Nighttime monster

cfranchi86

I always do so well during the day but then as soon as the sun sets I get these terrible monster cravings. Y'all got any tricks to help with not giving in? Or meditation to change my mindset in the evenings? Any advice really. It was so much easier when I was younger but now at 37 I'm struggling 🫣

MargaretYakoda

First step I suggest is to just log everything you eat for a week. See if there’s a pattern.

Do you avoid carbs during the day and then go overboard?
Is stress an issue?
Are you just eating out of habit?
Are you bored?

Unless you’re doing keto don’t avoid carbs.
If it’s stress, try a craft like knitting or an adult coloring book.
Habit? Switch from the high calorie foods to carrot sticks, sugar snap peas, fruit, or even a chew stick (miswak, available on amazon or at a halal market) gum, or a stim necklace meant for people who like more chewing (also available on Amazon. Many in nice adult styles)

And if you’re bored…. Well, all the above. Plus dive into something new and distracting.

cfranchi86

👍 I think it's boredom and habit. The fact that I get off work late at night really doesn't help.

springlering62

My go-to habits:

Drink water. Sometimes what you experience as hunger is really dehydration masquerading as hunger. I drink a lot early in the day, get busy, forget to drink, and am dehydrated late in the evening.

Idle hands are the devil’s tools: I keep my hands busy. For me, that’s needlepoint, crochet, beadwork. I could literally give everyone I know a blanket, doily, or needlepoint pillow, but hey, it keeps food out of my mouth. Even burns a tiny few NEAT calories, too.

Protein: I find protein very satiating. I heat high amounts and I make sure to space it throughout the day. Even my evening snacks contain protein.

Mental alarm clock: I just don’t care to eat past a certain time. I know it will keep me awake, potentially incur nighttime indigestion, or some foods can even trigger joint pain. Sugar food before bed in particular gets the Whack-a-Mole brain going.

Can you find small, satiating snacks that you can fit in your goals? I make fantastic (if I do so say myself) homemade ice creams that run 100-125 calories for half a pint. High protein, too. If I have extra calories, I hit it with a squirt of canned whipped cream and some sugar free chocolate syrup. Tonight’s ice cream will be a tart lemon, which tastes a bit like a lemon version of a push-up.

Get creative. What can you assuage your cravings with?

MargaretYakoda

cfranchi86 wrote: »

👍 I think it's boredom and habit. The fact that I get off work late at night really doesn't help.

Have you ever tried knitting? Or crochet?
It’s hard to eat when both hands are busy.

For extra zing, maybe needle felting…. It’s really hard to eat when you’re actively stabbing something multiple times with a very sharp object.
🫣🤪

For real though.
Gum can help. And keeping your hands busy with something.

Adventurista

Satisfying boredom with extra eating can develop into strong habit urges to keep doing it.

Some ideas that helped me. Schedule decent evening or bedtime snack as part of my daily calories.

Figure out if I am having hunger or just eating from habit - for example popcorn with movies, and do you want to keep that particular tradition habit or change it.

If you want to change it, try some things... puzzles, an evening stretch & relax activity, hot bubble bath, do nails, brush teeth or chew gum... Explore what will work for you

AnnPT77

One other potential for nighttime cravings is fatigue. By night, most of us are further from our last sleep. Fatigue accumulates over the day. At some point, decent chances the body will see energy to combat the fatigue. Voila, cravings!

If that's a factor, and there's a way to improve sleep quality/quantity, that may help. Stress management techniques might also be helpful, since stress is fatiguing. Obviously, getting rid of stressors is a good plan, but not always possible. People use a huge range of techniques to manage stress better. A few examples are meditation/prayer, mild exercise, hot aromatherapy bubble bath, journaling, adult coloring books, . . .

Just a thought.

MostafaDakam8297

I'm 43, this cravings issue always happen to me when i cant sleep enough, I have been struggling with insomnia for the last 10 years or so, i found stop consuming caffien after mid day and walking help a little.

springlering62

AnnPT77 wrote: »

One other potential for nighttime cravings is fatigue. By night, most of us are further from our last sleep. Fatigue accumulates over the day. At some point, decent chances the body will see energy to combat the fatigue. Voila, cravings!

💡💡💡

Omg! I never thought of it that way. You are so right!!!!