I’m a clinical psychologist who works predominantly with women with binge-eating, emotional and comfort eating. A common question I get asked is why people tend to binge-eat more often in the afternoon, evening, or night-time? Time and time again I’ll hear my new client lamenting over how “good” she’s been all day with her eating. Perhaps she started off with a small, high protein breakfast or didn’t eat until her morning coffee at 10 or 11 am and then had a chicken salad for lunch. But as the day wore on, the “good” day turns into a “bad” one. Does this sound familiar to you? Binge-eating can occur at any time of day, but you’re not alone if you’re more likely to binge later in the afternoon or evening.
Why is this? Why can’t you just exert enough willpower to get it together? If you can make it until 8 PM, why do you have to struggle afterwards? My clients will frequently turn to self-criticism to try to answer this question. They will look at ways they need to be “better” or “work harder” on their eating. I think most people might recognise if self-criticism worked in reducing binge-eating, the issue would be a quick fix! There’s a lot of reasons why it’s completely natural that you would be more likely to binge later in the day. Here are my top five reasons for why this may be the case for you.
Number 1: Sneaky hunger hormones
My number one reason I find people binge at the end of the day is because they are not getting enough nutrition earlier in the day. It often surprises people what they need to consume early in the day to ensure that they are well satiated. Eating every three hours and ensuring that you have regular meals and snacks is preparing yourself for a binge free evening. Our body is determined to keep us alive. If your body senses “famine” even if it’s only for a couple of hours, it deploys hunger hormones that are designed to make you more impulsive around food and more likely to eat more as the day progresses. Therefore, before trying to change anything else, reassess your eating pattern!
Number 2: Poor self-care
Is the end of the day the only moment where you take some time for yourself? The pace of our lives can be intense. Whether it’s work, caregiving, or trying to meet all the expectations that modern society places on us (especially women) there is less and less time for rest and self-care. What do you do to have a bit of fun and feel pleasure? Do you even allow yourself that? This is why so many people get caught up in “self-care” that looks like watching TV, scrolling on your phone and eating snacks. Taking the time to figure out what you can do earlier in the day or throughout the week for rest is important. Even if it’s a short period of rest, including intentional downtime and relaxation can make a difference on that pressure at the end of the day to have that time that manifests in binge eating.
Number 3: Your nervous system needs to decompress
If you’re running on adrenaline and stress throughout the day your nervous system needs to return to a state of relaxation. Food can be very sensory and bodily soothing. It can feel sedating to be extremely full. It can feel hypnotic crunching on chips, switching between sweet and savoury food, or the feeling of the cold ice cream on your throat. Finding other strategies to soothe your nervous system can put your binge eating out of a job. Some ideas might include in having a cold shower, physical activity, or breath work.
Number 4: All or nothing thinking
Do you wake up and promise yourself that today will be a “good” day? What about on Mondays? Do you tell yourself you’ll be “good” this week? Then life happens, you might have some cake at work or a snack on the way home. Then the familiar thought “Stuff it! The day is ruined. I might as well start tomorrow or next week” comes in. This faulty thinking style termed “All or Nothing Thinking” is a common pattern that many people experience. Who said the days ruined? And why ruin something further if it’s a little bit of damaged? It would be like if you accidentally scuff your shoes and so you decide to trash them instead of wiping off some of the scuff marks and continuing to take care of them. Instead of trashing yourself, you should try to treat yourself like a good pair of shoes. If you make a scuff mark, gently clean of the debris, and focus on the next step forward. Take each episode of eating as a separate event. It doesn’t matter what has happened more or what you will eat later. Instead focus on eating something satisfying while trying to be present with the food, so you don’t end up eating too much.
Number 5: Habits and urges
Binge eating can become a habit, it can be easy to repeat behaviours based on environmental and time cues (e.g. night-time after the kids have gone to bed, or on your way home from work). Your body can create an urge that feels uncomfortable if you don’t respond to the cue to binge. However, part of the learning here is to realise that if you delay the urge to over-eat, the uncomfortable feeling will not continue at the same intensity forever. If we want to change, we often must sit with feeling uncomfortable, uneasy, or unsatisfied for a period. Over time we adjust to new habit or new routines, and it becomes more natural and comfortable. Perhaps practice noticing that urge and see what happens if you try to delay the urge to binge eat by five minutes.
I hope you’ve found this article on five reasons people tend to binge eat in the evening. If you like this topic, please send me an email goldpsychologypractice@gmail.com.
7th April 2024
Dr Rachel Gold
Clinical Psychologist
