Least hungry in the morning, most hungry at night

meggwtw

I have this problem where when I wake up in the morning I'm at my least hungry, but as the day goes on I get hungrier. At nighttime, I always want to snack. I'm assuming that part of the reason I'm not hungry in the morning, usually, is because I'm digesting still from the night before. Is this true? I'm making an effort to not eat after 8 p.m. and ignore the cravings at night. I've also decided to eat lighter meals in the morning so I have enough calories left near the end of the day.

Any tips for what I should do to decrease nighttime hunger? Will changing my diet up fix the problem, or will I always get hungrier at night?

evanesco

You could try intermittent fasting. It seems like it would suit you.

www.leangains.com

Look here for more info.

cma17

I find after a couple of days of eating structured meals making sure i have breaky lunch and tea i no longer feel super hungry at night.

JeffinRaleigh

My question to you would be what sort of food are you eating through the day? It could be food choice rather than timing.

Chadomaniac

IF - SORTED! skip breakfast , have a small lunch and huge supper

JustANumber85

I have this issue too. Im trying to play around with meal times and foods to fix it though.

dancerom

I have always been the same, until I started eating my breakfast (and really finding out what is right for me). At the moment I'm more into a huge green smoothie (about 400cal from Avocado, proetein powder, quark and linseeds, and some more veggies like spinache and a half a grapefruit) but sometimes I also eat lentils veggies and eggs, or an vegetable-egg omelet. Now I neeeeeeeed my breakfast. I even need a small protein shake just when I wake up. And so I feel less hungry during my day and there are less cravings by night. And if they come they are faster satisfied. It feels as if my body could start to relax and trust that there is new food coming in the morning ;-)
Just try and figure out what works for you! Good luck and enjoy!

Chadomaniac

@dancerom that looks damn nutritious!

neverstray

I might suggest that instead of crushing your natural tendency, ou work with it.

Why not, skip breakfast, eat a light lunch, then save mst your calories for dinner and a night time snack.

No need to fight it or throw your body off it's rhythm. Just do what feels right.

SHBoss1673

while I wouldn't say to skip breakfast. I would say that there's no reason to try to force yourself to conform to standards. There's no science out there that says eating at night is bad.

Have a light breakfast, and a filling nutritious lunch, with a few snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and if the evening is when you feel hungriest, then eat then.

What I will say is this, our bodies work off what they are used to. So you CAN change how you eat, the more gradual the better, if you want to have a more balanced eating schedule, take baby steps, increase calorie levels in the morning by very small amounts (25 to 50 calories more every week in the morning). Soon enough your body will get used to the new schedule.

Rocbola

Eat more fruit mid day.

75in2013

Any tips for what I should do to decrease nighttime hunger? Will changing my diet up fix the problem, or will I always get hungrier at night?

Listen to your body. Don't eat when you are not hungry.

If your body prefers to eat later in the day then just skip breakfast.

Don't be afraid to skip breakfast. Read this:
http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

Try intermittend fasting. It may work for you. Some people live better on fewer but bigger meals.

EDIT: IMO what you describe is not "a problem". So don't try to fix it. Accept it and organize your diet around it.

harvo

I have this problem where when I wake up in the morning I'm at my least hungry, but as the day goes on I get hungrier. At nighttime, I always want to snack. I'm assuming that part of the reason I'm not hungry in the morning, usually, is because I'm digesting still from the night before. Is this true? I'm making an effort to not eat after 8 p.m. and ignore the cravings at night. I've also decided to eat lighter meals in the morning so I have enough calories left near the end of the day.

Any tips for what I should do to decrease nighttime hunger? Will changing my diet up fix the problem, or will I always get hungrier at night?

Protein shake at night...but allow your calorie intake to get a snack if you are hungry. Be careful "starving" your body. As a diabetic I have talked to many nutritionist. If your body thinks that it is going to be 12 hours till they get nourishment it will start storing fat to sustain itself.

wrentrotter

I just move my meal times. I have breakfast at around 11am, lunch about 3 or 4pm and then dinner at about 8pm, and usually a little late night snack to satisfy any cravings.

saraann4

Eat light during the day, so you can eat a big dinner and a snack.

Capt_Apollo

You could try intermittent fasting. It seems like it would suit you.

www.leangains.com

Look here for more info.

i was going to suggest this.

i don't eat breakfast anymore. i save my calories for bigger meals at lunch and breakfast. it feels like cheating, but it's not.

BeSophisticate

I had the same issue. I noticed that, after a few days of eating only at scheduled times, about every 3 hours (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner), I became accustomed to it and started feeling hungry when it was time to eat. I found that, by eating every 3 hours consistently, I started being able to tell if I was eating too much at one time because I wouldn't be hungry at all 3 hours later.

It takes some practice to figure out how much you should be eating, and when, if you aren't accustomed to much structure around eating. Eating too much at night can certainly leave you less than enthusiastic for breakfast. I actually look forward to breakfast now.

Edit: Also, I find that, if I skip my snacks, particularly the afternoon snack, then I'm ravenous by dinner and will overeat. (Possibly has something to do with hitting the gym after work.) For me, snacking has been the single most important tool in maintaining a reasonable calorie intake. Without it, I tend to eat way to much at meal time.

knk1553

I eat breakfast, just because I'm up between 5am and 6am every morning, but I usually don't eat it until 9am or so and its usually something small - less than 200 calories. I really only eat it because by 9am I've been up for 4 hours and Im starting to feel a little icky if I don't eat.

However, if you aren't hungry in the morning, just adjust your meal schedule to when you're hungry. Your digestive system doesn't really know time, and the whole not eating after a certain time thing only works because if you stop eating say after 8pm and you normally consume 300 calories after 8pm, you then stop eating those 300 calories, which 300 cals x 7 days a week = 2100 calories that you didn't eat that week. When I bartended/waited tables, dinner was generally between 9pm and 2am and I weighed less then than I do now, so theres nothing wrong with eating late, if thats when you're hungry, eat then.

Chadomaniac

IF does feel like cheating! i eat up to 1500cals for a meal apposed to the regular 300-500cals 6 times a day

Cranktastic

You could try intermittent fasting. It seems like it would suit you.

www.leangains.com

Look here for more info.

i was going to suggest this.

i don't eat breakfast anymore. i save my calories for bigger meals at lunch and breakfast. it feels like cheating, but it's not.

me too...works for me.

Martucha123

IF - SORTED! skip breakfast , have a small lunch and huge supper

i do this exactly

I skip breakfast, then have lunch, snack if hungry, dinner, and always some kcals saved for 10 om before bed snack

bcattoes

I've always been that way too. So, I rarely eat breakfast (usually have a cup of soy milk with my vitamins), light lunch and snacks and a big meal late at night. This is the only way I can keep on track. Forcing myself to eat in the morning when I'm not hungry seems stupid to me.

EmilyOfTheSun

I don't think it's an issue. Eat when you're hungry just make sure you stay within your calories. I always have a before bed snack around 9 or 10pm The whole "don't eat past 7pm" thing is a myth.

shutterbug282

I have the same problem, I try and plan out my meals so that I won't binge later in the day. I wouldn't force yourself to eat breakfast if you're not hungry.

avasano

Eat lean protein bits all day, and fiber. This helps.

trinak1

I also come home from work with the feeling like I havent eaten for days, which leads to eating a ton of unhealthy and quick foods once I walk in the door. Sometimes before I even get my coat off!! Really small meals during the day allow for a larger evening meal. I have been on eating plans where my biggest meal was at the end of the day and actually lost weight. As long as you stay within your calorie count and exercise you should be fine. Good luck!

AmiC0717

I am exactly the same way! I have tried to incorporate something small in the morning even if it's a fiber one bar. And then if I'm reallllly hungry at night I try to drink a full glass of water and then have something like a diet aw rootbeer. It cures my craving.

NocturnalGirl

Try saving more of your calories to eat at night and see if you are more satisfied that way. If it doesn't help then you are going to just have to experiment with your meal timing and frequency and see what you prefer

dsimmons107

I have seen some good advice in this thread. But I too developed this problem. I am a snacker anyway. I knew this would be an issue for so I found low calorie healthy snakcs that I could eat. The problem got worse because I was saving calories to later so I would not go over my calorie count. I started to eat more frequently and eat lower calorie healthy meals and snacks. I based it on what my average calorie intake was for the day and split it up over the day. For example if I have 1800 calories to eat for the day. I divide that by 6. That tells me I can eat six times for the day as long as I don't go over 300 calories. I adjust how much I can eat at eat at meal based on how much I have eaten before. For example my breakfast usually ends up being about 150 calories. That means I can have an additional meal or increase the amount of calories I can have at another meal. I also consider how much exercise I do as well. Sometimes I will work out 2 to 4 times a day. If I burn more calories I can eat a little more. But I eat if I am hungry. That way I don't fell like I am denying myself and get frustrated and just over eat. I am a stress eater so I have to take that into account. Listen to your body. I have lost over 72 lbs total. It has been a learning process. Learn to work with your body and you will get the results.