What helped you avoid night eating?

braineybrawn · August 14

Always hungry at night. What helped you stop eating late/waking up and snacking? I started eating whole oats + protein powder and it's been very satiating. Looking for more tips too!

AnnPT77 · August 14

For me, getting a solid breakfast with plenty of protein, then more protein through the day, helped reduce evening cravings. But things like that tend to be somewhat individual: Consider noticing when you have better or worse days, then look at your food diary (plus related things like exercise and sleep) to see whether you can figure out what improves the situation or makes it worse. It's kind of like a one-person science experiment!

Some people find that they need a bedtime snack to minimize hungry wake-ups. Don't be afraid to try that. The idea that eating before bed automatically causes weight gain is pure myth.

For many people (not all) so-called whole foods are more filling, so suppress craving mopesre, compared to highly processed foods. High fiber foods can be particularly good (which may be part of why you're finding oats and protein powder filling). But some people find fats filling, others protein, some need some high volume food (such as a big heap of low-cal veggies). There's a thread here for volume eaters, if that sounds like it might be true for you:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10563959/volume-eaters-thread/p1

Three other things I can think of that might influence evening cravings for some people:

1. Sleep quality/quantity. If that's sub-ideal, improving it may help. Evening is farthests to from our last sleep, so we can be fatigued. Fatigue makes the body seek energy, and food is energy. Voila, cravings!
2. Stress. Stress is fatiguing, among other reasons it can spark appetite. If your life is high stress, maybe explore other stress-management methods. People use all kinds of things: Stretching/yoga, other mild exercise, relaxing music, prayer or meditation, adult coloring books, warm aromatherapy bubble baths, journaling - you name it.
3. Over-exercise (or particular types of exercise) can spike appetite for some people. Maybe notice whether your cravings are worse when you've been more active, or done some particular activity. If you can find the pattern, there are various ways to adjust.

Best wishes for finding a solution!

Hobartlemagne · August 16

I did well shifting the calorie distribution in the day so Id have a pretty small breakfast, a little bigger lunch, and even bigger dinner plus a 160cal/30g Protein drink before bed.

ehju0901 · October 4

I'm in the same boat as you, and what I find helps me is just to give myself a sweet snack. I usually like to have a rice cake or two with peanut butter, or a protein shake.