to a doctor and/or mental health professional is the first step to overcoming binge eating to get you diagnosed and come up with a treatment plan. This treatment plan may also include involvement from a registered dietitian who can help you repair your relationship with food to prevent future binges. 

Additionally, there are several lifestyle changes you can try, especially if you don’t think your binging is severe enough to be BED. 

1. Identify Triggers and Keep a Diary

When you binge or feel like you’re about to binge, write down what you’re feeling and any special events that may have happened at that time. Hopefully, this can help you identify what is triggering you to seek binging for comfort and get to the underlying reason for the binges. 

2. Keep Bingeable Foods Out of the House

If you know there are foods you cannot control yourself around, simply don’t give yourself access to these foods. You may also consider acquiring high-protein and high-fiber snacks such as vegetables and beef jerky as these foods promote a feeling of fullness and are more difficult to eat in excess. 

3. Prioritize Exercise 

Some studies have shown that exercise can help prevent binge eating episodes. In one study, 81% of obese women were able to greatly reduce or even stop their binge eating episodes after increasing their exercise frequency. Binging episodes could also be triggered by unhealthy body image or emotional stress, both of which exercise can help with.

4. Don’t Skip Meals and Eat Breakfast

Skipping meals throughout the day or not eating breakfast can ramp up your hunger hormones to a level that makes resisting a binge much more difficult. As mentioned in the context of extreme dieting or restriction, the body’s hunger hormone ghrelin goes into overdrive in an attempt to tell your brain the body needs fuel which can result in binging episodes. 

The Bottom Line on How to Stop Binge Eating at Night

When it comes to eating habits, many people underestimate how much their emotional state and a less-than-ideal relationship with food can influence them. These are common reasons someone may find themselves unable to stop binge eating at night. 

When someone has BED, there are often deeper problems that need to be addressed by a professional. Either way, there are solutions to improve and stop the behavior altogether. If you feel you should consult with a nutrition professional about your nighttime eating habits or if you think you could improve your relationship with food in general, contact me today.