I have recently set a goal for myself of losing 75 pounds. It's painful to admit that I've allowed myself to become so overweight. My story is not one of up and down weight on a yo-yo. I've just slowly, steadily gained weight. Like most overweight people, I struggle with the standard motivation problems, unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise. Another component in my struggle with weight is Night Eating Syndrome.
WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are currently or planning to start losing, gaining or maintaining their weight through diet and exercise or fitness. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are working on your weight or fitness, please -- join us! You can also click the WHEE tag to view all diary posts.
Night Eating Syndrome (NES) has only been recognized as a disorder by the medical community since 1999. It is a parasomnia disorder that involves binging at night. As late as 2006, the International Journal of Eating Disorders was still debating whether to include NES in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.
Here is Wikipedia's article on NES.
Some new information from the American Journal of Psychiatry
And one more article from the International Journal of Obesity.
I think about losing weight pretty much constantly. I am a smart person. I have a master's degree. I understand good nutrition. I have enough money to purchase fresh, healthy things and the spare time and ability to prepare healthy meals. So those negative thoughts creep in: if i'm so smart and informed, how did I get this way?
The first time I remember waking up to eat in the middle of the night was my senior year in college. Since then, I can count on one hand the number of nights when I haven't been up at least once (and as many as 5 times) for a midnight carb-laden snack.
I've been in the closet about this night eating behavior until very recently. I have been ashamed of my lack of self control. No one in my family knew, none of my friends knew and I chickened out even telling my doctor. It helps to know that there are plenty of other people who struggle with the same issue. Knowing that my problem has a name is kind of a comfort in itself. Now that I've been educating myself about NES and have discussed it with friends and family, I've quit being quite so hard on myself about the will power thing. However, since I do struggle with NES -- which rolls up a sleep disorder, mood disorder & eating disorder into one convenient package -- I have to be even more vigilant about being healthy in other ways. Especially exercise. Which I haven't been doing. But that's a diary for another day...