...So I wake up, now what?

kimbot

Hello MFP friends :flowerforyou:

When I get off work and come home to relax, I almost always fall asleep for about 5 or 6 hours. Then by the time I wake up, it's 9pm, 10pm, or later, and i've had no dinner.

Of course when I wake up i'm starving but sometimes I feel like it's too late to eat, so i'll just have an apple, glass of milk, or sometimes just a glass of water. :drinker: My question is, what is the best thing to eat in this situation?

It doesn't happen often, maybe 3 times a week but I never know what to eat. Then my diary usually tells me i'm eating too few calories, because my breakfast and lunch didn't cover the rest. Any suggestions/thoughts would be great! Thanks guys!

adagolden

Maybe try not to sleep? Exercise to wake your body up and then have some protein, like a bar or shake. Why are you so tired? Are you not sleeping enough at night?

TruckinTheLBSoff

You are doing great with just drinking a glass of milk or water. If that fills you up than so be it. If you are looking for something to stick, eat a little bit of oatmeal or rice. It only takes 4 minutes to make oatmeal, and 15-20 minutes to make rice. Not a lot, maybe a cup of rice or oatmeal at the most. You should never eat and than go straight to bed, but in your case I would do the milk and if that does not work, go with the rice or oatmeal.

Pebble321

Personally I don't think it's bad to eat late at night, I would still have dinner, but it sounds like you need to have a look at your routine so you have dinner ready to eat as soon as you get home, then you can eat before you nap.
You could cook up a big batch of something on the weekend, or make double the night before when you are awake!

kimbot

I work in a morgue, and i'm constantly busy. I don't always get enough sleep at night, and by the time I get home, i'm exhausted, emotionally and physically.

Aviendha_RJ

Buy a new mattress! I had to!

DrBorkBork

I would just hit up a glass of water. There's no harm in intermittent fasting!

kimbot

Good idea! Especially since I love oatmeal. Thanks!

SMarie10

this routine does not sound the best. If you sleep 5-6 hours after work, do you then go to bed for the night at 10? If you need more sleep, why not try working out / exercising immediately after work, eat a balanced meal, then go to bed extra early for the night if you're really that tired. I think you might find more energy if you exercised at a regular time every day. IMO you need to change it up if your serious about weight loss / healthy living.

singingmom

I'd do a 98% fat free oscar mayer turkey hotdog w/ a healthy life 80 calorie bun and maybe a fruit like an apple or banana. Its quick, easy, filling and low calorie. I often have that meal for lunch. Or you could even do a cheese (low fat or fat free shredded) quesadilla. I get the 50 calorie corn tortillas and make 2 with some salsa.

adagolden

Ahhh, gotcha. Just don't go overboard and make smart choices and you will be fine. Easy is good, oatmeal is yummy...what about greek yogurt?

kimbot

Yes, sometimes if I wake up at 10, I usually don't get back to sleep until about midnight, sometimes 1am.

katherines2230

My trainer just recently told me that its not about how late you eat but WHAT you eat!

cmriverside

It doesn't matter what time you eat. But you are probably tired because you're NOT eating and you're maybe eating the wrong types of foods.

You shouldn't be tired enough to sleep 5 or 6 hours after work unless you aren't sleeping enough normally, you are depressed, you're not eating enough, or you have a medical issue.

nrvo

Do you have a crockpot? Maybe you could throw some stuff in it before you leave for work in the morning. My new fav is tossing in a 4-pack of frozen chicken breasts, a (rinsed) can of black beans, and a jar of salsa. You can leave it in the crockpot on low all day, and just shred it when you get home. It's great on brown rice or with corn tortillas.

There's a bunch of other tasty looking crockpot recipes on this website as well: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2005/12/light-and-healthy.html

kimbot

I do have a crock, and that sounds deelish! Thanks!

CallejaFairey

really it all depends on how hungry you are. if you are hungry, eat. your body does not shut down because you go to sleep, it will still digest, hence the morning bathroom trips :P maybe start having slightly bigger breakfasts and lunches with the thought of having a smaller supper, then if you do fall asleep, it's not nearly as big a deal. you could also eat something that is higher in cals but smaller in size if you don't want to eat anything big. like an avocado, or nuts. even a peanut butter sandwhich works nicely. just stay away from stuff that might give you stomach problems and lead to you staying awake instead of sleeping, cause that certainly would not help

LauraMarie37

You should never eat and than go straight to bed

I strongly disagree with this. Studies have shown that while your metabolism does slow down while you are sleeping, it doesn't affect the percentage of food that is turned into fat storage - just the whole process takes longer than if you were awake. (And this is a good thing, because when you are awake, humans normally eat about every six hours - imagine if you woke up starving 6 hours after dinner finished!) The whole "don't eat before bed" thing came about because there were so many people who would eat dinner and dessert, and then eat a bowl of ice cream or a bag of chips *again* right before bed. The problem is *extra* calories, not the *timing* of calories!

You say you don't eat because you don't want to eat late, not because you aren't hungry. It's ok to eat late! So eat a normal dinner, even if you fell asleep beforehand!

I do agree though that it woukd be ideal to try and force yourself to stay up for an extra few hours when you get home, eat and exercise during that time period, then go to bed earlier. One long block of sleep is way better for your body than two medium-sized ones!

kimbot

Thank you for all the great suggestions guys. I really do try to avoid my after work naps, but sometimes it's inevitable. When you're sleepy, you're sleepy! But I will try some of these suggestions and I appreciate all your input!