Late Afternoon Hunger
 

Lately, I've been REALLY hungry around 4pm, what gives? I haven't exercised at all this past week (well, I went swimming one day and just my usual walking since we rely entirely on walking/public transport to get anywhere) because my knees have been popping like crazy and then I slept on my back wrong so that was hurting too. Beyond that nothing has changed but I get extremely hungry around 4pm and just have no clue what to eat. I don't crave anything in particular (weird for me because normally when I'm hungry I want something in particular to eat or at least most food sounds good) and most of the time I am not in the mood to eat but it's such a strong feeling I can't ignore it either. It's odd because normally I crave something in particular but not then.

I'm half toying with the idea of cutting out breakfast (although still have coffee first thing in the morning) and eating that for lunch instead and then putting lunch at around 4pm. Something like a not so drastic version of intermittent fasting? I've found lately in the morning I'm not very hungry at breakfast time but I really love breakfast in general (eggs+veggies, yum!) so maybe that'd help with it? Thoughts?

Try a low cal, carb and sugar protein shake, they do wonders for killing my cravings!

I think sometimes we just go through periods where we're hungrier than usual. Last week was like that for me.

Your plan sounds like a good one. I would definitely try that and see how it goes.

Agreed. I have cycles of intense hunger that can last for a week at a time, and then a week or two of no hunger. Play around with moving your breakfast and see if that helps. I also find that veggies like broccoli, cucumbers, and celery sticks help me in between meals. Good luck!

That's my worst time, too.
My solution? Watermelon!
In season and so low in calories, it's perfect.

I think this sounds like a great idea. I'm an IFer and I follow a program of fast 16hrs, with an eating window of 8hrs. I do count calories and have found this makes calorie counting easier bc I don't have to spread my cals out over a 16-17hr wake period, just 8 hours. I don't stress as much and it's easier for me to stay OP. Everyone else's suggestions sound great too :D

Hey

I used to find that I was the same (not as bad now but definitely when I worked in an office). What about food that doesn't have many calories? I would have things like a boiled egg white salad, apples, berries, ice lollies, a glass of unsweetened fruit juice and diet coke. I also sometimes have a small skinny latte (only about 100 cals).

I hate breakfast because I'm never really hungry in the morning but I always force myself to have it because it supposedly kick starts your metabolism. Anyway, I'm pretty much constantly hungry so if you do find something, please share! Good luck :)

Suz x

I almost always have a snack about 4 pm - gives me the energy to get my son from daycare and get home and get dinner ready without being too hungry.

I'm low carb so for me, it's generally either a couple of slices of deli meat or some hardboiled eggs (sometimes just the whites if I've already had whole egg that day), These aren't a lot of calories but even this small amount of food makes a big difference for me.

Thanks everyone for the advice and great ideas! I'm going to try pushing back my breakfast tomorrow until about lunch time and see if that helps. This will probably only be possible for a short while because I'm working at home only until the end of the month and after that I'll be at work which complicates things but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. ;)

Watermelon, mmm... I definitely need to buy more and it's so cheap right now! :D

Today I was really trying to have some healthy protein filled snacks and just nothing was working. I ended up eating some strawberries, half a cup of cottage cheese, lots of water, and then some whole wheat toast with nutella (ok that wasn't the best idea ever...) when the other food wasn't helping. It's been like this for some days now so hopefully with switching up my breakfast I can break this.

I'll post tomorrow and see if it helped!

im always hungry around that time too!! i was actually reading an article yesterday on yahoo about eating at that time and it can hold you over until dinner. I always eat a fruit at that time and it holds me for a bit. If i am very hungry, then i will eat a fruit and put some peanut butter on it. I LOVE peanut butter..

Don't know if this will work for you BUT when that happens to me I do one of three things:

1. Have some cottage cheese with walnuts and blueberries.

2. Have my dinner a little earlier. May not work for you but I'm a SAHM with two kids.

3. Drink some green tea.

Hope this helps.

Green tea is a great idea, too!
I may try that tomorrow.

If IF turns out not to work for you, how about having a substantially lower-calorie breakfast as well as an afternoon snack? How many calories are you having for breakfast right now? How do you feel about, say, oatmeal made with water, or water with a splash of milk? Or you could even cook your eggs and veggies, put half aside, eat one half for breakfast, and nosh on the other half late-afternoon. I'm sure there are lots of ways of approaching this, don't worry.

I'm a handfull of nuts person mid afternoon , loving almonds at the mo :0)

I have two strategies. One is to eat 4 mini meals, with the extra meal in the late afternoon. Normally, bfast = eggs+veggies, lunch (noon) = salad + evoo + parm, tie-over meal (3:00 - 4:00) = can of light soup, dinner = stir "fry".

But I am also experimenting with IF/breakfast shifting. Yes, you do hear lots about how eating breakfast is a good thing. But my willpower is always strongest in the morning and it's nice to be able to 2 subtantial meals later in the day as a change of pace.

Anyway, good luck... hope you find something that works for you!