Starving at Night

Can you eat dinner slightly later? Or save some calories for a small late night snack (100 or so?) - perhaps a boiled egg or something...

I get that way too, and unfortunately, don't have any advice! When i posted about this a while back, people told me to eat lighter throughout the day and eat a big meal at night. Save calories, have a snack, etc. Unfortunately, none of this worked for me. But it could be because I'm not eating enough. I'm doing T25 right now and even though I have a HRM I really don't know for sure how much i'm burning, so I don't eat exercise calories back.

Except for last night when I scarfed down a bag of Kettle corn at 11pm. And a bowl of cereal. And a slice of cake. UGH!!!! I was still within my alotted calories, but ended up eating about 1700+ calories. I also need to get better at measuring food. Some days i'm just too lazy to do it, so I WAY under estimate and I may be under eating as a result.

If you're STARVING at night, you could just not be eating enough just my two cents, because I think that may be what's happening to me.

Sorry if there are typos, i'm too lazy to proof read

You may do much better at night if you make sure you're eating enough calories all day!
What is your daily calorie goal, height and weight?
I think people will be able to advise you more accurately if you post this info.

I found that when I underestimated my exercise calories or didn't eat the full amount, I would wake up at midnight or 1 am and not be able to sleep until I'd had something to eat, usually a 120 calorie cereal bar. If I ate the extra 100 or so calories during the day, no problems. I'm not as aggressive with my calorie goals as some are, and for me, I would rather eat the right amount of calories day in, day out than have a mini-binge on a cereal bar in the middle of the night. I have this broscience pet theory that being miserable and stressed by what should be a permanent lifestyle change leads to long term weight loss failure, because you don't want to keep up with it and the stress makes you retain water weight, so you're miserable *and* you feel like it's not working. So I'd rather do my leisurely, gradual body recomposition and not be starving in the middle of the night. There's good willpower, like choosing to eat something healthy and nutritious for lunch instead of driving through McDonald's every day, and there's pointless willpower, which is starving yourself when your body is saying, "Need more fuel" (as opposed to "Need more french fries").

Just my two cents, but I'd say, up your calories during the day by a little, like 50-100, and see if that helps.

Yep. I save up 250-300 calories after dinner for just this reason. I don't always get evening cravings, but when I do I have the calories to cover it, if I don't, then that's more calories towards my deficit.

Lately, for some reason, I have been craving popcorn during the evenings, so I air-pop 30-45 grams of popcorn and add a touch of salt substitute or some nutritional yeast (sort of a cheesy-tasting powder loaded with B vitamins). My other craving recently has been a Gala apple with a tablespoon of freshly ground unsweetened peanut butter. Both seem to keep me full until breakfast.

i resemble that comment. i will microwave 3 egg whites (aprox. 75 calories) and 1 piece of lite, whole grain toast with 1 pat of butter (aprox. 100 calories). have a cup of tea and that does the trick for me. i hope this helps you, good luck!

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This has been my struggle too. I recently found that having a cup of vegetable soup right before I go to bed works. It is warm, filling and comforting all at the same time. And about 100 calories! If I know I can have that later the earlier cravings aren't so bad ( I eat dinner around 7pm.) Good luck. Hope you find something that works for you!

Maybe you're hungry because you're actually tired and your body wants energy it doesn't actually need. I try and go for high volume & low cal such as a big bowl of miso soup or pickles, hot peppers & olives, assorted cut up veggies or air popped popcorn if I want salty or crunchy or a bowl of assorted cut up fruit if I want sweet. Sometimes a nice herbal tea like fennel, chamomile or mint works for me to end the grazing and acknowledge bedtime

If I had 100-200 calories left I would consider that a "problem" honestly and would be sure to eat those. I'd probably go for a cooked or boiled egg, maybe with salsa. String cheese and fruit. Or some nuts or peanut butter.

There are some great ideas here.... I would also consider taking a minute to figure out if it is truly hunger... It may be nothing more than boredom or part of a routine and less about hunger... Grab a bottle of water (or whatever you like to drink) and do something you enjoy to occupy your mind... Good luck!

Water can help you feel full, and a good snack can be plain almonds. they have 15 calories each, healthy fats and protein. It is easy to regulate them and sometimes you really just want the taste of something or too chew.

Oh and I forgot to mention my number one Hunger Killer. Any amount of whole or semi skimmed milk 200ml+. Do not drink low fat milk it's terrible for you. And doesn't have the same effect.

This happened to me a lot in the beginning, but I've lately shifted my calorie distribution so that I'm eating a smaller breakfast in the morning and a more satisfying dinner later in the day. That seems to help, and I find myself naturally feeling less hungry in the mornings now anyway, so it doesn't seem like a sacrifice.

I did wake up really hungry in the middle of last night, but sipping some water and slowly eating a few fresh strawberries turned out to be enough that I could get back to sleep.

I used to suffer from hunger after dinner when I wasn't eating enough. I know that you need a deficit to lose weight, but if your deficit is way too big or you're not eating your calories back it's hard to keep doing this for a long time. How many calories are you eating and burning each day and what's your TDEE? If you're on the typical 1200 kcals a day it might not be enough. If you already answered this question and I didn't see it sorry - please ignore this.
Anyway, this is what has helped me to feel less hungry after dinner: eating most of my calories at dinner instead of lunch/snacks (I would manage to save 100-200 more kcals from my other meals to add them to my dinner); having filling foods for dinner, such as lots of veggies, salads, some bread (it makes me feel fuller), and always 1 piece of fruit at the end of the meal; having a small snack before going to bed, usually a few biscuits with a hot herbal tea. I really hope you can find a solution, I know it's hard.