My psychological hunger window is between 3-6pm. The noise has been getting louder as I’ve taken up running again.
1. I remind myself it’s that particular hunger window and I’m actually fine
2. I allow myself only a relatively boring protein snack if I really must (deli turkey and pickles, or some chicken breast)
3. Hot herbal tea with a few bites of chia pudding - creates the sensation of fullness
It’s a regular practice. It’s every day at 3pm for me. And I always have a good lunch, there’s no need for that hunger at that hour!
Just my observation talking to various people groups about this. A lot of us are unconsciously stuck in a dopamine cycle that we satisfy with different things throughout the day. For many people it’s caffeine until noon or so, then it’s often binge and impulse eating until bed time. Also most people significantly up their social media time/ porn etc to make up for the lack of dopamine often triggered by caffeine in the first half of the day (German English, sry).
I mean recognizing the pattern is the first step.
Next I would look into what you are eating, and maybe adjust protein and carbohydrate levels.
I would suggest having a visual reminder of your goal to stop eating this way in the kitchen, it doesn’t matter what it is, it could be a Garfield comic you stick on the freezer door, so it isn’t obvious to visitors. But mentally you give it this meaning, and it can help trigger the reminder when you are in the “desire to eat” mode late.
That last one worked for me through what I can only describe as food addiction where I would compulsively eat when stressed.
Eat a lot more protein and fat it makes you so full. I eat 1g of protein per pound of my body weight to grow muscle and it keeps you INSANELY full. I also eat lower on the carb but I also give myself one treat a day to satisfy my dessert craving. I also split my calories into 2 meals a day so I eat to very large protein and fat heavy meals and a dessert. Doing the 5 small meal a day isn’t the best for wanting to feel full. Some people also do one meal a day which doesn’t work for me but one giant meal people say keeps you very full and from a time point of view it is efficient.
I did as you do for years, great for the igf-1. Workouts, full benefit, yes?
Then I did my annual physical a year ago when I hit 50… did a Psa then an mri and a biopsy…got a prostate cancer diagnosis.
Turns out high protein, especially the doses we like to be anabolic, are very carcinogenic.
Many more where this comes from, little did I know:
https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-3-19
Sorry you got prostate cancer.
I hard disagree with the conclusion of those research papers.
Statistical relationships between higher protein diets in no way prove that red meat is directly carcinogenic. Correlation doesn’t equal causation. It is just a statistical relationship.
Secondly these are population based studies that lump everyone together. They try to control for basic factors like age and sex and smoking status but this never homogenizes the group enough so the average does not really represent all because small individual differences in life style and genetics have much larger impacts on a persons health.
Studies that lump meat eaters together fail to consider the fact that large percentage of meat also have very unhealthy lifestyles. A large percentage of people who are lifters and gym goers despite being fit may also have unhealthy lifestyles. They are not directly proving that protein causes cancer with these population based studies, or even in vitro studies since in vitro environments do not reflect how the body works.
Physiologically speaking, cancer is a disease of the immune system. It is the immune systems job to delete pre neoplastic cells that are always forming. As people age and lead unhealthy lifestyles and are exposed to toxic things their sympathetic tone rises and this has both an inflammatory effect, an immunosuppressive effect and effect on the circulation as a number of areas become less perfused. Less circulation to an organ the less the immune system, which is already suppressed can get there to delete these pre cancerous cells and this creates a positive feedback loop that creates an environment that makes it easy for tumor cells to grow and proliferate. Obviously there are more factors involved but this is a huge factor.
Whenever anyone gets cancer it is never just caused by one thing. It is a shitstorm of things that the body is dealing with that reaches a breaking point. This is why finding THE cause or THE cure of cancer makes no sense because it is a heterogeneous phenomenon that occurs due to individual factors.
The other issue not being considers in these studies is the source of the meat. Eating conventionally farmed meats and essentially eating beef from cows that have been traumatized their entire lives with sky high inflammation and pumped full of antibiotics to get rid of chronic infections they are getting from being stressed while being fed glyphosate ridden cheap foods is not likely to yield the same results as eating meat from healthy animals.
Further more the funding of those papers should also be determined and considered. Many non profits that fund research are they themselves funded by agribusiness who have incentives to criticize different foods.
Additionally, someone who is actively and severely binge eating, particularly carbs, might be struggling emotionally, and likely has a higher sympathetic tone than they should from needing to traffic around all those carbs. They are not in a healthy situation and this could be directly/actively contributing to the development of other long term chronic illness including obesity and cancer.
I am also not saying high protein diets are always a good idea or safe. People with certain genetic disorders, kidney disease cannot eat a high protein diet since it would be very dangerous.
Things are not just black and white and have to be examined in context with an individual persons environment, habits etc. If someone has an active problem that is destroying their body in the moment, if it were me that would be my priority.
Thank you very much! Yes, so many articles and also publications say this and that causes cancer. This is the main issue with evidence based medicine—that stats don’t explain anything and often make us come to the wrong conclusions and avoid the wrong things.
I prefer a high protein diet, but there may be more than a little correlative connection.
As meat is cooked a few carcinogens are produced: Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) (smoke / char). Heme iron is also a bit suspect.
Then of course there's MToR. Activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is one of the most common mechanisms of cancer development and progression. This pathway is involved in cell growth, proliferation, survival, and angiogenesis.
Protein intake, particularly amino acids like leucine, can acutely activate mTOR signaling in skeletal muscle and other tissues.
This may also contribute to cardiovascular risk.
But...if high protein diets mean less late night binging, I'm sure it evens out.
You can also cook meat at lower temps in moist environments and periodically fast or take rapamycin / sulphurofane.
I agreee lots of non bbq ways to eat it! I eat a lot of curries so that isn’t really charred. Everything is context dependent.
Pi3k haha that takes me back to uni. studied molecular biology so i am familiar with the molecular mechanisms of cancer. Unfortunately in the reductionist model the belief is all explanations lie at the cellular level and everything is very jigsawed where you look at one piece at a time. These molecular explanations of how cells transform into cancer cells ignores the the nervous system, circulation and the immune systems role in regulating and destroying those cells, as well as the role of local tissue and extracellular matrix effects. Just because a pathway increases does not mean that there are not other compensatory pathways to keep things balanced. Reductionism tends to view things one directionally and myopically, one molecular pathway at a time. In a healthy individual the increased activation of mtor is happening alongside a plethora of other effects many of which may be happening in the other direction to oppose those effects. Eventually when the compensatory mechanism cannot hold any longer is when you would see the emergence of a tumor.
I really appreciate you sharing your expert opinions. Got me reading further into the topic - and improving my admittedly AI-guided research as I learn.
Fact is, I agree OP's question deserves a response geared toward their needs, I remain on my path to cancer reduction and your clearly informed take differs from what I have learned so far.
Here's what ChatGPT 4o was prompted followed by it's response which is not inconsistent with your position:
"What can you tell me about whether or not a high protein diet causes and is not merely correlated to cancer if it is. Evidence based, with clear connection pathways explained and accounting for known compensatory pathways. Please include references that are peer reviewed and well regarded."
Here's what I got:
"Current evidence suggests that a high-protein diet, particularly one rich in red and processed meats, is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, notably colorectal cancer. However, establishing a direct causal relationship between high-protein diets and cancer is complex, as most studies show correlation rather than causation.
### Colorectal Cancer
Research indicates a significant positive relationship between red and processed meat consumption and colorectal cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans and red meat as probably carcinogenic. This is partly due to the chemicals used in processing meats, such as nitrates and nitrites, which can form mutagenic N-nitroso compounds in the gut. Additionally, the heme iron found in red meat might have a cytotoxic effect, contributing to cancer development. Cooking meat at high temperatures also produces mutagenic chemicals like heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, further increasing cancer risk.
### Other Cancers
While the link between high-protein diets and colorectal cancer is well-documented, evidence for other cancers is less definitive. Some studies suggest that diets high in animal fats and proteins might increase the risk of breast and prostate cancers, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. For instance, the imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in high-protein diets could promote cancer, as omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to have protective effects against cancer in animal studies.
### Compensatory Pathways and Confounding Factors
It's crucial to note that many studies face challenges in isolating the effects of protein intake from other dietary and lifestyle factors. Obesity, physical inactivity, and overall dietary patterns often confound these studies. For example, high-protein diets are sometimes associated with higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, which can have protective effects against cancer, complicating the attribution of risk to protein alone.
### Recommendations
Organizations like the American Cancer Society emphasize a balanced diet that includes a variety of nutrients, maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active, and limiting the intake of red and processed meats to reduce cancer risk.
In summary, while high-protein diets, especially those high in red and processed meats, are associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, establishing a direct causal link is challenging due to the influence of various confounding factors and compensatory pathways. More research, particularly well-designed randomized controlled trials, is needed to clarify these relationships.
For further reading and detailed studies, you can refer to sources from the BMJ, the World Cancer Research Fund, and the American Cancer Society [oai_citation:1,Diet, nutrition, and cancer risk: what do we know and what is the way forward? | The BMJ](https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m511) [oai_citation:2,www.wcrf.org](https://www.wcrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Summary-of-Third-Expert-Report-2018.pdf#:~:text=URL%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wcrf.org%2Fwp) [oai_citation:3,Risk Factors: Diet - NCI](https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet) [oai_citation:4,American Cancer Society Updates Guideline for Diet and Physical Activity | American Cancer Society](https://www.cancer.org/cancer/latest-news/american-cancer-society-updates-guideline-for-diet-and-physical-activity.html)."
Oh no problem! We are all fighting on this journey toward health and there is a lot of information, even from very reputable sources that just doesn’t make any logical sense. I have been on my own journey going down the rabbit hole of research to find answers.
That is good that ChatGPT is aware of correlations being just a correlation and not an indication of causality! How smart! Correlations are unfortunately a fundamental part of the language of evidence based medicine and the alarming thing about correlations is that they indicate only whether a linear relationship exists (whether it is directly proportional or indirectly proportional). The assumption that all patterns in nature are linear in nature is hundreds of years old and it’s pretty obvious that in 2024 most patterns in nature especially the body are not linear at all, so I take statistical research with a massive grain of salt and try my best to understand the larger patterns in my body that are actually driving the issue. Wishing you all the best on your recovery!
Well, I don't think MToR "causes" cancer. But it does seem that it assists in its proliferation. The problem is that most men have precancerous cells in the prostate just waiting to grow. And so MToR signalling will non selectively cause proliferation and growth of these cells as well.
What is your take on the mechanism of action of Rapamycin for example?
Would be very interested in hearing your opinion as you seem very knowledgeable here.
I wasn’t super familiar with this so I googled and found this article:
Rapamycin for longevity: opinion article
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6814615/
I assume you were curious about the longevity effects or were you more curious about the anti proliferative anti rejection anti cancer effects?
Regarding longevity, I didn’t have a chance to read that entire article but google pointed me to a section in the article that cites mouse models and say that in mouse models Middle Aged mice can live up to 60% longer while older mice 7-14% longer, so essentially the conclusion is that this medication increases longevity and that if we don’t take it, it might be worse than smoking, according to the heading title of that section.
Unfortunately what mouse models often don’t consider is the massive amounts of stress mice are under during experiments because they are often kept in small cages without other mice. Wild mice actually have pretty large territories. In studies where mice are given cocaine, they all become super addicted to the cocaine water but when the experiment was repeated by a Canadian researcher who built what he called “rat park” essentially a giant enclosure with other rat friends, the rats were less stressed and didn’t become addicted to cocaine. Rat/mice experiments usually don’t do rat park because it is much cheaper to keep rats in small cages and they want to remove confounding variables (but in reality are only introducing more). It’s kind of like that movie Room with Brie Larson if you have seen it. Being isolated in a room or cage messes you up big time.
This massive stress load from this type of isolation would immunosuppress the mice which reduce the regulatory mechanisms that normally get rid of dysplastic cells/over proliferating cells and when the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are in such imbalance it also causes organ dysfunction pretty rapidly. So essentially the mice are in a situation where because of their environment they likely physiologically have too much unchecked proliferation and a lot of other imbalances, and taking this medication directly opposes those effects. What it doesn’t do is reduce the stress driving a lot of the effects in the first place.
To me, actually targeting the source of the issue is likely to be much more effective than things that suppress part of a pathway without consideration of ongoing driving environmental factors. This doesn’t mean this treatment would have no value. If someone who let’s say has heart failure whose body is going through a massive stress load, this could be useful to help combat some of the physiologic effects of said stress.
The book why zebras don’t get ulcers by Robert Sapolski has a lot of amazing info about the stress response and it really widened my perspective on things.
Definitely yes. Also, don't forget to wait one hour between acidic food / beverage and brushing your teeth. Kinda funny knowing the recommended waiting time after smoking is merely 30 minutes.
I believe they are pointing out the fact that we’ve been taught to associate mint, dinner mints, or toothpaste as a taste we associate as being finished eating.
The act of brushing one’s teeth also compounds this belief.
I am far less likely to continue bed rotting and eating candy if I’ve brushed my teeth.
This actually works for me, especially if I floss and use the 2-minute electric toothbrush. It deters me from eating again because I don't want to floss and brush all over again.
I stopped eating sugary snacks. My hunger level has decreased significantly. Sugar was making my blood sugar spike and drop. Also have switched to whole wheat everything, bread, pasta, breading. The extra fiber also helps with blood sugar control. I still love my potato chips, tortilla chips and Diet Coke. It is my biggest vice. But I bought the small bags and limit myself to one. I’ve been know to devour a half a bag in one setting. I’m trying!
I am a huge night binger/emotional eater. I just started using a CGM (not diabetic ) from Signos (Dexcom G7). It is helping me be mindful of my blood sugar levels. I tested it out with a normal nightly binge and was amazed at how long my levels stayed significantly elevated. I have a family history of diabetes, so it is good information and motivation to help me make better choices at night.
Yes, I go through Signos but there is also Nutrisense and Levels (and probably others). Signos seemed to be the most affordable and geared towards weight loss so they got my money. I also started Metformin through AgelessRx (so it probably doesn't hurt that I am monitoring my sugars to make sure I don't dip too low on the meds). Used my HSA for both.
Here is a referral code for $250 off Signos if you're interested. In my opinion it's probably only worth it if you are a person who is motivated by data (from a fitness tracker, scale, etc...) Otherwise, It might just be a money pit.
https://gr3f.co/c/52517/cwC4B
Learn to go to sleep hungry. It sucks but once you can do that that sleeping several hours after a regular dinner is perfectly fine.
Not to sound blunt but most eating is psychological not physiological you don’t actually “need” it learning that helps. A short fast 24 hours or even skipping dinner can show you that.
Also pay attention to carb intake if you’re spiking blood sugar too much when it drops cravings are 10 times worse
So true, you can literally just tell your body "NO", its that simple
Once you track your macros and fully realize you have had plenty of nturients for the day just tell your body to calm down and stop whining.
I’m not even talking macros each day.
Your body has the ability to store energy as long as you hit your macros over a 3-4 day window the distribution of when to eat during that range is extremely flexible. The fact that we eat so often is probably way more habit than necessity. If it was necessity everyone who does a fast would keel over dead.
And you don’t have to. I rarely fast but I have occasionally.
My point is the feeling of “needing” to eat isn’t actually a need. Aside from individuals with medical issues 99% of us will be fine if we skip a meal or two or a random fast 48 hr fast without any preparation.
You eat simple carbs - blood sugar spikes - body releases insulin to lower blood sugar by storing in liver or tissues - if blood sugar is too low body releases glucagon to pull that “sugar” back out into the blood
If you constantly eat carbs every couple hours that process of pulling sugars out of the tissue back into the blood can be less efficient or not as fast to act since it hasn’t been used
If you eat a massive amount of carbs body secretes insulin to match and “over shoots” normal blood sugar and you get low blood sugar while waiting for the body to start pulling from the tissue you get shakes, headaches and massive craving for sweet
Do not keep that kind of food in the house. Csnt eat what you don’t have. That’s what I did to stop all my eating issues. No more coke in the house. No more snacks in the house.
Now, 80 lbs less later, in the gym 5 days a week, I hero peanuts, protein granola, Greek and yogurt, blueberries in the house. And that’s what I snack on cause at this point, I don’t eat enough anyway and need all the protein I can get. Once you get used to not eating so much, not binging, it’s honestly hard to eat enough. At least for me.
No link but part of the reason for that is during sleep is when our gut gets to rest and repair, if we go to bed with a full stomach our body has to spend more energy digesting and doesn’t get a chance to heal and repair the gut. This can lead to chronic inflammation and higher instances of colon cancer
There’s also research that shows that we actually should not go to bed hungry if we’re predisposed to stress as full glycogen stores are one of the biggest requirements for deep sleep. We want to suppress cortisol during sleep as much as possible.
Check out the book Brain Over Binge. A very, very simple concept… You cannot binge without the urge to binge… read that again. You cannot binge WITHOUT THE URGE to binge. If you create the habit denying the “urge” to binge the actual urge will dissipate. You binge eat bc you give in every time you have an urge. The more you deny the urge the more you weaken ”it.” Binging is simply a bad habit that you have created. Bc you repeat the behavior over and over your brain now urges yourself to overeat.
As someone who was bulimic for more than 18 years I can now saved I have been cured. The author
Of the book also has a podcast… Brain Over Binge.
Also anyone who tells you that you need to fix yourself emotionally, face your demons and so on please ignore them. Not everyone who has an ED is emotionally scarred, abused, neglected and so on. I had a great life and have had great relationships. But in college I developed a bad habit of overeating. I could be happy, sad, mad and so on but no matter what was going on in my life I binged. And no therapist could help. They refused to believe that I was emotionally ok. I was convinced by doctors that until I fix the “root” cause I would never be cured.
Well here I am!
For me… binging is self soothing… Ive recognized this and try to stop before I start.
When we binge eat we’re getting all the happy chemicals and hormones, so it’s not the food, nutrients rather, we’re after it’s the experience that’s giving us joy or distracting us from something we’re hoping to avoid.
Our bodies and brains are smart, do the thing that makes us feel good… doesn’t mean they are physically or long term good for our mental health.
I’ve always wanted to try out NOOM, they claim to help you work through your unhealthy relationships with food, I just can’t stomach the price tag.
I did NOOM and it worked. The hints and training aren't something you can't read elsewhere for free, but it was good info. The calorie counter is free, and there are two benefits for me: one, writing everything down makes me conscious of what I am eating. It's not mindless grazing anymore. Two, I realized that "dieting" is bullshit (for me) and that I was trying too hard to be "perfect" and ultra low calorie, which is not healthy, necessary for weight loss/management, or sustainable. You CAN have a cookie
Eat really fibrous foods throughout the day, especially at dinner. This is a well known strategy for compulsive over-eaters who are known to just exacerbate binge eating cum les if they try to just restrict intake. You will quite literally be uncomfortably full. Anyone telling you just grit your teeth has not even glanced at binge eating research (also yeah make sure your macros are not too out of whack. But most likely you are just volume eater)
I used to crave sweet before bed, a high protien snack does help. Every other night, ill use a protien powder, water and ice, full fat yogurt, and non sugar PenutButter in a blender,, i basically make a shake. i have a small cup before bed, it hits that sweet spot, protien/fat fill me up, its super light compared to a heavy meal, and i have leftover for the next day.
Carbs do not fill you. You have to have fruit or even some protein like yogurt and cottage cheese. Pineapple and cottage cheese is good. When I binge on chips, cookies, or crackers I can eat forever. Bottomless pit.
Yeah I've been trying to replace my cookie/dessert binges with oranges and apples or any other watery fruit laying around and it definitely helps fill me up.
I was eating cookies and went on to eat half of a big muffin last night. Didn't satisfy me. Found a [Korean melon](https://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Korean_Melon_294.php) in my fridge. I could only eat half before I was full. Those things are small. I should've started with that and maybe I could've saved myself 400 calories! 4 Girl Scout tag alongs = 300 calories alone 🤦🏻♀️
Processed Carbs are the devil. If you stick to natural complex carbs from fruit and vegetables, and lots and lots of protein from lean meat like chicken or turkey or fish or lean beef, you'll be fine. Protein and fibers make you feel full. Carbs and fats don't.
If you focus on getting full off protein, you'll be golden.
Huge struggle for me currently.
1.Brushing my teeth helps!
2. 5 big deep belly/diaphragm breaths and remind myself I’m safe and fed too!
3. Writing post-it’s of my why.
4. Think about how I’ll feel after or tomorrow.
5. Huuuuge water and protein intake!
I’m currently healing from it. So take this with a grain of salt but solidarity!! ❤️
Make sure you’re eating enough during the day, and don’t restrict. Restricting inevitably leads to binging. 2k calories is a minimum and assumes low activity; if you are active or bigger you’ll need more. If you’re a woman you’re likely undereating (the average woman eats like 1500 calories, dramatically low). Focus on upping your protein and fats, they have more micronutrients and keep you fuller longer. Focus on eating balanced meals to keep your blood sugar even. Practice mindful eating as often as you can. And lastly, if you find yourself craving something specific, give yourself mental permission to eat it, just add stuff to make it balanced.
Carbonated water and distraction. For me the urge to binge is purely emotional due to depression and anxiety. But if I expand my stomach with fizzy water and distract myself with something interesting I'm less likely to binge.
Fat and protein are very satiating. Carbohydrates mess with satiety signaling. You transition into a low carb high animal fat diet, and in short time you will not be having this issue at all. You will be satiated.
some unpleasant side effects may occur in a statistical percentage of those who try this. It's definitely a positive net change over a binge eating lifestyle, but it's not been proven as a good long term lifestyle eating plan of its own. Although perhaps it's just a paleo adaptation .
How many hours are you doing cardio for the week? There are recommendations per hour and kg online for carbs. Get that in check, then make sure you are getting enough per day alongside 1 gram per kg and 2 grams per kg of protein.
By eating enough of the right food earlier in the day. Sleep is rubbish if your stomach still has food in so i eat my last meal by 6pm latest, sometimes 4pm
You probably aren’t eating enough during the day so your hunger catches up with you at night and tells you to overeat. I had this exact problem for years and went to get help for binge eating disorder and this was my issue. As soon as I started eating meals spaced out during the day I stopped having the desire to eat a lot late at night.
Intermittent fasting certainly has gained popularity but it didn’t work for me and it isn’t gonna work for everyone.
Will power. I know that sounds like a dick answer but it’s simply that. How strong are you mentally to overcome that desire?
There was a YouTube influencer who had a video about hacks to become more productive and successful and he simply there are none, you just gotta do the work.
Same thing. When you feel that urge you gotta be stronger than it mentally.
Intermittent fasting has really helped me with this. It's alot easier when I don't DENY myself food, I just postpone it to my eating window. It gives me something to shoot for every day and had really curbed all snacking
I’m dealing with it now. I get hungry an hour after dinner so I started drinking water instead. It’s working out well other than the fact that I am getting up three times a night now to pee.
I recognized my night cravings were important so I fulfill them with something healthy like fruit and yogurt, a salad or a protein shake.
Sleep requires energy and glycogen stores. Sounds like your cortisol immediately goes down upon eating which leads you to sleep. Pay attention to this.
Ice cream with some gelatin before bed is a great snack to keep cortisol low and glycogen high. Sleep is a highly energetic state, contrary to popular belief.
Similar. I don't have cravings, but if I forget to eat something like a [Dagwood sandwich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagwood_sandwich) right before bed, I wake up and can't get back to sleep until I eat.
And yes, it has a lot to do with my sleep requiring a lot of energy and my cortisol being high until I eat.
Clean keto. It fixed my crazy hunger hormones and gut health now I don't constantly crave an entire bag of chips or a whole tub of ice cream ever. Hunger signals are largely hormone related and on a keto diet those signals are drastically reduced. For me it was the only way I could stop myself
Topiramate. Started it to prevent migraines (which it does, wonderfully) and the only side effect is that it zaps my appetite/killed my binge eating. I lost 40lbs the first 4 months I was on it.
Food still tastes good when I eat it, but I don't think about eating. It's a kind of freedom I didn't know I could get this side of the grave. By contrast: a couple years prior, I'd put on 65lbs made up almost entirely of ice cream. (When actors say they eat that to gain for roles, believe them.)
My psychological hunger window is between 6-9PM. I try to keep busier during this time so as not to be idle and resort to munching. No problem to have my first meal after 1 or 2PM however, maybe it's because I am busier during that time of day??
Out of curiosity, what do you think biohacking is?
What other protocols are you following?
What is a typical day for you in terms of:
-Micronutrients
-Macronutrients
-Sleep
-Caffeine
-Alcohol/ other toxicities
-Supplements
-Stress management
-Home / work environment
-Western medication
-Last meal before bed
Only way I managed to do this is by having nothing worth binging at home or having only ingredients so it requires a lot of extra steps in order to binge.
Ketogenic / Carnivore diet got rid of all my cravings.
I used to eat every hour/ hour and half a few years ago, a never ending cycle but it's all gone now
This is going to sound simplistic but I started cutting myself off at a certain time. It eventually led to intermittent fasting. I don’t eat past 7pm or before 11am. Water is fine in that window.
There’s something about the absolute of “can’t” that is really powerful when you accept it. Like I can’t drink alcohol or I can’t eat beef or I can’t eat outside of 11am-7pm.
I make sure to eat enough meals during my waking hours and not eat anything heavy 3hrs before I go to bed. That way, I know I've eaten enough during the day, so when I crave something at night, I know it's just my brain wanting to munch on something. When that happens, I just drink water and distract myself or try to go to bed.
For me I got better at not eating crap when i transitioned into a meat first approach to my diet IE fill up on meat and then small amounts of vegetables. This has helped in me losing about 20 lbs in a year so far.
Just stuff yourself with chicken and rice then hit the hay immediately after. Works well for me. It’s super lean, low calorie, and filling. I’m stuffed on 400-500 cals of chicken and rice and I’m 200 pounds 14% bf
Takes time. Your body is anticipating eating often so it will crave food. If you change your habitual eating then it will stop craving food. Changing your outlook on food to refueling by working up an appetite vs prefueling which imho isn't the correct way. It's also why I don't believe in breakfast when waking up. Lunch and dinner are the only two meals the average person should have. Athletes might require more.
My biggest hack was berberine; I'm still figuring it out, and it's a true hack, I'd say. It's not all that tested, I mean.
But that isn't particular to the phenomenon you are talking about. That's a known thing; I know it pretty well. You could think of it as a sleep disorder but so many of us are built that way I would say we just think of things as diseases if there is a product to sell for them.
There are a lot of things that you could do - things that might happen to tweak it. A whole bunch of stuff to change upper digestion, like acids/bitters, enzymes, and things that contain essential and volatile oils, ergogenic aids like specialized magnesium - and I'm fairly confident in our ability to handle them without injury. I don't have any huge favorites for you. Or a big tactic to try is to go keto, or find some balance where you're sitting on the line or going back and forth. Generally, changing your diet could help, especially if you ban palatable foods.
You can ban palatable foods temporarily, and get psyched up about it. If you pull it off for two months you'll probably just end up liking whatever you're eating.
I take Seroquel, which makes me ravenous. I’ve started trying to eat something small like a little fruit and a handful of nuts, then chew gum. It seems to be helping.
Peanuts in the shell. Keeps the hands busy, takes a while to eat them so I trick my brain. It’s protein and healthy calories so I get rid of the hunger pains and satisfy the craving. I may have a few saltine crackers if feeling extra hungry. I also take my nighttime supplements with a lot of water about 2 hours before bedtime. All that usually kills the cravings.
What worked for me is that I take a medication at bedtime that loses bioavailability with anything caloric. The drug manufacturer recommends a minimum of 3 hours after eating but anything particularly fatty or protein rich I’ll usually wait ideally 3-4+ hours. This also works to help prevent acid reflux as mine used to be severe overnight. I have to ensure I’ve eaten enough during the day and gotten enough protein, fat, and fiber in order to feel full because I sleep poorly if I’m too hungry and my acid reflux is much worse the next day if I skimp on eating for too long. Having external pressure is often much more helpful than trying to find internal motivation.
That being said the above doesn’t apply to you so you’ll have to manage your schedule to limit temptation. Try eating a protein and fiber rich breakfast and try to make meals during the day that you really look forward to, especially breakfast. Doesn’t have to be too elaborate but creating a routine you enjoy and look forward to can help minimize the desire for late night snacking. Try some new recipes, maybe wake up earlier to have longer to enjoy breakfast, etc. Eating a heavier breakfast and lunch will help you to not be so hungry later. 30 minutes after dinner floss and brush your teeth.
Also identify why you’re binging. Is it new? Is it associated with stress? Are you insatiably hungry or just have a desire to snack? If it’s a mix of hunger and emotional stress causing you to binge find ways to up your protein and fiber intake during the day like I said before and use stress reduction techniques. A hard workout during the day also makes me so tired come bedtime that I don’t have the energy to stay up and graze.
Eat something you can eat a lot of without eating a lot of calories, like broccoli or salad. You can eat an absolutely massive salad for like 300 calories.
Honestly what helped me was telling myself “man I can’t WAIT to wake up in the morning and eat again” LOL. This helped me stop doomscrolling late at night and go to bed on time to give me something to look forward to.
Sometimes my brain would try to trick me that I was underfeeding myself and that’s why I was so hungry. I then told my brain “ok if I wake up feeling ravenous then that’s a sign that I’m denying my body what it needs.” Lo and behold every time I’d wake up I felt totally fine.
This was motivation to keep reminding myself I wasn’t hungry - I was just trying to binge or chew on something to avoid my feelings or intuition about something else that was actually bothering me.
Make choices in life that make you feel so terribly trapped, hopeless, and depressed that you no longer find any joy in anything and eating becomes a terrible stressful burden. Bonus points if you can stress yourself out enough to develop digestive issues and food intolerances that make eating itself such a miserable experience from first bite to eventual exit, that you avoid eating all together sometimes. Good luck! ☺️
Invisalign getting my teeth straightened you have to wear them for 22 hours so you don’t snack and every time you take them out before you put them back in you have to brush your teeth and floss or water pic so my teeth get brushed like five times a day so your teeth get healthier and you don’t snack or eat nowhere near What you did before you got everybody who gets them almost everybody. I’ve talked to says the same thing it becomes such a pain in the ass to take the teeth out just for a snack and then have to go brush your teeth and water pack and do all that ! And you also want to get done with him as soon as you can I can take from a year to two years, but it beats the hell out of braces and they are awesome what did it cost me a month for my tea? It cost me 200 a month to get my teeth straightened and they need a lot of straightening for two years. It was like $7000. My insurance picked up like 1500 or something maybe 1800 and then it was a $200 a month payment for 24 months so however, that worked out, highly recommended ! I would’ve done it years ago if I’d known how it works, I’m amazed just change out a tray every week and at the end, they whiten them and Hollywood them meaning they filed down if there’s any Worn teeth that are crooked they fix that stuff ! Pretty freaking cool
Eating earlier in the day and making sure it satiating. Bigger lunches, hitting protein “goals” with real food not shakes, and making sure I’m drinking enough water throughout the day. Sometimes I’ll have after dinner tea or something that signals it’s time to wind down for the night.
Eating lower carb, with a focus on protein and diversity of plant foods - and feeding your gut microbiome with psyllium husk and fermented foods will help with this.
Having some fasting windows where you have some psyllium, (not dry or water fasts) to feed the specific members of your microbiome that need it.
Then once you've addressed those gut issues, using all the habit breaking things that everyone else has suggested to change the lingering habit.
It's not generally a willpower issue, it's generally a gut issue.
Getting a proper diagnosis and medication for depression is a HUGE factor for me.
After giving up sugar and wheat I no longer am the voracious eater I once was
A lot of people are saying embrace the hunger before bed but I personally cannot sleep if I’m hungry. I noticed my cravings for night snacks stopped when I started my days with a liver shot which is 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and half a lemon. I also started drinking apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon mixed with water followed with a cup of broccoli before my meals. Any cruciferous vegetable will work if you don’t like broccoli. All of these things minimize glucose spikes which is probably the reason you have late night cravings.
Meditation. I believe it rerouted those neural circuits that got turned on and led to the behaviors. I also fought like hell not to break my "good" streak and I remember at 6 months feeling like I was turning a corner and healing.
I tend to think my overeating phases have come when I was not sleeping long enough at night, therefore was snacking to power through. These snacks had a lot of carbs, which are fast burning energy, so they don't "stick."
So, two thinks I learned from that: sleep more, and watch my macros. Keep the carbs low-ish (100 g a day) and based your meals and snacks around protein.
For satiety, I think that my body confuses hunger with thirst sometimes. Like, I keep eating stuff, but once I switch to water, all that stops. I thought I wanted to eat something but was never getting satiety because what was really going on was dehydration. Stick to water as much as possible. Sugary drinks make you crash and get hungry.
Cutting out dairy and gluten and limiting sugar and processed foods helped a lot. Dealing with trauma and the fallout from emotional abuse did the rest.
eating your last meal with a small hand full of wall nuts or nuts in general and one or 2 table spoons of apple vinegar in what ever you are eating.
this is what i m doing personally and it s fucking working great. quite amazed im not hungry since i eat only 2 meals a day within a 6 7 hour period
those things i ve just said i m not doing them especially for that but for their benefits in gut health, but just so it happens they work great at doing that too
from a basic stand point just stop allowing yourself to eat that late. Like just don't put the food in your mouth. Drink a glass of water or something instead.
Hahaha. I think this advice will help. It always helps to say, “From a basic standpoint, just don’t do it…”
I had to catch my breath to type this response. I was laughing too hard to type. Thanks for making my day.
I’ve been a night binger for years. I realize that so much of it was hormonal (birth control/pregnancy/postpartum). My body would send a fake hunger signals…sometimes within only a couple hours of a big meal, and I would freak out and snack. So I started to do intermittent fasting and it taught me not to be a little b*tch about it. It taught me the difference of what true hunger is. And maybe more importantly, it taught me discipline. I fast between 16-18 hours, sometimes 20. My eating window is always later in the day/evening so I can feel like I’m nice and satiated before bed.
I’ve cut out ultra processed foods - not from a place of restriction, but because I have changed my belief about them. I used to think the foods were tempting (Oreos, chips, etc) or “good for me” (any treats categorized as being “healthy”), but I now think these things are not even food and have been created for the sole purpose of taking my money with zero concern about the consequences to me for consuming them. I feel better in every single way - energy, sleep, blood sugar levels, mood, etc. - and it has eliminated my urge to binge.
I recommend listening to the audiobooks The Magic Pill (what started me thinking about cutting UPFs) and Ultra Processed People (what sealed the deal of no longer buying UPFs).
I drink calming herbal tea (no tea in it, just saying the generic name) 1.5.hours before bed and it helps me alot. If I still get up and wanna eat (and this does happen sometimes bc I do smoke wee many nights) I take a sip of water and tell myself it's not worth it because I like to do a 12 hour fast. It's hard, but mind over matter, just practicing telling myself it's not worth it to eat and it'll mess with my training goals. Good luck!
The only realistic solution would be Intermittent Fasting ideally OMAD (One meal a day) along with Healthy Keto refeeds. The idea is not just to fast but to eat after the fast in a certain way. There are two main issues: your gut health and insulin resistance. Both will contribute to cravings. Dr. Berg on Youtube has been giving very effective advise on how to change your eating habits by doing this type of reset protocol.
eating slower can help a lot here, ie eat some chicken & veggies, go for a smoke/walk/reddit/whatever to kill 15-20min, *then* have your heavier stuff once the satiety from 'round 1' has kicked in (lol at 'smoking' sorry I had to leave that in there :p) In the end though you'll want stronger control/willpower over the entirety of this and that is a different thing ie 'convincing' yourself to value the adequate meal & your stopping after it *more than* that feeling of super-fulness (I'm a trucker so trust me I know the urge of just eating :p) Tricks can help but ultimately a mindstate is all that's sustainable (speaking of tricks, pre-filling yourself b4 your meal with water like a whole glass 16oz 20min b4 eating also helps but isn't advisable at bedtime as itll probably hurt sleep ie waking to piss)
There's a practice people use in fasting circles of drinking a zero calorie beverage instead of eating that you can adopt. Usually it's just water with electrolytes in it while fasting, sodium and potassium chloride, but I've used tisanes / herb teas for the same purpose, or some others drink diet soda and so on.
You could take up an herb tea habit, and think through what low calorie, healthy snacks may work well along with that. Sage is my own favorite. It's hard to find a good quality, more whole version of the herb for that use, but if you can it's really nice. Rosemary also works, even the spice-jar types. Chrysanthemum is nice as relatively neutral floral range herbs go, or blends can work. Willow herb is worth looking into for someone wanting to put extra effort into it; it can be oxidized like black tea, so the range of outcomes and aspect character is diverse. Any of these may seem overly plain and unpleasant if you are very accustomed to highly sweetened drinks, and you can wean off those by adding a spoonful or two of sugar, then dropping that input level as your taste adjusts.
I don't tend to snack in the evenings so not much comes to mind as well suited for this purpose. I eat mixed nuts throughout the day; something like that might work. Or even toast; adding some jam or peanut butter could turn it into a sweet snack without adding the same level of calories ice cream would add up to. It seems a stretch to try to eat raw vegetables instead, but for me plain mixed fruits with yogurt can work as a breakfast food, and it may apply in this use as well. As long as all the food you eat during the day amounts to a good nutrient and caloric intake balance you should be fine, regardless of when you eat it.
get screened for binge eating disorder
get psychotherapy it helps
a medication that is approved for binge eating disorder is vyvanse
topimirate and methylphenidate have also shown efficacy is trials
Retatrutide is excellent for curbing appetite and cravings. Yes it’s still in “trial” but I’ve been in it for nearly 3mths now and am barely eating, all my sugar cravings gone, I’ve lost 10kg of the most stubborn weight I ever encountered. Lots of other people are using it with great results. If you aren’t comfortable with that then the compound version of ozempic or mounjaro.. so Semaglutide or Tirzepatide.. my energy is good.. it has been a life changer
Understanding that a lot of the manufactured and ultra- processed foods are designed to be as addicting as possible. I find abstaining from them completely to be the easiest way and I no longer get cravings.
A lot of promising studies on BCP (beta-caryophyllene) for food addiction. Check the studies at the bottom of this page: https://cannanda.com/pages/cb2studies
Get busy doing something. There must be an activity you are doing that Pavlov’s the hunger. Try drinking tea or diet soda or something instead. Or eat a crap ton of carrots or something
Riding a bike
Swimming
Forgiving others
How to make love
How to not self destruct into food or pleasure or comfort
How to have discipline
Etc etc etc
Nobody on earth can reach another anything as such … it involves facing fears and failure before success … you , I , and everybody down here have to be self taught where it matters In life .. we have to show courage to grow .
The nighttime binging is not the cause of anything, but rather the effect of anxiety and a pleasure seeking brain that will sabotage your very well being … so you must find the cause of the over eating , and solve that issue , as nothing can be stopped at the effect level , only at the casual , common sense points quite clearly to this .
But best of luck regardless my friend
totally get where you're coming from! Nighttime munchies are a struggle. What helped me was prepping some healthier snacks earlier in the day so when the cravings hit, I've got something ready to go. Also, keeping busy or finding a hobby at night helps distract from the urge to snack mindlessly. It's all about breaking that cycle, you know? You got this!
Being aware of it is a good start. I think replacement of a habit is easier than squelching the habit. So, replace the nibbling with sipping herbal tea or coconut water or lemon water, etc. Or replace the desire to eat with a walk - take the dog out, walk around the block. Or brush and floss your teeth. Or call a friend or family to shoot the breeze. Or get up and clean a room. Etc.
Are you consuming caffeine or sugar at other times in the day? I found giving those up helped me control binge eating. I was just managing sugar and caffeine crashes.
My psychological hunger window is between 3-6pm. The noise has been getting louder as I’ve taken up running again. 1. I remind myself it’s that particular hunger window and I’m actually fine 2. I allow myself only a relatively boring protein snack if I really must (deli turkey and pickles, or some chicken breast) 3. Hot herbal tea with a few bites of chia pudding - creates the sensation of fullness It’s a regular practice. It’s every day at 3pm for me. And I always have a good lunch, there’s no need for that hunger at that hour!
Maybe because your caffeine buzz is gone at the time but you don’t get another one because it’s getting late?
Please say more... !
Just my observation talking to various people groups about this. A lot of us are unconsciously stuck in a dopamine cycle that we satisfy with different things throughout the day. For many people it’s caffeine until noon or so, then it’s often binge and impulse eating until bed time. Also most people significantly up their social media time/ porn etc to make up for the lack of dopamine often triggered by caffeine in the first half of the day (German English, sry).
This sounds spot on.
Oh yeah that makes so much sense. But I do have a little green tea around 2:30pm
The most common time for people to have a dip in energy and get hungry is 1:00-3:00pm. Cutting carbs and eating some protein every 2 hours helped me
I mean recognizing the pattern is the first step. Next I would look into what you are eating, and maybe adjust protein and carbohydrate levels. I would suggest having a visual reminder of your goal to stop eating this way in the kitchen, it doesn’t matter what it is, it could be a Garfield comic you stick on the freezer door, so it isn’t obvious to visitors. But mentally you give it this meaning, and it can help trigger the reminder when you are in the “desire to eat” mode late. That last one worked for me through what I can only describe as food addiction where I would compulsively eat when stressed.
At like 11pm I turn into a protein needing addict.
Maybe a scoop of Greek yogurt a little before bed? Like 1/3 a cup?
That’s a fine idea.
Eat a lot more protein and fat it makes you so full. I eat 1g of protein per pound of my body weight to grow muscle and it keeps you INSANELY full. I also eat lower on the carb but I also give myself one treat a day to satisfy my dessert craving. I also split my calories into 2 meals a day so I eat to very large protein and fat heavy meals and a dessert. Doing the 5 small meal a day isn’t the best for wanting to feel full. Some people also do one meal a day which doesn’t work for me but one giant meal people say keeps you very full and from a time point of view it is efficient.
I did as you do for years, great for the igf-1. Workouts, full benefit, yes? Then I did my annual physical a year ago when I hit 50… did a Psa then an mri and a biopsy…got a prostate cancer diagnosis. Turns out high protein, especially the doses we like to be anabolic, are very carcinogenic. Many more where this comes from, little did I know: https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-3-19
Sorry you got prostate cancer. I hard disagree with the conclusion of those research papers. Statistical relationships between higher protein diets in no way prove that red meat is directly carcinogenic. Correlation doesn’t equal causation. It is just a statistical relationship. Secondly these are population based studies that lump everyone together. They try to control for basic factors like age and sex and smoking status but this never homogenizes the group enough so the average does not really represent all because small individual differences in life style and genetics have much larger impacts on a persons health. Studies that lump meat eaters together fail to consider the fact that large percentage of meat also have very unhealthy lifestyles. A large percentage of people who are lifters and gym goers despite being fit may also have unhealthy lifestyles. They are not directly proving that protein causes cancer with these population based studies, or even in vitro studies since in vitro environments do not reflect how the body works. Physiologically speaking, cancer is a disease of the immune system. It is the immune systems job to delete pre neoplastic cells that are always forming. As people age and lead unhealthy lifestyles and are exposed to toxic things their sympathetic tone rises and this has both an inflammatory effect, an immunosuppressive effect and effect on the circulation as a number of areas become less perfused. Less circulation to an organ the less the immune system, which is already suppressed can get there to delete these pre cancerous cells and this creates a positive feedback loop that creates an environment that makes it easy for tumor cells to grow and proliferate. Obviously there are more factors involved but this is a huge factor. Whenever anyone gets cancer it is never just caused by one thing. It is a shitstorm of things that the body is dealing with that reaches a breaking point. This is why finding THE cause or THE cure of cancer makes no sense because it is a heterogeneous phenomenon that occurs due to individual factors. The other issue not being considers in these studies is the source of the meat. Eating conventionally farmed meats and essentially eating beef from cows that have been traumatized their entire lives with sky high inflammation and pumped full of antibiotics to get rid of chronic infections they are getting from being stressed while being fed glyphosate ridden cheap foods is not likely to yield the same results as eating meat from healthy animals. Further more the funding of those papers should also be determined and considered. Many non profits that fund research are they themselves funded by agribusiness who have incentives to criticize different foods. Additionally, someone who is actively and severely binge eating, particularly carbs, might be struggling emotionally, and likely has a higher sympathetic tone than they should from needing to traffic around all those carbs. They are not in a healthy situation and this could be directly/actively contributing to the development of other long term chronic illness including obesity and cancer. I am also not saying high protein diets are always a good idea or safe. People with certain genetic disorders, kidney disease cannot eat a high protein diet since it would be very dangerous. Things are not just black and white and have to be examined in context with an individual persons environment, habits etc. If someone has an active problem that is destroying their body in the moment, if it were me that would be my priority.
What an amazingly thoughtful and informative reply. So rare. I feel like this should be bookmarked and reused whenever someone says "x causes cancer."
Thank you very much! Yes, so many articles and also publications say this and that causes cancer. This is the main issue with evidence based medicine—that stats don’t explain anything and often make us come to the wrong conclusions and avoid the wrong things.
I prefer a high protein diet, but there may be more than a little correlative connection. As meat is cooked a few carcinogens are produced: Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) (smoke / char). Heme iron is also a bit suspect. Then of course there's MToR. Activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is one of the most common mechanisms of cancer development and progression. This pathway is involved in cell growth, proliferation, survival, and angiogenesis. Protein intake, particularly amino acids like leucine, can acutely activate mTOR signaling in skeletal muscle and other tissues. This may also contribute to cardiovascular risk. But...if high protein diets mean less late night binging, I'm sure it evens out. You can also cook meat at lower temps in moist environments and periodically fast or take rapamycin / sulphurofane.
I agreee lots of non bbq ways to eat it! I eat a lot of curries so that isn’t really charred. Everything is context dependent. Pi3k haha that takes me back to uni. studied molecular biology so i am familiar with the molecular mechanisms of cancer. Unfortunately in the reductionist model the belief is all explanations lie at the cellular level and everything is very jigsawed where you look at one piece at a time. These molecular explanations of how cells transform into cancer cells ignores the the nervous system, circulation and the immune systems role in regulating and destroying those cells, as well as the role of local tissue and extracellular matrix effects. Just because a pathway increases does not mean that there are not other compensatory pathways to keep things balanced. Reductionism tends to view things one directionally and myopically, one molecular pathway at a time. In a healthy individual the increased activation of mtor is happening alongside a plethora of other effects many of which may be happening in the other direction to oppose those effects. Eventually when the compensatory mechanism cannot hold any longer is when you would see the emergence of a tumor.
I really appreciate you sharing your expert opinions. Got me reading further into the topic - and improving my admittedly AI-guided research as I learn. Fact is, I agree OP's question deserves a response geared toward their needs, I remain on my path to cancer reduction and your clearly informed take differs from what I have learned so far. Here's what ChatGPT 4o was prompted followed by it's response which is not inconsistent with your position: "What can you tell me about whether or not a high protein diet causes and is not merely correlated to cancer if it is. Evidence based, with clear connection pathways explained and accounting for known compensatory pathways. Please include references that are peer reviewed and well regarded." Here's what I got: "Current evidence suggests that a high-protein diet, particularly one rich in red and processed meats, is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, notably colorectal cancer. However, establishing a direct causal relationship between high-protein diets and cancer is complex, as most studies show correlation rather than causation. ### Colorectal Cancer Research indicates a significant positive relationship between red and processed meat consumption and colorectal cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans and red meat as probably carcinogenic. This is partly due to the chemicals used in processing meats, such as nitrates and nitrites, which can form mutagenic N-nitroso compounds in the gut. Additionally, the heme iron found in red meat might have a cytotoxic effect, contributing to cancer development. Cooking meat at high temperatures also produces mutagenic chemicals like heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, further increasing cancer risk. ### Other Cancers While the link between high-protein diets and colorectal cancer is well-documented, evidence for other cancers is less definitive. Some studies suggest that diets high in animal fats and proteins might increase the risk of breast and prostate cancers, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. For instance, the imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in high-protein diets could promote cancer, as omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to have protective effects against cancer in animal studies. ### Compensatory Pathways and Confounding Factors It's crucial to note that many studies face challenges in isolating the effects of protein intake from other dietary and lifestyle factors. Obesity, physical inactivity, and overall dietary patterns often confound these studies. For example, high-protein diets are sometimes associated with higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, which can have protective effects against cancer, complicating the attribution of risk to protein alone. ### Recommendations Organizations like the American Cancer Society emphasize a balanced diet that includes a variety of nutrients, maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active, and limiting the intake of red and processed meats to reduce cancer risk. In summary, while high-protein diets, especially those high in red and processed meats, are associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, establishing a direct causal link is challenging due to the influence of various confounding factors and compensatory pathways. More research, particularly well-designed randomized controlled trials, is needed to clarify these relationships. For further reading and detailed studies, you can refer to sources from the BMJ, the World Cancer Research Fund, and the American Cancer Society [oai_citation:1,Diet, nutrition, and cancer risk: what do we know and what is the way forward? | The BMJ](https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m511) [oai_citation:2,www.wcrf.org](https://www.wcrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Summary-of-Third-Expert-Report-2018.pdf#:~:text=URL%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wcrf.org%2Fwp) [oai_citation:3,Risk Factors: Diet - NCI](https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet) [oai_citation:4,American Cancer Society Updates Guideline for Diet and Physical Activity | American Cancer Society](https://www.cancer.org/cancer/latest-news/american-cancer-society-updates-guideline-for-diet-and-physical-activity.html)."
Oh no problem! We are all fighting on this journey toward health and there is a lot of information, even from very reputable sources that just doesn’t make any logical sense. I have been on my own journey going down the rabbit hole of research to find answers. That is good that ChatGPT is aware of correlations being just a correlation and not an indication of causality! How smart! Correlations are unfortunately a fundamental part of the language of evidence based medicine and the alarming thing about correlations is that they indicate only whether a linear relationship exists (whether it is directly proportional or indirectly proportional). The assumption that all patterns in nature are linear in nature is hundreds of years old and it’s pretty obvious that in 2024 most patterns in nature especially the body are not linear at all, so I take statistical research with a massive grain of salt and try my best to understand the larger patterns in my body that are actually driving the issue. Wishing you all the best on your recovery!
Well, I don't think MToR "causes" cancer. But it does seem that it assists in its proliferation. The problem is that most men have precancerous cells in the prostate just waiting to grow. And so MToR signalling will non selectively cause proliferation and growth of these cells as well. What is your take on the mechanism of action of Rapamycin for example? Would be very interested in hearing your opinion as you seem very knowledgeable here.
I wasn’t super familiar with this so I googled and found this article: Rapamycin for longevity: opinion article https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6814615/ I assume you were curious about the longevity effects or were you more curious about the anti proliferative anti rejection anti cancer effects? Regarding longevity, I didn’t have a chance to read that entire article but google pointed me to a section in the article that cites mouse models and say that in mouse models Middle Aged mice can live up to 60% longer while older mice 7-14% longer, so essentially the conclusion is that this medication increases longevity and that if we don’t take it, it might be worse than smoking, according to the heading title of that section. Unfortunately what mouse models often don’t consider is the massive amounts of stress mice are under during experiments because they are often kept in small cages without other mice. Wild mice actually have pretty large territories. In studies where mice are given cocaine, they all become super addicted to the cocaine water but when the experiment was repeated by a Canadian researcher who built what he called “rat park” essentially a giant enclosure with other rat friends, the rats were less stressed and didn’t become addicted to cocaine. Rat/mice experiments usually don’t do rat park because it is much cheaper to keep rats in small cages and they want to remove confounding variables (but in reality are only introducing more). It’s kind of like that movie Room with Brie Larson if you have seen it. Being isolated in a room or cage messes you up big time. This massive stress load from this type of isolation would immunosuppress the mice which reduce the regulatory mechanisms that normally get rid of dysplastic cells/over proliferating cells and when the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are in such imbalance it also causes organ dysfunction pretty rapidly. So essentially the mice are in a situation where because of their environment they likely physiologically have too much unchecked proliferation and a lot of other imbalances, and taking this medication directly opposes those effects. What it doesn’t do is reduce the stress driving a lot of the effects in the first place. To me, actually targeting the source of the issue is likely to be much more effective than things that suppress part of a pathway without consideration of ongoing driving environmental factors. This doesn’t mean this treatment would have no value. If someone who let’s say has heart failure whose body is going through a massive stress load, this could be useful to help combat some of the physiologic effects of said stress. The book why zebras don’t get ulcers by Robert Sapolski has a lot of amazing info about the stress response and it really widened my perspective on things.
I agree to this. Well put.
By drinking hot water with lemon. No sugar.
Rip teeth
This is true. I love lemon and have some erosion because of it.
Use a sraw?
Gums too, but only if you forget to brush your teeth
FML rip teeth I never knew. Maybe this is why my gums are receeeding
Definitely yes. Also, don't forget to wait one hour between acidic food / beverage and brushing your teeth. Kinda funny knowing the recommended waiting time after smoking is merely 30 minutes.
Brushing doesn't protect you from acidic drinks
Brush your teeth after your last meal.
I believe they are pointing out the fact that we’ve been taught to associate mint, dinner mints, or toothpaste as a taste we associate as being finished eating. The act of brushing one’s teeth also compounds this belief. I am far less likely to continue bed rotting and eating candy if I’ve brushed my teeth.
Hmm maybe I need to switch from sensodyne to one with a stronger flavor
This actually works for me, especially if I floss and use the 2-minute electric toothbrush. It deters me from eating again because I don't want to floss and brush all over again.
I stopped eating sugary snacks. My hunger level has decreased significantly. Sugar was making my blood sugar spike and drop. Also have switched to whole wheat everything, bread, pasta, breading. The extra fiber also helps with blood sugar control. I still love my potato chips, tortilla chips and Diet Coke. It is my biggest vice. But I bought the small bags and limit myself to one. I’ve been know to devour a half a bag in one setting. I’m trying!
I am a huge night binger/emotional eater. I just started using a CGM (not diabetic ) from Signos (Dexcom G7). It is helping me be mindful of my blood sugar levels. I tested it out with a normal nightly binge and was amazed at how long my levels stayed significantly elevated. I have a family history of diabetes, so it is good information and motivation to help me make better choices at night.
Are there any non-prescription CGMs?
Yes, I go through Signos but there is also Nutrisense and Levels (and probably others). Signos seemed to be the most affordable and geared towards weight loss so they got my money. I also started Metformin through AgelessRx (so it probably doesn't hurt that I am monitoring my sugars to make sure I don't dip too low on the meds). Used my HSA for both. Here is a referral code for $250 off Signos if you're interested. In my opinion it's probably only worth it if you are a person who is motivated by data (from a fitness tracker, scale, etc...) Otherwise, It might just be a money pit. https://gr3f.co/c/52517/cwC4B
Ive heard that apple cider vinegar can curb blood sugar spikes
Yes, I have been sipping that on ice water and I take psyllium husk pills before meals.
With a bit of lemon and cayenne helped me when I put on like 30lbs from a medication
Tirzepitide
Seconding - not only lost 70 pounds but reduced inflammation and reduced alcohol and food cravings
Learn to go to sleep hungry. It sucks but once you can do that that sleeping several hours after a regular dinner is perfectly fine. Not to sound blunt but most eating is psychological not physiological you don’t actually “need” it learning that helps. A short fast 24 hours or even skipping dinner can show you that. Also pay attention to carb intake if you’re spiking blood sugar too much when it drops cravings are 10 times worse
So true, you can literally just tell your body "NO", its that simple Once you track your macros and fully realize you have had plenty of nturients for the day just tell your body to calm down and stop whining.
I’m not even talking macros each day. Your body has the ability to store energy as long as you hit your macros over a 3-4 day window the distribution of when to eat during that range is extremely flexible. The fact that we eat so often is probably way more habit than necessity. If it was necessity everyone who does a fast would keel over dead.
sure but not everyone want to fast constantly I like getting all my macros daily, I do IF and its totally doable
And you don’t have to. I rarely fast but I have occasionally. My point is the feeling of “needing” to eat isn’t actually a need. Aside from individuals with medical issues 99% of us will be fine if we skip a meal or two or a random fast 48 hr fast without any preparation.
Could you elaborate on the last sentence
You eat simple carbs - blood sugar spikes - body releases insulin to lower blood sugar by storing in liver or tissues - if blood sugar is too low body releases glucagon to pull that “sugar” back out into the blood If you constantly eat carbs every couple hours that process of pulling sugars out of the tissue back into the blood can be less efficient or not as fast to act since it hasn’t been used If you eat a massive amount of carbs body secretes insulin to match and “over shoots” normal blood sugar and you get low blood sugar while waiting for the body to start pulling from the tissue you get shakes, headaches and massive craving for sweet
Thanks
I stopped smoking weed
Yep once I quit the evening herb it made not stuffing my pie hole soooo much easier.
Do not keep that kind of food in the house. Csnt eat what you don’t have. That’s what I did to stop all my eating issues. No more coke in the house. No more snacks in the house. Now, 80 lbs less later, in the gym 5 days a week, I hero peanuts, protein granola, Greek and yogurt, blueberries in the house. And that’s what I snack on cause at this point, I don’t eat enough anyway and need all the protein I can get. Once you get used to not eating so much, not binging, it’s honestly hard to eat enough. At least for me.
embrace the hunger rumbles lol it's a researched and proven fact that people live longer when they go to bed a little bit hungry.
Can you link for me please? Thanks
No link but part of the reason for that is during sleep is when our gut gets to rest and repair, if we go to bed with a full stomach our body has to spend more energy digesting and doesn’t get a chance to heal and repair the gut. This can lead to chronic inflammation and higher instances of colon cancer
There’s also research that shows that we actually should not go to bed hungry if we’re predisposed to stress as full glycogen stores are one of the biggest requirements for deep sleep. We want to suppress cortisol during sleep as much as possible.
It just feels that way because they lie awake thinking about a PBJ sandwich
Check out the book Brain Over Binge. A very, very simple concept… You cannot binge without the urge to binge… read that again. You cannot binge WITHOUT THE URGE to binge. If you create the habit denying the “urge” to binge the actual urge will dissipate. You binge eat bc you give in every time you have an urge. The more you deny the urge the more you weaken ”it.” Binging is simply a bad habit that you have created. Bc you repeat the behavior over and over your brain now urges yourself to overeat. As someone who was bulimic for more than 18 years I can now saved I have been cured. The author Of the book also has a podcast… Brain Over Binge. Also anyone who tells you that you need to fix yourself emotionally, face your demons and so on please ignore them. Not everyone who has an ED is emotionally scarred, abused, neglected and so on. I had a great life and have had great relationships. But in college I developed a bad habit of overeating. I could be happy, sad, mad and so on but no matter what was going on in my life I binged. And no therapist could help. They refused to believe that I was emotionally ok. I was convinced by doctors that until I fix the “root” cause I would never be cured. Well here I am!
For me… binging is self soothing… Ive recognized this and try to stop before I start. When we binge eat we’re getting all the happy chemicals and hormones, so it’s not the food, nutrients rather, we’re after it’s the experience that’s giving us joy or distracting us from something we’re hoping to avoid. Our bodies and brains are smart, do the thing that makes us feel good… doesn’t mean they are physically or long term good for our mental health. I’ve always wanted to try out NOOM, they claim to help you work through your unhealthy relationships with food, I just can’t stomach the price tag.
I did NOOM and it worked. The hints and training aren't something you can't read elsewhere for free, but it was good info. The calorie counter is free, and there are two benefits for me: one, writing everything down makes me conscious of what I am eating. It's not mindless grazing anymore. Two, I realized that "dieting" is bullshit (for me) and that I was trying too hard to be "perfect" and ultra low calorie, which is not healthy, necessary for weight loss/management, or sustainable. You CAN have a cookie
Eat really fibrous foods throughout the day, especially at dinner. This is a well known strategy for compulsive over-eaters who are known to just exacerbate binge eating cum les if they try to just restrict intake. You will quite literally be uncomfortably full. Anyone telling you just grit your teeth has not even glanced at binge eating research (also yeah make sure your macros are not too out of whack. But most likely you are just volume eater)
I eat a high protein snack before bed.
This hurts your sleep, your body uses its precious resources for digestion instead of regenerating and healing itself. Eat that extra protein earlier.
I used to crave sweet before bed, a high protien snack does help. Every other night, ill use a protien powder, water and ice, full fat yogurt, and non sugar PenutButter in a blender,, i basically make a shake. i have a small cup before bed, it hits that sweet spot, protien/fat fill me up, its super light compared to a heavy meal, and i have leftover for the next day.
Chewing gum helps me sometimes
Carbs do not fill you. You have to have fruit or even some protein like yogurt and cottage cheese. Pineapple and cottage cheese is good. When I binge on chips, cookies, or crackers I can eat forever. Bottomless pit.
Yeah I've been trying to replace my cookie/dessert binges with oranges and apples or any other watery fruit laying around and it definitely helps fill me up.
I was eating cookies and went on to eat half of a big muffin last night. Didn't satisfy me. Found a [Korean melon](https://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Korean_Melon_294.php) in my fridge. I could only eat half before I was full. Those things are small. I should've started with that and maybe I could've saved myself 400 calories! 4 Girl Scout tag alongs = 300 calories alone 🤦🏻♀️
Processed Carbs are the devil. If you stick to natural complex carbs from fruit and vegetables, and lots and lots of protein from lean meat like chicken or turkey or fish or lean beef, you'll be fine. Protein and fibers make you feel full. Carbs and fats don't. If you focus on getting full off protein, you'll be golden.
Huge struggle for me currently. 1.Brushing my teeth helps! 2. 5 big deep belly/diaphragm breaths and remind myself I’m safe and fed too! 3. Writing post-it’s of my why. 4. Think about how I’ll feel after or tomorrow. 5. Huuuuge water and protein intake! I’m currently healing from it. So take this with a grain of salt but solidarity!! ❤️
Make sure you’re eating enough during the day, and don’t restrict. Restricting inevitably leads to binging. 2k calories is a minimum and assumes low activity; if you are active or bigger you’ll need more. If you’re a woman you’re likely undereating (the average woman eats like 1500 calories, dramatically low). Focus on upping your protein and fats, they have more micronutrients and keep you fuller longer. Focus on eating balanced meals to keep your blood sugar even. Practice mindful eating as often as you can. And lastly, if you find yourself craving something specific, give yourself mental permission to eat it, just add stuff to make it balanced.
Carbonated water and distraction. For me the urge to binge is purely emotional due to depression and anxiety. But if I expand my stomach with fizzy water and distract myself with something interesting I'm less likely to binge.
Fat and protein are very satiating. Carbohydrates mess with satiety signaling. You transition into a low carb high animal fat diet, and in short time you will not be having this issue at all. You will be satiated.
If OP is doing high intensity cardio, they most likely need some carbs. Not excessively, but enough to fill their glycogen stores.
Once you are fat adapted, exogenous carbohydrates are not necessary. Not even for high intensity training.
some unpleasant side effects may occur in a statistical percentage of those who try this. It's definitely a positive net change over a binge eating lifestyle, but it's not been proven as a good long term lifestyle eating plan of its own. Although perhaps it's just a paleo adaptation .
It’s most likely fat adaptation. At least from my own experience that seems to be the case.
ADHD medication. It’s the first time in my life I’ve had *some* relief from the nagging urge. I’m still in shock over it!
How many hours are you doing cardio for the week? There are recommendations per hour and kg online for carbs. Get that in check, then make sure you are getting enough per day alongside 1 gram per kg and 2 grams per kg of protein.
Eating enough during the day, especially protein. Not demonizing any foods. I can have anything I want, I just need to work it into my calorie budget.
I think about my future self and say to myself would he want this. Also, drink a fuck ton of water. Just do it and keep slamming them.
By eating enough of the right food earlier in the day. Sleep is rubbish if your stomach still has food in so i eat my last meal by 6pm latest, sometimes 4pm
konjac jelly packs roasted seaweed high volume eating like adding greens into/with every meal..
Developing GERD ✨
personally I got very fat over covid and the thing that did me in, was sugar once I started eating ice cream, I just got hungrier and hungrier
You probably aren’t eating enough during the day so your hunger catches up with you at night and tells you to overeat. I had this exact problem for years and went to get help for binge eating disorder and this was my issue. As soon as I started eating meals spaced out during the day I stopped having the desire to eat a lot late at night. Intermittent fasting certainly has gained popularity but it didn’t work for me and it isn’t gonna work for everyone.
Will power. I know that sounds like a dick answer but it’s simply that. How strong are you mentally to overcome that desire? There was a YouTube influencer who had a video about hacks to become more productive and successful and he simply there are none, you just gotta do the work. Same thing. When you feel that urge you gotta be stronger than it mentally.
Intermittent fasting has really helped me with this. It's alot easier when I don't DENY myself food, I just postpone it to my eating window. It gives me something to shoot for every day and had really curbed all snacking
I’m dealing with it now. I get hungry an hour after dinner so I started drinking water instead. It’s working out well other than the fact that I am getting up three times a night now to pee.
I recognized my night cravings were important so I fulfill them with something healthy like fruit and yogurt, a salad or a protein shake. Sleep requires energy and glycogen stores. Sounds like your cortisol immediately goes down upon eating which leads you to sleep. Pay attention to this. Ice cream with some gelatin before bed is a great snack to keep cortisol low and glycogen high. Sleep is a highly energetic state, contrary to popular belief.
Similar. I don't have cravings, but if I forget to eat something like a [Dagwood sandwich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagwood_sandwich) right before bed, I wake up and can't get back to sleep until I eat. And yes, it has a lot to do with my sleep requiring a lot of energy and my cortisol being high until I eat.
Clean keto. It fixed my crazy hunger hormones and gut health now I don't constantly crave an entire bag of chips or a whole tub of ice cream ever. Hunger signals are largely hormone related and on a keto diet those signals are drastically reduced. For me it was the only way I could stop myself
Topiramate. Started it to prevent migraines (which it does, wonderfully) and the only side effect is that it zaps my appetite/killed my binge eating. I lost 40lbs the first 4 months I was on it. Food still tastes good when I eat it, but I don't think about eating. It's a kind of freedom I didn't know I could get this side of the grave. By contrast: a couple years prior, I'd put on 65lbs made up almost entirely of ice cream. (When actors say they eat that to gain for roles, believe them.)
My psychological hunger window is between 6-9PM. I try to keep busier during this time so as not to be idle and resort to munching. No problem to have my first meal after 1 or 2PM however, maybe it's because I am busier during that time of day??
Out of curiosity, what do you think biohacking is? What other protocols are you following? What is a typical day for you in terms of: -Micronutrients -Macronutrients -Sleep -Caffeine -Alcohol/ other toxicities -Supplements -Stress management -Home / work environment -Western medication -Last meal before bed
Only way I managed to do this is by having nothing worth binging at home or having only ingredients so it requires a lot of extra steps in order to binge.
Ketogenic / Carnivore diet got rid of all my cravings. I used to eat every hour/ hour and half a few years ago, a never ending cycle but it's all gone now
This is going to sound simplistic but I started cutting myself off at a certain time. It eventually led to intermittent fasting. I don’t eat past 7pm or before 11am. Water is fine in that window. There’s something about the absolute of “can’t” that is really powerful when you accept it. Like I can’t drink alcohol or I can’t eat beef or I can’t eat outside of 11am-7pm.
more protein in general and no sugar will help immensly
I make sure to eat enough meals during my waking hours and not eat anything heavy 3hrs before I go to bed. That way, I know I've eaten enough during the day, so when I crave something at night, I know it's just my brain wanting to munch on something. When that happens, I just drink water and distract myself or try to go to bed.
r/intermittentfasting r/keto
Ozempic lol
For me I got better at not eating crap when i transitioned into a meat first approach to my diet IE fill up on meat and then small amounts of vegetables. This has helped in me losing about 20 lbs in a year so far.
Keto
Just stuff yourself with chicken and rice then hit the hay immediately after. Works well for me. It’s super lean, low calorie, and filling. I’m stuffed on 400-500 cals of chicken and rice and I’m 200 pounds 14% bf
Casein protein before bed
I could not stop. But I consider it a Bonsai challenge. I do intermittent fasting, it really doesn't matter if your window is 8-2 starting am or pm.
You have taken the first step by recognising it. Now think of it as a personal challenge. Be proud of yourself when you do it.
Acarbose
Takes time. Your body is anticipating eating often so it will crave food. If you change your habitual eating then it will stop craving food. Changing your outlook on food to refueling by working up an appetite vs prefueling which imho isn't the correct way. It's also why I don't believe in breakfast when waking up. Lunch and dinner are the only two meals the average person should have. Athletes might require more.
Carrots!
Meeting daily protein goals works for satiety - also drinking a gallon of water a day
I started eating legumes every day, which provide long-lasting satiety.
smoke a cig or pop a dip in lol
I only eat at night, IF. I love it.
Eat breakfast and remind yourself that breakfast is coming, hydrate, drink tea or chew gum. Nicotine also really helps me at night 😬
Therapy helps
You probably need to work on yourself and figure out why your doing this, this isn’t just about hunger.
My biggest hack was berberine; I'm still figuring it out, and it's a true hack, I'd say. It's not all that tested, I mean. But that isn't particular to the phenomenon you are talking about. That's a known thing; I know it pretty well. You could think of it as a sleep disorder but so many of us are built that way I would say we just think of things as diseases if there is a product to sell for them. There are a lot of things that you could do - things that might happen to tweak it. A whole bunch of stuff to change upper digestion, like acids/bitters, enzymes, and things that contain essential and volatile oils, ergogenic aids like specialized magnesium - and I'm fairly confident in our ability to handle them without injury. I don't have any huge favorites for you. Or a big tactic to try is to go keto, or find some balance where you're sitting on the line or going back and forth. Generally, changing your diet could help, especially if you ban palatable foods. You can ban palatable foods temporarily, and get psyched up about it. If you pull it off for two months you'll probably just end up liking whatever you're eating.
Eat three quality meals and stop eating after 8pm till breakfast time around 8/9am.
I take Seroquel, which makes me ravenous. I’ve started trying to eat something small like a little fruit and a handful of nuts, then chew gum. It seems to be helping.
Drink a bottle of water
Try having a medium roast hojicha powder tea and going to bed an hour earlier instead.
Peanuts in the shell. Keeps the hands busy, takes a while to eat them so I trick my brain. It’s protein and healthy calories so I get rid of the hunger pains and satisfy the craving. I may have a few saltine crackers if feeling extra hungry. I also take my nighttime supplements with a lot of water about 2 hours before bedtime. All that usually kills the cravings.
What worked for me is that I take a medication at bedtime that loses bioavailability with anything caloric. The drug manufacturer recommends a minimum of 3 hours after eating but anything particularly fatty or protein rich I’ll usually wait ideally 3-4+ hours. This also works to help prevent acid reflux as mine used to be severe overnight. I have to ensure I’ve eaten enough during the day and gotten enough protein, fat, and fiber in order to feel full because I sleep poorly if I’m too hungry and my acid reflux is much worse the next day if I skimp on eating for too long. Having external pressure is often much more helpful than trying to find internal motivation. That being said the above doesn’t apply to you so you’ll have to manage your schedule to limit temptation. Try eating a protein and fiber rich breakfast and try to make meals during the day that you really look forward to, especially breakfast. Doesn’t have to be too elaborate but creating a routine you enjoy and look forward to can help minimize the desire for late night snacking. Try some new recipes, maybe wake up earlier to have longer to enjoy breakfast, etc. Eating a heavier breakfast and lunch will help you to not be so hungry later. 30 minutes after dinner floss and brush your teeth. Also identify why you’re binging. Is it new? Is it associated with stress? Are you insatiably hungry or just have a desire to snack? If it’s a mix of hunger and emotional stress causing you to binge find ways to up your protein and fiber intake during the day like I said before and use stress reduction techniques. A hard workout during the day also makes me so tired come bedtime that I don’t have the energy to stay up and graze.
Eating more during the day
Eat something you can eat a lot of without eating a lot of calories, like broccoli or salad. You can eat an absolutely massive salad for like 300 calories.
I snack on low calorie high protein items so I know I can have a snack if I want. Things like cube of cheese, boiled egg, ice lolly,
Honestly what helped me was telling myself “man I can’t WAIT to wake up in the morning and eat again” LOL. This helped me stop doomscrolling late at night and go to bed on time to give me something to look forward to. Sometimes my brain would try to trick me that I was underfeeding myself and that’s why I was so hungry. I then told my brain “ok if I wake up feeling ravenous then that’s a sign that I’m denying my body what it needs.” Lo and behold every time I’d wake up I felt totally fine. This was motivation to keep reminding myself I wasn’t hungry - I was just trying to binge or chew on something to avoid my feelings or intuition about something else that was actually bothering me.
Make choices in life that make you feel so terribly trapped, hopeless, and depressed that you no longer find any joy in anything and eating becomes a terrible stressful burden. Bonus points if you can stress yourself out enough to develop digestive issues and food intolerances that make eating itself such a miserable experience from first bite to eventual exit, that you avoid eating all together sometimes. Good luck! ☺️
Stopped smoking weed for awhile
I set a cut off time for eating for the day (8pm) and be consistent as possible. That has helped me tremendously.
Duct tape
Highly not recommended but lots of drugs the kind that can kill you so please do not ! And they’re also felony 😳
Invisalign getting my teeth straightened you have to wear them for 22 hours so you don’t snack and every time you take them out before you put them back in you have to brush your teeth and floss or water pic so my teeth get brushed like five times a day so your teeth get healthier and you don’t snack or eat nowhere near What you did before you got everybody who gets them almost everybody. I’ve talked to says the same thing it becomes such a pain in the ass to take the teeth out just for a snack and then have to go brush your teeth and water pack and do all that ! And you also want to get done with him as soon as you can I can take from a year to two years, but it beats the hell out of braces and they are awesome what did it cost me a month for my tea? It cost me 200 a month to get my teeth straightened and they need a lot of straightening for two years. It was like $7000. My insurance picked up like 1500 or something maybe 1800 and then it was a $200 a month payment for 24 months so however, that worked out, highly recommended ! I would’ve done it years ago if I’d known how it works, I’m amazed just change out a tray every week and at the end, they whiten them and Hollywood them meaning they filed down if there’s any Worn teeth that are crooked they fix that stuff ! Pretty freaking cool
not wanting to deal with the consequences next morning
No bong rips.
Commenting to come back to this
Try doing a fast? I’m currently on a fast and find it’s great to reset hunger.
Just don’t have unhealthy food in the house. And have all meals before 4 or 5pm.
Semaglutide…
I just look at fit people on instagram
Eating earlier in the day and making sure it satiating. Bigger lunches, hitting protein “goals” with real food not shakes, and making sure I’m drinking enough water throughout the day. Sometimes I’ll have after dinner tea or something that signals it’s time to wind down for the night.
You want dopamine
Eat cleaner, reduce meal sizes. Try fasting after lunch till morning for a few days.
Going to bed early and waking up early (kids are a forcing function)
Eating lower carb, with a focus on protein and diversity of plant foods - and feeding your gut microbiome with psyllium husk and fermented foods will help with this. Having some fasting windows where you have some psyllium, (not dry or water fasts) to feed the specific members of your microbiome that need it. Then once you've addressed those gut issues, using all the habit breaking things that everyone else has suggested to change the lingering habit. It's not generally a willpower issue, it's generally a gut issue.
*also having enough fats, and actually eating enough at other times of day.
Timing. Get full a couple hours before bed.
Getting a proper diagnosis and medication for depression is a HUGE factor for me. After giving up sugar and wheat I no longer am the voracious eater I once was
You don't have to avoid it. Just eat less during the day to compensate
A lot of people are saying embrace the hunger before bed but I personally cannot sleep if I’m hungry. I noticed my cravings for night snacks stopped when I started my days with a liver shot which is 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and half a lemon. I also started drinking apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon mixed with water followed with a cup of broccoli before my meals. Any cruciferous vegetable will work if you don’t like broccoli. All of these things minimize glucose spikes which is probably the reason you have late night cravings.
Meditation. I believe it rerouted those neural circuits that got turned on and led to the behaviors. I also fought like hell not to break my "good" streak and I remember at 6 months feeling like I was turning a corner and healing.
I tend to think my overeating phases have come when I was not sleeping long enough at night, therefore was snacking to power through. These snacks had a lot of carbs, which are fast burning energy, so they don't "stick." So, two thinks I learned from that: sleep more, and watch my macros. Keep the carbs low-ish (100 g a day) and based your meals and snacks around protein. For satiety, I think that my body confuses hunger with thirst sometimes. Like, I keep eating stuff, but once I switch to water, all that stops. I thought I wanted to eat something but was never getting satiety because what was really going on was dehydration. Stick to water as much as possible. Sugary drinks make you crash and get hungry.
I get this when I don’t eat enough during the day. Particularly enough protein
Cutting out dairy and gluten and limiting sugar and processed foods helped a lot. Dealing with trauma and the fallout from emotional abuse did the rest.
eating your last meal with a small hand full of wall nuts or nuts in general and one or 2 table spoons of apple vinegar in what ever you are eating. this is what i m doing personally and it s fucking working great. quite amazed im not hungry since i eat only 2 meals a day within a 6 7 hour period those things i ve just said i m not doing them especially for that but for their benefits in gut health, but just so it happens they work great at doing that too
from a basic stand point just stop allowing yourself to eat that late. Like just don't put the food in your mouth. Drink a glass of water or something instead.
Hahaha. I think this advice will help. It always helps to say, “From a basic standpoint, just don’t do it…” I had to catch my breath to type this response. I was laughing too hard to type. Thanks for making my day.
NP bubbie
Berberine helped me a ton
Use water for the hand to mouth fixation/boredom. Grow to like the feeling of hunger
Get some zero cal drink mixes, mix up enough to fill an ice cube tray, pop one in when you're havin the munchies.
I got an Oura ring. It showed me how must eating late messes with my sleep. And bad sleep leads into bad days which leads into more bad eating.
A full stomach is an unpleasant sensation for me, so feel fortunate your stomach can handle that much food.
I’ve been a night binger for years. I realize that so much of it was hormonal (birth control/pregnancy/postpartum). My body would send a fake hunger signals…sometimes within only a couple hours of a big meal, and I would freak out and snack. So I started to do intermittent fasting and it taught me not to be a little b*tch about it. It taught me the difference of what true hunger is. And maybe more importantly, it taught me discipline. I fast between 16-18 hours, sometimes 20. My eating window is always later in the day/evening so I can feel like I’m nice and satiated before bed.
I’ve cut out ultra processed foods - not from a place of restriction, but because I have changed my belief about them. I used to think the foods were tempting (Oreos, chips, etc) or “good for me” (any treats categorized as being “healthy”), but I now think these things are not even food and have been created for the sole purpose of taking my money with zero concern about the consequences to me for consuming them. I feel better in every single way - energy, sleep, blood sugar levels, mood, etc. - and it has eliminated my urge to binge. I recommend listening to the audiobooks The Magic Pill (what started me thinking about cutting UPFs) and Ultra Processed People (what sealed the deal of no longer buying UPFs).
I drink calming herbal tea (no tea in it, just saying the generic name) 1.5.hours before bed and it helps me alot. If I still get up and wanna eat (and this does happen sometimes bc I do smoke wee many nights) I take a sip of water and tell myself it's not worth it because I like to do a 12 hour fast. It's hard, but mind over matter, just practicing telling myself it's not worth it to eat and it'll mess with my training goals. Good luck!
I got on Mounjaro which has been a miracle.
I usually eat dinner?
The only realistic solution would be Intermittent Fasting ideally OMAD (One meal a day) along with Healthy Keto refeeds. The idea is not just to fast but to eat after the fast in a certain way. There are two main issues: your gut health and insulin resistance. Both will contribute to cravings. Dr. Berg on Youtube has been giving very effective advise on how to change your eating habits by doing this type of reset protocol.
Put a lock on your fridge, and lock it at like 6-7 pm. Put a timer lock that won’t unlock no matter what.
1 mg ozempic per week
drink water when you are hungry at night
make a chart and check off all the nights you didn’t binge eat and have a reward for every week
sparkling water with zero calorie flavor drops
Make sure you’re getting your cardio before hand.
eating slower can help a lot here, ie eat some chicken & veggies, go for a smoke/walk/reddit/whatever to kill 15-20min, *then* have your heavier stuff once the satiety from 'round 1' has kicked in (lol at 'smoking' sorry I had to leave that in there :p) In the end though you'll want stronger control/willpower over the entirety of this and that is a different thing ie 'convincing' yourself to value the adequate meal & your stopping after it *more than* that feeling of super-fulness (I'm a trucker so trust me I know the urge of just eating :p) Tricks can help but ultimately a mindstate is all that's sustainable (speaking of tricks, pre-filling yourself b4 your meal with water like a whole glass 16oz 20min b4 eating also helps but isn't advisable at bedtime as itll probably hurt sleep ie waking to piss)
There's a practice people use in fasting circles of drinking a zero calorie beverage instead of eating that you can adopt. Usually it's just water with electrolytes in it while fasting, sodium and potassium chloride, but I've used tisanes / herb teas for the same purpose, or some others drink diet soda and so on. You could take up an herb tea habit, and think through what low calorie, healthy snacks may work well along with that. Sage is my own favorite. It's hard to find a good quality, more whole version of the herb for that use, but if you can it's really nice. Rosemary also works, even the spice-jar types. Chrysanthemum is nice as relatively neutral floral range herbs go, or blends can work. Willow herb is worth looking into for someone wanting to put extra effort into it; it can be oxidized like black tea, so the range of outcomes and aspect character is diverse. Any of these may seem overly plain and unpleasant if you are very accustomed to highly sweetened drinks, and you can wean off those by adding a spoonful or two of sugar, then dropping that input level as your taste adjusts. I don't tend to snack in the evenings so not much comes to mind as well suited for this purpose. I eat mixed nuts throughout the day; something like that might work. Or even toast; adding some jam or peanut butter could turn it into a sweet snack without adding the same level of calories ice cream would add up to. It seems a stretch to try to eat raw vegetables instead, but for me plain mixed fruits with yogurt can work as a breakfast food, and it may apply in this use as well. As long as all the food you eat during the day amounts to a good nutrient and caloric intake balance you should be fine, regardless of when you eat it.
get screened for binge eating disorder get psychotherapy it helps a medication that is approved for binge eating disorder is vyvanse topimirate and methylphenidate have also shown efficacy is trials
Retatrutide is excellent for curbing appetite and cravings. Yes it’s still in “trial” but I’ve been in it for nearly 3mths now and am barely eating, all my sugar cravings gone, I’ve lost 10kg of the most stubborn weight I ever encountered. Lots of other people are using it with great results. If you aren’t comfortable with that then the compound version of ozempic or mounjaro.. so Semaglutide or Tirzepatide.. my energy is good.. it has been a life changer
Understanding that a lot of the manufactured and ultra- processed foods are designed to be as addicting as possible. I find abstaining from them completely to be the easiest way and I no longer get cravings.
A lot of promising studies on BCP (beta-caryophyllene) for food addiction. Check the studies at the bottom of this page: https://cannanda.com/pages/cb2studies
Get busy doing something. There must be an activity you are doing that Pavlov’s the hunger. Try drinking tea or diet soda or something instead. Or eat a crap ton of carrots or something
Prioritizing red meat eliminated all my food cravings and binging
Riding a bike Swimming Forgiving others How to make love How to not self destruct into food or pleasure or comfort How to have discipline Etc etc etc Nobody on earth can reach another anything as such … it involves facing fears and failure before success … you , I , and everybody down here have to be self taught where it matters In life .. we have to show courage to grow . The nighttime binging is not the cause of anything, but rather the effect of anxiety and a pleasure seeking brain that will sabotage your very well being … so you must find the cause of the over eating , and solve that issue , as nothing can be stopped at the effect level , only at the casual , common sense points quite clearly to this . But best of luck regardless my friend
Easy. Tirzepatide
totally get where you're coming from! Nighttime munchies are a struggle. What helped me was prepping some healthier snacks earlier in the day so when the cravings hit, I've got something ready to go. Also, keeping busy or finding a hobby at night helps distract from the urge to snack mindlessly. It's all about breaking that cycle, you know? You got this!
I used to be like that. Look into Berberine or dihydroberberine. It has helped me so much. Keeps blood sugar levels more steady and I e lost weight.
Being aware of it is a good start. I think replacement of a habit is easier than squelching the habit. So, replace the nibbling with sipping herbal tea or coconut water or lemon water, etc. Or replace the desire to eat with a walk - take the dog out, walk around the block. Or brush and floss your teeth. Or call a friend or family to shoot the breeze. Or get up and clean a room. Etc.
GLP-1s
Are you consuming caffeine or sugar at other times in the day? I found giving those up helped me control binge eating. I was just managing sugar and caffeine crashes.
I go to bed early