What to do when your hungry?
 

I don't eat after 7PM, but there are many days because of my work schedule I only get one meal before then. I have been starving for most of the night. Is there any tips to get my mind off the hunger. I drink water to help but it does not work well.

Why are you only eating one meal? If you're not getting enough calories, you're going to be hungry and if you're legitimately hungry you need to eat! Arbitrary rules about what time it's acceptable to eat aren't going to help!

Why don't you eat after 7? If you're schedule only allows you to eat 1 meal before than I'd change that rule and make sure you are eating after that. You should definitely eat more than just once a day.

I chose 7 since I am off work most of the time by then. I work in fast food and burn most of my cals and don't want the food to go to fat.

That's a myth! Calories are calories. The time of day is SO inconsequential to your bodies ability to burn, that it doesn't matter. Focus on eating the right kinds of foods in the right amounts. You can nitpick later ;).

When you eat doesn't matter- if you're hungry- eat! It's that simple. I have a weird schedule (I work 12 hour midnights and eat all night!) and other times I'm awake during the day for morning and afternoon classes and eat then. I don't pay attention to something as arbitrary as time it has no concept for me. I simply pick an amount of calories to eat within a 24 hour period and that's how many I can eat whenever I choose to that day. I eat when I'm hungry staying within my calorie limit.

I've lost 15 pounds since the second week of April (so about 2 months and a week) when I started giving this whole weight loss thing a serious go again after just maintaining through the holidays until then and I can say with absolute certainty that eating at all hours of the day and night has not hampered weight loss in the slightest. If you haven't eaten your calorie limit for the day for goodness sakes get thee to the kitchen and have a snack before you hit the hay! :)

Thanks think I'm gonna eat some carrots.

Tough love time.

Seriously... I say this out of genuine concern for your health. Your body NEEDS protein it NEEDS fat. Without these things you will become very ill.

Do not starve crash diet your metabolism to shiest... I learned this the hard way. Fuel your body!!! How many calories have you had today? I have a feeling that carrots are not gonna cut it.

You should start recording EVERYTHING you eat if you don't already. Use a program like SparkPeople that has a ton of options already listed...you just have to pick them and they will list all the nutritional information. You need AT LEAST 1200-1500 calories unless you're on a specified low cal/carb diet, and you should personalize that number (that is a general calorie intake for weight loss, depending on your height/weight you may need more). Yeah you can do it without counting calories, but it doesn't sound like your getting nearly enough and this is a tool that can help you. If you can, another thing that is recommended is eating 6 small meals a day as opposed to 3. Have a banana or bowl of yogurt and granola in between meals.

If you don't want to eat past seven you should try to incorporate healthy quick snacks throughout the day(snacking isn't bad if you do it right) or let go of the after seven restriction and eat something healthy and filling.

Try to make your own breakfast and lunch so that at work, you're not quite so tempted to chow down on the fast food there. I used to work at one, and man, it was hard at times.

Secondly, you need to incorporate healthy snacks throughout the day. One meal a day is not going to cut it, and in fact, will just make you weaker and more tired. :(

I think I will try the small healthy snacks. I normally carry a few baby carrots and celery to eat at work, but don't always have time to eat them then eat a full supper when I get home.

Snacks for sure! I don't know what I would do without my handy bag of snacks. I work at a restaurant too. It's sooo hard to be good at work. I want all the fried food!

I bring TONS of stuff to work: all kinds of fruit, Greek yogurt, almonds and raisins, carrots and hummus. How long are your shifts? I would bring little things to eat every 2-3 hours. That way you can have something to look forward to during your shift.

As for the no late night eating - honestly, I adhere to it. Clearly it's a bit controversial, and if I'm hungry and have to eat, or if I'm out for a late dinner with friends, I won't deprive myself. But I have noticed that if I stop eating around 8pm, I tend to lose more weight. This could be because stopping at 8 means I'm just eating LESS than I normally would, I guess. I don't think it has anything to do with the time of day that you're eating, just that you don't eat 3-4 hours before bedtime (whenever that may be for you).

I drink beer in the evening. Kills the hunger immediately.

It doesn't work like that for most folks, but for me it works.

Nice.

Your body burns a certain amount of calories in a 24 hour period. It makes no difference when you eat it!

I've lost over 225 pounds eating a tiny breakfast, small lunch and HUGE dinner with a small snack right before bed.

Jen