Lose my motivation at night

lifewithme2

Hello.

I eat great all day long. I have my proteins, milks, fruit and veggies. Then at night after dinner I have the hungry horrors. I am trying to find some good things to eat that won't add up a lot of calories or fat. Tonight I'm going to have 1 egg with 2 slices of reduced salt bacon and then later if I'm still hungry I'm going to have a shake made with diet cranberry juice, 1 banana and some mixed fruit.

Please let me know some suggestions you may have. I've tried fruit and 94% fat free popcorn. They don't keep me satisfied. I'll be up till about midnight so I need some help.

Thanks.

Tracy

mary190136

I'd suggest drinking fruit teas at night. They sweetness can quell your cravings in a healthy, calorie-free way. Try peach tea, raspberry tea, and orange spice tea. Drink two large cups of hot tea or iced tea... you won't want to each so much after that!
Hope it helps.

thepetiterunner

Are you sure you're not just thirsty? I often find at night I think I'm hungry, but it's really thirst. Try drinking a glass of water and waiting about 10 minutes before diving into snacks. You may just be dehydrated at the end of the day.

inside_lap

Nights and weekends are killer for me! My only answer so far is distractors that take me far away from the kitchen so I won't be tempted to make the "long" journey down for a snack. And when I do make the journey, I try not to take anything back. I also try to get extra exercise in on days that I know I will be tempted (like weekend days). Hope that helps...

SkinnieFinnie

I make myself eat carrots, celery or some other fresh veggie. I figure if I don't want that.. I'm not that hungry.

cygnetpro

I may be way off on this, but a friend sent me an article a while back from the New York Times on "decision fatigue". It talked about how some of us have jobs or lives where we have to make stressful decisions all day (mine is like that), and by the end of the day, we are drained. It's why people "fall off the wagon" more often in the evening if they are a recovering alcoholic or drug user, and it's possibly why some of us make poor dietary decisions that we would have NEVER made six or eight hours earlier. It made some sense to me, and I try to be more aware of that when I just want to grab a slab of cheddar and a sleeve of saltines at 9 pm.

This is the article. Maybe it's totally not what you're dealing with, but I thought it was interesting. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html?pagewanted=all

kaetmarie

1) drink lots of water
2) figure out if you're actually hungry or if it's habit (for me, it was the latter) --> if your body is actually hungry, eat something that is filling that fits in your day. If it's habit, do something else!

For me, I schedule a post-dinner snack every day. I know that I'm going to want to eat something then, so I just plan for it ahead of time and make it work. Lately, I've been having greek yogurt with protein powder, stevia, and chocolate chips. Sooooo goood!

maf66

I looked at your diary and IMO you're not eating enough fiber. Your food diary isn't even set up to the recommended daily for women, which is 25g. I'd look for foods higher in fiber, that will keep you full longer and stay away from processed foods which have hidden sugars. Sugar makes you want more sugar, the muchies

janeite1990

I do 20 minutes of cardio at night. Helps!

debte

I agree that yo are not eating enough fiber. Make sure you are saving some calories for a snack after dinner. The fiber one bars that are 90 calories are a good choice.

tdmcmains

I feel like i had a similar (though entirely different) problem -- after eating lunch or dinner, I would crave sweets. Like unbelievable craving making me feel like I absolutely MUST have just a little cookie, or some chocolate, or anything.
I started to think that maybe the craving was just like... a conditioned response. Because I had been doing it so long, my brain was thinking "well, you're done with your meal, now it's time for something sweet". I don't know if this is really what happens but it's what I came up with.
So for a while i would ABSOLUTELY NOT eat any sweets after a meal. I'd drink water or just distract myself. And after a while (seems like forever), the cravings just went away.

I'm not sure if this is at all relevant to you. Maybe you are just up late at night and need something in your stomach to tide you over until morning. Maybe you can spread out your normal daytime food to cover the night hours better? Or maybe it's just a matter of training your brain to not do it?

emcohen

I may be way off on this, but a friend sent me an article a while back from the New York Times on "decision fatigue". It talked about how some of us have jobs or lives where we have to make stressful decisions all day (mine is like that), and by the end of the day, we are drained.

I've read things like this too, how will power is not like a decision but more like a muscle. The more you have to exercise your will power, the more fatigued it gets. Eventually we give in because we no longer have the strength to say no.

When my friends don't understand my eating habits, I explain it to them as an addiction. I'm addicted to food. Sometimes I'm not hungry, I know I shouldn't be eating, I tell myself no, but then I do it anyway. Then I feel good for a bit, then I feel guilty, etc. Sounds just like cigarettes, drugs, alcohol to me.

I have this problem at night as well. If you are home relaxing, try finding a hobby or something else to keep you occupied. I started planning my workouts at times when I know I'd eat instead.

Phrak

This was the reason i started using intermittent fasting. I know my willpower is weaker at the end of the day, so i save 90% of my calories for that time.

janegalt37

Protein! It's slower to digest, keeping you fuller longer. My favorite late night snack is cottage cheese with some pineapple bits or other fruit. And, like maf66 mentioned, more fiber. I just mix the powder with water and slam it to get it over with. Works great, and I sleep better now, too, with a little something in my tummy.

Also, it's important to know that, as long as you keep a pretty regular eating schedule, your body recognizes this and, when your normal feeding time approaches, raises the levels of a hormone called ghrelin, which increases appetite. If you would prefer to not eat after dinner, you can retrain your body - but only by just not eating that last snack. Over a period of time your system will no longer send out ghrelin in anticipation of that meal. That's where kaetmarie's suggestion of a distraction will help tremendously until you have broken that habit.

My1985Freckles

Try making stir fry's for dinner. I had a HUGE dinner last night. 3.5 cups of chicken and veggies stir fried in fat free italian dressing over 4 cups of romaine (this made up two HUGE plates, I was really hungry). ALL of that food, ALL OF IT! was only 398 calories! And I was stuffed! I planned on having a 3-2-1 cake, but had to skip it because I was so full.

lifewithme2

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will work on drinking more water. I have about 6 cups a day. I love tea so I'll have that and I do have greek yogurt!

I'll make sure to leave some of my water for nights. I'll also have a slice of wheat bread tonight it should help!

maf66

There is a huge difference between "wheat" and "whole wheat" If you are not eating whole grain breads, it's basically just flour. Try switching to whole grains, try an artisan whole grain bread or pumpernickel or rye. Try cheerios or a kashi cereal for a late snack, the fiber and protein together should help tremendously. Not the first time as your stomach may be used to receiving larger quantities of food, but it will work.

I changed my diet drastically the first of the year and I can tell you, it made the biggest difference. No artificial sugars except stevia and no white starches. No white rice, pasta or potatoes, no processed foods, no microwave popcorn. Make your popcorn on the stove and season however you like, just use a scant amount of oil! Just suggestions :happy: :happy: