Habitually eating AFTER dinner
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pbjonrye
Posts: 25
Even if I've had a pretty decent dinner of meat, fats, veggies I still feel like i just have to have "dessert" after my evening meal. It's been a habit of mine for years but something I'd like to stop doing since physically I'm not really hungry. Last night I over-ate on dark chocolate and almond butter and anything creamy (avocados too)! I've been keeping my carbs around 90-100grams/day for the past 10-14 days so I'm wondering if i'm just going too low on the carbs and so I plan on upping them a bit this week.
Anyone else have this issue w/needing to eat more after the evening meal even when satiated while doing primal/paleo?
Anyone else have this issue w/needing to eat more after the evening meal even when satiated while doing primal/paleo?
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Replies
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Carbs will make you more hungry.I would be upping my fat first as fat helps with satiety.0
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I agree with getting some more fat. Clearly you still have a sugar craving?
We all are different, but personally I'd turn down the carbs. If I start having 100-150, my cravings get worse and I make bad decisions. I run fantastic at 30-50 but that takes some work to get and stay there.0 -
Yes, I do still have sugar cravings. A lot has to do with the fact that i still use Equal, Splenda in my coffee, and drink a packet of "diet" hot cocoa almost daily. I'm definitely working on that however and have tapered off but it's still a work in progress.
I just stopped drinking diet Coke though, like three days off of that stuff, so far.
Okay, will see what i can do with the fats in my diet and hopefully this will help.
Thanks for the feedback!0 -
I'm one of those people the less sugar/sweeteners I have the less I crave it.
I'd quit the diet hot cocoa and Equal, eat more fat during the day and see what happens.
If you can limit yourself to like ONE piece of chocolate after dinner I don't see anything wrong with that.
Personally, I have the worst self control on the face of the planet and have trouble limiting things so I just avoid them.
For better for worse carb-wise, I find myself eating a lot of sweet potatoes but I figure it's good fiber and its better than mountains of cake. :drinker:
Good luck to you! :happy:
P.S. As a former diet soda drinker, I know how !@#$% hard it is to quit those things.0 -
Even if I've had a pretty decent dinner of meat, fats, veggies I still feel like i just have to have "dessert" after my evening meal. It's been a habit of mine for years but something I'd like to stop doing since physically I'm not really hungry. Last night I over-ate on dark chocolate and almond butter and anything creamy (avocados too)! I've been keeping my carbs around 90-100grams/day for the past 10-14 days so I'm wondering if i'm just going too low on the carbs and so I plan on upping them a bit this week.
Anyone else have this issue w/needing to eat more after the evening meal even when satiated while doing primal/paleo?
I'm not sure if your 'dessert after my evening meal' is a late night snack - or actually dessert. If my comments are off-track, I apologize in advance...
- a dessert can simply be a cup of berries in a dollop of yogurt with a dusting of cinnamon. That's my go-to dessert;
- late night snacks are OK. Stomachs tend to get hungry every four hours or so, so if you have dinner at 6pm and stay up until midnight...you're gonna get hungry. Don't eat carbs or sugar - eat protein or fat.
- as you've pointed out, you have a reliance on artificial sweeteners. While you may not be getting calories, you ARE still eliciting an insulin response - which means glucose spikes and dips and your body wanting MORE. Eliminate artificial sweeteners, and only ingest sugar if there is a plant wrapped around it.0 -
I'm one of those people the less sugar/sweeteners I have the less I crave it.
I'd quit the diet hot cocoa and Equal, eat more fat during the day and see what happens.
If you can limit yourself to like ONE piece of chocolate after dinner I don't see anything wrong with that.
Personally, I have the worst self control on the face of the planet and have trouble limiting things so I just avoid them.
For better for worse carb-wise, I find myself eating a lot of sweet potatoes but I figure it's good fiber and its better than mountains of cake. :drinker:
Good luck to you! :happy:
P.S. As a former diet soda drinker, I know how !@#$% hard it is to quit those things.
Thanks a bunch for the encouragement! I have trouble with the self-control thing too so i think next time i will need to buy smaller blocks of chocolate!
I enjoy sweet potatoes too...i probably eat that 3x/week myself.
I only had 1 packet of Equal this am w/my coffee and no hot cocoa..yay!! hopefully will be able to wean off of this sooner than later.0 -
Even if I've had a pretty decent dinner of meat, fats, veggies I still feel like i just have to have "dessert" after my evening meal. It's been a habit of mine for years but something I'd like to stop doing since physically I'm not really hungry. Last night I over-ate on dark chocolate and almond butter and anything creamy (avocados too)! I've been keeping my carbs around 90-100grams/day for the past 10-14 days so I'm wondering if i'm just going too low on the carbs and so I plan on upping them a bit this week.
Anyone else have this issue w/needing to eat more after the evening meal even when satiated while doing primal/paleo?
I'm not sure if your 'dessert after my evening meal' is a late night snack - or actually dessert. If my comments are off-track, I apologize in advance...
- a dessert can simply be a cup of berries in a dollop of yogurt with a dusting of cinnamon. That's my go-to dessert;
- late night snacks are OK. Stomachs tend to get hungry every four hours or so, so if you have dinner at 6pm and stay up until midnight...you're gonna get hungry. Don't eat carbs or sugar - eat protein or fat.
- as you've pointed out, you have a reliance on artificial sweeteners. While you may not be getting calories, you ARE still eliciting an insulin response - which means glucose spikes and dips and your body wanting MORE. Eliminate artificial sweeteners, and only ingest sugar if there is a plant wrapped around it.
thanks monkeydharma. For me, i was referring to eating my "dessert" like 20 minutes after dinner. I'm not much of a late night snacker b/c i tend to sleep fairly early most nights. Hopefully once i wean off the artificial sweeteners, I won't be so triggered to eating/wanting sweet things as much. Fingers crossed!0 -
If I were you I would just plan a small, primal/paleo dessert as part of my dinner each night. Either eat a little less of the meal so you aren't full when you're eating it or save it for later with the idea that you don't need to eat it, but it is there if you want it. Sometimes knowing it is okay to snack makes you less likely to do so.0
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Things will get much easier for you, and you will be much healthier, if you commit to dumping the need for sweet. Artificial sweeteners are worse than sugar so I don't know what you think you are gaining by consuming them. It's up to you to commit to a healthier lifestyle and do it. Nothing anyone says here will make it easier. I used to have honey in my coffee; one day I just stopped. It's not "hard" but it takes intention and commitment.
I always want to eat at night. I sleep best with something in my stomach but I also tend to reach for carbs when I eat at night. It's something I struggle with as well. The best way for me to deal with it is by intermittent fasting and remaining in ketosis. I have to keep my carbs under 10% and ideally at 5% to be healthy and avoid constant carb cravings. For me, there is no moderation when it comes to sweet or starchy.
There's nothing wrong with eating at night if you are truly hungry and if it's food that heals rather than feeds your cravings/habits.0 -
Things will get much easier for you, and you will be much healthier, if you commit to dumping the need for sweet. Artificial sweeteners are worse than sugar so I don't know what you think you are gaining by consuming them. It's up to you to commit to a healthier lifestyle and do it. Nothing anyone says here will make it easier. I used to have honey in my coffee; one day I just stopped. It's not "hard" but it takes intention and commitment.
I am getting used to not having that sweet taste of equal in my coffee. I have not had one single packet since yesterday morning and for me, that's a huge accomplishment! woohoo
Also laid off the "no sugar added cocoa" packets...still have two more in my cupboard but i just can't toss 'em out...yet...
Intention and commitment...yes, i totally agree!!0 -
I used to really struggle with this too and would wake up feeling gross and sluggish and hungry. Now I usually have a cup of tea after dinner and brush my teeth before I set out a snack for husband and kiddos. I feel so much better now having dessert once a month on special occasions; its become special again!0
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When I first started the paleo diet I tried all kinds of snacks and meals to see what I liked and didn't like. I am a BIG coffee drinker. I have found I cannot go without my creamer. I tried it for two weeks, tried almond milk, tried coconut milk, just couldn't do it. That being said I understand what you mean about the snack being a habit. I have found agave nectar is a wonderful supplement for sweeteners, you may want to try that, then you have your sweetener that your body is craving but it is paleo friendly! Good Luck and keep trying!!!0
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I gave up the diet hot chocolate when I switched, too - it was pretty hard as I used it as a morning crutch to feel full and dont like any other hot beverages.
I dont see anything wrong with a dessert, but it has to be more of a dessert that will help you stay under budget / wont set you up to fail.
Right now it sounds like your desserts are triggering you.
If you cant handle sugar right now, take them out for a few weeks - month or so and if wean them back in as a treat ( such as just one piece of dark chocolate ).
If you cant handle that, it might be better to just stop eating it all together.
The longer you go without it, the less you want it.
I had to give up certain foods / treats I love forever too because I just cant handle moderation.
Though I can say Ive gotten a good grip on my sugar cravings and self control, and it seems that fruit helps me sleep at night.
So I usually have plain greek yogurt with some frozen blueberries, or some kinda banana berry smoothie before bed or after dinner, just because I can now handle it - and I enjoy it and am able to still lose / stay under / not binge out.
I might try re-introducing bakers dark chocolate or something and see how I do
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But for awhile I had to get rid of fruit all together till I could get a grip on my sugar addiction, probably a result of SAD diet foods - but natural sugars also affected me. Now Im okay.
I eat them even though Im full which is kinda against what I want to do - but it keeps me in check with my cravings and Im still maintaining / losing some weeks so Its not a big deal to enjoy things!
Though some nights I dont have a "dessert" on purpose just so I dont get stuck in a cycle of "needing" it every night.
Experiment and find what works for you!
Let us know what you decide to do and keep us posted on your progress! 0 -
To KimiM, Agave nectar is NOT primal. It's as bad as high fructose corn syrup. This article is copied from Mark's Daily Apple:
"Agave Nectar
Agave nectar is a favorite whipping child of the Primal set, but we should substantiate our claims, don’t you think? We need to justify those welts, especially since a few of you guys were wondering (hoping?) about its place in the Primal Blueprint.
Agave nectar is insanely high in fructose. Of the sugar present, up to 92% of it is pure, unadulterated fructose. That’s considerably more than table sugar, most honey, and even high-fructose corn syrup. If we want to avoid fructose, agave nectar must also be avoided.
However, the recent honey post shows that not all sugar behaves the same. Honey – a “natural product” – contains a wide range of bee-based phenolic compounds that appear to render its sugar content less harmful than, say, a dose of HFCS with the same amount of fructose. Since agave nectar is also “natural” (it’s gotta be, with “nectar” and an exotic word like “agave” in the name), could it too be different than other sugars. No. A recent study found that while stuff like honey, molasses, and maple syrup all contain significant amounts of antioxidants that potentially mitigate the metabolic damage wrought by the sugar therein, agave nectar – along with refined sugar and corn syrup – has almost none. Even raw cane sugar beat agave nectar out in the antioxidant category.
Verdict: Not Primal.
Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-it-primal-7-more-foods-scrutinized/#ixzz2zBOYvpQL"0 -
That’s considerably more than table sugar, most honey, and even high-fructose corn syrup.
Not even my topic, but THANK YOU because I think you just solved the mystery of the explosive bathroom trip after I drank two Margaritas with dinner when I went out for a friends birthday, the other night.
They were made with Agave Nectar. And I thought I was making a healthy choice.
I have a huge sensitivity to Fructose Corn Syrup.0 -
Agave got me too, I thought it was primal and went out and bought some used it once then read about it. It stares at me every day now waiting for me to become weak.0
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It stares at me every day now waiting for me to become weak.
Waiting....Watching...Peeking from the darkness of the cabinet.0 -
I actually SKIPPED my usual dark chocolate and almond butter dessert last night! going to see if i can keep this more as a treat a few times a week rather than a regular thing that it's been. I still had some blueberries and a teeny bit of heavy cream and that was a nice finish to my evening meal.
Thanks for everyone's replies! very much appreciated 0 -
Great job! Keep us updated with your progress!0
