Really sucking at staying under my calorie goal lately...
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aliencheesecake
Posts: 570 Member
...and need some support and ideas.
In general, I have a problem with midnight snacking. I'm just not one of those people that can "stop eating" just because I'm out of calories, and I can't sleep if I'm hungry, so if I have to get up in the middle of the night (which is often, it seems) then I often have to eat a small snack... but even the small snacks add up, and if my daughter has a rough night and I have to be up even longer than a few minutes, I can have up to 500 calories under my belt (pardon the pun) before I even get up in the morning....
So I'm kind of getting dejected at my lack of progress... I keep water by my bed, and sometimes juice, for a quick fix, but it's not always enough to allow me to go back to sleep.
Any ideas or even just support would be appreciated!
In general, I have a problem with midnight snacking. I'm just not one of those people that can "stop eating" just because I'm out of calories, and I can't sleep if I'm hungry, so if I have to get up in the middle of the night (which is often, it seems) then I often have to eat a small snack... but even the small snacks add up, and if my daughter has a rough night and I have to be up even longer than a few minutes, I can have up to 500 calories under my belt (pardon the pun) before I even get up in the morning....
So I'm kind of getting dejected at my lack of progress... I keep water by my bed, and sometimes juice, for a quick fix, but it's not always enough to allow me to go back to sleep.
Any ideas or even just support would be appreciated!
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Replies
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I have trouble with eating at night as well. I try to spread my meals out throughout the day, and plan a 200-300 calorie meal at night, usually about 8-8:30pm. Usually, this is enough to keep me from being hungry when I'm trying to get to sleep.0
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Reserve 200 calories for midnight snacks. However, I'm concerned that its possible you might be not eating enough throughout the day.0
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Only way others could attempt to help to meet your needs is to open your diary up for suggestions and considerations by others.0
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I used to have the same problem. I've managed to combat it by eating little and often, so instead of having three large meals a day, i'll have six or seven much smaller meals at regular intervals, and a couple of little snacks to keep me going. I save the majority of my calories for the evening when i get home from work. I also find that when i'm tired, my body craves sugar in an attempt to keep it awake, which is bad; now i know this, i just ignore it and take it as a sign i need to go to bed!0
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I didn't think I was a snacker. On here I started eating smaller meals 6 X a day. Because as it turns out i'm hungry at 10am no matter what I eat or don't. Same with between every meal. So just plan on it. Split your calories up to accommodate those midnight snack calories and just count it as a meal. When I don't, I'm overhungry and eat more without being satisfied. And I feel crummy. Your diary can be customized to say whatever you want. I've got mine "Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack". Put your meals where you actually eat them. Just don't starve yourself, then binge a couple times a day. Thats hard on your body and goes against your efforts. Spread it out.0
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I have a moderate issue with bingeing when I come home from work. I think the only thing that really helps in just mind control and a conscious effort. Try more water and I find that working out during the day makes me more tired and I don't wake up as much. You said you get up with your child - not sure how old she is...0
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I understand as well. I usually get hungry late at night. I keep lowfat cheese around for such an occasion. 2 ounces of Cabot extra reduced fat cheddar cheese is only 120 calories and quite a bit of hunger staving protein. That or jerky are good snacks to feel full and to keep the calories down.0
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if your on meds that can cause extra eating, like the other posters have said, it would be better for you to eat smaller meals more often, train your body to recognise it is not going to get starved, it doesn't take long, 21 days to create new patterns, 28 days to break old patterns, you can do it0
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Are you eating a high protein dinner? Maybe even try adding in some extra carbs just to keep you extra full after dinner?0
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I used to have the same problem. I've managed to combat it by eating little and often, so instead of having three large meals a day, i'll have six or seven much smaller meals at regular intervals, and a couple of little snacks to keep me going. I save the majority of my calories for the evening when i get home from work. I also find that when i'm tired, my body craves sugar in an attempt to keep it awake, which is bad; now i know this, i just ignore it and take it as a sign i need to go to bed!0
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I understand as well. I usually get hungry late at night. I keep lowfat cheese around for such an occasion. 2 ounces of Cabot extra reduced fat cheddar cheese is only 120 calories and quite a bit of hunger staving protein. That or jerky are good snacks to feel full and to keep the calories down.0
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I plan a stack for late at night into every day so that I know I have something to look forward to.0
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I have a moderate issue with bingeing when I come home from work. I think the only thing that really helps in just mind control and a conscious effort. Try more water and I find that working out during the day makes me more tired and I don't wake up as much. You said you get up with your child - not sure how old she is...0
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Another way to approach the situation is to look at what may be keeping you up or waking you up at night. I found that I was eating my dinner too late, and that was making it harder for me to fall asleep. I also figured out that when I woke up in the middle of the night the lights from various electronics (clock, radio, wii, etc.) made it hard for me to fall back asleep. There are a lot of great articles about ways to get better sleep - maybe something in one of them will spark an idea. Just a thought!? Not being able to sleep can be so frustrating!0
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Reserve 200 calories for midnight snacks. However, I'm concerned that its possible you might be not eating enough throughout the day.0
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Me too, that's why I haven't even bothered logging my food intake..... I need my mouth stabled shut0
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Another way to approach the situation is to look at what may be keeping you up or waking you up at night. I found that I was eating my dinner too late, and that was making it harder for me to fall asleep. I also figured out that when I woke up in the middle of the night the lights from various electronics (clock, radio, wii, etc.) made it hard for me to fall back asleep. There are a lot of great articles about ways to get better sleep - maybe something in one of them will spark an idea. Just a thought!? Not being able to sleep can be so frustrating!0
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Just plan to eat the midnight snack then. Don't use up all your calories by dinner, just think of the late snack as either 1) your last meal of the day, or 2) the first meal of the next day. Log it as appropriate, and cut back elsewhere.0
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Reserve 200 calories for midnight snacks. However, I'm concerned that its possible you might be not eating enough throughout the day.
I think this may be a good idea. I will need to rework my "meal" categories. And figure out how accurate MFP's assessment of my needs is... I mean, there's no way for them to account for lean body mass and individual needs, so maybe I'm not eating ENOUGH!0 -
Just plan to eat the midnight snack then. Don't use up all your calories by dinner, just think of the late snack as either 1) your last meal of the day, or 2) the first meal of the next day. Log it as appropriate, and cut back elsewhere.0
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