Starving at Night

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baderis07
baderis07 Posts: 35
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been doing really well with exercising, tracking my calorie/nutrition intake, and making sure that I'm getting enough water every day as well, but for the past three nights around 8-10pm I suddenly find myself feeling hungry and craving carbs and protein. Unfortunately my self-control when it comes to not eating is not quite where it should be yet and I tend to binge until I feel satisfied. Of course that is followed by a ton of guilt the next day.

Does anyone have any tips on what to do or eat when that hunger hits at night? Keep in mind I usually either have no calories left available or only 100-200.

Any help would be appreciated!
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Replies

  • jmill434
    jmill434 Posts: 25 Member
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    I find that a tsp of peanut butter really curbs the late night hunger pangs.
  • swirlygirlyuk
    swirlygirlyuk Posts: 8
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    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...
  • andylowry
    andylowry Posts: 89
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    Popcorn. If it's something sweet you're craving, then sugarless jello.
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
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    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
  • williamshl10
    williamshl10 Posts: 60 Member
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    I would make like three tuna salad cracker sandwiches and take them into bed. Eat them as slowly as possible enjoying the taste, taking a deep breath and enjoy the fact your day is done. A lot of it, I feel, is a reward system especially for moms. When I get my kids finally asleep and the house is clean and to myself, all I can think is "Today was a good day" and then I think of how to "reward" myself. So I say, open your diary, that way we could get a better idea of where your calories go throughout the day. I always make room for a late night snack, even if it is just the rest of my dinner.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    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.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    If you have 100-200 cal left, it's pefectly acceptable to go ahead and eat those calories - why feel guilty about it? Even if you go over 100-200 cal per day once in a while, it may show down your loss a bit, you'll still have a calorie deficit and should continue to see progress on the scale.

    Keep low cal snacks available like 100 cal packs of microwave popcorn or other 100 cal snack things (crackers, cookies), cut up fruit and veggies, etc. Even a Tbsp of PB as someone else suggested.

    Another thought is to make sure your macro balance works for you. Many find that eating more protein and healthy fats keeps them full much longer than eating carbs (especially simple carbs). So your cravings may be perfectly valid.

    Are you sure it's "real" hunger or are you just bored and wanting to nibble?
  • starsandowls
    starsandowls Posts: 55 Member
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    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.
  • pdank311
    pdank311 Posts: 137 Member
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    Does anyone have any tips on what to do or eat when that hunger hits at night? Keep in mind I usually either have no calories left available or only 100-200.


    If you have a food processor I've been doing this. 140g frozen mango 140g frozen pineapple. I process it down to the consistency of icecream, scoop it out, and throw it back in the freezer for 10 min. It's like 3 scoops worth goodness running at about 190 cal.
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
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    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.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
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    About 4 boiled egg whites. cut em up, squeeze some lime, pepper a little salt, and voila!

    Also, a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with peanut butter. OMG, I was like "what?" when my friend told me that but I tried it. Really good!
  • zomboss
    zomboss Posts: 2
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    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!
  • Keva81
    Keva81 Posts: 18 Member
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    OMG I have that same problem. I get so hungry around 9:00-10:00 at night.
  • lilystan
    lilystan Posts: 24 Member
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    I have a glass of Metamucil then 20 minutes later have a fiber one 90 calorie square and then I am not hungry anymore. Weird I know, but it works for me.
  • averyjessica
    averyjessica Posts: 1 Member
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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!
  • dt3312
    dt3312 Posts: 212 Member
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    I purposely budget some calories so that I have some for a 9pm snack. I go to bed at 11:30pm.
    I try to make it a heatlhy snack, such as apple and peanut butter , or apple and chicken.
  • LisaGamerGirl
    LisaGamerGirl Posts: 147
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    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 :)
  • sshintaku
    sshintaku Posts: 228 Member
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    I often still want to keep eating after I eat dinner. I'll have a pickle or cucumber, or a few almonds, or a cup of tea. Or, I'll take the dogs for a walk and then if I STILL want something, I'll have a bowl of cereal or something. Mostly, I'm not hungry, I just like night snacking.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    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.

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