I think I suffer form NES - night eating syndrome. I often get up in the night and eat something. It is usually something 'legal' - cheese, meat, cup of cocoa whatever. Usually this sends me back to sleep. If I don't eat, I don't sleep - and I must sleep.

Has anyone else had this and overcome or managed to control it?

I used to do that before I went low-carb. Eating something starchy would relax me. Now I sleep the whole night.

Yes, I've always had this. However, it's become less with lo carb. I find most of the time it helps to have a small snack before going to bed.

I have this problem too, even though I have a snack before bed. I have tried more carbs, less carbs, more fat, etc. and nothing seems to matter. It may be psychological but the inability to sleep is very real!

Jen

I used to get this...it was usually because I was going to bed hungry, and my body couldn't stand it any longer.

Is it habit? You might have used carbs sedative effects in the past, and now are in the habit of using it to get that drowsy feeling.

Are you going to bed hungry? Eating at six and going to bed at midnight is a six hour span--no wonder!

Have you tried supplements like L-Glutamine or Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) or any of the others that are talked about here to fight cravings? Hungry is a real feeling, might be stemming from a lack your body has.

Well, I eat a bedtime snack unless my dinner is very late. I don't *think* I used carbs as a sedative in the past - if I did it certainly wasn't conscious. It's not a craving that I have in the middle of the night, it feels like plain old real stomach-growling hunger. Of course I don't always make the best choices stumbling half-asleep into the kitchen, but worst case it will just be a cashew binge, and I haven't even had one of those in months. For what it's worth, it's not usually the hunger that actually wakes me up, it's dd or dh or a full bladder, but once I'm awake it is very difficult for me to get to sleep without a snack. I've started to just budget the snack in as part of my diet, so it's not a problem in that sense, I just hate losing the extra sleep!

Jen

I have had this problem most of my life but i have been fine this last time on Atkins. Mine seems to be closely related to stress. The more stress I have the more likely I am to get up at night and eat. If I have done it the last couple of months, I do not remember it. I had a lot of trouble with it last time I was on Atkins. But I do think it was stress related. If I haven't eaten enough during the day, hunger will wake me up but I think that is a different thing than waking up and just eating for no earthly reason. I hope it doesn't start happening again. Orchid

I definately have difficulty with this. It doesn't matter how much I eat before i go to bed, I still get up and eat during the night. It is related to stress I think. Let me know if anyone has any ideas for this because I definately need some!

Any sufferers of Night Eating Syndrome out there?

Nope! I don't suffer from it at all -- I enjoy it!

Yes, I definately suffer from this, but for me I think it's because I worked the midnight shift for over 10 years. I always wake up at the exact time that I had always eaten when I worked. It's getting better, because now I tend to sleep all the way through the night, but if I do wake up, then I think I'm starving..... It's been about 8 or 9 years since I actually worked midnights, but until I started living without the carbs this time, I had always fed myself something when I woke up. It's a hard habit to break......

I understand completely....I have been waking up lately only to grab a hand full of nuts and go back to bed.

why is night snacking a problem? I mean it's not like you eat a whole pizza or anything. I grab a hand of cashew at midnight everyday and I am underweight (Yes I'd gain FAST with cookies)

You guys might want to consider mentioning this to your doctor next time you're there, at least if you have any other stomach problems. You could be producing too much stomach acid. Apparently, this can wake you up in the night with what feels like raging hunger - it's actually excess acid. It's not necessarily painful.

Nutty, it's not usually an issue for people who aren't struggling with their weight, but stopping eating early in the evening helps many people lose weight.

I often find myself hungry at night. I work as a bartender, so I am very often up well past midnight. I usually have supper around 5, so if I am still up around midnight or 1 AM I am HUNGRY!! I just make sure I have a good low carb snack like some cheese or maybe some left over meat. It doesn't seem to affect me as long as I don't overdo it. Remember, Dr. Atkins says not to go more than 6 waking hours without eating.

I dont get up to eat, but more like, I dont get home until 1-2 am because Im a server at a restaurant.. So either I go to bed hungry, or I'll have a full on meal.. (LC meal..)
Its usually the latter.. heh.. I hate being hungry.. even if Im sleeping..