So Hungry at Night

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robinemt51
robinemt51 Posts: 3 Member
in Challenges
Good Morning
I had a great day eating but about an hour after dinner I start feeling famished like really hungry. I still had some calories so I was able to eat and drank water. It stopped for a while then I couldn't go to bed because I was getting so hungry and started with a bad headache I had to eat. By this time I am now over my calories for the day. I had snacks in between meals, lots of protein, water, fruit and veggies. Can someone let me know what I can do to stop this. Thank you

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  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    edited August 2020
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    The way I deal with this is to pretty much only eat in the evening - which is probably too radical for some but it works for me as once I start it triggers "let's eat" but I do not seem to have a complementary "stop now, you have had enough" mechanism.

    So breakfast is a complete no-no for me unless I want to be thinking about food for the rest of the day.

    I sometimes have a small meal mid afternoon - just some crispbreads and cheese spread and perhaps an apple - but save my main meal and most of my calories for the evening and generally following this up with a desert of a yogurt and more fruit, then perhaps some crispbreads a bit later and the last food of the day before bed will be a bowl of porridge.

    The key of course is to stay within my calorie allowance - which I always do.
  • unforgettable2010
    unforgettable2010 Posts: 104 Member
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    I keep a fiber and a protein supplement on hand. I spoonful of fiber with a scoop of protein makes you feel full or satisfied and is less than 200 calories. More like 140 or something. Protein is less likely to turn into body fat and the fiber keeps you regular. Very low carb.
  • robinemt51
    robinemt51 Posts: 3 Member
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    Thank you. I had been thinking about fiber. When I look at my macros it seems like I never meet the protein or fiber goals. Your suggestion makes alot of sense to me. I am going to give this a try. Thanks a bunch
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
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    I skip breakfast and save 100 calories for a evening snack. Learning how to space out your meals is a bit of a process. Maybe move one of your in-between meals snacks to after dinner.
  • Rainbow2300
    Rainbow2300 Posts: 15 Member
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    How satisfied are you after you eat your meals? I used to never eat breakfast and decided to give it a try. I use portion control and pretty much have oatmeal for breakfast. I'll add fresh fruit and different add ins to change it up. I practice intermittent fasting or have a lite lunch and then a nutritious dinner. Or visa versa depending on how hard I worked out that day and when. Sometimes the timing of when your eating is important. I've been learning to eat only when I'm hungry but it's hard when others depend on you to make all the meals. If your a snacker, or someone who prefers a lot of smaller meals more often, prep healthy snacks and allow yourself the freedom to find your own patterns that work for you. 😃
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,036 Member
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    After doing a lot of research & taking a nutrition class, I changed my pattern of eating & the composition of meals. I‘Ve maintained 71+ lb loss 23 months so far.

    Here are some things I learned that turned me from obese to normal after 45 years.

    1. Just as we are dehydrated when waking up & need to drink water (he recommended at least 1, and preferred 2 cups of water before you get out of bed.
    2. Eat within an hour of waking with protein...a study you can find in line clearly showed women lost more & had. Better labs if they ate Largest meal at breakfast, middle sized for lunch, and smallest at dinner. They were on1400 caloRice diet: 700 for BF, 500 for lunch, 200 for dinner.
    ** when losing I modified this to 700 BF, 350 lunch, 200 snack, 350 dinner. I spread my protein equally over all 4 Because teacher said body does not store protein (have since read our small colon DOES store protein for future use which makes more sense to me)

    I ate all starchy carbs at BF & lunch only to make sure I burned them up over the day. I cut out most sugar and salty foods as I learned they stimulated my appetite. Minimum 5 3-oz servings of fruit/veg & 10servings is more than twice as good for your health/longevity.

    I also figured out ideal meal timings for me & my active & quiet times.

    BF : 9:30
    Lunch 1:30
    3rd meal 5:30 pre walking
    4th 8 pm

    I also up’d my fiber to 37g per day. I drank a minimum of 9 cups water for kidney health (1 oz per kg of body weight) So the water & fiber is why I think I’m never hungry. Recently was told to cut this down some, but since I tailored my food choices towards high fiber, it’s taking some time to shift.

    I hope this helps.

    The secret is protein. Shoot for a minimum of 0.8 g per kg of body weight. I ate around 1.1g.
    If a senior, some resWatch shows 1.2-1.4 g is better as we use it less efficiently
    I now shoot for 1.0-1.3g.

    Hope this helps. You CAN use trial & error to design a way of eating that works for you!

    Last point: I lost my 78 lbs over 3-1/3 years, walking 10K steps every day with 2-3 pilates sessions for 1.5 of those years. You can set a higher calorie level if you e revise consistently. And I find exercise lifts my mood & suppresses my appetite so play with the timing of that.

    If you continue to be too hungry, up your calories & give yourself more time to lose!!!
  • robinemt51
    robinemt51 Posts: 3 Member
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    This is fabulous information. Special thanks to everyone who responded, I very much appreciate and will be following up with what I have learned here.

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