Waking up in the middle of the night just to eat?!!!

owl879

Hi guys, I've recently started this weird habit of just waking up in the night to scoff down something. It's not even anything special that's tempting...last night was a slice of bread with butter
Does this happen to anyone else? Did you find a solution for it? I would appreciate any help because it cuts into my calories for the next day and just puts me in a bit of a bad mood

Unknown

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lucerorojo

Eat more during the day.

amgreenwell

I agree, eat more during the day. Otherwise, wake up, drink a HUGE glass of water and go back to bed. I've heard of people waking up to eat but it's never happened to me so I don't have much advice.

quiksylver296

What is your daily calorie goal? Is it 1200? Did you choose, when you set up your MFP, to lose 2 lbs per week?

Maybe switch to 1 lb per week and eat more calories during the day. See if that fixes it.

psychod787

I read a study on what ( I ) think this happens to people. Now forgive me, it was done on rats, the brain goes into food seeking mode in a deficit. Also, as long as body fat stays below its set point. Basically, the body is starving and wants nutrition. Now this is just a theory, it was noted in rats. Rats tend to be used as a proxy for humans, but it is a mammalian study. I hope this helps understand why it happens. Best wishes.

psychod787

I will also add, that the study did not go into the topic it's self. It was actually a study on what happens to caloric expenditure after weight loss. The scientist just happened to notice an increase in activity in some weight reduced mice that they attributed to food seeking behavior. When added to personal experiences and talking to weight lifters who have been on severe cuts. It only makes sense to me. Now some of this info is subjective, but when I add 2 and 2 together it adds up for me. I am no scientist, only a guy who reads studies and tries to use the information learned to make sense of certain things.

psychod787

Wow.... woo's for stating some subjective info along with some research I read. Heck... I can't win! Lol

aeloine

Happened to me last week. 6 frozen waffles later..... I lowered my deficit and started eating more of my exercise calories back.

owl879

Thanks for all the great replies! I'll increase my calories a bit since that seems the most popular answer. I'm just a bit worried that even though I exercise 4 to 5 times a week, I'm only 5 foot so going over 1200 calories won't help me with weight loss.

psychod787

Sorry for the rather long winded info earlier. Just wanted to let you know that you were not alone or weak willed. That i think it has/does happen to most of us and that I believe there is some biology to it. Best wishes and nourish yourself well with all that exercise.

aeloine

owl879 wrote: »

Thanks for all the great replies! I'll increase my calories a bit since that seems the most popular answer. I'm just a bit worried that even though I exercise 4 to 5 times a week, I'm only 5 foot so going over 1200 calories won't help me with weight loss.

I upped to working out 5 times a week and that's when I started night eating (twice so far). I really do think you'll find that you either need to work out a little bit less or eat a little bit more.

owl879

psychod787 wrote: »

Sorry for the rather long winded info earlier. Just wanted to let you know that you were not alone or weak willed. That i think it has/does happen to most of us and that I believe there is some biology to it. Best wishes and nourish yourself well with all that exercise.

Don't be sorry I appreciated it!

jenilla1

amgreenwell wrote: »

...drink a HUGE glass of water and go back to bed...

If I did this, I'd be up all night peeing instead! LOL.

Lean59man

owl879 wrote: »

Hi guys, I've recently started this weird habit of just waking up in the night to scoff down something. It's not even anything special that's tempting...last night was a slice of bread with butter
Does this happen to anyone else? Did you find a solution for it? I would appreciate any help because it cuts into my calories for the next day and just puts me in a bit of a bad mood

Solution: Don't do it.

Noreenmarie1234

I've never done this, but have had urges to eat when I was eating most of my calories during the day. I've been eating 90 percent of my calories right before bed for years now and have never had urges anymore

psychod787

I do tend to eat more of my macros at night. That has helped me. While I have not binged yet, I have found myself staring mindlessly in the fridge at night almost craving calorie dense foods like bread and butter. Also, very food focused these days, even at what I think is a small surplus. I hope with a slight uptick in weight and bf might help. Much love people!

vanilla_frosting

I do this and have for years, even before my weight loss journey. Not every night but often. I want something sweet so bad. I asked my doctor if my blood sugar was getting low and my body was telling me to do something about it. According to him, it could be...

I just make myself a 1/2 PB & J or grab a small piece of chocolate. Then I can go back to sleep.

Marilyn0924

owl879 wrote: »

Thanks for all the great replies! I'll increase my calories a bit since that seems the most popular answer. I'm just a bit worried that even though I exercise 4 to 5 times a week, I'm only 5 foot so going over 1200 calories won't help me with weight loss.

Do you eat back any of those exercise calories?

stacithomas22

I have done this as well. Sometimes I can resist the urge to eat in the middle of the night and sometimes I cannot. One thing I have noticed that if I can save some calories to have closer to bed time, that seems to help not wake up in the middle of the night and raid the cabinet. I have been making a little PB2 with water, mixing it with a cut up banana and a splash of honey. It's so yummy, the perfect sweet treat and protein/carb combo is very satisfying. Good luck!

alexandravictoria88

Im 5ft 2 and was put on a 1.450 calorie diet, which personally i think is too much i always end up eating around 1.2000 calories. I also tend to get hungry in the middle of the night but i drink water and the cravings go away. I always crave carbs lol

TravisJHunt

I have done this, but not really because I'm hungry. Its more I wake up to pee or something and then I'm like man I'd love a PB sandwich. I'm a PB addict. I'd eat it for every meal all the time if I could and still be reasonably healthy but I figure getting some greens in there somewhere is probably a good idea from a nutritional perspective. So for me its not a calorie deficit thing, just a I'm awake and the craving hits so I do it. That being said, I add it to the next days calorie intake and move on. Happened last night actually.

owl879

Marilyn0924 wrote: »

owl879 wrote: »

Thanks for all the great replies! I'll increase my calories a bit since that seems the most popular answer. I'm just a bit worried that even though I exercise 4 to 5 times a week, I'm only 5 foot so going over 1200 calories won't help me with weight loss.

Do you eat back any of those exercise calories?

No because I don't think my work out is intense enough to make up a significant deficit.

aeloine

owl879 wrote: »

Marilyn0924 wrote: »

owl879 wrote: »

Thanks for all the great replies! I'll increase my calories a bit since that seems the most popular answer. I'm just a bit worried that even though I exercise 4 to 5 times a week, I'm only 5 foot so going over 1200 calories won't help me with weight loss.

Do you eat back any of those exercise calories?

No because I don't think my work out is intense enough to make up a significant deficit.

This might be your problem. Eat back ~50% of them and see how you fare.

psychod787

owl879 wrote: »

Marilyn0924 wrote: »

owl879 wrote: »

Thanks for all the great replies! I'll increase my calories a bit since that seems the most popular answer. I'm just a bit worried that even though I exercise 4 to 5 times a week, I'm only 5 foot so going over 1200 calories won't help me with weight loss.

Do you eat back any of those exercise calories?

No because I don't think my work out is intense enough to make up a significant deficit.

What's your workout?

goatg

Do you have a lot of muscle? I have about 100-150 calories of casein protein just before sleep. And you're not peeing when you wake up?

Kelkat405

I used to do that before I started MFP. For me it was just a bad habit. Couldn’t go back to sleep, so I just wanted to eat.

Gisel2015

owl879 wrote: »

Hi guys, I've recently started this weird habit of just waking up in the night to scoff down something. It's not even anything special that's tempting...last night was a slice of bread with butter
Does this happen to anyone else? Did you find a solution for it? I would appreciate any help because it cuts into my calories for the next day and just puts me in a bit of a bad mood

Nope! I finish my dinner and desert around 8PM, and with the exception of (drinking) water, I don't eat anything else until breakfast the next morning, between 8 and 9AM. I don't feel hungry after dinner or during the night, just sleepy.

Make sure that your dinners are fulfilling and that you balance your protein and fats.

grammagrape

psychod787 wrote: »

Sorry for the rather long winded info earlier. Just wanted to let you know that you were not alone or weak willed. That i think it has/does happen to most of us and that I believe there is some biology to it. Best wishes and nourish yourself well with all that exercise.

Absolutely there's some biology to it..we've been evolving for 200,000 years as homo sapiens and 2 MILLION years as hominids. We are programmed over that long evolution to seek food, store food, expend as few calories as possible, and to ratchet into survival mode if we go on deficit. Imagine taking 2 million years to evolve food survival skills, and only in the last 50 years to try to undo those 2 million years. The trick is tricking our bodies and our thousands and thousands of years of evolution. Never go too low with your calories because your body..for its survival..has evolved the skills of slowing down its metabolism to burn less, while increasing your cravings to get you to eat.
Its seen in all animals, not just humans. Ask any cat owner- Cat food with poor protein levels keep the cat eating and eating and eating (and eating) while it tries to get the proper nutrition it needs, so the cat gets fat because its on a nutritional deficit and not getting enough protein. Humans do exactly the same. So begin with protein every time. There is an ideal but narrow calorie window in which you lose weight but not so low that you trigger starvation mode. Yo-yo dieting is a no-no, since it it makes your calories too low so that your body responds you into gaining it all back while slowing your metabolism, every time. Crash diets fail for the same reason, your body slows its metabolic rate down when you go too low, and when you go off the diet, your evolution forces binge cravings and gain it all back. Absolutely biology.

Get enough protein first, and keep your calories JUST under break-even, and it will curve your carb cravings and midnight raids without kicking you into starvation mode, so that your weight loss lasts.

goatg

Apparently Hilary Swank used to wake up in the middle of the night just to eat while training for Million Dollar Baby.

And because I pretty much idolize her body here:

psychod787

grammagrape wrote: »

psychod787 wrote: »

Sorry for the rather long winded info earlier. Just wanted to let you know that you were not alone or weak willed. That i think it has/does happen to most of us and that I believe there is some biology to it. Best wishes and nourish yourself well with all that exercise.

Absolutely there's some biology to it..we've been evolving for 200,000 years as homo sapiens and 2 MILLION years as hominids. We are programmed over that long evolution to seek food, store food, expend as few calories as possible, and to ratchet into survival mode if we go on deficit. Imagine taking 2 million years to evolve food survival skills, and only in the last 50 years to try to undo those 2 million years. The trick is tricking our bodies and our thousands and thousands of years of evolution. Never go too low with your calories because your body..for its survival..has evolved the skills of slowing down its metabolism to burn less, while increasing your cravings to get you to eat.
Its seen in all animals, not just humans. Ask any cat owner- Cat food with poor protein levels keep the cat eating and eating and eating (and eating) while it tries to get the proper nutrition it needs, so the cat gets fat because its on a nutritional deficit and not getting enough protein. Humans do exactly the same. So begin with protein every time. There is an ideal but narrow calorie window in which you lose weight but not so low that you trigger starvation mode. Yo-yo dieting is a no-no, since it it makes your calories too low so that your body responds you into gaining it all back while slowing your metabolism, every time. Crash diets fail for the same reason, your body slows its metabolic rate down when you go too low, and when you go off the diet, your evolution forces binge cravings and gain it all back. Absolutely biology.

Get enough protein first, and keep your calories JUST under break-even, and it will curve your carb cravings and midnight raids without kicking you into starvation mode, so that your weight loss lasts.

Wow... woo's as well for you. I hope the person who is doing it will post their ideas.