10 pm and hungry

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alexanderhoofie
alexanderhoofie Posts: 9
in Food and Nutrition
I've been trying to stay around 1500 calories per day, and I always end up hungry in the evening. The last two nights I've nibbled at stuff (bringing me over 1500), and I ended up annoyed at myself. I actually feel hungry, I'm not just bored either. My BMR is around 1500, and somewhere my TDEE was calculated at 1800 (I told it I'm sedentary, which I pretty much am). Should I eat something or just try to sleep early so I'm not obsessing about eating?

I'm getting really frustrated.
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Replies

  • nicolelynne92
    nicolelynne92 Posts: 26
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    do you eat a big breakfast? try eating a large breakfast and smaller lunch and dinner (being the smallest) and eat 2-3 healthy snacks in the day like fruit and veggies. make sure your breakfast is filled with protein and you should find you won't be hungry! if you're eating a lot of protein (not what MFP suggests, their macro percents are totally wrong) then you should feel full all day.
  • JumpinJill
    JumpinJill Posts: 63 Member
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    I am doing 1500 calories a day, eating a meal/snack every 3 hours and reaching the water requirements. I find it is difficult for me to eat my 1500 calories. Sometimes I find I am kind of making myself eat even though I am not hungry. I would suggest you look at how many calories you are allotting to your meals. You should try cutting down on those so you have calories left for the evening. I do 300 a meal/snack. I plan my meals in the morning for the day, so I know if I want a 400 calorie lunch, I usually grab calories from the snack, but I never eliminate a 3 hr. eating time. I also find that spacing out the water helps keep me full in between meals. Finally, are you eating protein at every meal? Protein will help keep you fuller longer. I do hamburger, chicken, eggs etc, try and put one in each meal. Sounds like you may just need to look at what you are eating.
  • alexanderhoofie
    alexanderhoofie Posts: 9
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    Timing and what I eat I'm sure is the issue. I've admittedly been living off PBJ and Raisin Bran lately lol I don't like preparing food. I also stress over what to eat based on calories etc. It annoys and stresses me out more than it should. Learning curve I guess...
  • marioalberto1
    marioalberto1 Posts: 142 Member
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    Go to sleep!
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
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    Timing and what I eat I'm sure is the issue. I've admittedly been living off PBJ and Raisin Bran lately lol I don't like preparing food. I also stress over what to eat based on calories etc. It annoys and stresses me out more than it should. Learning curve I guess...

    Couldn't you plan out most of your calories the previous day & then either prepare some of the easier foods that same night or prepare them earlier the next day?
  • MrsFowler1069
    MrsFowler1069 Posts: 657 Member
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    Yeah, I think you're right. A little planning and a little better-quality food will probably be the answers for this problem. Once you're in the habit, I think you'll definitely find it to be worth it.

    Also, not stressing/obsessing over small overages, etc. You've lost almost 40 pounds - not something to beat yourself up over!
  • treetoptrevor
    treetoptrevor Posts: 10
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    One thing I learned as I spent more time on MFP is that prepared meals do tend to fill you up more. If you find more filling snacks and meals it does help. A couple things I like are Cottage Cheese (with fruit or there are tons of ways to eat it, google is your friend) and raw unsalted almonds are filling also. As someone else mentioned, more protein will tend to keep you satisfied longer.
  • Fallouts
    Fallouts Posts: 16
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    Take a 1 tablespoon of Apple Cider vinegar, it curbs hunger.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
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    When this happens to me, I drink a big 16oz glass of water with a little squeeze of crystal light liquid (the strawberry lemonade and blueberry raspberry are both very good.) Sometimes a cheese stick helps-a little protein and fat, with only 50 calories. Herbal tea is good to sip on as well. Then go to bed and try not to think about food again till tomorrow. Better food prep and choices besides cereal (Raisin Bran is very calorie dense) would also help. Think produce section plus lean protein.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    I can understand to a point the PBJ and raisin bran being easy ( I am somewhat of what I call a repetitive eater but I have a pretty extensive list of choices to choose from) but I little planning and learning to add over time more food choice in the end will be a better approach to long term sustainability. If you are logging everything daily, consistently then you will learn to manage your calories over the course of the day and like me intentionally save calories for bedtime because I do not like to go to bed hungry. I sleep better on a settled stomach. Best of Luck
  • teamAmelia
    teamAmelia Posts: 1,247 Member
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    Go to sleep!

    What I was thinking, too.

    OP, can't you customize your own min calories/goals?
  • lovetotravel04
    lovetotravel04 Posts: 29 Member
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    I eat dinner early so I tend to get hungry at night too. For me, it's logical because (even when I eat protein) I get hungry every 2-3 hours. So of course I am hungry if it's 10m--it's been five hours since I last ate. So I'm trying to combat this by eating a small protein mini-meal of 100-200 calories at night. It does help. Sometimes light popcorn works but sometimes it doesn't. I can't sleep if I am hungry. Maybe saving calories at the end of the day will help you at night. There is NOTHING worse than being biting-your-fingernails hungry and your body is obviously needing sustenance at that time. I don't see anything wrong with that as long as you plan for it and make good choices for yourself.
  • alexanderhoofie
    alexanderhoofie Posts: 9
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    Thanks for all your replies, y'all. I honestly do NOT like cooking at all, and have to force myself to prepare anything that takes longer than 5-10 minutes. I know I'm going to have to get over this though. We're also 9 days out from moving into a new place, so much chaos is happening.

    I have customized my calorie goals, but I keep going back and forth between what I think will actually work. The 40 lbs I lost came off pretty easy over the course of a year because of some medication changes, but I still need/want to lose about 25 more. Most of this is I'm sure psychological, because I feel like being "allowed" to eat 1500-1700 calories is too good to be true LoL
  • connie_messina
    connie_messina Posts: 495 Member
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    eat something like a rice cake or a fruit something lite that will fill your tummy
  • S0nsh1ne
    S0nsh1ne Posts: 218 Member
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    MFP told me I didn't eat enough today (extreme rarity) so I grabbed some PB and fresh figs and now over 250...if you are hungry grab something light to eat.
  • FakingFitness
    FakingFitness Posts: 325 Member
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    Take a 1 tablespoon of Apple Cider vinegar, it curbs hunger.
    and takes the enamel off your teeth and gives you mad gas! lol

    You could save some cals for a 10 pm snack.
    That's what I do. I love to nibble on some honey nut cheerios or something while I read my book at night.
  • katorihanzo
    katorihanzo Posts: 234 Member
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    I go for a jog around the block a few times, burn a couple hundred calories and eat some veggies with peanut butter. That is the best option - I'm no longer hungry, I get to eat yummy food, and I get some exercise in.


    EDIT** - OR, drink a big glass of green tea (or whatever kind you like). Even with half&half, it's few calories and filling for those couple hours before bed.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
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    It doesn't matter how much I eat, at 10 pm I am hungry. So I either save calories for 10pm, or I go over. I have tried extra protein, extra fiber, lots of water, none of it works. I think some people are just hungry at night. Start planning a snack before bed so you factor those calories in and don't end up eating them.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    Timing and what I eat I'm sure is the issue. I've admittedly been living off PBJ and Raisin Bran lately lol I don't like preparing food. I also stress over what to eat based on calories etc. It annoys and stresses me out more than it should. Learning curve I guess...

    Take a day during the week when you can carve out a 3-4 hour stretch and prepare some things ahead of time. Boil chicken breasts and portion them out, wash and cut up veggies, portion out snacks, etc. That way you don't have to spend a lot of time cooking during the week.

    You may have to get over the 'don't like to prepare food' part to some extent. I didn't like to exercise 6 months ago but I forced myself because I knew it was important to my health and my goals. Now I find that I enjoy it.

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