Does anyone here have a specific time of day that they feel different? Out of control? How do I explain this...hmmm.

Alright, I get up in the morning and drink my green tea and have breakfast. I'm fine.

I start drinking water after that...have my midmorning snack, still, I'm fine.

I prepare lunch, have my afternoon snack ready...I'm fine.

I work out about an hour after lunch, am usually done by 3pm. By this time I've usually got at least 80 oz of water in too. I'm still fine.

I shower and have my snack...about 15 minutes after my snack I'M NOT FINE!! This is when I feel a feeding frenzy coming on. An all out I want ANYTHING I can get my hands on kinda feeling. I've had this all my life.

Some positive steps I've made are that there is only good food in the house, and I'm now logging my food. But I find that I can go overboard on just about anything.

I've been doing VERY well at sticking to my allocated calories every day, but have found that I'm eating a LARGE portion of them all at once, right around 4pm. It's almost as if I'm having an out-of-body experience...I'm telling this mindless woman to stop, but she just keeps on going. WTF???

The last few days I've been trying to prepare myself mentally in the morning for this and I always feel like I'm gonna be fine...this is making me crazy right now.

I'm not on the beach but I do have afternoon challenges just like this. I used to tell myself to just wait until supper. But I didn't. I ate a serving of supper ... tasting while I cooked.
Here's what's helping me. If I eat too many carbs for an afternoon snack or even at lunch, I'm hungry soon after. I upped my protein earlier in the day and it's much better. I start the day very low carb and work my way up. At supper I have carbs and I often eat cereal before bed.
I hardly ever crave any more .... well, there is ice cream mmmmm

Is it hunger? Or is it mood eating, where your mouth wants something in it but you stomach really isn't hungry?

My food frenzy's used to be after I got home from work. I'd come in the door and start muching on everything I could find in the fridge while I was fixing dinner.

I started having a second snack around 4:30, it's usually a cup of yogurt or a piece of fruit-sometimes 2, something easy to eat while I'm waiting for the bus. I don't have an after dinner desset any longer.

Sarah

Val - I can completely relate. You are not alone. I wish I had the magic answer for you and for myself. Hang in there. How about working out later during the "frenzy" period instead. Or get a hobby...I started knitting (keeps the hands busy) and I snack a lot less now. Just a thought. GOOD LUCK!!

Here's my two cents worth:

When I walk in the morning I have to up the quantity of what I eat for Breakfast and Morning Snack. If I don't, I have that feeding frenzy thing going at me all morning. I also try to make sure my morning snack on the days that I walk in the morning includes bean salad. I don't quite understand how but it really is filling and I don't have the feeding frenzy feeling as bad.

I have the same problem on the day that I spend 2 hours mowing the yard. I know exercise has a direct connection to how much you need to eat. You said you are logging your food. If you are using fitday they have a section in there where you can put in your activities (don't know about any of the other ones as I use fitday). It take your your body type, weight and activity level and then it will show you how may calories in a day you can eat to maintain where you are. You can then figure how many you need to eat based on what you are doing everyday to loose weight.

Just a sideline about me. I went for my annual check up last week and told the doc how many inches I had lost and what I was doing to loose them. I told him that I was staying in the range of 1200-1400 calories. I also told him that I can stay with those calories for about 2 weeks and then it is like my body freaks out and I eat anything and everything (still good foods) I can get my hands on and end up eating around 2000-3000 calories for 2 days. Then I'm OK again and can go back to the 1200-1400 calories. He told me that my body was telling me that I wasn't eating enough calories and that I needed to go up to 1400-1600 for a month and see if the body freaking stopped and if I still was loosing weight. He said to try at 1400 for a couple of weeks and that I may not need to go up to the 1600. He told me that my body was just needing more calories because I had increased my resting metabolism (sp?) by exercising and loosing weight.

Hope this helps some. And hang in there.

Val, not only can I relate as well, but most women can. There was an article out there that I read a while ago (of course, I have no idea where I read it) that said that women's energy levels dip the lowest in the afternoon. When your energy is low, your body wants food, and it wants the bad stuff that makes your blood sugar rise quickly. It helped me a lot to know that there was a biological basis to this. Of course, there are environmental factors too. A lot of us never got over having an afternoon snack (or two or three...) when we got home from school.

Try to make sure that your afternoon snack (the one you've allocated) is big on veggies and protein and will take a while to eat. Something like 3 bean salad or broccoli and cheese salad with bacon, or veggies rolled up with lunch meat, etc. That will help fill you and balance your blood sugar. I find that eating my fruit for my afternoon snack gives my blood sugar enough of a rise that it doesn't get as demanding for more food.

Know when this will hit and make plans to be busy then. Schedule your doctor appts. during this time...make that the time you go to the gym...call someone, do a craft project, make a date to go for a walk at this time...do whatever you have to in order to keep busy (especially your hands!) and away from the food. You can do this, Val!

I just got on here because I'm in that frenzy right now. The last few days, I've tried something new too. When I feel this coming on, I grab my ab-roller and start rolling. It really helps. I figure I'm helping myself 2 ways. But I think we can ALL relate to this. I've overcome so many things in my life by just a matter of will. This I will get over as well.

Yep, me too.. my outta control time is from 7 ish to 9..Why I can be good as gold til then is beyond me, but it never fails that at night I start to crave all the bad stuff. To get me over the hump I drink more water and lipton diet ice tea.. and snack on peanut butter with a dollop of cool whip. Then always try to have a cup of herbal tea before bed. Keeping my hands busy with reading or needlepoint is helping too.

I have the same problem in the afternoons. I've tried adjusting my meal times and upping the protein right before the problem time, but I find the best thing is to be busy. Arrange a meeting, take the dog out, run an errand, even go grocery shopping. Anything to get out of the kitchen. I'm hoping that this phase will eventually pass and I'll be able to stay home and get something done besides cruising the kitchen.

Good luck! Let us know if you find a solution that works for you.

Yep... Mine is either late in the afternoon or if I have had an early dinner and am up late at night. I really have a tough time *stopping* eating at those points. I have found that jumping on the forum helps me or I have a protein shake that I sip really slowly.

I hope you get a handle on it soon.

Yes, me too .

My difficult time is between 7 and 9 pm (just like Schatzi). It does not matter what I've eaten for dinner, how much, how little, about thirty minutes after eating dinner I go nuts.
I found that the ricotta dessert or the chocolate shake help a lot.

Hi Val ((((((Hugs)))))),
My hard time is at night! It doesn't matter if I eat dinner or not...if I have plenty of water or not...or if I have had lots of vegies or not..
Usually what will help me is to have some crystal light lemonade (well the wally world version of it), with just a small snack of vegies or such.
When I make the frappacino shake I am good all evening and night..but it is so high in calories that I am trying to only have that about twice a week now!
Good luck and let me know what helps you as maybe it will help me too!!!

Seems to me, we all need to have a darned good nap in the afternoons! I'm with you, Val. It's my worst time, too.

Val, I'm a midnight snacker, myself. What about eating your largest meal at lunch, instead of dinner? Eat a great, big, satisfying lunch, then on to the snack, and then a light supper? That makes more sense metabolically, anyway, as that gives you time to use up those calories instead of sitting or sleeping on them at night. And it might give you enough energy to get through the afternoon!

Good luck!