Nancy’s night eating pattern is always the same. She tends to snack during the day and has no regular meal times. She usually doesn’t feel hungry during the early part of the day, and her appetite doesn’t return until she starts eating at night.
As much as she wants to stop eating at night, she feels helpless to change the pattern. She knows that she is sabotaging her health, but she feels a compulsive urge to eat throughout the evening, even waking up at times to eat at night.
After eating with her family, she may have dessert, hoping that it will reduce her need for eating at night. It doesn’t. She keeps going back for more. She keeps eating until late at night, often postponing bedtime so that she can eat more.
Eating at night makes her feel more relaxed, making it easier to fall asleep initially.
Nancy will often sneak food upstairs or keep food by her bedside so that she won’t have to get up and go downstairs. She wants to get a good night sleep, but often wakes about an hour after falling asleep with the urge to eat.
She believes that she will have difficulty falling back asleep without eating. She starts to feel anxious if she tries to go without night eating, and her anxiety is only soothed by more late night eating.
The next morning, Nancy has no interest in food and only picks at her kid’s breakfast. The night eating pattern then starts all over again . . .
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