Why You Can't Stop Eating Shitty Food After Your Kids Go To Bed

I used to have a serious problem with endless late night snacking after my kids went to bed.

Can you relate?

Any of this sound familiar?

Kids are FINALLY in bed (thank God) and despite your best intentions you head STRAIGHT to pantry.

First peanut butter because its delicious.

Then maybe a handful of chips

Follow that up by just one square of dark chocolate,

But then you’re still hungry so 17 more pieces of candy.

You’re not alone

This is a super common problem that many of the ladies I’ve coached have faced at one time or another.

(Super quick note: My coaching program, The Hot & Healthy Life Fitness Program is finally open for new members. This is a community I’ve created of badass women who are drawing a line in the sand and saying “I’ve quit trying to be perfect, I’m just looking to be better than I was yesterday.” Its workouts, its dinner recipes, but most importantly its real ladies supporting each other, holding each other accountable, and crushing goals daily. You want in? Get the details HERE.)

Nightly foraging of your kitchen doesn’t mean you’re failing at life. It just means that we’ve got some things out of check in your life and it is time to do some tweaking to change that.

Cravings are a really great way of your body getting your attention as if to say “HEY! I need something”

Here are 3 reasons why you are eating peanut butter with a spoon straight from the jar EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT.

  1. You’re not eating enough throughout the day. 

Whether you’re a stay at home mom or a go to the office mom, there is no question that you are ridiculously busy. Your kids need 3 meals a day and that becomes the priority. Its not uncommon for a mom to eat 2 bites of their kids waffle for breakfast, a cup of coffee, a sandwich with 2 slices of turkey for lunch, and then a light dinner.  Its no wonder that you’re destroying mountains of food in the evening. You’re not failing at being healthy, you’re just HUNGRY!

You need to eat more, specifically more protein. Research says 1.7-1.8g of protein per kg of your bodyweight is a good number for a strength training woman. I would tend, from my own personal experience, to suggest even more protein. But 1.7g/kg of bodyweight is a good place to start. For a 140 lb woman that’s 107 grams/day.

Great sources of protein are: eggs, fish, lean meats, greek yogurt (choose plain or low in sugar options), quality protein powder, quality meat sticks, deli meat (nitrate free).

Don’t know your weight in KG? Google it! There is super easy converter available.

2. You’re not taking time for self-care

Most moms are painfully aware that they aren’t taking enough time for themselves. Its not like we don’t want to right? Its just hard to find the time.

But what if I told you that taking more time for yourself might make you binge eat food less? Willing to give it a shot now?

By taking some time daily (even if its just 5-30 minutes) to unwind you can dramatically reduce the amount of stress in your life. Eating certain foods can trigger reward centers in our brains thereby releasing endorphins (which make us happy). If you’re not getting this endorphin release any other way (by doing things you enjoy, exercising, having sex, etc) you could really be craving that endorphin release from food.

Try spending a little bit of time daily on your own. Reading a book, using a meditation app like Headspace, and going for a walk, are all good ideas. Even if you have to put on a movie for your kids and lock yourself in the bathroom, do what you have to do to get a little bit of “me time” every day.

3. Allow yourself a planned indulgence

WTF is a planned indulgence?

Its a little trick that just might help you from going off the rails nutritionally.

A planned indulgence is a little treat that you allow yourself to have once a day. Allowing something small like this can help prevent you from binge eating something far worse nutritionally later.

In my opinion, avoiding all sweets from your diet is a strategy that is setting you up to fail. You can’t not eat sweets forever. For the short term, sure, you’ve got willpower, that will buy you a few days or a few weeks. But eventually that willpower is going to run out and you won’t be able to white knuckle yourself through anymore. Depleted willpower can lead to a major binge session with food, hello a whole box of girl scout cookies GONE.

So you need to avoid all sweets for a week or so to give you’re body a good reset, sure, I can get on board with that. But consider that maybe allowing yourself something small can be the thing it takes to get you to stop the binging and stop the guilt that goes along with it.

Adulting is hard guys. At the end of the day you’re tired, you’re done using your brain. I get it. Its not wrong to want a treat in the evening or to choose to eat a treat occasionally. But when its preventing you from losing the weight you are working so hard to lose or its making you crazy its time to explore the WHY behind what you’re doing.

Sometimes breaking a habit like this can be as simple as eating more during the day.

So quit beating yourself up about WHY you can’t be more successful nutritionally and put on your detective coat and figure out why you are really wanting to eat “all the food” in the evening.

Don’t forget, registration closes Saturday January 21st for the Hot & Healthy Life Fitness Program. If you want to be surrounded with a group of women getting consistent with their nutrition, getting consistent with their workouts and being REAL AS HELL about their struggles then you better get yourself signed up. Get all the Details Here —>>  https://heatherosby.com/hotandhealthyfitnessprogram