Late night/"relaxation" hunger.. what to do?
NareenaTheGypsy
Posts: 475 Member
Ok so I worked my butt off all day, did my workout and was active at work. My measly 1230 cals ended up being more like 1800 allowable cals if I eat them all back. It's after dinner by a few hours now, I don't have to be up early for work tomorrow and all of the sudden I am craving some type of food or another.. different every time this happens. For hubby, he says he's craving meat.. hamburger meat in tacos, or a fast food burger, etc. Tonight, I'm craving ice cream. Not just Skinny Cow ice cream though (I love them!). Tonight my stomach is screaming for some "real" ice cream. Something with heavy cream in it and a solid bit of chocolate in it.
It's after midnight (I'm always up late even on work nights), and while I've not eaten every single available calorie for the previous day (Sat), I know I won't make it through Sunday if I eat 200 or 300 cals of ice cream before I even make it to bed for tomorrow.
Any suggestions on what to do to curb my cravings? I've tried ice water til I feel like I'll start dripping water from my pores, to no affect. I've tried hot tea or small bits of fruit (tangerines are my fave). I can't find a real fix to this issue, as the cravings aren't always the same. A few nights ago, I was craving cheese for crying out loud. I've never even liked cheese til I started watching my cals on MFP! LOL. I'm 42 lbs down, another 70'ish to go. I want to learn this lesson as soon as possible, so I don't sabotage my weight loss. Thanks!
It's after midnight (I'm always up late even on work nights), and while I've not eaten every single available calorie for the previous day (Sat), I know I won't make it through Sunday if I eat 200 or 300 cals of ice cream before I even make it to bed for tomorrow.
Any suggestions on what to do to curb my cravings? I've tried ice water til I feel like I'll start dripping water from my pores, to no affect. I've tried hot tea or small bits of fruit (tangerines are my fave). I can't find a real fix to this issue, as the cravings aren't always the same. A few nights ago, I was craving cheese for crying out loud. I've never even liked cheese til I started watching my cals on MFP! LOL. I'm 42 lbs down, another 70'ish to go. I want to learn this lesson as soon as possible, so I don't sabotage my weight loss. Thanks!
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Try to find something to take your mind off of it maybe? It sounds like you aren't really hungry just wanting the ice cream. Sometimes if a big glass of ice water doesn't work, I have to brush my teeth and go to bed. Other times I will distract myself browsing the web or playing a game. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But in my experience every time I've had a craving that intense, I wasn't hungry I just wanted the taste really really bad..0
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Hi Nareena,
Firstly, is your daily allowance 1200 calories? Have you figured out your BMR and TDEE and your -20% cut? I have a feeling you are hungry because... well... you're hungry!!0 -
What works best for me is going to bed early, silly as it sounds. If you have your last meal early in the evening, then a few hours later I think you can be genuinely hungry and it's difficult to satisfy that with the usual distractions. The trick is going to sleep before the hunger kicks in.
Apart from that, I sometimes leave a bit of my calorie allowance for the evening, just in case. Like you, I might have a tangerine, or a low-cal hot chocolate. But sometimes I've given and eaten something, so I usually have small portions of snack foods in the house.0 -
I think many would agree that your calories are too low. maybe buy those Little cups of ice cream with chocolate swirls that come with wooden spoons? I like to go for broccoli, avocado or something with peanut butter. oh or a granola bar or yogurt bar0
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I'm confused- you have 1230 or 1800 cals to eat?
First of all, if you have 600 calories of exercise and you're only eating 1230 calories a day, it's no wonder that you're starving. Even with 1800 calories, 1230 is really low. Being hungry and having cravings may be a sign (almost definitely is a sign) that you're not eating enough calories overall. If you eat an appropriate amount of calories, you probably won't find yourself in such a bind wanting snack foods in the future.0 -
Cassie,
My daily cals not including my exercise cals is 1230/day, yes. I eat those and usually about 50-75% of the workout cals as well, depending on how many I've "earned" that day. I usually do around 425-450 for my daily workout (30DS at the moment) and another 500-700 from my job, where I am pretty active all day. Yesterday for instance after my exercise cals were added in, MFP said I had 2,040 cals for the day. I ate 1,729 of them.. Trust me when I say I am not one of those people who has a hard time making myself eat 1200/day lol. I usually eat around 1350 just in meals, and the rest is in small snacks during the day.
[Edit] I didn't say I am "only eating" 1230 cals a day.. MFP starts my case cals at 1230.. I eat well over that, unless I am a slug that day and don't move much from the bed.0 -
you should be eating at least 1500 BEFORE eating exercise cals0
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you should be eating at least 1500 BEFORE eating exercise cals
If I ate 1500 + my exercise cals, I'd be somewhere in the range of 2500-2800 cals a day.. At best, I'd be losing 0.5 lb a week, assuming I could make myself eat all that food.. Good grief. Where did 1500 before exercise cals come from? MFP says 1230 as base.0 -
what are your stats? and, so that means you have mfp set to sedentary? because that's the only way you can use your work calls as ' exercise' cals0
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you should be eating at least 1500 BEFORE eating exercise cals
If I ate 1500 + my exercise cals, I'd be somewhere in the range of 2500-2800 cals a day.. At best, I'd be losing 0.5 lb a week, assuming I could make myself eat all that food.. Good grief. Where did 1500 before exercise cals come from? MFP says 1230 as base.
She is right! Look, I am 199lb and borderline 5'6 and I eat 1900 a day and am losing more consistently than eating 1400 a day! Fuel your body, if you are an active person your activity level should be set high on MFP! 1200 a day is wrong... Theres no way an active person like you should be on 1200 a day unless you are like 100lb... :noway:0 -
I am 210 lbs 5'9" and everything I've looked up says 1500 at the least. and I used your picture to judge your weight and height so that's where I got 1500 but you van give me your st at s and I'll do it for you0
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I'm active 5-6 days a week, with work. I don't set myself to high active simply because on Sundays or holidays when I'm off from work, I don't move anywhere near as much as while I work. At work, I walk an average of 4 miles a day. My off days, I'd be lucky to get in 1.5 miles. I understand the idea behind eat more to weigh less, but if I should be eating more, why does MFP say 1230? If you look at my profile info, I am only 5' 2"... I should have said that in the initial post but wasn't thinking about my height at the time. Maybe that's why my cals are set so low. I just don't see 1500 being an everyday average for calories to eat at my size. I started in Aug 2012 at 240 lbs.. I'm settling right around 198 lbs currently, and have about 70'ish more to go in the coming months/year. I'm not in a major rush to lose it all, but I don't want to be still in the 190 range 3 months down the road either.0
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I agree with other post something is wrong because i am allowed 1500 something cals to eat!0
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My suggestion is to eat the ice cream. That's what I do.
I noticed you say you're craving ice cream, and you were craving cheese, both dairy items. Are you getting enough calcium?0 -
Hay, know how you feel, but im on a measley 500 cals per day, The best thing is to get on the floor and do 60 sit ups, go have a shower and then bed, read a book if your not tired, keep busy, and think of something else. prehaps also calcium supplements, or a cold low cal milk milo??0
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500 calories? Why do you want to starve to death?0
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I'm active 5-6 days a week, with work. I don't set myself to high active simply because on Sundays or holidays when I'm off from work, I don't move anywhere near as much as while I work. At work, I walk an average of 4 miles a day. My off days, I'd be lucky to get in 1.5 miles. I understand the idea behind eat more to weigh less, but if I should be eating more, why does MFP say 1230? If you look at my profile info, I am only 5' 2"... I should have said that in the initial post but wasn't thinking about my height at the time. Maybe that's why my cals are set so low. I just don't see 1500 being an everyday average for calories to eat at my size. I started in Aug 2012 at 240 lbs.. I'm settling right around 198 lbs currently, and have about 70'ish more to go in the coming months/year. I'm not in a major rush to lose it all, but I don't want to be still in the 190 range 3 months down the road either.
I dont think you are quite getting it... Your activity level should match what you do and you just admitted to being more active than let on to MFP Thats WHY MFP has your calories so low. If you would allow me to have your age I could find your proper calorie goal.
Assuming you are mid 20's your calorie goal should be 2077 day NOT including exercise.0 -
I'm active 5-6 days a week, with work. I don't set myself to high active simply because on Sundays or holidays when I'm off from work, I don't move anywhere near as much as while I work. At work, I walk an average of 4 miles a day. My off days, I'd be lucky to get in 1.5 miles. I understand the idea behind eat more to weigh less, but if I should be eating more, why does MFP say 1230? If you look at my profile info, I am only 5' 2"... I should have said that in the initial post but wasn't thinking about my height at the time. Maybe that's why my cals are set so low. I just don't see 1500 being an everyday average for calories to eat at my size. I started in Aug 2012 at 240 lbs.. I'm settling right around 198 lbs currently, and have about 70'ish more to go in the coming months/year. I'm not in a major rush to lose it all, but I don't want to be still in the 190 range 3 months down the road either.
MFP says 1230 because your activity level is wrong. If your job is active, then your activity level should reflect that. Having an active job is not the same as working out, you should not be adding those calories back every day. Your body 'expects' that level of activity and your metabolism reflects that, whether you go to work every day or not. Your metabolism does not reset on a day-to-day basis, it's a constantly chugging thing. I'm short too, and my weight loss goal is 1500 before exercise, to lose 1 lb/week. You're going to stall with calories so low, not to mention you're already experiencing the triggers to binge that it comes with. Nobody loses weight while binge eating- it's best to avoid that0 -
I always crave ice cream at night-try a fudgsicle the ones I bought have only 40 calories so if u splurge on 2 it's better than a bowel of ice cream - good luck!0
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I take calcium supplements along with my daily vitamins and while it's not much, I do use about 1/2 cup a milk in my cereal every morning. cheese and ice cream just seem to be the most recent cravings.. There was one evening I was craving sandwich meat. OMG the sodium in that stuff! I try not to use much sandwich meat for that very reason, but I had to have a couple pieces that night.
Thanks for the input, folks. I'll recheck my MFP settings once more.. and see if there's some tweaking to be made.0 -
My suggestion is to eat the ice cream. That's what I do.
I noticed you say you're craving ice cream, and you were craving cheese, both dairy items. Are you getting enough calcium?
I agree with this! lol... I had a small cup of ice cream with tiny oreo style cookies sprinkled on it last night! (d'oh!)
I took a quick peek at your diary and noticed a couple things...
1) high carb & low protein... this could cause you to stay hungry!
2) processed foods with high fructose corn syrup in them... I lost 18 pounds last year by taking the HFCS out of my diet. I gained ten of it back in a three months of eating it again. The thing is, the chemical makeup of this stuff CAUSES you to gain weight and ALSO makes you CRAVE MORE! Not good for "dieting".
I would try to eat more protein/leafy greens/nutrient dense foods (cilantro is a veritable superfood!). AND you're doing GREAT with your weight loss, so if you want a little ice cream, have at it!
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http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/chocolate-covered-recipes/ice-cream-and-frozen-treats/
Here are some ice cream recipes, and she has many more on her website.
If you make it yourself, at least you can control the ingredients, and only have what you want in it.
or sometimes you''ll be able to do lower/fat/cals than the store version.
if nothing else, maybe pair a heavy eating day with heavy leg weight training?0 -
you should be eating at least 1500 BEFORE eating exercise cals
If I ate 1500 + my exercise cals, I'd be somewhere in the range of 2500-2800 cals a day.. At best, I'd be losing 0.5 lb a week, assuming I could make myself eat all that food.. Good grief. Where did 1500 before exercise cals come from? MFP says 1230 as base.
My MFP calories are also just 1230 per day, I am new to this and not sure what to suggest, except how about a long soak in the bathtub? Hard to eat anything in the bathtub. Ha Ha!0 -
Chiming in with my 2 cents: This advice ^^^^ from CassieReannan is excellent advice. I found that link to be invaluable in figuring out what my goal calories should be, not to mention protein macro as well.
Another thought, you mentioned it's been ice cream, cheese, and also processed meats. The first thought I had is that you may be craving protein.
That would make sense for a few reasons - including that your recovery from workouts is helped by protein, and if your calorie budget is consisting mostly of high GI / high sugar type foods, they are likely not satisfying your hunger.
My suggestion is that you consider increasing your protein, (especially by eating less processed food and more simple meat and veg meals) say for a week, and see how you feel at the end of the week.0 -
For those of you who took the time to read my posts and reply, thank you. Several semi quoted things I have been told I said, were things that were skimmed over, and misunderstood... I never said I craved processed meats, for one. I have read the Roadmap, and yes there's good information there. I said earlier that my job is active, yes but I am not at my job 7 days a week (not most weeks anyway). While I had MFP set to Active, MFP was showing me at 1230 cals before exercise. I changed my settings again, this time from Active to Very Active. I'm not really sure it is the best idea, as I am not "very active" for 1-2 days a week but I'll give it a shot and see how it goes for a couple of weeks. Maybe the 160 cal boost (from 1230 up to 1390 now, pre-exercise) will be enough of a change.0
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For those of you who took the time to read my posts and reply, thank you. Several semi quoted things I have been told I said, were things that were skimmed over, and misunderstood... I never said I craved processed meats, for one. I have read the Roadmap, and yes there's good information there. I said earlier that my job is active, yes but I am not at my job 7 days a week (not most weeks anyway). While I had MFP set to Active, MFP was showing me at 1230 cals before exercise. I changed my settings again, this time from Active to Very Active. I'm not really sure it is the best idea, as I am not "very active" for 1-2 days a week but I'll give it a shot and see how it goes for a couple of weeks. Maybe the 160 cal boost (from 1230 up to 1390 now, pre-exercise) will be enough of a change.
Did you read about BMR? ..And not eating below it? You are eating 300 calories below your BMR a day, you are selling yourself short of 300 calories that help your body just exist. 300 x 7 = 2,100. Thats 2,100 calories your body doesnt get and has to get elsewhere, PLUS the deficit you have already created. After a while your body is going to get fed up and store fat... You will stall.. You will lose lean muscle mass.. You will feel tired and hungry...
Please research more about BMR, TDEE, daily activity and your calorie goal... I cannot suggest it enough. I know from personal experience, I did the whole 1200 thing plus more. Good luck with your journey, I hope you find what you are looking for :flowerforyou:0 -
Nareena... although the diff in gender calorie burning has many science studies; I'll offer some input. As a nurse, my Dietitian friends offered some solutions for hunger binges including the late eve craves. Italian Ice although still made from fruit/fructose offers some relief from traditional ice cream cravings; several recipes for you to choose from on search engines. Including a tangerine one. But adding fillers to meals helps; I have a second coffee grinder I use to grind organic flax seeds. I add couple tsps to foods to get the full sensation plus the nutritional benefit of increased fiber & protein keeps binges at bay. Just a thought.
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/flax-seed.html0 -
Nareena... although the diff in gender calorie burning has many science studies; I'll offer some input. As a nurse, my Dietitian friends offered some solutions for hunger binges including the late eve craves. Italian Ice although still made from fruit/fructose offers some relief from traditional ice cream cravings; several recipes for you to choose from on search engines. Including a tangerine one. But adding fillers to meals helps; I have a second coffee grinder I use to grind organic flax seeds. I add couple tsps to foods to get the full sensation plus the nutritional benefit of increased fiber & protein keeps binges at bay. Just a thought.
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/flax-seed.html
This is a very good idea about the flax seeds! I added them to my qunoia oatmeal this morning, and I felt fuller than usual = thanks!0 -
You said you craved sandwich meat. That would be processed meat.For those of you who took the time to read my posts and reply, thank you. Several semi quoted things I have been told I said, were things that were skimmed over, and misunderstood... I never said I craved processed meats, for one. I have read the Roadmap, and yes there's good information there. I said earlier that my job is active, yes but I am not at my job 7 days a week (not most weeks anyway). While I had MFP set to Active, MFP was showing me at 1230 cals before exercise. I changed my settings again, this time from Active to Very Active. I'm not really sure it is the best idea, as I am not "very active" for 1-2 days a week but I'll give it a shot and see how it goes for a couple of weeks. Maybe the 160 cal boost (from 1230 up to 1390 now, pre-exercise) will be enough of a change.0
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