Late night hunger

speerchad1981
speerchad1981 Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How do I handle light night hunger? I get off work and home by 930 pm and am usually hungry. Any suggestions?

Answers

  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,624 Member
    I used to work 12-9. I adjusted my meal times to my work schedule. I planned a light meal after I got home from work. I'm sorry I don't remember how many calories, but I often had a pork chop and broccoli. I would come in, put my pork chop in the George Foreman grill and broccoli in the microwave, go change clothes, come back to the kitchen and supper is done.
  • loulee997
    loulee997 Posts: 273 Member
    Move dinner to 9:30 PM.

    Adjust meals to fit your life.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    Most people get hungry after working all day, so yeah, I can see why your hungry. I suggest you eat.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    How's your sleep quality/quantity? If that could be improved, working on that could help.

    By the end of the day, we're far from our previous night's sleep, we've been busy, fatigue is accumulating. It would be natural for the body to seek energy when energy is low . . . food is energy, and cravings can be the body seeking that energy.

    If your life is high stress, reducing the stressors you can, and using non-food stress management techniques may help: Stress increases fatigue. (Example non-food stress management techniques: Warm bath or shower, prayer or meditation, gentle exercise, journaling, calming music, and lots more. Different things work for different people.)

    If you're accustomed to eat then, and think some of the craving could be from habit, tough it out for a couple of weeks and see. Re-training eating habits can be like training a puppy: Give in, and the lesson never sinks in. Stick with strictness, and learning happens. In the case of habitual eating/cravings, the cravings will fade as the habit is consistently erased.

    And yes, budget your calories so you can eat some then, as others have said. Snack, meal, whatever works.

    If you've heard/read that eating before bed means the food just gets stored as fat . . . pretty much a myth. If eating before bed gives you acid reflux or interferes with sleep, that's a different problem. Experimenting with different food choices might get around that.

    Best wishes - you can figure this out!
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,221 Member
    There is nothing wrong with late night eating as long as your overall weekly calories are where they need to be
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Eat dinner? I've done various shift work at different points in my life and I always adjusted my meals to whatever the situation was. Most people have a meal sometime after work I'd wager.
  • EricExtreme
    EricExtreme Posts: 95 Member
    edited December 2023
    I usually go to bed around 1145pm. I eat nine meals a day, including meals at 730pm. 930pm, and 1130pm. My last meal is protein/fat only, and I keep it to under 225 calories. My last meal before bed is typically 5.4 ounces of canned tuna with a tablespoon of Helman's vegan dressing.
  • earlybirdlady
    earlybirdlady Posts: 121 Member
    I agree with others - if you are hungry, eat. Even if it’s after you’ve already had dinner, a high protein snack or small meal is probably what your body is asking for.

    Also, I know meal prep sounds like a pain when you’re so busy but it’s going to save you here. Coming home after a long day of work especially later in the evening, you’re not going to want to spend the mental energy thinking about what to eat that fits your plan or preparing a meal from scratch. Have a few staple meals that you can prepare ahead of time for those late dinners.

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