Late night/"relaxation" hunger.. what to do?

NareenaTheGypsy

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.

Loved1s

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!

katy_trail

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?

Susan_Star

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!

SlidingDown

Please read this
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

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.

NareenaTheGypsy

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.

CassieReannan

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:

kevada1

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

Susan_Star

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!

tigersword

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.

You said you craved sandwich meat. That would be processed meat.