[Razorcandy]

What do you do when you're hungry and you've reached your allowed limit for the day?

Should I try to have all my meals in by a certain time? I know most people say "I don't eat after 7pm" but honestly... I stay up till 2am.

[Glory87]

There have been studies that show that it doesn't matter what time you eat. When I was actively losing weight, I often didn't get home from work until after 7. By the time I made dinner, it was 8-8:30, sometimes 9:00, never seemed to affect my weight loss, I lost pretty steadily.

If I were constantly still hungry after reaching my calories for the day and you are eating enough healthy calories, I would try to bulk up - more volume, more protein. Keep the calorie numbers the same.

If you're constantly hungry, maybe you're not eating enough and you should revise your goal for the day.

I do always try to take a second to figure out am I hungry or craving or restless or bored. Distracting myself, brushing my teeth, drinking hot tea can turn away bored/restless/cravings.

[Horo]

It depends on how hungry I am. If I'm just feeling a little munchy, I'll ignore it and go to bed, but if I'm light-headed 'I'm gonna chew my arm off in a minute if I don't find something to eat NOW' hungry, I'll allow myself something more as long as it is low in calories and filling. Luckily that has never happened often in my beginning stage of weight loss, and it isn't happening much now in my final stage.

By the way, I really believe that the time of day that you eat doesn't mean anything. I lost 64 lbs while mostly living (and eating) on a completely nocturnal schedule and I *gasp* often ate right before I went to bed.

[JayEll]

It's OK to rearrange your food plan so that you have a snack in the evening.

One of my favorite evening snacks is fresh fruit with a measured serving of lowfat cheese like part-skim ricotta or 2% cottage cheese. If I'm feeling wild I might add a teaspoon of maple syrup over the top.

Jay

[amy180]

It still comes down to calories in vs. calories out, but it's still probably bad to eat a ton right before bed. I have a weird schedule due to working night shifts and going to school in the day, so I can't do a "don't eat after X:00" thing very easily anyway, so I just try to eat breakfast when I get up, and space meals throughout the day so I'm not too hungry and don't binge on anything.