Nightly eating/comfort eating
Yes, I am still eating at night, and I don't really know what to do about it anymore. It's like... I know I have some food I can eat and I will eat anything at night. I actually ate ryebread with paté on it the other night, which is my normal breakfast, so that's not even unhealthy! Which is very weird that I will eat stuff that I could have in a few hours. Earlier on it helped to drink two cups of tea before bed, bc then I felt full, and didn't wanna eat anything. But that doesn't work anymore, and I just have to get up and pee multiple times during the night. So I stopped doing that.
But I don't know how to stop it, even if I have found a pattern now. It's like... I have nightmares every night. Or I asume I do, as I wake up all panicky multiple times during the night, and the only thing soothing my anxiety/panick is eating something. So that's just it - the food is my "binky" and nightmare-aftercare. And I don't want that, so now I'm trying to find something else that can sooth me.
What sooths you after a nightmare or a bad day that isn't food? That will be easy to do in the middle of the night? Normally I sooth anxiety by working out at the gym or going for a run, but that's really not a possibility in the middle of the night :S
What can I do that is easy to do? Bc as soon as I have eaten I am soothed and I fall right back to sleep again. Mostly happens two or three times each night, and I have found it necessary not to have food in my fridge and go buy food every day for what I'm gonna eat that day. Which is kinda irritation and not really a lasting thing. Mostly bc then I will have to go and buy food before breakfast, and we all know how stupid it is to buy food on an empty stomach *facepalm*
@TheMadHatterWasHere
For me... DOING SOMETHING PHYSICAL usually stops my hunger cravings
(which are very very rare now after I fixed my diet and sleep habits).
I mean doing a physical activity that is very time-consuming ... like doing chores... doing home improvements... doing something I was putting off. Something I really get involved in physically.
"Not doing things one should be doing"... and sitting around instead... can be a cause of anxiety... that can lead to wanting to eat... to comfort the anxiety.
For me... READING A REAL BOOK in dim light soothes me after waking up in the middle of the night... and then I usually get tired again and go back to sleep.
Some people use eating to "spike" their blood sugar levels... so then their blood sugar levels "crash"... so then they get tired... and then they go to sleep. But that can make the problem get worse and worse. Instead, good sleep hygiene habits, and good eating habits, and getting regular physical activity... work better from my experience.
The above are just ideas, not suggestions. Everyone is different. It's good to check with professional medical providers before making any lifestyle changes.
Please forgive any typos above.
@7motivation I will try to maybe read instead of eating in the middle of the night. Maybe it's enough. I do hope it is. I already use my body a lot. I go to the gym 6 times a week and go for bikerides or walks every day. So I should be covered in that area.
But I will try to do something else. Maybe drink water or something. But thank you for the ideas! 
@TheMadHatterWasHere
You're welcome. Some more thoughts...
WATER -
Water helps me feel full all day long.... starting in the morning... all the way through just before bed.
I drink sips all day long... except not too much right before eating... or right after eating.
Very warm water can be even more comforting.
It gives me a strong "topped off" feeling of stomach fullness, especially in the evening... even just before bed.
https://www.healthxchange.sg/food-nutrition/food-tips/drinking-water-right-time
STRESS AVOIDANCE IN THE EVENING -
I find that if I avoid stressful experiences... and avoid stressful thinking topics in the evening... especially several hours before bed... then I don't get stress sensations that want comforting by food before bed.
PATIENCE -
I find sometimes after eating I just need to tell myself to be patient until the fullness feeling has time to appear.
It also helps me if I "cleanse my palate" with sips of water...
In the the evening... if I brush my teeth earlier... rather than just before bed.... that signals my mind and body that eating time is over... and it seems to prevent hunger urges earlier in the evening.
COUNTERING PREMATURE IDEAS THAT I NEED TO "EAT ONE MORE THING" -
Sometimes I find I get an idea that... perhaps I might need to eat one more thing after dinner to feel fuller. Then unfortunately, that idea sticks and won't go away.
But I realized that if I talk out loud and say emphatically that "I am really feeling full and I just need to be patient"... then that can help override the idea I had earlier that I need one last food to feel full... Then I take some sips of water and wait and a fullness feeling usually arrives soon after.
@TheMadHatterWasHere
If one is exercising a lot then one is losing water a lot too.
So drinking water before one exercises, during, and after can help one maintain body hydration and prevent dehydration.
Feeling hungry is often triggered by being dehydrated.
@7motivation
I don't eat bc I'm hungry though. I eat bc I need comfort. I'm not even hungry when I do the whole nightly-eating-thing.
And yes, water can help you feel full, I'm totally with that, but I drink like... 6 liters of water (sparkling water and tea not counted in here) a day, which is sooo much water, and I am kinda scared that I will get water poisoning or something if I drink more.
But thanks for the advice!
@TheMadHatterWasHere i do the same thing
Hello!
I think that this is just a hard thing to overcome. Like I view it we use food as a coping mechanism when we feel like we're not able to love ourselves. But I think that we always kinda carry a certain place in us to which we can connect and therefore kinda find rest. But sometimes that's just so damn hard to find...
I would say first give it time. And make way for it. For your feelings. For expression. And you're actually doing that already by writing on 7cups
But yeah I I think some issues cannot be solved all at once...
I don't know there could be so many issues triggering food addiction. If you're willing I'm always in for a chat and to discover more together of why there is unrest in your soul.
@Hopeandmore
Oh woops. I saw I'm on my member account. I'm a listener also (Pieceoftheuniverse). Maybe that's a better way to contact each other
@Hopeandmore
Yeah, I have tried for what seems like a year now. I wanna stop it, and the only way I can actually stop it is to not have anything to eat in the house. But as already said that leads to me doing grocery shopping while hungry, and that's just even worse, really.
That said: I am not eating what I should. I am actually eating very little atm., and that maybe be another reason why I am comfort eating in the night. But when I tried to recover some months ago (I ended up relapsing anyways) and I ate more the nightly eating didn't stop. So I don't think that's the problem.
I'll PM you now
hey I would suggest ddoing yoga or listening to calming sounds such as waterfalls or whales thes are just suggestions
@Nyx2026 Yoga is actually a really good idea. I really love yoga 
@TheMadHatterWasHere
If all that doesn't work...
one could write down what they do all day...
when they wake, go to sleep, nap, eat, drink, what they do, especially when active and not, and at what times...
how bright is light exposure in morning and late in evening especially...
then see if there is any cause/effect relationships...
or see if there are any patterns that could point to the solution(s) needed.
Diet in particular can have a big impact... especially if eating many problematic foods... like foods impacting blood sugar in a bad way... or not getting the right nutrition.
Also sleep patterns and sleep hygiene habits.
@TheMadHatterWasHere I can relate to that! Everything tastes btter at night and later the better taste. I havent solved it yet either. Sometimes it helps to only eat a tiny bit of something or just a few bites of several things. Staying away rom the kiethen helps. Problem is to let the dog out I have to go thruthe kitchen.....Best that has helped me tho is to just the the couple of bites. And stay away from weed, lol