Midnight snack

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92019start
92019start Posts: 80 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How would you go about breaking this habit? You save calories for a bedtime snack that includes protein, brush your teeth and go to bed. About an hour later you awaken every night feeling "hungry." You truly believe you are hungry even though you've eaten adequately and included protein. It's really overeating at this point. Perhaps it's hormonal. Who knows? But in the moment you basically don't care and head right over to the pantry to eat some nuts or cheese. Please provide gentle advice!

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  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    Could just be habit, in which case you'd need to change your behavior/response.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,840 Member
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    Maybe try exercising in the evening. When I do that, I'm so tired by the time I go to bed that I sleep like a log, and even if I do wake up to use the toilet, the last thing on earth I want to do is to be upright long enough to eat. I'm right back in bed and asleep again in seconds.

    But if I don't exercise during the day or into the early evening, I'm more restless.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    92019start wrote: »
    How would you go about breaking this habit? You save calories for a bedtime snack that includes protein, brush your teeth and go to bed. About an hour later you awaken every night feeling "hungry." You truly believe you are hungry even though you've eaten adequately and included protein. It's really overeating at this point. Perhaps it's hormonal. Who knows? But in the moment you basically don't care and head right over to the pantry to eat some nuts or cheese. Please provide gentle advice!

    Hormonal = premenstrual? I, and others here, eat at maintenance for a few days at this TOM. Our metabolisms are increased so it makes sense to increase calories.

    Also, perhaps you didn't truly eat adequately:
    1. How much weight do you want to lose total and what's your weekly weight loss goal?
    2. Assuming you exercise, what percent of the calories you earned from exercise do you eat back?
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    Brushing my teeth stops the snacking for me, but i also make myself a nice cup of tea. I don't add anything else to it, so just whatever tea I'm in the mood for. You can try that, it might settle your hunger. And you don't really have to brush afterwards if you don't want to.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    I don't think I have ever woke from sleep and felt the need to eat. Once I finish dinner I am done til breakfast. I would recommend keeping the house a cold as possible and not dressing warm to encourage you to stay in bed.
  • 92019start
    92019start Posts: 80 Member
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    What if I put a door chime on the fridge announcing my little secret? Maybe five nights of that and I'd been done with my silly habit.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    92019start wrote: »
    What if I put a door chime on the fridge announcing my little secret? Maybe five nights of that and I'd been done with my silly habit.

    Before you consider shaming yourself as a solution, please see my post above and answer my questions.
  • ItsyBitsy246
    ItsyBitsy246 Posts: 307 Member
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    Keep a low-cal beverage next to the bed and drink that instead of getting up.
  • 92019start
    92019start Posts: 80 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    92019start wrote: »
    What if I put a door chime on the fridge announcing my little secret? Maybe five nights of that and I'd been done with my silly habit.

    Before you consider shaming yourself as a solution, please see my post above and answer my questions.

    It's not related to TOM or being truly hungry. I could eat a huge meal beforehand and still wake up and eat. It's just a habit.

    By hormonal I'm wondering if something like cortisol causes me to wake, and also stimulates a feeling of appetite.

    Habit making and habit breaking, so hard to do!

  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    Either self control or make room to wake up and have a bite. I personally do the latter.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    If I woke up feeling genuinely hungry, I would consider that my deficit might be too large. How much are you losing per week?

    If it isn't that your deficit is too large, have you consider that protein may not be what makes you feel full for a nighttime snack? You may want to experiment with different macros in your snack to see if that helps. Would more fat help? Or something with more fiber?

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