eating at night and having left over calories

emilysavage123

Hi everyone!
So today was a good day, i went to the gym and now i have an extra 500 cals left. I know i should probably eat some of them but i dont know what to eat? Alsoooo.. i was talking to a nutritionist yesterday and she told me that a lot of my problems could be CAUSED from eating a lot late at night, which i tend to do. Any suggestions for cravings at night and what to do/what to eat? At night is when im the least busy, bumming around at home doing homework and I always find my self grabbing crackers, granola bars and stuff like that, but I need a healthier option that will help me fill up!

Thanks guys (:

dls06

I eat low fat popcorn and grapes every night before bed. It hasn't hurt me. But I make sure I have the calories saved to cover it. :flowerforyou:

shovav91

Cottage cheese, yogurt, lean meats, tuna...
Things that are full of protein will keep you full. Maybe grab a handful of nuts if you need calories.

emilysavage123

hmm yes that sounds yummy,

i loveeeee cottage cheese! too bad i dont have any right now.. might have to take a trip to the grocery store hahah.
thank you ladies (:

Sidesteal

Hi everyone!
i was talking to a nutritionist yesterday and she told me that a lot of my problems could be CAUSED from eating a lot late at night, which i tend to do.

Without hearing why she would say this, I would suggest you keep eating late at night if that's what you prefer to do. Just be sure to not go over your caloric intake goal for the day.

whisperingdragon

100 Calorie Snacks

14 Almonds= 98-100 cals

1 small apple= under 100 cals

6 cups of popped popcorn (no salt) = around 100 cals

1 cup of grapes= around 100 cals

1/2 cup of cottage cheese with small fruit slice = less than 100 cals.

MissMaryMac33

Greek yogurt is my usual late night snack. I buy fage total 0%, add some pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, chia seeds and a little truvia and top with walnuts...

PS Your doc is incorrect about the time... if you have calories left it doesn't matter when you eat them. I eat at night almost every day -- I save calories to do it becaue I like it. What would hinder me is depriving myself of doing something I enjoy. I just do it in moderation (most of the time!)

I will way that certain things do affect my sleep -- chocolate gives me weird dreams if I eat it too late, carbs make me feel bloated and I try to avoid anything high sodium late at night since i tend to retain water.

If you like to snack all night -- lite popcorn might be good since it can last a long time. (watch the sodium)

MissMaryMac33

hmm yes that sounds yummy,

i loveeeee cottage cheese! too bad i dont have any right now.. might have to take a trip to the grocery store hahah.
thank you ladies (:

If you care about sodium watch out and read labels -- most cottage cheese is 900mg for a cup -- which is about half your daily total.

Scoobies87

If I just ate some dried apple rings....yummy failing that a piece of toast and peanut butter is always a winner for me!

emilysavage123

Hi everyone!
i was talking to a nutritionist yesterday and she told me that a lot of my problems could be CAUSED from eating a lot late at night, which i tend to do.

Without hearing why she would say this, I would suggest you keep eating late at night if that's what you prefer to do. Just be sure to not go over your caloric intake goal for the day.

im not sure why she said this, but she said it could be causing me problems. mainly because i personally think i go overboard at night time. thank you for your advice! (:

Sidesteal

im not sure why she said this, but she said it could be causing me problems. mainly because i personally think i go overboard at night time. thank you for your advice! (:

Most (incorrectly) claim that eating at night causes you to gain fat due to a metabolic change that happens when you sleep. This is incorrect but it's unfortunately largely spread around just like the rumor of needing 6 small meals per day.

What you need to focus on is end-of-day totals for your nutrition. Hit your calorie and macronutrient targets for the day and beyond that you should eat whenever you feel like it. Whether you like eating 10 meals per day that are really small, or you like eating one big meal before bed and nothing during the day, it won't effect your metabolism/fat gain/calorie expenditure.

You should structure your meals around personal preference and exercise performance, and it sounds to me like you enjoy eating at night. I would recommend that you at least take a few days where you eat LESS during the day and MORE at night. Effectively you will be saving calories during the day so that you can spend them at night, thus ALLOWING you to eat more at night without going over. YOu will still need to hit your DAILY TOTALS, of course.

Worth trying. The flipside would be to eat more early, so that you aren't as hungry. I find this strategy to not work well, but YMMV.

emilysavage123

thanks alot sidesteal, that was very helpful (: