ahhh late night food consumption.. help!

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lafournier2
lafournier2 Posts: 20 Member
in Food and Nutrition
i do so well during the day with restraint in terms of portions/calorie consumption, and then from about 7pm to 10pm i lose control. im not eating badly, i think my food content is healthy, its just the quantity. i eat about half my day's calories in that 3 hour period and i know its not good to go to bed full like that.

so... anyone else out there have this problem, and if so, have you found a way to curb that night time appetite increase??

Replies

  • jjblogs
    jjblogs Posts: 327 Member
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    I was looking at your diary, and it looks like you have it set up for 6 meals a day. But, you seem to skip the last two most days. I've found that if I scatter my calories out over 6 separate smaller meals, I'm not nearly as apt to binge at night. I have the same problem you do when I'm not dieting....I pork out after 9pm. When I'm dieting faithfully, I *really* work at getting all 6 meals in. Has made a big difference for me. Also....DRINK TONS OF WATER throughout the day.
  • aminakhan1980
    aminakhan1980 Posts: 105 Member
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    A half a cup of cottage cheese really fills me up! Also, you could try some white popcorn, its something with a lot of volume, and "munchy" but not high calorie. I have the same problem, all my friends complete their diaries at like 7 pm and I'm still goin and goin lol. I love munching at night, but just make sure its healthy and u log each and every bite!
  • tinkerpuppet
    tinkerpuppet Posts: 40 Member
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    My downfall has always been night time snacking too. We eat dinner quite early, and honestly by 9pm I'm hungry! So I've learned to leave myself enough calories for a bowl of cereal (mini-wheats, my vice of choice) and sometimes a hot chocolate. I always have a peppermint tea and sometimes if I've had a really large or late dinner, that tides me over.

    So if you're eating because you're hungry, just plan for it. If its just a bad habit, find something to replace the habit (peppermint tea helps me!)
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
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    i do so well during the day with restraint in terms of portions/calorie consumption, and then from about 7pm to 10pm i lose control. im not eating badly, i think my food content is healthy, its just the quantity. i eat about half my day's calories in that 3 hour period and i know its not good to go to bed full like that.

    so... anyone else out there have this problem, and if so, have you found a way to curb that night time appetite increase??

    Save your calories for your late night eating, there is NOTHING wrong with eating late at night. It will have no impact on your weight loss. Just stick with your calorie goals and you'll lose weight. The idea that you shouldn't eat too close to bed time is a myth.
  • lafournier2
    lafournier2 Posts: 20 Member
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    thanks all :) all great advice. especially the water thing. really dont drink enough water and i need to work on that. and i do try to curb my appetite with a small amount of tea, that does seem to help! :)
  • nutandbutter
    nutandbutter Posts: 447
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    I quit trying to have 6 small meals a day and now eat 2 big meals and some afternoon/evening snacks (IF). I was always hungry having my 300 calorie "meals" and now I get to eat massive (for me) amounts of food. Also, I do IIFYM so I eat what I like. Just got done eating some ice cream and it was delicious. :bigsmile:
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    Save your calories for your late night eating, there is NOTHING wrong with eating late at night. It will have no impact on your weight loss. Just stick with your calorie goals and you'll lose weight. The idea that you shouldn't eat too close to bed time is a myth.


    ^ This.
  • stubbysticks
    stubbysticks Posts: 1,275 Member
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    It's not a "problem" if your not exceeding your calorie target. Through trial & error I've found that my natural tendency is to have more of an appetite at night, so I purposely eat lighter throughout the day & typically eat 50% of my calories after 6 pm. Why fight it?
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    why is it exactly not good to bed full?

    huh..i'm sitting here eating chips and salsa
  • chasingpavements24
    chasingpavements24 Posts: 107 Member
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    why is it exactly not good to bed full?

    huh..i'm sitting here eating chips and salsa

    It's a myth that EVERYONE seems to believe. I've literally had arguments with friends about this. I totally agree that you should save a few hundred calories for that time period. I find late night eating comforting and it's better for my sanity when I'm allowed to eat then.
  • lafournier2
    lafournier2 Posts: 20 Member
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    the logic behind the idea of not eating too much before bed is that you are sleeping rather than burning the calories you ate. so the extra cals get stored while you sleep rather than being burned like you would during the day. yes, if you have calories left technically you would think your body would just use those night time cals the same way, but ... im skeptical. i still feel like eating a bunch at night sets you up to store more of it rather than burn it up.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    the logic behind the idea of not eating too much before bed is that you are sleeping rather than burning the calories you ate. so the extra cals get stored while you sleep rather than being burned like you would during the day. yes, if you have calories left technically you would think your body would just use those night time cals the same way, but ... im skeptical. i still feel like eating a bunch at night sets you up to store more of it rather than burn it up.

    Think of it this way: Suppose that (and this is a big supposition) you burn zero calories during the night. I am making this supposition for purposes of making a point. Therefore, all the calories you eat before bed get stored as fat.

    Lets assume that you eat ALL of your calories before bed, too. You do this daily.

    If you are eating in a net deficit, you will STILL LOSE FAT.

    All the food you eat gets stored as fat in your sleep. You wake up and, during the day, you burn off all that fat (and then some) because you are in a caloric deficit and have no food present (remember, you eat only at night, so you are fasting during the day).

    This is not a realistic example (let me reiterate that I'm just trying to make a point) since you don't have a zero-metabolism at night, but think of it in these terms to help understand why physiologically, it doesn't matter when you eat.

    Trying to micromanage the acute processes is silly. Fat oxidation will exceed fat storage if you are in a deficit over the course of time . Zoom out and look at the big picture instead of the short-term.

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