Skip to content
  • Register
    • We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

    Waking up super hungry?

    Posts: 10 Member
    edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
    hello,

    I've only been using the app for 10 days, but I've been calorie counting on and off for years. Whenever I eat less than 2100 calories I wake up feeling painfully hungry around 2am, and I usually just fight it off until 5am, the problem being I can't get to sleep and I end up eating breakfast so early that I'm hungry all morning waiting for lunch.

    Any suggestions?

    Thanks!

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Replies

    • Posts: 17,456 Member
      what's your stats?

      are you thirsty?
    • Posts: 5,646 Member
      Have you tried having a snack right before bed?
    • Posts: 4,925 Member
      Plan your calories so you can have a midmorning snack before lunch.
    • Posts: 10 Member
      I am 5'4" and 120 pounds. I always try drinking 16 oz of water before I eat anything when I wake up feeling super hungry. I wait as long as I can (those 3 hours tossing and turning in bed) and then I get up and eat breakfast.

      So far as snacking, I have a 150 calorie mid-morning snack, but that often isn't very satisfying. Usually fat free yogurt or a piece of whole wheat and a small amount of nut butter.

      Snacking at night is hard because it's usually a huge struggle to save my calories after lunch, if I didn't need to watch myself I could definitely eat 400 calorie mid afternoon snack and a 500 calorie dinner and a 300 calorie late night snack before bed but I simply can't afford it calorically
    • Posts: 2,758 Member
      Nony_Mouse wrote: »
      Have you tried having a snack right before bed?

      a bad idea
    • Posts: 2,758 Member
      maybe try some fulfilling foods in dinner... more proteins, make you feel full for longer...
    • Posts: 17,456 Member
      edited May 2015
      what kind of protein and fat macros are you achieving
    • Posts: 5,646 Member
      arian10daddy wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      a bad idea

      Care to explain why?
    • Posts: 17,456 Member
      Nony_Mouse wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Care to explain why?

      shhh.... dem feelz
    • Posts: 10 Member
      I am interested in why a snack before bed is a bad idea -- but I'll try eating more protein throughout the day, and more balanced macros. Maybe that's what is off
    • Posts: 17,456 Member
      emilyvotaw8 wrote: »
      I am 5'4" and 120 pounds. I always try drinking 16 oz of water before I eat anything when I wake up feeling super hungry. I wait as long as I can (those 3 hours tossing and turning in bed) and then I get up and eat breakfast.

      So far as snacking, I have a 150 calorie mid-morning snack, but that often isn't very satisfying. Usually fat free yogurt or a piece of whole wheat and a small amount of nut butter.

      Snacking at night is hard because it's usually a huge struggle to save my calories after lunch, if I didn't need to watch myself I could definitely eat 400 calorie mid afternoon snack and a 500 calorie dinner and a 300 calorie late night snack before bed but I simply can't afford it calorically

      Right, so you have a BMI of 20.4

      And your ticker says you want to be clinically underweight .. 10lb weight loss goal?

      Is that right?

      what's your activity level and your exercise level?

      And why are you wanting to lose further weight?
    • Posts: 17,456 Member
      emilyvotaw8 wrote: »
      I am interested in why a snack before bed is a bad idea -- but I'll try eating more protein throughout the day, and more balanced macros. Maybe that's what is off

      It's not

      Not just your protein but your fats too

    • Posts: 4,925 Member
      Nony_Mouse wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Care to explain why?

      Some people say it is a bad idea because you don't feel like you've eaten, since you are asleep during the time it fills your stomach, so it can lead to overeating. I'm not sure that applies when someone is waking up in the middle of the night because they are hungry.
    • Posts: 5,646 Member
      TimothyFish wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Some people say it is a bad idea because you don't feel like you've eaten, since you are asleep during the time it fills your stomach, so it can lead to overeating. I'm not sure that applies when someone is waking up in the middle of the night because they are hungry.

      That's even more ridiculous than the answer I was anticipating from the person who posted it.
    • Posts: 5,646 Member
      rabbitjb wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Right, so you have a BMI of 20.4

      And your ticker says you want to be clinically underweight .. 10lb weight loss goal?

      Is that right?

      what's your activity level and your exercise level?

      And why are you wanting to lose further weight?

      ^^This.

      Emily, this is not a healthy goal.
    • Posts: 9,003 Member
      Hmmm... Nope.
    • Posts: 10 Member
      I am lightly active, and I do various cardio for one to one and a half hours most days. Typically running, elliptical or stationary biking as well as light calisthenics.

      I recently gained 10 pounds after starting birth control and eating slightly over 2000 calories a day for a couple months with reduced exercise, so I'm trying to get back to that point.

      Thank you all again for taking the time to give me suggestions! I probably need to cut my carb intake and increase my protein and healthy fat intake.
    • Posts: 6,993 Member
      110 at 5'4" is underweight. You've bought into media hype. You probably need to increase your weight bearing activities, not cut your carb intake.
    • Posts: 491 Member
      emilyvotaw8 wrote: »
      I am lightly active, and I do various cardio for one to one and a half hours most days. Typically running, elliptical or stationary biking as well as light calisthenics.

      I recently gained 10 pounds after starting birth control and eating slightly over 2000 calories a day for a couple months with reduced exercise, so I'm trying to get back to that point.

      Thank you all again for taking the time to give me suggestions! I probably need to cut my carb intake and increase my protein and healthy fat intake.

      Hard to say without looking at your dairy. Could you open your diary to see whether that's a plausible idea?

      I would say incorporate strength training into your routine - you need to maintain muscle mass - your cardio program is pretty high for someone who has a normal BMI. You need more muscle. That's JMHO.
    • Posts: 1,031 Member
      Can't see your diary, so it's impossible to offer anything other than guesses.
    • Posts: 409 Member
      emilyvotaw8 wrote: »
      Snacking at night is hard because it's usually a huge struggle to save my calories after lunch, if I didn't need to watch myself I could definitely eat 400 calorie mid afternoon snack and a 500 calorie dinner and a 300 calorie late night snack before bed but I simply can't afford it calorically

      This is actually quite close to what I do each day so that I am not hungry in the middle of the night. 300-350 cal breakfast, 400 cal lunch, 350 cal afternoon snack, 400-500 cal dinner and 200 cal snack before bed. My snack before bed is 1/2 cup cottage cheese with tbsp of natural peanut butter (much yummier than it sounds). The slow digesting protein and fat help me not wake up in the night hungry anymore. I used to have a smaller snack in the morning and afternoon, but now I would rather backload my calories because I can deal with hunger better at 10 am than 10 pm.
    • Posts: 597 Member
      Lol at eating before bed being a bad idea, it's basically in our DNA to eat late on in the day, it helps with sleep usually. I have four moderately sized meals during the day and a larger one late on before getting into bed. I do this with carb back loading by the way. It works very well for me, google it and see if it appeals to you at all. Different things work for different people, I think it's clear you need to try something different. Fats, carbs and protein before bed should help with overnight hunger. No promises though.
    • Posts: 17,456 Member
      emilyvotaw8 wrote: »
      I am lightly active, and I do various cardio for one to one and a half hours most days. Typically running, elliptical or stationary biking as well as light calisthenics.

      I recently gained 10 pounds after starting birth control and eating slightly over 2000 calories a day for a couple months with reduced exercise, so I'm trying to get back to that point.

      Thank you all again for taking the time to give me suggestions! I probably need to cut my carb intake and increase my protein and healthy fat intake.

      OK but this doesn't really answer why your goal weight is clinically underweight does it
    • Posts: 4,925 Member
      Nony_Mouse wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      That's even more ridiculous than the answer I was anticipating from the person who posted it.

      Personally, I've never worried about eating late at night because I'm not going to eat more than my calorie goal, no matter how hungry I am. But I can see where this might be something worth considering for people who are controlling their weight without counting calories.
    • Posts: 860 Member
      edited May 2015
      I'm only an inch taller than you and I've been 110lbs, although not purposefully. It is too thin. If you feel like you look flabby it's because you have too much body fat and not enough muscle, not because your weight is high. You need to start eating at maintenance and lifting to build muscle.

      I posted a pic which shows that sometimes you can look better gaining weight instead of losing, because your body composition has changed. (This isn't me, it's a photo I got off the internet)2abtywi0pzhl.jpg
    This discussion has been closed.

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Quick Links

    Categories