If you eat more than food compared to the rest of the day after 6 pm and struggle with weight you may be suffering from Night Eating Syndrome as known as NES. This eating behavior is very common with people suffering from weight related issues.
Studies have shown people struggling with weight issues often eat after 6pm at night. This means their bodies are not able to burn the extra calories and carbohydrates consumed after a certain time of the day. There are ways to help with the syndrome of nighttime eating to reduce the chances of weight gain.
NES is generally the lack of hunger in the morning, frequent high stress levels during the day, trouble sleeping, and eating larger amount of calories later in the day. Eating during the latter part of the day and evening increases the levels of higher weight, depression, including reduced hunger during the day with strong urges to eat late at night leading to low levels of self-esteem.
People suffering with NES make it hard for many to lose weight as well as have weight gain. They are not alone in the fact of the weight issues. Studies have shown stress and the intake of nighttime carbs creates this situation. Consuming carbs during the evening increases serotonin, which is a natural mood enhancer. People suffering from depression have lower levels of serotonin within the brain. Frequent evening eating of carbs is one of the characteristics of NES.
To understand the true reasons for the nighttime eating, understanding the entire day’s situations is required. Different situations can and will cause the nighttime eating habit. To do this will help the people suffering from NES find ways to break the habit that leads to their weight problems.
Begin by keeping a journal to track the issues of the day for at least two days to see what the triggers are that is causing the nighttime eating. Recommendations to help stop or reduce the current eating habits begin by recognizing the stresses and triggers of the common day for the individual. Since most people tend to wake up each morning not being hungry due to the nighttime eating, the goal is to start increasing the morning hunger to help with the lower glucose levels that lead to the feeling of fatigue and leading to the nighttime eating habits.
Start the new day by changing the old eating habits with making the changes to the old eating habits. At 3pm, consume one to two tablespoons of whey concentrate with a melted fat. This mixture will help to reduce the nighttime eating urges. At the nighttime meal, eat turkey or another meal without carbs. If you get the urge to consume any carbs during the evening, use the same mixture from 3pm. The removal of fats from your meal will help you sleep and keep your blood sugar low. You will wake hunger the next morning yet that is the goal.
The second day, eat a breakfast of oatmeal with honey for a sweetener plus a piece of whole grain toast, two eggs, and half a cup of cottage cheese. It is important you consume a large breakfast to break the old eating habits so you can remove the hunger later in the evening. Use the mixture at 3pm again today.
Continue using this new eating habit to break the NES you have been suffering from and to lose the weight. You will begin to lose weight since you are no longer eating the calories and carbohydrates late at night.
