Food Intake Moderation

DesOdhi

To start, I eat 1380 calories a day. Which is comfortable for my goals. My problem is, I work overnight. So, I'll be doing good all day & then that time between 12am & 3am before I get off, I've eaten all of my meals & snacks. Then, my body is like, "fooood, give me food. I'm starving!" When I get home, I literally want to stuff everything in the fridge in my face. I only have healthy options, but I always overdo it & basically binge for 10 minutes trying to get full. My question is, how do I maintain my caloric intake but feel more full, longer. Is it just me... Because I constantly feel hungry even when I guzzle water to try to curve (curb) the craving for food.

Phrick

an adequate intake of protein and fats will help tremendously. Fat is extremely satiating, and protein takes longer to digest than carbs, so the combination will give you a much longer period of feeling satisfied with your meals. If your meals and snacks are higher in carbs, you'll feel hungry more quickly. My Fitness Pal's goals for protein and fats should be treated as MINIMUM goals to reach or surpass. If you are falling below the numbers that MFP gives you for those, consider taking intentional steps to increase them and at the barest minimum to MEET those goal numbers.

DesOdhi

Okay, thank you. I'm going to try that starting tomorrow morning (since my day is now over) and see how it goes.

amusedmonkey

Try shifting all of your meals and snacks forward to fit your timing better. So if you usually have your breakfast at 11 am for example, have it at 12 or 1 pm and slightly shift your other meals to fit. It may feel weird at first and you may get a bit hungry in the morning, but you will be surprised how fast you get used to it. Having less time pass between your main meals will help you shift around your snacks and allocate some to the timeframe you usually feel most hungry (between 12am & 3am in your case.) You will find that surviving morning hunger for a couple of hours to be easier than surviving a whole night shift without food.

Develop a soothing bedtime ritual like sipping camomile tea or some other relaxing herb tea while reading a book, watching a show, taking a bath, listening to music or any other activity you find relaxing. It will help you unwind and get ready for bed. Less stress=less binging. Again, it may feel weird at first and you may have the desire to binge out of habit, try to resist it. The combination of being less hungry and the relaxing routine will help you with the task of replacing one habit with another.

Sued0nim

Can you lower your weight loss goal per week, or increase your activity level to earn more calories

yes balance your proteins and fats more

pad out meals with lower calorie bulk vegetables - I often eat stews and casseroles on beds of lettuce because it's delicious and makes me feel like it's a bigger meal

pre-log your entire day - see if you can make substitutions so you can eat more

0% greek yogurt - always