Night eating how to break the cycle?

hahahah 

This. 

Best. Answer. Ever.

I eat dinner really early - about 5pm. My family laughs and calls it the Early Bird Special. So usually I'm done with all food by 6pm. If I'm eating with regular humans, I can hang on until 7 or 7:30 to eat, but it makes me pretty cranky.

Are you seeing a therapist?  The fact that you can't get to sleep if you don't eat seems like a problem - can you do something else when you wake up?  Like run around the house, jumping jacks, some other distraction method?  

My last meal of the day is typically around 7pm. I've never had a problem with wanting to eat after dinner (my problem time is after work/before dinner). 20 months out and I still haven't conquered my problem time-- just keep trying different approaches to see what sticks. 

Maybe you need to eat something small right before bed. I find a spoonful of Peanut Butter- which is a good balance of fat/protein and carb does the trick... If that is a food you can control. Those are very carb heavy snacks- why you reach for them makes sense carbs can make you sleepy... but maybe need to rethink your menu choices and the timing of your meals and snacks..

if my dinner is early lets say 5 or 6pm then i'm starving before I go to bed, and if I dont' get anything in my tummy then nope I won't be able to sleep.  i'm 11 1/2 years out and still have this problem, so I grab a tablespoon of peanut butter, or a yogurt, half a protein, something that will allow me to at least fall asleep.  

Its hard but find something small that you can eat that doesn't have a lot of carbs (carbs put me into a carb coma which will let me sleep but then I'll be starving and want to eat everything the next day) 

When I have this problem, I take a Gravol!!

I have to eat dinner by 5:30 or else I'll snack too much.  I plan for a small snack around 7:30-8:00 which keeps me satisfied.

Don't do that locking yourself in your room thing. Maybe you can either have a snack b4 you go to bed, or eat your last meal closer to your bedtime. I keep water by my bed so I can reach for that rather than a meal, or suck on mints. Eating carby foods might be giving you energy & keeping you up.

Did you get a sleep study done? There has to be a reason why you're keep getting up at night.