Help! Late night munchies? Or hungry?

  • I've eaten really well today and was full all day....

    Breakfast was:
    1 low fat string cheese
    1 cup non fat yogurt w/raw honey
    1/2 serving lean turkey breast
    2 stalks celery w/serving of hummus
    1 cup of coffee w/creamer and Splenda
    Was definitely full.

    Snacks were:
    1/2 serving lunch meat
    1 venti skinny sugar free hazelnut latte
    1 large dill pickle

    Lunch was:
    Chicken and broccoli I made with PAM and some great seasonings. I was even full and didn't finish it.

    Dinner was:
    6" flatbread Subway Spicy Italian with every veggie and light mayo, mustard, pepper. This sucker was packed and the girl had a hard time folding it over.

    Now that's a LOT of food, plus 8 glasses of water. I've been working out every other day.

    It's 11pm and my stomach is growling!!! I'm still weening myself off a midnight snack. Normally I'd cave but am I hungry? Or is my body expecting a treat? Or is working out making me hungrier? Should I have something? And what has worked for you as far as not breaking down and having something?
  • Sleep earlier? The brain release a growth hormone around midnight everyday. This is an essential hormone if you are trying to lose weight. If you are awake, your body will not release/use this hormone, and it makes it harder to lose weight.

    In addition, exercise, from what dieticians have told me, does make your body need more fuel. However, many times, the "hunger" is actually "thirst". If you weight 192 lbs, your body needs about 96 oz of water. that is about 12 glasses a day. Try drinking a couple of glasses of water at midnight instead of munching.

    You could also try sugarfree gum. Sometimes the motion of "chewing" is what we need more than actual food, because your body is used to the "mindnight snack" it is kind of like a withdrawal symptom of sorts.
  • You have probably habituated yourself to having late night snacks. Drink some water and go to bed.

    Your menu was a lot of food but I didn't see any fruit and a whole lot of carbs. My test for true hunger is are vegetables appealing or do I want something else. If I don't want veggies, I'm not truly hungry.
  • If it's been more than 4 or 5 hours since you last ate, you might really be hungry, but if you're going to go to bed soon anyway, I would skip the snack and just go to bed. Get your blast of HGH (human growth hormone). I know it's hard to forego the snack at times, but I try not to eat anything after 9 pm. That way I don't have a spike in insulin, which interferes the aforementioned HGH blast.
  • Quote: I've eaten really well today and was full all day....

    Breakfast was:
    1 low fat string cheese - 60
    1 cup non fat yogurt w/raw honey 100
    1/2 serving lean turkey breast 50
    2 stalks celery w/serving of hummus 120
    1 cup of coffee w/creamer and Splenda 30
    Was definitely full.

    Snacks were:
    1/2 serving lunch meat 60
    1 venti skinny sugar free hazelnut latte 80?
    1 large dill pickle

    Lunch was:
    Chicken and broccoli I made with PAM and some great seasonings. I was even full and didn't finish it. 200?

    Dinner was:
    6" flatbread Subway Spicy Italian with every veggie and light mayo, mustard, pepper. This sucker was packed and the girl had a hard time folding it over. 350?

    Now that's a LOT of food, plus 8 glasses of water. I've been working out every other day.

    It's 11pm and my stomach is growling!!! I'm still weening myself off a midnight snack. Normally I'd cave but am I hungry? Or is my body expecting a treat? Or is working out making me hungrier? Should I have something? And what has worked for you as far as not breaking down and having something?
    I've estimated your calories for the day. Around 1000 for the day which a lot of people would say is too low but at 5' tall seems reasonable to me but you could likely go a little higher and continue to lose.

    If you like eating at night (I do too) just rearrange when you're eating. For example - move the hummas & celery to after dinner snack.

    Also - consider intermittent fasting.