How to Handle Late Afternoon Binge Eating

Do you struggle with over-snacking or binge eating, especially in the late afternoon and evening hours? If so, you’re not alone! People often come to our team asking for help with this issue. 

Before we dive into our tips, let’s consider what over-snacking or binge eating looks like.

You may get home from work and grab something small to eat. Still hungry, you may then eat a second snack and maybe even a third snack. Then, you continue to snack as you cook dinner. After you eat your meal, you may grab another snack, not realizing that you’ve been eating non-stop for three or four hours.

As nutritionist Elaina Efird, RDN, CD, CEDRD, CSSD explains in a YouTube video, binge eating goes a step further. You eat to the point of fullness or even over-fullness and then continue to eat. It often includes a large volume of food in a small amount of time. When this problem is left untreated, it may develop into binge eating disorder, which is the most common eating disorder. It impacts around 1.25 percent of women and about 0.42 percent of men.

Now, let’s look at two things to consider to better control your late afternoon binge eating.

1. Determine if your behavior is the result of physiological hunger.

Over-snacking or binge eating usually comes down to one of two things. Let’s start with physiological hunger. “If I had ten patients in my office who were struggling with binge eating, eight of them are not eating enough in the earlier part of the day, which leads to over-snacking in the afternoon,” Elaina explains. At The Kahm Clinic, we encourage these individuals to take in more food in the earlier part of the day, often called front-loading their calories. This shift leads to less cravings for carbohydrates and sweets in the afternoon and evening.

For example, it’s best to start your day with a balanced breakfast that includes carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats — something like two or three eggs with cheese and avocado, a piece of toast, and some fruit. Then, have a small, protein-filled snack before a hearty, sustainable lunch. “From a physiological standpoint, when you take this approach, you won’t be starving when 4 p.m. rolls around,” says Elaina. 

2. Or is your over-snacking driven by an emotional response?

Once you’ve confirmed that you’re front-loading your calories and eating enough at the start of the day, it’s important to consider your feelings as you over-snack or binge. “Food is emotional,” Elaina explains. “We all have emotional ties to food — and that’s okay!” 

If you work with a dietician like Elaina, you’ll scrap the surface of these emotional triggers. You first want to identify what emotion is causing the binge. Did you have a stressful day at work? Are you overwhelmed or worried about something? Does food represent calmness for you? Whatever it is, it’s important to pinpoint that emotion and then find an alternative behavior. A therapist, though, will really help you dive deep into this connection.

By working on both your physiological hunger and your emotional triggers, you can begin to manage your over-snacking or binge eating in the afternoons and evenings. 

“As a dietician, my role is to make sure that, from a physiological perspective, you’re not over-eating at night because you’re simply hungry,” Elaina adds. “Once that component is handled, you’re able to better focus on the emotional piece.” 

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To talk to a professional about eating disorder treatment, please reach out to our staff or schedule an appointment at The Kahm Clinic today.