Night Eating

As I prepare for the "switchover" as I call it in my head, the change in habits that will accompany my new life style and weight loss, I am starting to plan for obstacles that I know will come up.  The most important of these is coming up with a plan to deal with my nighttime eating.

I have been eating at night for more than 20 years.  Maybe it started with the trauma of abusive relationships.  Some doctors call it a sleep disorder, others an eating disorder.  I eat not enough during the day and then start eating everything that is not nailed down at about 9 p.m.  I used to actually eat in my sleep, now I am mostly awake.  Sometimes I wake myself up to eat for the first couple of hours after I go down.  I will eat anything, but especially things that are easy to eat.  I go for high fat items first like cheese and peanut butter. I can eat a small jar of peanut butter in one sitting with a spoon.  Just this week I ate an 8 oz bag of shredded cheese in bed.  I would never eat this stuff in the daytime.

I see a nutritionist who has suggested that I aim for eating breakfast by 10:00 a.m. as a first step towards getting more calories in during the day.  This has proven to be surprisingly difficult.  Excuses include not being hungry, just wanting to drink coffee, and wanting to get straight to work.  I intend to keep working on this.

Another suggestion has been to take my prescribed sleep aid early.  Try to sleep earlier to avoid eating.  I have been trying to take my sleeping pill by 11 p.m. which is 1-2 hours earlier than I used to take it.

I am really worried about this eating at night business saboutaging my entire plan but all I can do is bring the power of prayer up against it.  I don't really think it is a disorder, just a really deeply ingrained habit, and as such, I can break it just like I quit smoking.

Current Action Steps:
1.  Eat breakfast by 10 a.m.
2.  Take sleeping pill by 11 p.m.

Goal for Tomorrow:
1.  Make appointment with Joan the nutritionist to lay out Month 1 eating plan.