HELP! I do really good throughout the day, but once 10PM rolls around, I get that itch. I'm not starving, and I'm drinking water in bucketfulls, but nothing is taking the edge off. I don't even want candy or cake or anything, I just want FOOD. I've tried adding more fiber to my diet, and eating slightly bigger meals for dinner (but I exercise an extra 15 min when I do that).
I don't know what to do. Is there anything small I can eat that will hold me off until morning, or should I not risk it? People keep telling me contradicting theories. Should I a) listen to my body or b) just wait it out and go to sleep.
I was thinking a super tiny bowl of pasta salad, but that's got lots of of carbs in it. I'm so lost. I guess I could have a pickle. I forgot about them.
Whatever you're counting - carbs, calories, points, you could try to save some for that time of day. I eat about 200 calories around 9pm, and it has not hampered my weight loss. I don't think I'd be able to sleep w/o that planned snack.
Whatever you're counting - carbs, calories, points, you could try to save some for that time of day. I eat about 200 calories around 9pm, and it has not hampered my weight loss. I don't think I'd be able to sleep w/o that planned snack.
Calories, and normally I save myself 100-200, but today got away from me and I have no idea where I'm at calorie wise.
I usually have a bowl of oatmeal or popcorn every night while watching late night with jimmy fallon. That way i'm eating something but it's not bad for me. I just make sure i save a few calories for that reason. I usually zig-zag my calories so it works out and hasn't hurt my weight loss at all. Neither one has that many calories.
I also get on here and read most evenings so that helps too! Keeps my mind off food if it is going to mindless eating.
I find going to bed earlier helps, even though I'm a night owl. It avoids the problem altogether, but also means I get a great sleep which means I'm much less hungry overall the next day than if I didn't get a long sleep.
This old adage about not eating before you go to bed really applies to people who go to bed early... or at least that's what I reason. How long do you go during the day without eating? Not more than 4 or 5 hours, right? Of course you're hungry before you go to bed (if you eat dinner somewhere around 5 - 7). Lately I've been eating borscht before I go to bed (cultural thing lol, you could make cabbage soup or even just plain chicken broth!). It's warm so it's satisfying and if you have veggies in it (like cabbage) it's nice and chewy so you are eating "real" food, like you said you were craving. It's super healthy, and the way I make it, it's got about 30 calories in a big bowlful. If I don't eat anything between dinner and bedtime, I wake up starving and sometimes make bad choices... But this really takes the edge off and I wake up normal-hungry. Although there are probably optimal ways for you to ration out your calories for the day, it really just matters how many calories you average every day for an extended amount of time to determine weight loss or gain.
I usually leave room for my mandatory night snack. I too have been losing consistently. I found a great popcorn without a lot of calories, but I get a HUGE bowlful of it. For me, I need multiple hand to mouth motion, guess I gotta keep my hands busy!
Why not sleep? The reason I find myself snacking is because I'm antsy, trying to find the energy to stay awake. Otherwise, yeah, save yourself some cals or a meal or a great snack so that it turns into something you look forward to
knitting! I can't knit and snack at the same time. My hands are busy, my mind is busy (I have to really concentrate to knit) and I forget about food.
But when I find I'm still actually hungry (and not just yearning for something vague) I tend to have some veggies and a bit of garlic hummus. I always run out of hunger before I run out of 2 tablespoons of hummus (only 40 calories!). Depending on your plans once you finally go to bed you might want to go for regular hummus tho....
I tend to eat smaller meals during the day so just in case I have a snack attack I can have at least some of what I want and not kill my whole day. I mean, last night I had a WW ice cream cup, a skinny cow bar, and a chocolate GNU bar (but that was kind of my dinner since the pizza delivery place forgot my chicken in my no-crouton, no-dressing, no-tomato caesar). I started to feel like I was heading toward binge mode, so I chugged a full 16 oz and walked upstairs. I woke up this morning with half a pound gone
If I think I need a snack at night, I allow myself only REAL, unprocessed, healthy food. (NO chemicals, no box) If hunger is the problem, any real food will cure it, not some over priced processed piece of low calorie garbage....lol Depending on if I have reached my calorie max and if I am truly hungry and want a snack, I have one of the following...
Apple
Watermelon
any fresh fruit (not in a can)
carrot sticks
sliced tomatoes
any fresh lower carb veggie (not in a can)
If I have actually saved a couple hundred calories for the snack occasion I have a yogurt with some berries and a little fibre one sprinkled on.
I think when people snack at night they are usually not really hungry, they are craving the crap that many of us food addicts crave. Don't give in with junk food...even if it is labeled "diet" if there are food additives and chemicals, it IS JUNK FOOD.
You say that you're not starving, you're not hungry. So to me, it sounds like it's just a matter of HABIT. Which means that at some point you're just gonna have to suck it up and work past the discomfort of telling yourself no, of BREAKING the habit.
Keep yourself busy at that time. Knit, sew, do a puzzle, the computer, read, write, move, clean up the house, play hopscotch, run in circles, ANYTHING. But plan it out. Have a plan as to what you WILL do at that time.
And of course, you CAN save a few calories for that time of night. I do. For me, it's usually cucumber salad or some sugar free jello or both. And I always end the night off with a 20 calorie Nestle Fat Free Hot chocolate. VERY filling. satisfying, yummy and it's my signal that there's no more food coming my way till the morning.
I broke the snack habit by eating dinner late and going to bed a couple of hours later. Now, I have trained myself that dinner is the last thing I eat for the night.
I've had a few emergencies where I felt like I had to eat, but I try to stick with something nutritious a glass of skim milk or stir fried broccoli.
Pickles are good in that they are low calorie, but they are loaded with salt, which might make for a disappointing weigh in the next day.
Well... I am in bed by 10 pm. Too sleepy! But I do have a snack most evenings. If I want a salty crunch, I like Orville's 100 cal. bag of popcorn. I have also heard protein is a good b/f bed choice, so a dolup of low fat cottage cheese often helps take the edge off if I am that hungry b/f bed.
Another thing I have heard is a good b/f bed snack is an apple. The bulky fiberousness (is that a word?) will fill you up with min. calories.
Or if you can... just go to bed! Or do word puzzles. (I get the easy ones, so that I don't have to think too hard, but it keeps my hands busy)
I'm not much of a night snacker - but something that has helped me in the past, on nights I was hungry and maxed on calories for the day was to use my tooth whitening strips. Brushing my teeth, then applying the minty fresh strips - who wants to eat after that.
Mint is one of those things that is rumored to help supress the appetite. It works for me.
Another trick might be that instead of water - have a fiber drink (if you need more fiber) which will help fill you up. Or try a flavored tea. Sometimes, for me at least, just plain water doesn't cut it. I need flavor. So I'll drink a sleepy time tea or a dieter's tea at night to help me relax, go to sleep and curb the appetite.
Late night snacking. Help!
Keeps my mind off food if it is going to mindless eating.
How long do you go during the day without eating? Not more than 4 or 5 hours, right? Of course you're hungry before you go to bed (if you eat dinner somewhere around 5 - 7). Lately I've been eating borscht before I go to bed (cultural thing lol, you could make cabbage soup or even just plain chicken broth!). It's warm so it's satisfying and if you have veggies in it (like cabbage) it's nice and chewy so you are eating "real" food, like you said you were craving. It's super healthy, and the way I make it, it's got about 30 calories in a big bowlful. If I don't eat anything between dinner and bedtime, I wake up starving and sometimes make bad choices... But this really takes the edge off and I wake up normal-hungry. 
