I don't know; I think it's a tough question. My gut reaction is to tough it out. When I have changes in my schedule or if I'm off my diet for a week (because of a business conference or a vacation), I often find that I am unusually hungry for those first few days when I get back on the wagon. After I've toughed it out for a week so, my body gets the idea that there's not going to be any more food and calms down about it.
BUT, I also wouldn't say that I'm famished during those adjustment days. There's definitely a difference between being a little hungrier than usual and being famished. And a switch from days to nights is a much bigger adjustment than anything I've experienced. So I'm not sure toughing it out is the right answer here. Certainly if I were so hungry that I was experiencing a lack of energy (which is what I associate with famished), I think I would increase my calorie level by 100 to 200 calories for the short-term, until I adjusted to the new schedule.
Even just an extra 100 calories can make a big, big difference. I recently upped my calories from 1300 to 1400 per day. It's only one extra snack, but it's been a huge help in reducing my hunger thoughout the day. Adding a 100to 200 calories to your day shouldn't cause you to gain any weight, much less 5 pounds. Remember 1 pound equals 3500 calories. This means you'd have to eat 500 calories per day above your
maintenance level (not the level of calories you are eating to lose weight) for 7 days straight to gain 1 pound. So adding 100 to 200 calories per day should just slow your weight loss a little, rather than cause you to gain weight. Consider yourself as taking a "maintenance break" -- i.e, you are just trying to maintain your weight until you adjust to the new schedule. Then, once you've adjusted, you can reduce your calories back to your weight loss level.
I wouldn't just eat whatever I wanted until I adjusted. My fear would be that it would be a slipperly slope and I'd be right back where I started from. I know how my mind works--five years later I would still be "adjusting" to the new schedule
. But I think if you continue planning your meals and staying within a calorie limit, even if that limit is higher than normal, this is much less likely to happen.
- Barbara