Im on day 7 and Im finding that the stretch between lunch and dinner 12-6:30. Is just to long....by about 4 i am starving!!!! My coach says to save the snack for after dinner..and i do love ending the day with a hot chocolate drink, but do you think i should have the snack earlier...any advice?

I have my snack earlier in the day too because of my schedule.

There are a some other things you can try.

1. You are allowed 2 egg whites as a freebie each day. You might want to try having 2 hard boiled egg whites for a mid afternoon snack.

2. Split your IP snack- 1/2 mid afternoon and 1/2 at night

3. bake muffins from a non-restricted packet and split that up between lunch and mid afternoon.

I'm not on IP, but my metabolism works like this: Morning, fairly hungry. Lunch VERY hungry, between lunch and dinner VERY hungry. Dinner, not very hungry, after dinner, never hungry.

If I were to feed my body the way it would prefer to be fed, I would eat a medium meal at 8 am, a HUGE meal at noon and a big meal at 4 pm and nothing else the rest of the day as my metabolism slows down and I wind down.

Society, though, has us eating dinner so late which goes against a lot of our natural rhythms. So, many of us get hungry between 3 pm and dinner time at 5 -7 pm. If you can't move your dinner time up, then eat a healthy snack then to tide you over and then nothing after dinner.

But, that's following more intuitive eating - not a restrictive program, so I don't know what your IP sisters will say about it, but those are my thoughts.

My coach always told me not to eat past 8pm. My snack has always been in the afternoon. I have a hard enough time going from breakfast to lunch and lunch to dinner is also a killer. I am usually pretty full after dinner and don't need a snack then.

I have my snack between 3-4pm. Try that today and see if you feel better. Switch your evening IP drink with hot tea (there are chocolate teas out there that aren't bad-I think Numi makes them).

I actually split breakfast, which moves lunch later
My spinach/dk choc/coffee smoothie is HUGE!

I will split my snack into 3 portions (usually choc shake poured into 3 small pyrex dishes and put in the freezer) and eat as needed. There are days when I am hungrier than others. I save one for bedtime.

I also have my snack in the afternoon. If I am still hungry, I have 2 scrambled egg whites and a large lettuce salad with WF dressing. I sometimes split my dinner protein also, and have 2-3 oz at lunch and save 5 oz for dinner. That has really helped!

Today I made the pudding muffins. I get 3 muffins for one pack of chocolate pudding. This can be 3 snacks throughout the day. I have one with a coffee or tea when I'm hungry.

I have my restricted bar mid afternoon. That is the most difficult time of the day for me. I'm fine with not eating after dinner. If I want something sweet I have a cup of tea (which I never liked but learned to enjoy once I started IP)
I also "fry" my egg whites and it is wonderful!

all great ideas. I sometimes have my snack in the afternoon and sometimes the evening. This time of year I love herbal tea in the evening, celestial seasonings has a Thai coconut tea that is great.

Thanks.. Everyone..i didnt know about the freebie egg whites, my coach never mentioned that.Splitting up the protein may be the fix I need. I will give it a try

I'm not IP either but I can definitely speak to trouble with the time between lunch and dinner. I don't think it helps that I work a desk job and am just watching the clock tick by. I usually always have snacks for that time or else I'm starving by dinner and just scarf my food down without actually enjoying it.

I hope you find the right balance that works for you, good luck!

Thanks, my coach never mentioned the egg whites either. I'm on day 3 and starving, but I'm definitely not cheating.

I am in the exact same situation as many of you! I get home from work around 3pm and am so hungry that many days I just say heck with it! I will eat off program and not care! All sensible solutions go out the door and I will eat anything I can find. I hate it, because I can mostly be OK the rest of the day.

I too suffer between lunch and dinner. This is what I do. I eat my bar at 11. Veggie at 12:30-1, then eat my salad at 2:30-3pm. I have lost 60 lbs in 20 weeks so it has not effected my weight loss. This helps me get to dinner which I eat at 5 - 5:15 then I eat my snack at 8pm since my coach also told me not to eat after 8. Good luck.