Help!!!! I have terrible "munchies"

If you have some sugar free cocoa, sometimes that helps me.
Cowboy

It doesn't help you now, but tomorrow save yourself 100 calories so you can have a snack at night. Most of us like a snack before bed, just make your meals during the day 20-50 calories smaller and voila you have a snack for night time.

for 60 to 70 calories you can have quaker mini rice snacks very good but for tonight I would suggest a crunchy vegetable.

Ladies and gents, science HAS made up its mind. It's the 'diet' industry that hasn't. Here's the honest-to-goodness truth:

You CAN eat before bed. You can eat right before bed. You can eat carbs, fats, or proteins before bed.

You SHOULD eat before bed. It will keep you full throughout the night, prevent the release of cortisol (a hormone released in times of stress), helps preserve muscle mass, and helps you feel better in the morning because you aren't totally famished when you wake up.

You SHOULD eat fat and protein before bed. Fat doesn't make you fat; it regulates blood sugar and makes you feel full.

If you want to eat carbohydrates, that's fine, but it may have a negative impact on GH (growth hormone) which is released while you sleep to help in the repair and growth of muscle tissue. If you wait an hour after eating carbs to go to bed, that won''t be a problem.

Keep something in mind: Time is man-made, so to speak. You will metabolize foods in the same way at any time of day, with the exception of exercise during which digestion almost ceases. You don't start gaining fat at some magical hour of the night...if that were the case, what would happen if you switched time zones? Your body doesn't know that you're planning on sleeping in two hours. It just receives nutrients and sends them off to the correct places.

My pre-bed meals usually include one or a mixture of the following:
2% milk
fat free cottage cheese
almonds
peanut butter
chicken breast
eggs

The only rule is that you stay within your caloric needs for the day. Don't overeat, and you won't gain.

Actually, if you do some research on circadian rhythms, your body DOES start to prepare itself for sleep at certain times of the evening and digestion slows down while you sleep. This is partly why long term night shift workers are more prone to health problems than day time workers. And the changing time zone thing is called "jet lag" and it occurs while the body's circadian rhythm adjusts to the new sleep/wake cycle.

I sip on cold water when I have the munchies. Every time I feel the urge to go find something to eat I just sip water, plus it helps me get in my water intake for the day. For me its kinda like replacing one habbit with another, but a healthier one.

Actually, if you do some research on circadian rhythms, your body DOES start to prepare itself for sleep at certain times of the evening and digestion slows down while you sleep. This is partly why long term night shift workers are more prone to health problems than day time workers. And the changing time zone thing is called "jet lag" and it occurs while the body's circadian rhythm adjusts to the new sleep/wake cycle.

Thank you littlespoon for pointing out that yes, your body DOES know when you are about to go to sleep, it's called the circadian rhythm. That being said, I personally don't think eating before bed makes a big difference unless you are making yourself FULL. Going to bed on a full stomach just feels wrong, and possibly affects digestion because you are lying down instead of sitting or standing upright. Scientists are just people, and there are a lot of them out there, so you do find claims that contradict each other, particularly in the realm of nutrition (think about all the varying claims regarding eggs!)

For me, popcorn isn't the best munchie snack. One cup with NOTHING on it has about 51 calories, and think about how many cups you could easily put away... we're talking 25 calories a handful. I just don't have that kind of self-control, so I make popcorn a treat, not a fix for the munchies. I guess it's whatever works for you! I like fruit, because even though it has more calories, I can just eat one fruit, whereas with popcorn I just keep dipping my hand in the bowl until it's gone.