Do you ever ease your way through the day of eating, so proud of yourself for eating all the healthy foods and not overeating once... only to get to the evening where you open your pantry and eat everything in site or that entire bag of chips you just opened?!

If this is you, listen up because I think I have a pretty good explanation for you as to why this keeps happening to you.

But, I also want to take a moment to address something before I get into the nitty-gritty of why you may be overeating late at night and what you can do to stop it

You're not wrong for overeating or eating late at night

You're not wrong for overeating, or even eating late at night for that fact! Our society (diet culture) likes to make you believe that there's something wrong with your body or that you lack complete willpower and need to throw your money at them for help. But your body isn't wrong!

It's just doing what it has to do to get by. If you find yourself overeating frequently, take it as a sign. Don't get upset or judgmental with yourself. Ask yourself what is going on in your life that could be triggering this. There's likely something deeper going on that needs your attention, and I encourage you to figure that out so you can stop using food so frequently to cope.

And lastly, you're not "bad" for eating late at night either. Your body has absolutely no idea what time it is, so whether you eat something at 8am or 8pm, your body will simply do whatever it needs to with the food you eat!

Three reasons why you may be overeating late at night

Reason #1: You're not eating enough during the day

Do you skip breakfast frequently because you feel guilty for overeating the night before? Do you get so busy at work that you don't even notice you missed lunch until you finally hit that 2pm slump? Do you only let yourself eat low calorie foods or small portions every day?

There are so many explanations as to why you may not be eating enough during the day. Whether you're skipping meals (intentionally or unintentionally), cutting back, or telling yourself not to eat "too much", it's likely setting you up to overeat later in the day!

I use this analogy a lot, but it's because it helps this idea make so much sense, but think about what happens when you hold your breath under water for a long time. When you come back up for air, what does your body do? It's gasping for air! You wouldn't normally breath like this, but because your body was deprived of oxygen that it needed, it responded by overdoing it and getting as much air in as possible all at once!

This is the exact response your body has when it lacks food (or anything else it needs in life). If you're not eating consistently or enough food each day to sustain your body's needs, it will make up for it by overdoing it with food at a later time.

It's a biological response, not your lack of willpower that is making you overeat!

Reason #2 You're not eating a variety of foods or cutting out certain foods groups

By saying a variety of foods, I mean a variety of food groups that all have their role in our body and bring more satisfaction and enjoyment to your food life!

Again there are probably so many reasons you could be lacking that variety with food. Maybe you were told to cut out a food group by someone who thinks it's bad for your health, but is actually just unaware of how food truly works in the body. Maybe you don't mean to miss out on food groups, but you just aren't sure why or how to create that balance in your life when it comes to food.

But no matter what reason you have, again, that lack of something, in this case a lack of variety, leads to overcompensating for what we missed out on later on.

So for example, if you're cutting out carbs or eating very little of them, your body is going to send you some signals later on that it needs it's favorite source of energy (aka carbs). As a result, you end up craving those quick carbs (think white breads, pastas, crackers, sweets, etc.) because they are going to give your body it's quickest form of energy!

But if include a variety of carbs into your day (think whole wheat products, fruits, vegetables, white breads, pastas, crackers, sweets, etc.), you're so much less likely to overdo it with those foods later on!

Down below, you'll learn more about the different food groups and how to create that balanced variety in your own eating habits.

Reason #3: You're telling yourself you shouldn't be eating

Because dieting and being thin is so glamorized in our society, it normalizes the idea in our minds that in order to be healthy, we shouldn't eat too much.

This is pretty messed up because in order to truly be healthy, nourishing our bodies with enough food is key!

Think about it like this: you wouldn't expect your car to run well off a little gas every day. That just adds on extra work for yourself and makes you have to stop at the gas station to fill up far too frequently.

Again, your body is the same way! While food is so much more than just fuel, it still is the energy our body needs every day to run smoothly. If you only give yourself a little fuel each day, your body has to work extra hard to get more of what it needs.

But, if you nourish and fill your body up with the right amount of food each day, you don't have to stop to fill up so frequently and you have more time to spend on important things!

Now that you know why you may be overeating, let's talk about the small adjustments you can make to change that!

Get on a consistent eating schedule

A consistent eating schedule is going to look different for everyone because all of our lives are planned differently.

For example, I notice I overeat less when I eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks in between during my day. But maybe you notice you overeat less when you have 5-6 small meals during the day.

It's totally up to you and what works, but you may need to do some planning and experimenting to figure that out.

Here are some quick tips on how to get yourself on a consistent eating schedule:

• Be prepared and plan ahead for your week with your meals. Check out more on how to meal plan intuitively.
• Be mindful and intentional. Stay aware of your eating habits, if you find yourself overeating, think back to the day about what you ate and how much. Be intentional with the small changes you want to make so you can get on that consistent eating schedule with less overeating as a result
• Keep yourself stocked up! Whether you work from home, go to the office, or are on the go a lot, being prepared and stocked up can set you up for success. Having your favorite staples stocked in your house at all times, having extra snacks or bringing lunches ready to work, or having car snacks for times when you need can all help you be prepared to honor your hunger

Strive to eat (mostly) balanced meals

Similar to what I said above, variety and balance means including different food groups into your day. Does this mean every single meal or snack you eat has to be perfectly balanced in order for you to stop overeating? Nope! But it can definitely help, so I'll fill you in briefly on the role and importance of each food group so you can start creating that balance with your meals and snacks.

Carbs are the food group that provide our body with it's most favorite source of energy. Carbs turn into glucose in our body, which is the sugar that our brains, muscles, and red blood cells use to help us thrive! Carbs aren't just breads and pastas either. You can find carbs in so many foods like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, legumes like beans and lentils, and more! To read more about carbs and the different kinds, check out my other blog post here.

Protein gives your body that extra bit of energy and satisfaction you need. Plus, if you're eating enough carbs, protein gets to go help out in other places like strengthening your hair, nails, skin, and muscles. Protein is of course found in animal products, but you can also find so many plant-based protein options such as beans, veggie burgers (or any other meat-alternative) tofu, tempeh, seitan, nutritional yeast, and more!

Fat is just as important as the other food groups! It adds extra satisfaction to keep you full and satisfied longer, is the building block for hormones in our body, plus, it helps all those wonderful fat-soluble vitamins get utilized in your body more efficiently! Fat is found in foods like nuts and seeds, avocados, butter, oils, fatty fish like salmon, olives, and more!

Of course, I can't leave out those amazing fruits and vegetables! They provide you with so many health-promoting and disease preventing vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. And I encourage you to try to include them as much as possible. But keep in mind that most fruits and vegetables are low calorie (aka low energy), so when eaten on their own, won't be able to keep you satisfied forever!

To wrap this topic up, remember that you aren't automatically going to overeat or be unhealthy if you don't eat a balanced meal. But strive for most meals to include 2-3+ of the food groups just discussed above in order to set yourself up for success later on!

Give yourself permission to enjoy food

Your body deserves to be nourished! You deserve to feel energy and thrive in life, and eating enough food can definitely give you a great start to do this.

Remember the fueling your engine analogy talked about earlier. Nourish and fill your body up each day, and watch how much less work you create so your body can run smoothly!

You have the permission to enjoy the foods you love and eat enough, but you don't need that permission from me, you need it from yourself!

So give yourself that permission every single day, even if it feels scary! And watch the stress of overeating food start to melt away because you will no longer be doing it so frequently once your body trusts it will get everything it needs from you.

The Bottom Line

You have all the power and tools you need to finally feel more in control with your eating habits and stop those frequent late night binges. However, in order to get that power back, you may need to take some mindful action first!

Like taking the time to plan, getting on that consistent eating schedule, eating balanced meals and snacks most of the time, and giving yourself full permission to enjoy the food you want, when you want it!

Need more support as you work specifically on reducing your binge-like eating behaviors? Or do you simply want to learn more about Intuitive Eating? Check out all of my resources and ways we can work together! Click here

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