Let’s Talk About Late Night Eating
– by Tera Warner
Here’s a comment that came in via the journals:
Last night after our call, even though I felt SO inspired, I ate too much, too late. I was genuinely hungry but it was way too late for the BIG salad and sourdough bread toast (yes, toast!) I had . I went to bed on a full stomach and now my energy levels are way down today. I’m not bloated but I have bad wind and I feel kind of out of sync. Any tips for next time?
It’s funny, because at about 3:00 am, I found myself nibbling on the only non-vegetable item in my house–my kids’ organic corn flake cereal, so I could totally relate to this. While eating late has always been a bit of a problem for me, I have at different times felt very much in control of this and I want to let you know what I’ve successfully used. (It’s a bit complicated so please pay attention!)
1. Sleep
Sometimes staying up late we actually DO get hungry, because we’ve been busy and active for so long. The ultimate remedy is simply to adopt a strict policy on going to bed at a good time. The number of problems that can be set up with insufficient sleep are endless. Get to bed. Get a good night’s sleep, and hours before midnight count for bonus points!
2. Eat Enough During The Day
Late night cravings for sweets come about when we’re not eating enough during the day. Make sure you kick start your day with a protein-rich (YES, I did say that!) breakfast. Pack it with greens, if you’re being hard core. Maybe a bit of hemp in your smoothie, but definitely GREENS and lots of them. You can also try some of the green powders, like Vitamineral Greens, which are very helpful.
Also, just add up your calories for a day. You can use www.fitday.com, to see how many calories you’re getting. If you under eat during the day, you’ll be ravenous in the evening, and it takes a lot more than discipline then to manage the cravings. If you’re not being completely raw or vegan, then free range eggs might be a good thing to try at breakfast. I’ve actually known several long time raw foodists to start reintroducing foods like this because it made them feel better. I have found cravings and late night eating MUCH easier to handle when I have sufficient sleep and sufficient food. As in so many things, the truth is that you already know what to do, you just need the support and discipline to make it happen.
3. Get Your Personal Ethics Sorted Out
It can be considered an unethical situation to continually do things to yourself that cause you harm and inhibit your ability to thrive and do well in life. Raise your level of discipline when harmful habits seem to surface, because it’s a question of survival–it’s a question of responsibility–when you take it upon yourself to behave in ways that ultimately cause you harm. When you feel your negative patterns of behavior are controlling you more than you’re controlling them, you probably need a personal coach that wears good boots and knows how to call it like it is. Sometimes simply raising the level of discipline is enough to unhook you from harmful habits and implement positive change.
Binging, overeating to the point of pain and discomfort, purging, etc. these behaviors are happening for a reason, and it’s not because there’s “something wrong with you.” It’s related to past trauma and it can be handled. However, since we can’t fit a therapy session into a blog post, start by knowing that when your behavior feels a bit out of control, when you feel you’re doing things that you know are not in your best interests and you’re not sure how to stop it, these three factors are your key to getting back the steering wheel and getting on the road to a better way to live.
1. Get Enough Sleep. Just GO TO BED. Do whatever you have to do to make this happen. Life will drag you down if you don’t put yourself down and get significant rest.
2. Get Sufficient Good Quality Food. This doesn’t mean be a food-obsessed nazi, and never eat another donut again. It means make sure you’re getting enough calories from fresh fruits and vegetables and that you are eating enough food in general during the day. Try more protein and fat, if you must, to help you put this in place.
3. Get Ethical and Honest With Yourself. We have to do what it takes to make pro-survival choices in life. Sometimes it’s harder to do this because past trauma and difficult relationships can get in the way, but when you can’t get in to see a reliable therapist who can handle this, then raise your level of discipline. Put in strict policy and stick to it.
Here’s something else that came into me through the journals. I love how she handled her situation and wanted to share it with you!
Yesterday was a strange day…and today seems to be following the same pattern. During the day yesterday, I water fasted…yeah, I was ‘hungry’, but nothing appealed to me. Last night, I made a YUMMY soup! I know it isn’t raw, but a vegetable soup cooked to smithereens (hmmmm…where did I hear that phrase, Tera?) was exactly what I wanted. So, I took the remainder of my Swiss chard, a huge carrot, two celery stalks (leaves included), some red onion, fresh-frozen black-eyed peas, and lima beans and put it all together in my pot with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic, and cumin and souped it up! OMGOD!!!! It was soooo good and satisfying. After that, I was craving carbs so I CHEATED!!! I had some soda crackers, but I didn’t care. I was just happy to have something in the house to eat. That is how low the supplies are right now. I had to go to Army Emergency Relief to get some money to pay my bills and buy groceries, so the past week, I have been having to scrounge. Thus, the water fasting and only eating at night. But, instead of eating the icky, gluey stuff (with the exception of the soda crackers), I have been water fasting and re-discovering my culinary genius with the remainder of my veggies. This is SUCH an improvement over last week, I can hardly stand it! Unfortunately, caffeine has made a comeback, but I will worry about that after I put more good, energy-creating foods back into my house.
I LOVE THIS PROGRAM!
Sending you lots of love and deep sleep at a friendly hour,
xoxo Tera