Night eating (Yes another thread) LOL

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mrussellfdldeleted
mrussellfdldeleted Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
I didn't want to derail Nikongirls thread, so I figured I would start my own:

I could use some good info or possibly reasons why I have trouble eating during the day, but crave food only in the evening or night myself... I am almost never hungry at all during the day until dinner time at which I get most of my daily fill of calories. That doesn't seem to do it for me for long as I crave food strongly until I fall asleep. In my lighter years past, I never ate breakfast and rarely ate lunch at all, but had a rather LARGE dinner, and it seemed I was in good shape. It wasn't an effort on my part, I just ate when I was hungry. After I got married and had kids, I started eating breakfast and lunch because I was making it for the kids anyways. Several years, and about 50 lbs, later I am struggling with HBP, HChol, and recently had a TIA(mini-stroke). Outside of that my blood sugar is fine, vitamin levels are good with a slight dip in D (Hey it's winter in Wisconsin, how much sun am I going to get?), and glandular functions are all normal (Thyroid etc).

Currently I have a piece of toast or yogurt for breakfast and an equally modest lunch...at most a light sandwich with light soup or fat free cottage cheese, and a large dinner. I get PLENTY of protein. The weight seems to be coming off, but being hungry from dinner until I fall asleep is nearly unbearable. I tried drinking lots of water, but that just keeps me up all night with bathroom duty. LOL I said duty.

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  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    I didn't want to derail Nikongirls thread, so I figured I would start my own:

    I could use some good info or possibly reasons why I have trouble eating during the day, but crave food only in the evening or night myself... I am almost never hungry at all during the day until dinner time at which I get most of my daily fill of calories. That doesn't seem to do it for me for long as I crave food strongly until I fall asleep. In my lighter years past, I never ate breakfast and rarely ate lunch at all, but had a rather LARGE dinner, and it seemed I was in good shape. It wasn't an effort on my part, I just ate when I was hungry. After I got married and had kids, I started eating breakfast and lunch because I was making it for the kids anyways. Several years, and about 50 lbs, later I am struggling with HBP, HChol, and recently had a TIA(mini-stroke). Outside of that my blood sugar is fine, vitamin levels are good with a slight dip in D (Hey it's winter in Wisconsin, how much sun am I going to get?), and glandular functions are all normal (Thyroid etc).

    Currently I have a piece of toast or yogurt for breakfast and an equally modest lunch...at most a light sandwich with light soup or fat free cottage cheese, and a large dinner. I get PLENTY of protein. The weight seems to be coming off, but being hungry from dinner until I fall asleep is nearly unbearable. I tried drinking lots of water, but that just keeps me up all night with bathroom duty. LOL I said duty.
    That's your eating pattern, so what is the problem?
  • mrussellfdldeleted
    mrussellfdldeleted Posts: 8
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    That's your eating pattern, so what is the problem?

    Always hungry from after dinner until I sleep, it is a struggle not to eat myself silly. Also is it not unhealthy not to eat smaller meals more evenly spaced or is that just a myth?
  • MinjeefLanders
    MinjeefLanders Posts: 7
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    I do the same thing! As far as I could remember I never ate breakfast and rarely ate lunch. Now I feel sick to my stomach if I eat before noon. Especially eggs... Dinner time is where I get all my calories and it never fills me up. I still want a big snack afterwards.
  • jesswait
    jesswait Posts: 218 Member
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    Always hungry from after dinner until I sleep, it is a struggle not to eat myself silly. Also is it not unhealthy not to eat smaller meals more evenly spaced or is that just a myth?

    You can eat all of your calories as a single meal, or eat tiny meals spaced through the day or somewhere between the two. If you are always hungry after dinner, have you tried both eating more or eating less earlier in the day to see if that changes things? If not, save some calories for night time.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    That's your eating pattern, so what is the problem?

    Always hungry from after dinner until I sleep, it is a struggle not to eat myself silly. Also is it not unhealthy not to eat smaller meals more evenly spaced or is that just a myth?
    It's a myth. What matters is total calories for the day. Maybe you should "eat yourself silly" and see what happens. I am serious.
  • tabi26
    tabi26 Posts: 535 Member
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    It could just be that way because it has always been how you eat. I know, for myself, I used to wait for the kids to go to bed then eat like a maniac! And some days I still do....I'm always "hungry" after supper, even though I make it my biggest meal of the day, I just don't feel satisfied after I eat it. I think it will take a long time for this feeling to go away because that's how I've eaten for the past five or six years. I'm not sure if you're issue is the same as mine....I could be sooo full that my tummy hurts and still want food! If that's the problem, then all I can say is take it one night at a time, and don't beat yourself up for those nights that you do eat more. Just forget about it and move on to tomorrow.

    Also, I now go to bed when my kids do. I know it's not an option for everyone, but it has helped me alot!
  • SeaJenni
    SeaJenni Posts: 211 Member
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    I have the same problem. Every few weeks I adjust my meal times and allotted calorie amounts to see what will work, if anything. I tried even spacing with even calories, snacks, etc. I force myself to eat breakfast, even though I am happy with just coffee. My current meal plan has been the easiest, but it could just be that I'm getting used to fewer calories in general. I eat at 8am, noon, 4pm, and 10pm, with several cups of decaf tea around 7:30.
  • xiamjackie
    xiamjackie Posts: 611 Member
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    You should look up intermittent fasting. If you're not hungry at all during the day, why eat? If you don't get hunger pains or start to crave food at all till dinner, then don't eat until dinner. It's a myth that you have to eat every few hours to lose weight. Do some research, and you could find that you may like intermittent fasting, especially since you are only hungry for a few hours in the evening.
  • healthylife56
    healthylife56 Posts: 32
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    I find myself having that issue at times. I get so busy during the day that my mind doesn't really think about food but when I'm at home, free from work, and just sitting down, I just want to eat lol. But I've been eating 6 times a day now with protein in each meal. My dinner is high in protein too. I drink lots of water. I try to get to bed earlier as well so I don't just snack out of boredom. Seems to be working for the most part.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    If you only eat one proper meal packed with protein it would be extremely difficult to get all the vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, antioxidants and fibre in to be healthy. If your body is running on empty during the day and you are not eating optimal amounts of nutrients your body will start to crave calories late at night. It's also harder for your body to hold water if you aren't giving it the right macronutrients. Hunger and cravings means your body is already low on something it's not an advance warning system, and you can mess up hunger/ satiety signals by not eating properly.

    IMO track your intake of food in terms of portions of different food groups and percentage of calories from sugary/ white refined/ processed/ junky foods. You should be having nine servings of fruits and veggies a day, three servings of dairy, oily fish several times a week, other healthy fats (avocados, olives, nuts, seeds, coconut, cocoa), several portions of mineral rich foods a day (beans, lentils, nuts, seeds), only a small percentage of calories from processed foods or junk. If you are not achieving that with your current diet and you are starting to have health problems it's clearly time to retrain your body.
  • mrussellfdldeleted
    mrussellfdldeleted Posts: 8
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    Than you for the thoughts and information. I think I am going to just do what I am doing for now since the weight is still seeming to come off and getting my weight down is my number one health priority for the moment.

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