Hungry at night

MamaMc3

I find that I get really hungry later in the evening (after 9 pm). Even having a snack doesn't seem to satisfy me, so I'm wondering if it's actually hunger or if it's all in my head. Has anyone else experienced this? Do you just have to power through it, or is there something else I should try?

ladyhusker39

I hear you. I've just started eating dinner later and going to bed earlier. For me it's definitely not hungry.

okohjacinda

If I workout at night...I am less hungry but then I am not usually as tired so there's that but I still try to work out at night because it curbs my hunger pangs. I also do intermittent fasting and the later I wait to eat like at 1 or 2...the later I can stop like at 9 or 10 (just nothing heavy or spicy because acid reflux is a *kitten*). Maybe give IF a try or try to workout a bit later in the day or evening.

snickerscharlie

Is it just habit, or perhaps boredom? Are you over-restricting yourself and have set too large a deficit in order to lose the weight more quickly? If so, consider slowing down your rate of lose to allow you more calories over the course of the day.

If it's true hunger, save some calories for the evening. I'm an evening muncher, so I just skip breakfast (which I'm rarely wanting, anyway) which leaves me plenty of calories for a good lunch and dinner, as well as a few evening snacks.

MamaMc3

I don't think it's a habit . . . I used to eat more at dinner before I started tracking, so I wouldn't usually eat a snack at night. I don't really think I am over restricting, either, but I'm definitely eating less than what I did before. I feel great during the rest of the day, but it's like my body goes "EAT, EAT, EAT" every night. I'm never bored, either. I have been ignoring it, but I'd like to think that I can either retrain my brain or figure out something to eat for a snack that would stop that hungry feeling.

ElleHeart22

What would you usually eat for a snack? Some things don't fill you as well as you would like.

A lot of people don't eat after nine, but I posted a discussion recently about eating late and the majority of the opinions were that if you have the calories to spend you can spend them any time before midnight and still lose weight. Therefore since I'm most hungry at night, I save some calories to have something after dinner that will keep me from being starving and not sleeping. Usually it's granola with milk, fruit, a granola bar, or maybe pretzel thins with almond butter. All within a serving size though.

Also, If you've just started dieting your body is still getting used to less food and will be more hungry for a bit. I find that a casual walk after dinner can help settle the food and make me less hungry.

quiksylver296

I'm asleep by 9:00.

beatyfamily1

@ElleHeart22 I think it depends on different variables about eating late at night. If you have at least a few hours before going to bed and depending on how big your meal was, I would imagine eating late at night would be okay because your body has time to burn the calories. If you just ate a big meal and decide to go to bed shortly after, that probably won't work out so well since your metabolism slows down when you are sleeping. I use to eat bigger dinners at night and was able to lose weight, but I did hit a point when that no longer worked for me. Now I eat smaller, more frequent meals and stop eating at about 3:30 PM and go to bed at 9-10 PM. I just don't feel the need to eat anything after that time.

nowine4me

Walking is a good diversion instead of watching TV and seeing endless food ads. If you're legit hungry, save room for a small snack -- like chia pudding, fruit or peppers and hummus. Or, try eating more volume at dinner, like a ton more vegetables and see if that holds you over