Late Night Snack Troubles

jgaht

Hello all!

I have been using MFP for about 40 days now. However, I'm still just hovering at 5 lbs lost. I'm currently a graduate student in psychology and work 12+ hours a day. I've been struggling with making myself do even a 30 minute work out video. Sleep or studying always seems to win over exercise. I think another hurdle is my late night snacking. I'm trying my best to limit myself to 1200 calories a day. I try to eat several small meals and after dinner I'm at my calorie total for the day. However, I tend to stay up unti 1:00am or so working then wake up at 7. In the time between 7:00 (dinner) and 1:00am, I end up getting hungry/want a snack.
To further complicate the issue, I always end up craving less than nutritious foods such as carbs. I realize this is related to stress-induced hormones.

In short, I was wondering if anyone is having similar struggles. I'm eating when I actually do feel hungry. Because my days are so long, however, I end up being hungry and going over my caloric limit by anywhere from 100-400 calories.

Any suggestions? I really need some help getting over this 5-pound plateau.

Thanks so much!

The struggling grad student

rach06ao

i am also having trouble giving up late night cravings

jstocks1215

Hey there jgaht!

I too have had the same troubles. I'm a grad student in accounting and like you have held some crazy hours the past year or so studying and working on campus. I used to cut off myself off at 8:00 pm but found that when I stayed up until 1:00 or 2:00 am studying I inevitably got hungry and started snacking. Truth be told my body, as well as yours, needs calories to function for an extra 6 hours late into the night.

One thing that helped me out a ton was getting a solid 7 to 8 hrs of sleep a night. Yeah I have sacrificed some study time but I try to put the books down by 11 and then don't pick them up again until at least 7 in the morning. The more rested I was, the better I felt and the more energy I carried through the day. I became more focused, which helped me use my study/work time better. I still try not to eat after 8:00 but every now and then I allow myself to "cheat" when I pull a longer than normal night. I also varied up my workout routine. Instead of going to the gym, I went for walks or short jogs or rode my bike to campus on sunny days (about 5 miles one way). Good weather is coming so take advantage of every opportunity to get out and enjoy the sunshine.

Stay motivated!! You got this!

skinneemee79

I usually have trouble after 9pm...thank god I am only usually up till 11pm! I eat the sugar free jello with some canned whipped cream. Also I found that cheetos puffcorn is only 160 calories for around 50 pieces. I think that since you get to eat so many you kind of fool yourself into thinking you had enough! I dropped my calories to 1050 and try to stay under those, but then on the nights where I cant resist I'll eat something and not feel so guilty cause I know that I am still between 1200-1300 calories. (also because all day long I grab 10 m&m's or jellybeans here and there and I don't log them...so I figure I'm getting about 1200 altogether, but it keeps my sweet tooth at bay!) Then on the days I actually do stay at 1050 I have a few to spare during those week moments. I know people on here freak out if you don't get enough calories...but I eat when I am hungry and know that realistically I am getting enough cause my body would let me know if I wasn't. You need to listen to your body and it sounds like you are a very busy person, so you might need to experiment with your calories. Go down or up one week and see what kind of results you get, if its not good, try the opposite. This website is great, but I also think that what works for one person, wont always work for someone else. It sucks, but sometimes you have to experiment before you figure out what your body needs to lose weight. Also I take 5-HTP supplements and drink green tea. The combination is supposed to help stress related cravings. Take a look at "Change your brain, change your body" online. I saw the show on tv and it will help you understand why you eat the way you do.

angp7711

Have you tried planning out your whole day ahead of time and planning for a later snack/meal in the evening. Maybe balancing your calories a little more and leaving room for that last meal might help. Trying to cut it out all together doesn't seem like a very achievable goal if you can't get to bed any earlier. When I am trying to cut snacking and making sure that it is hunger and not just cravings I usually set a rule of a protein shake or bar only for snacks. If I don't want either of those (straight fuel is how I think of them) then I am really not hungry and I am just feeding other things (tiredness, frustration ect.)