Late night hunger

kumanekochan · January 2013

For the most part, I am ok throughout the day eating a low calorie diet and exercising (and eating back those calories as MFP expects you to), however, at around 8 pm, my hunger meter just skyrockets. I just go crazy with hunger. I tend to binge a lot or lose focus very easily this time of day.

I just recently began to track my food again (literally this morning) but I wanted to see if anyone else can give me some advice besides on what foods to eat. I eat 6 times a day, very small meals, normally around 1200-1400 calories, extra if I work out.

I tend to go to bed around 10, but some nights, I go to bed early because I just don't want to eat over.

Alyssa__Lauren · January 2013

You probably need to eat more during the day. Try having a bigger dinner?

kumanekochan · January 2013

I normally have a pretty good sized dinner, normally a stew or soup this time of year. But I don't feel hungry all day at all, until around 8pm.

quirkytizzy · January 2013

I'm hungriest come late afternoon into the evening. So I just save more calories for that time. I'm less hungry earlier in the day, so eating smaller amounts is easier then. And then by the time dinner/snacks roll around, I am more confident I'll be able to keep it at goal.

amelia_atlantic · January 2013

If you open your diary, we can better help you.

You're probably not eating enough or not eating enough protein. Those are common issues...

Richie2shoes · January 2013

I know I get hungry every night around 8 or 9 pm. I just budget calories for a nightly bowl of cereal. It's what works best for me.

SomeoneSomeplace · January 2013

I can't tell exactly what your weight is...but from your ticket it looks like you're up into the 200's, this means your TDEE/BMR are both very high. Strictly speaking about your BMR/RMR, which is what you'd burn in a coma, not even walking around, your body would burn more than 1200 or 1400 calories. WAY more in fact.

My suggestion is to calculate your TDEE and subtract 20 percent or at the very least figure out your BMR and never net lower.

I'm at the end of my journey, trying to lose the last few pounds. I'm 5'3 and about 117 and 1200 calorie isn't enough for me. I get way too hungry. I ate 1200 for a very short period of time but it didn't work for me. It doesn't work for a lot of people and can be counter productive, leading to binging or getting your body used to a low calorie amount and stalling your progress

You're much better off being at a smaller deficit, I promise you'll still experience weight loss & when you hit a stall, you can try lowering your calorie and you'll actually have the room to do o.

lms4310 · January 2013

I don't know if your a Dr.Oz fan but every once in awhile he recommends something that works for me. Its called glucomannan. Its a type of fiber that gels in your stomach and slows blood sugar down. I take three with a glass of water 20 minutes before meals and I feel like it helps. I still eat regular meals but I used to get shaky a short time after eating. There has been times that I take this and will not eat for a hour since my hunger subsides a little longer. Maybe its the combo of water and fiber but my sugar levels are definatley leveled off . It works for me so I am happy!!

jeannemarie333 · January 2013

I have had this happen to me in the past and I agree that saving calories so you can eat something later worked for me, then try to eat something healthy. Good luck!! This is a tough one for a lot of people

LShelhart · January 2013

I have the same problem and figured out that it was because of all the commercials on TV influencing me. I am too tired to make rational decisions that late at night. Better to play games or do a hobby to take your mind off the commercials, or even mute the TV during commercials. Figure out your meal plan for the day in advance to budget for a snack or have snack food already made up, like pudding cups, celery and carrot sticks, individually bagged items. I have friend that puts all her snacks (50-l00 calories) in a large
bowl in the cupboard. All she has to do is reach in there and pick one out for that snack attack.

weird_me2 · January 2013

For the most part, I am ok throughout the day eating a low calorie diet and exercising (and eating back those calories as MFP expects you to), however, at around 8 pm, my hunger meter just skyrockets. I just go crazy with hunger. I tend to binge a lot or lose focus very easily this time of day.

I just recently began to track my food again (literally this morning) but I wanted to see if anyone else can give me some advice besides on what foods to eat. I eat 6 times a day, very small meals, normally around 1200-1400 calories, extra if I work out.

I tend to go to bed around 10, but some nights, I go to bed early because I just don't want to eat over.

Is it true hunger or habit? Either way, I say stop doing the 6 small meals. My tendancy to binge was always much worse when I tried to do more small meals. I found that having so many "small" meals just left me feeling deprived and it was harder to get a good mix of all the macros with such small meals.

I've found that IF has helped me - I do a 16/8 split and usually eat my first food around noon. This leaves me more calories later in the day and also gives me bigger meals. I was doing a decent lunch and big dinner then evening snack, but I'm actually starting to transition away from that because with working out in the mornings I'm finding I'm starving in the mornings, so I'm doing small breakfast, medium lunch, small snack (if I REALLY need it), then the bulk of my calories in the evening. It's working pretty well so far and I really am not struggling with the binging like I used to.

kumanekochan · January 2013

Thanks for the advice everyone.
To answer some things:
1) I don't have my journal open because as I said, I literally started afresh with tracking this morning. I plan to open it up to friends eventually.
2) I eat 2 oz of protein at least every meal I have, so I doubt I am not getting enough protein. I follow MFP and I tend to always go over or right at my protein mark for the day.
3) I will think about increasing my overall calorie intake as I am above 200 lbs.
4) I will consider shifting my calorie intake some so that I have a bigger dinner.

5) I KNOW the tv influences me, so I actually have no cable in my house, haha. Every time I saw an advert for food, I pretty much got hungry. I don't know if it's true hunger or habit, but I've been on my restricted diet for over a month at one point and I still felt the urge to eat everything in site at 8pm.
6) I appericate that 6 meals don't work for you, but 3 small meals don't work for me. To eat enough, I feel way too stuffed, even with my stretched out stomach. Eating every 3-4 hours is very relaxing and easy on my stomach and on my hunger. I also drink 8oz of water with every meal.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading all of your comments and suggestions

Thanks so much for the support.

Edit: Also to be clear, this is my day, Breakfast, snack 1, lunch, snack two, dinner, snack three. So I do have an after dinner snack.

Late night hunger

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