waking up every night to eat

I know most people say don't eat before bed, but I'm one of those people who can't go to sleep hungry otherwise I can't sleep, and if I tried, I'd be in the same position as you - getting up & having to eat.

Plan for it. I actually start my log day at midnight (I go to sleep late) so that I don't go over my cals for the day that I plan. If when I wake up at 8:30-9am, I already consumed 250 calories, that's fine. It's easier for me to plan the rest of the day as opposed to eating all my calories, then being hungry when I go to bed & continuously go over.

The main reason why people say not to eat right before bed is because people do what you are doing - eat all your cals, THEN eat some more. And often it's mindless eating at night (snack here, much there, handful of that...) & they add up to be more than people realize. If you already know it's something you do, just plan for it. Also think about what it is you're eating: Go for protein with some healthy fats (my go-tos are a scoop of peanut butter, a healthy fiber bar w/ protein, or a hard boiled egg.) The protein will fill you up & the fats are more relaxing than something with higher carbs.

Hope that helps.

Unless it's like 30-35+ grams of protein, a protein shake doesn't really fill you up as much as you think it would. Just think of it as a suppliment, like it's supposed to be, & eat something of substance.

From your diary, we seem to eat fairly similar. Try upping your protein about 5-10% though & see if it that helps. It did for me (I started MFP eating at about 15-20% & now i eat closer to 30%. I also eat somewhat on the vegetarian side.)

I would say wait longer to eat dinner and/or have a snack before bed. There's nothing wrong with that. I eat the majority of my calories in the latter part of the day, so it is rare that I ever go to bed hungry. Forget anything you've ever read about not eating past 8pm.

Meal timing doesn't matter. You could eat all of your calories right before you went to bed and it wouldn't make a difference.

You can save a few calories for bed time and snack on something.

If I wake up hungry I usually eat some pickles (about 5 calories) and then I'm able to go back to sleep.

You do eat nicely. You can set up your diary to more specific time frames (feel free to look at mine). So you could have a Night Snack as a category and then you can plan your meals a day ahead of time until you get into a pattern of redistributing your calories so they fit into your goal. Or try eating smaller more frequent meals?

just made my diary public I eat really well, I cant have gluten or dairy & I make all my own food. The only store bought things I eat are Larabars and protein powder.

and I have been even drinking a protein shake right before bed and I will wake up a few hours later regardless. I've experimented with eating a bigger dinner, etc, but when it comes down to it, it always happens if I am eating just at 2000 calories. Its funny too, I used to maintain at like 1500 calories, but felt like crap so when I upped my calories and started working out more, it's like my metabolism is really working now and my body needs a lot of fuel.

Have a 10 oz steak right before dinner, lol.


But seriously.. drop your carbs and increase fats and protein a lot. If you want, you can also adjust your meals to have a much larger meal later in the day.

how much would you recommend I drop my carbs by? The night wakings werent happening when I was lower carb (like around 100g/day) but I also wasnt exercising as much and as intensely.

I would maybe try setting carbs around 150-170 to see if that helps. I eat 500 more calories than you and our carbs are close.

I take an over the counter sleeping pill before bed and for some reason I wake up every night in the middle of the night hungry. I typically can go back to bed, but sometimes I get up and eat string cheese. It is so bizarre.

Interesting... Benadryl was well known as causing weight gain in people who used it to fall asleep regularly. Maybe the sleeping pill has a similar effect?

I believe the active ingredient is the same in both. Wonder what it does to my brain. Hmm