Night eating

sweetrapture91610
sweetrapture91610 Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I get my full calories according to myfitnesspal. I am very active. I'm on a kickball league, cardio for 45 minutes 4-5 times weekly, and I'm nearing the middle of the squat challenge.

I wake up absolutely ravenous in the middle of the night...I almost can't cannot stop myself and almost every night I wake up with hunger pangs and go out and eat some food.

Any advice or thoughts?

Replies

  • supersocks117
    supersocks117 Posts: 169 Member
    edited July 2015
    If you make your diary public there may be more specific advice, but I think protein right before bed may be helpful and not a lot of sugar right before bed (because then your insulin will spike while you are sleeping). Do you eat most of your calories at breakfast and lunch and then a tiny dinner? I tend to be super hungry in the morning (but have never woken from it) if I didn't eat my normal night snack because I ran out of calories earlier in the day (I tend to have air popped popcorn if I have enough calories left and I think the fiber keeps me full).
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    Save up some of your calories for a little protein snack before you go to bed. I always eat a snack such as Greek yogurt, egg whites, cheese, ect.. before going to bed and I never wake up hungry in the middle of the night. As long as the snack fits into your calorie goals just eat and log it.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    Maybe you're trying to lose too aggressively and don't have "enough" calories during the day to keep you feeling satisfied. You could adjust the amount of weight to lose per week and have more calories to work with.
  • jshay295
    jshay295 Posts: 110 Member
    This always happened to me when I was eating all my calories, but finishing them off at dinner, or only having a small amount of calories after dinner. Now I purpose to save aproximently 150-200 calories to eat anywhere from 1.5-.5 an hour before I get into bed. This helps a lot.

    You're eating your exercise calories right?
  • Agathokakological
    Agathokakological Posts: 136 Member
    I used to have this problem all the time, and recently fell back into it. The thing that did work for me, that I will be starting again, is not eating after 7PM, and going to bed between 10-12. I make sure to eat dinner around 6:30 and then I'm done for the day. This helped in a few ways. 1 - my frequent heartburn in the middle of the night was completely gone. 2 - I slept so much better. 3 - I did not wake up hungry anymore.

    I realize that this may not work for everyone, but it worked for me very well until I let myself eat for emotional reasons throughout this past week. It is a little difficult to get used to when you snack during the night, but it is possible.

    If you don't mind eating at night, and it's just a calorie issue, leave some room for a nightly snack, and possibly prepare it before you go to bed so you're less likely to over eat.
  • sweetrapture91610
    sweetrapture91610 Posts: 4 Member
    I think I figured out what my problem is. Along with reading all of your suggestions and talking with my grandmother I realized I may be severely deficient in protein. Especially considering how active I am.

    My calorie count is over 2,000. But I wasn't nearly getting enough protein. I've started to adjust the things I eat to include far more things with high nutrient density and protein.

    Thank you so much for all your suggestions. I will try them.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    jshay295 wrote: »
    This always happened to me when I was eating all my calories, but finishing them off at dinner, or only having a small amount of calories after dinner. Now I purpose to save approximately 150-200 calories to eat anywhere from 1.5-.5 an hour before I get into bed. This helps a lot.

    You're eating your exercise calories right?

    This is what I do too. I always save myself 200 calories right before bed so I'm not so hungry. It's been such a life saver.
  • drewnjess
    drewnjess Posts: 3 Member
    I have this problem too! What kinds of things have you started eating?
  • drewnjess
    drewnjess Posts: 3 Member
    I have this problem too! What kinds of things have you started eating?
  • danaepoppie
    danaepoppie Posts: 15 Member
    sweetrapture91610 wrote: »
    I get my full calories according to myfitnesspal. I am very active. I'm on a kickball league, cardio for 45 minutes 4-5 times weekly, and I'm nearing the middle of the squat challenge.

    I wake up absolutely ravenous in the middle of the night...I almost can't cannot stop myself and almost every night I wake up with hunger pangs and go out and eat some food.

    Any advice or thoughts?

    Before considering any of the advice given, you need to know what you are eating for. Maintenance, gains, or loss. If it's anything besides loss, then go ahead and have a pre bed snack that's nutrient dense and packed with protein to keep you full. Also, you should assess how much water you are taking in during the day as that will also dehydrate you and bring on the false hunger pains.
    If you are eating to lose, don't eat passed 2 hours(or more, my cutoff is 6ish) prior to bedtime. Again try assessing your water and caloric intake. Just because you may be eating under your allotted calories doesn't mean they are the nutrient dense ones your body needs.

    A public diary would help as a pp said.

Categories