How to stop cravings

Louis10010

Trying to lose 50 pounds seems so hard I do physical work five days a week but I think my real reason is eating at night

herringboxes

It is hard - but you can do it!

Yes, no matter how hard you work, if the calories aren’t in a deficit, you won’t lose. Do you feel very hungry at night after a hard day of depriving yourself and working hard? When I let my hunger get out of control, I eat more to try to feel better. Maybe eating nutritious food throughout your day will allow you to bring the overall calories down?

AnnPT77

Night time cravings can also be fatigue related: Fatigue makes the body seek energy, food is
energy, and cravings are how the energy search operates.

If your sleep quality/quantity could be improved, work on that. If you have high stress, it could help to work on reducing the sources of stress if possible, or apply non-food stress management practices (like mild exercise, prayer or meditation, journaling, being outdoors in nature, a nice hot bath, etc.).

If those things are a factor, reducing those root causes may help control the cravings. Beyond that, experiment with things like the timing of your eating, or the size of meals/snacks, or the nutrient combinations at various times. If your nutrition is sub-ideal, improving nutrition may help reduce cravings. (We don't necessarily crave the nutrients we're short on.) If you eat a lot of highly processed foods, some people find that eating more veggies, fruits, grains, lean meats, etc. can be more filling, and reduce cravings.

Best wishes!

ninerbuff

I purposely save calories at night so I don't have to worry about eating in the morning.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

zebasschick

i eat more when i'm tired or low energy. i deal with my nighttime eating with calorie-free popsicles i make from water and a variety of water enhancer flavors. as an extra bonus, they help with hydration.

you can also have lower calorie snacks ready to go. having them ready to go if they need any prep adds in convenience, which means when you're tired, you won't have a reason not to choose those instead of full fat ice cream, cookies or a full bag of potato chips.

my favorites include dannon light & fit cherry or vanilla (delish and a protein boost), juicy gels strawberry and orange cups (5 calories each and tasty), sugar free fudgecicles or your own home-made sugar free fudgecicles (i make mine with nonfat milk and davinci sugar free chocolate syrup), or i make a bowl of jello cook and serve sugar free chocolate pudding (160 calories for the entire bowl) or a batch of 37 calorie brownies. dryers and bryers both make tasty light ice cream. or there are single serve bags of stuff like planters peanuts (i stick with the 1 oz bags), and a variety of chips.

scoutmom1981

When my late night hunger monster strikes I settle it down with a mini bag of smart pop popcorn. It is enough in the bag that I feel fullish and not terrible like some diet food can be. It's only 100 calories a bag

LisaW2021

I feel you, for many years I could go all day without eating but I was definitely a nocturnal eater. I still wake up in the middle of the night and struggle. Try to drink enough water during the day. The night monster can be brought on by stress. It took me a long time to figure that one out. I don't know the hours of night that hits you but if it is between 6pm - 12pm try to find something healthy you really enjoy. I luv cauliflower and there is a million ways of making it taste great...depending on your diet/eating style. If it is after mid-night try a small portion of cottage cheese it has casein in it and it will help you fall asleep. FYI - you can make it savory or sweet. Best of luck.

maggybd

I have the same issue. I am starving when I come home from work. I eat, then I am no longer hungry but I want to continue eating. Many times I fail to control it. The only thing that works for me is to completely stop eating, maybe have a beverage with cream. Any time I try to have a small healthy snack, I can't stop after and soon I am sitting in front of the computer with a a bag of shredded cheese. Somebody compared eating to walking a tiger. At the end, you have to put it back in the cage and that is hard. When I am already tired and stressed once I let the tiger out with a healthy snack, I don't have the strength to put it back in the cage. The tiger still escapes on a regular basis. I don't have this figure out but I know that if I let it out, I have lost control.

Mark031111

Focusing on your nighttime eating could really help. Stay motivated and think about getting advice from a nutritionist or fitness expert for personalized help

RedB1rd

Yep. Same. I do so "good" during the day, but I think I'm starving by evening. Major snacking. Cravings can be a mental game. I was told that if you can just wait a while, the cravings will go away, and it totally works! If they don't go away, then it's true hunger and that's a different thing. Your post was from a few days ago, I hope you're doing well and kicking those cravings to the curb and/or not overeating at night!

kshama2001

RedB1rd wrote: »

Yep. Same. I do so "good" during the day, but I think I'm starving by evening. Major snacking. Cravings can be a mental game. I was told that if you can just wait a while, the cravings will go away, and it totally works! If they don't go away, then it's true hunger and that's a different thing. Your post was from a few days ago, I hope you're doing well and kicking those cravings to the curb and/or not overeating at night!

Whenever I read this I wonder if the poster has set an overly aggressive weekly weight loss goal and undereating during the day is causing overeating at night.

xrj22

Same here. The things I have had some success with are: snacking on grapefruit. Other things don't taste good after that. Brushing my teeth after the meal. Journaling at night to review how I did, what worked, what didn't, what I plan to do the next day.

westrich20940

Based on what you said it sounds like you have a physically demanding job. I have no clue how many calories you are consuming in a day but my first thought when anyone expresses that they struggle with routine 'cravings' or 'hunger'......is Are you still hungry...then probably you should eat more.

Start by really looking into and making sure that your caloric consumption is appropriate for your daily caloric needs right now.