2 QUESTIONS

shannahrose

1. Late night snacking

I'm a morning exerciser, so I wake up at 5 AM - which requires me to go to sleep at like 10. I've been really trying to stop eating around 7 to give my body a few hours to finish digesting before bed - but i'm failing miserably!! anyone out there have the same problem? any tips and tricks? thx!

2. HRM calorie burn

Do you start your HRM at the beginning of your workout and let it run the entire time through cardio, strength train, etc.? Or do you only log calories you burn during cardio? My thinking is that the count will be innacurate if my HRM thinks I'm working while i'm resting between lift sets, etc. I've been only logging calories I burn during my cardio, but i'm second guessing now...

Thanks for the advice!! have a great day everyone!! :flowerforyou:

Lyndo

For the late night snacking I eat GUM!!!
Anything minty without sugar, & no calories....
If I'm desperate & dying to eat I'll eat fresh Cantaloupe.... :flowerforyou:
& as ofr the other question you have I am still kind of new I have no clue!
Good luck, 27 pounds is amazing!!! Good job:flowerforyou:

cheshirekat

yeah I had a question about eating food later at night too. My schedule is so jam packed in the evenings sometimes I don't have time to eat dinner until like 9-9:30pm (i go to bed around 11:30-12:30). I still have plenty of calories left by this time but I get nervous about eating that late in the night when I mostly just sit around and go to bed. Does anyone know if it really matters, I've heard mixed things about this.

sorry I can't be of more help shannahrose, I don't wear a HRM either.

lulabellewoowoo

1. Late snacking: Still fighting with that one. I thought drinking water would help, but then I am up all night tinkling. I get up at 3 a.m. for work, but usually don't go to bed until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., so I feel like I'm eating ALL DAY LONG. I'll have to try the gum or mint flavor.

2. I usually do my strength training/weights after my cardio so my heart rate is still elevated and I keep my HRM still running. I am definitely burning more calories in those 20 to 30 minutes than I would be just sitting around the house. But that is just my opinion and my way of doing it.

katie517

Just tagging for my own selfish gain. I am wondering about the HRM, too.

Zara11

1. sometimes having some sugar free jello or a Popsicle, if eaten slowly enough, kills the cravings.

Are you wanting dessert/sugar or are you legit hungry? If it's the latter, add more fiber and DEFINITELY more protein into dinner/lunch/etc.

Chenoachem

1. I have read in runnersworld that eating low fat, low sodium lunch meat like turkey at night will help you feel better and help your body repair itself while you sleep. By not eating that much before going to bed I wake up more sluggish and have a harder time with morning workouts and I am more sore since my body didn't have what it needed to fully repair. Occasionally, I also have the skinning cow mini ice cream bars (50 calories) before going to bed. I also plan to not have a big dinner and a walk after dinner will keep your metabolism working at a higher intensity when it normally would be slow.

2. I have done both ways with my HRM. I found that during the strength training, the intensity is in such short burst I don't burn that much more calories than I would just cooking dinner. So I don't track my strength training calories. If I am doing weights with a video that is part of a cardio routine, then I track it.

Good Luck. You are doing a great job so far.

havingitall

To prevent late night snacking I have a cup of herbal tea about an hour before bed time. My favourite is Tazo's Sweet Wild Orange. It has a lot of flavour and takes away the cravings for a snack

shannahrose

1. sometimes having some sugar free jello or a Popsicle, if eaten slowly enough, kills the cravings.

Are you wanting dessert/sugar or are you legit hungry? If it's the latter, add more fiber and DEFINITELY more protein into dinner/lunch/etc.

no its definitely just wanting dessert and having trouble with the temptations in the kitchen. usually its a craving for chocolate! :laugh:

SHBoss1673

I'll only comment on the HRM question.

1st lets remember, HRM's are an estimate only, granted an estimate based on relatively good scientific theory, and has lots of anecdotal and experimental evidence to back it up, but it's still not going to be perfect for everyone, so the idea of trying to adjust something that has a margin for error anyway is probably not going to get you anywhere.

2nd, with regards to anaerobic workouts (weight training, circuit training, HIIT training...etc) you're HRM is not going to give you the whole story anyway, EPOC is going to change your calorie burn for up to 48 hours post exercise, and the amount of increased metabolic rate is different for everyone, so the only way really to know with any certainty is to know, without much doubt, what your resting heart rate is, then to wear the HRM AFTER you exercise up until your heart rate is back to it's normal rate, then take the difference from what it would normally be (if your HRM doesn't already factor in non-exercising calorie burn)

So with those thoughts in mind, when you work out, even when you aren't activly working out, I think your heart rate is probably raised to some degree, so yes, measure the whole time, even during rest periods. Just remember to subtract your normal metabolic levels from the total at the end if your HRM doesn't already do that. For example, polar doesn't do this, it just gives you total calorie burn for the time you measure, you are on your own to figure out how many calories you would have burned without working out. I know for me it's about 130 calories an hour, so I subtract that (or a derivative of that if it's less/more than an hour)

FireMonkey

You could save up calories for a serving of fat free, sugar free Jello pudding with skim milk; 80 calories per 1/2 cup serving and it won't fill you up so you can't sleep.

Hot chocolate is also nice before bed. Compare labels for the one that suits your needs best, or use real cacao either with real sugar or sweetener.If you opt for cacao you'll need milk or it tastes bad, but skim milk is fine.

Kath712

This is my evening routine... We finish dinner around 6:30. If we have dessert that night, we usually eat it right after dinner. Lately, I've been having like one cookie, or a small cup of ice cream, sometimes nothing at all. Then, when my kids are going to bed (7:30-8:00), I brush my teeth with them. Since I don't want to eat after brushing my teeth (and I'm too lazy to do it again when I go to bed at 10:00), this prevents me from snacking during the evening. I've been doing this for awhile now, and it's really a habit. I can't remember the last time I snacked in the evening.

Sorry I can't help you on the HRM - I don't have one!