I think you hit the nail on the head - it is a little bit like a food panic, where because you are limiting yourself during the day, you are subconsciously worrying about starving and so when you can relax a bit at home, you eat too much. 

I am definitely one of those that lives to eat, I love food and the taste of food.  I agree with gijane on eating lots of veggies, it helps you fill up.  I also drink a lot of herb tea to get lots of liquids in and that helps distract me also. 

The other thing I've done is to make sure that when I eat my suppers at home, that I've made my meal as scrumptious and delicious as possible so that I can really enjoy it, even if it's all healthy, low-cal choices, it tastes good so I don't feel that I've deprived myself.

And finally, if nothing else works, sometimes I have been known to just go to bed, consoling myself with the happy thought of breakfast in the morning!  Sometimes just telling myself that there really is plenty of food and I'm not going to starve helps me get over the cravings.

Good Heavens I thought I was the only one with this problem.  I always tell myself I can stop, but I just keep heading for the kitchen.  I have a HUGE dinner of veggies, then try to drink plenty of tea or water.  This sometimes helps, sometimes not.  I'm convinced its 110% mental I just can't get past whatever it is that tells me to go after everything in the kitchen.  Good luck!

Hi -

Thank you all so much for the responses. I really appreciate it. I think i eat enough in the day time - but you're right - it's the limiting myself - b/c im scared to overeat. I need to somehow PRACTICE eating just one thing at a time. But I need to do it in contolled settings -

Today for example, i went to an organic bakery - tiried to only get coffee - but my husband really wanted to "try" this vegan scone - i said no no no  but we got it - and he tasted it, i tasted it, then i ate the entire thing. i could NOT stop. I thought about throwing it out - but then, i felt worse about wasting it. I dont like to waste food - or anything for that matter.  I know i could have brought the rest home, but it did not make it that far. I just dont know what to do about that. That is one example.

Thank you again - i love to hear ideas, suggestions etc. it does help. Every bit does. Im thinking maybe JUST MAYBE ONE DAY...something will just click.

These are all good ideas, and might help you, but I also wanted to share with you what I've learned about myself- compulsive overeating is often an eating disorder. It may just be a symptom, if you are denying yourself basic nutrients and a little indulgence every now and then, but more often than not it is an issue of control. It is important to get help if you are feeling this panicked about it. When I was in high school and college I fell into the pattern of purging (throwing up) after a compulsive eating session, and this led to years of guilty eating and shame about this problem that I thought that only I had. I finally started seeing a therapist, who helped me to understand my habits immensely. Overeating, if it is a consistent part of your life, can be just as dangerous as anorexia or any other eating disorder. I'm not trying to scare you or suggest that this is in fact what's going on with you, but I wanted to put that out there because help is available- even if you don't go to a therapist or a nutritionist, there are support groups all over (overeaters anonymous). Sometimes it just helps to know you are not alone :)

NIghts after work are absolutely the WORST for me.  I work as a mental health supports counselor, and that's when I want to eat away all the stress of the day.  It's not necessarily that I go for foods that are bad for me, but I eat way more than I need.  I had done really well before the holidays, then gained back about 6 pounds.  It's been really hard for me to get back into eating well and controlling portions, especially at night, but I think I'm finally getting there.  One of the things that's helped me is to find something that I can let myself eat as much of as I want--I don't limit myself on raw veggies or cooked greens...grapes are good, too, because they're only about 2 calories each.  Strawberries are another good choice (for me).  I can pretty much eat as much of these things as I want, and the calories are still going to be minimal, plus I'm adding valuable nutrients. 

I have the same problem.  It's interesting to read that apparently it's not all that uncommon.  There would be times when I thought about dinner all day long, and can hardly wait till I get home so I can eat as much as I want.  There were times when I didn't want to go home in the evening because I knew what I would do.  I don't have this figured out yet, but I do have a few tricks that work for me.  Make a good dinner, try different kinds of foods, and put your dinner on a smaller plate.  Eat away from the kitchen.  Make dinner a pleasant ritual - nice plates, silverware, napkins, etc.   Don't eat casually.  Have some hot tea half hour or so after dinner when the cravings start. When I crave for dessert, I make cinnamon and spice hot tea, or eat some fruit.  Eat it slowly.  Be conscious of what you are eating.  Some nights are better than others.  I'm learning to not obsess about it.  Be proud of your accomplishments, one night at a time.

Overeating got me to the state I was in. I too have these occasional panics of overeating. I find that a lot of it is in my head and in reality I don't need to eat all this stuff.

Like many of the people who have responded I just love my food. This is why it used to be a problem when I go round friends and families houses to eat. If they have prepared a number of dishes or snacks I'd sample everything - in decent portion sizes too. Its hard to get over those urges.

I think you just need to find foods that get you full and keep you satisfied in order to prevent these binges. Its hard reprogram ourselves as we've been eating more or less what we want for so long.

Learn to love salad and vegetables. I've also found that logging things on CC helps me. Weekends can be bad so if I log what I eat then I know how bad it is and can make amends. For example Saturday was very bad for me, I over ate mainly due to bad planning (I find that I plan what I'm going to eat in advance these days). On Sunday I tried to make amends and I am going to be strict at work this week.

I think we all need to learn to pay attention to our bodies more. It knows when it is satisfied. We often stuff ourselves full when we should eat enough so that we are satisfied.

Over the weekend I was about halfway through my meal and realised that I was satisfied but since I was in a restaurant and I had ordered the dish I finished it. I should have stopped and asked them to pack it up for me and take it home to have later but didn't. The portion size is intended for one person to have and before it was just sufficient. Now its actually too much! Even now towards the end of my diet I still need to assert self control and it slips on occasion. Just make sure you have a recovery plan!

I ahve this exact same problem and created an account to seek advice. I jsut eat and eat and eat - even after I'm sick. The only thign that can stop me is working out, so I've developed an issue of overexercising after overeating - everyday. It's killing me, my self-esteem, and my depression is getting worse.

So, any ideas on how to avoid the cravings? That's what it is for me - I crave sugars and carbs, and I used to completely deny them until I didnt' even want sugar anymore or sweets. The carbs (bread!) were always an issue though. Now, I try to allow myself a cookie or two - or a whole bag if I need one. But it doesnt' stop there! I can eat three - four bags, then move on to chips. Once I start  - it's a bingefest! So allowing "forbidden" foods definitely did not work for me - just amde the binges worse. They used to be veggie bignes, where i'd be totallys ick, but at least not gaining so much.

So now I ask, has anyone ACTUALLY recovered and have any REAL advice? Obviously, adding the fat into the meals hasn't helped - I do the samet hing with cashews that the OP does. And cashews are mostly fat.

So - any real advice to help us? Thank you!

Oh honey I'm with ya.

It's very hard. I am like this when I'm stressed, sad or bored. I'm having a hard time getting past this and it always seems to be at night. I can blow a fabulous day in one evening. I finally put a sign on the fridge that says "whatever you're looking for, isn't in here" we'll see if that helps me at all haha

Hang in there, there are lots of people who are feeling what you are feeling.    

Mossyfern had a really good idea: have things like carrots or some kind of veggies, or grapes or something, that you can grab when the magnet keeps pulling you back to the fridge. And if you just HAVE to binge, binge on those. I know how you feel about the magnet; I did the whole routine about five minutes ago, lol. A package of graham crackers, some cereal, potatoes, carrots, roast...I ate it all. Bleck. And if I had things like grapes or...oh, watermelon's good because it's, well, mostly water, I would eat those instead of the thousand calories of crap I just ate. Good luck on trying to stop the food panic. Wish me luck too.

Oh oh oh I just remembered....gum! This works for some people, works for me alot. Except for today, I didn't have any gum in the house, and I already told you how that turned out....right after dinner I'll eat a piece of gum and chew for hours if I have to, and run away from the kitchen!