Starving At Night!!!

renewedhope · 05-12-2008, 09:15 AM

I know it is not uncommon for my band to be tight in the morning and looser in the evenings. I am generally not hungry in the mornings through mid afternoon, but in the evenings I feel like I can eat a house. I know part of it is head hunger. I have allways been a night eater, but this is rediculous. I will consume 200 - 300 calories all day and be full until about 6 or 7pm. Then it hits. Last night I ate 2 bowls of cereal and a can of chicken noodle soup. OMGosh!! Of coarse, i pb'd after than and felt HORRIBLE. I usualy don't give in that badly, but I do struggle with this each evening. I need some practical advise. Should i eat more calories during the day??? Am I letting the tank get too empty???? Is this just a head hunger issue that I need to work through??? I don't want to increase my calories during the day if more calories is not what I need.

HELP!!!!

slimmy120 · 05-12-2008, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by renewedhope

I know it is not uncommon for my band to be tight in the morning and looser in the evenings. I am generally not hungry in the mornings through mid afternoon, but in the evenings I feel like I can eat a house. I know part of it is head hunger. I have allways been a night eater, but this is rediculous. I will consume 200 - 300 calories all day and be full until about 6 or 7pm. Then it hits. Last night I ate 2 bowls of cereal and a can of chicken noodle soup. OMGosh!! Of coarse, i pb'd after than and felt HORRIBLE. I usualy don't give in that badly, but I do struggle with this each evening. I need some practical advise. Should i eat more calories during the day??? Am I letting the tank get too empty???? Is this just a head hunger issue that I need to work through??? I don't want to increase my calories during the day if more calories is not what I need.

HELP!!!!

I have lost 67lb since sept 2007, i am on 1200 to 1800 varying cals daily all spread out,breakfast,lunch,dinner,snacks, i tend to be same as you if you have too few calories during the day then unhealthy or massive feed at nightn -- which is not good.

renewedhope · 05-12-2008, 09:39 AM

So, if you eat more than what I am in the first part of the day, then you don't have the bad cravings at night?????

slimmy120 · 05-12-2008, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by renewedhope

So, if you eat more than what I am in the first part of the day, then you don't have the bad cravings at night?????

Definately found that to be the case,spreading the food out over the day, and not going to bed not using the energy that you ate mainly at night working for me.

jrg1979 · 05-12-2008, 10:31 AM

I have this very problem. I tell myself everynight I am not going to do this to myself, but 5 minutes later I am looking for something else to snack on. I also find myself doing it really bad on the nights I exercise. I don't know if I feel like I am "rewarding" myself for the hard work I did while exercising or if I am simply burning more calories therfore I really am more hungry. It is so frustrating to stay on plan so well all day then blow the whole day in the last couple of hours before bedtime

renewedhope · 05-12-2008, 10:42 AM

Jennifer, that is exaxtly how I feel too. I do notice it is worse when I exercise. That's why I wondered if I am using up all of my calories. I ran a 5k on Saturday, and I have been hungry ever since. I exercise regularly, but I plan to step it up a notch this week, and I know I need to address this problem as well. It does suck to ruin a whole days exercise in a matter of less than an hour sometimes. Some nights I am able to stick with nutritious snacks and it isn't so bad, but some nights I seem to crave CARBS CARBS CARBS!!!

georgia girl · 05-12-2008, 10:44 AM

Hey Renewed!

I have the same problem. It's not so much that I am hungry though, I just get the munchies. I have a lot of trouble going to sleep at night, so my "normal" bedtime is around 2:00 am.

During the winter months, I would make a big cup of SF hot apple cider, diet hot chocolate, or a chai tea latte. All of these were hardly any calories and they actually calmed my cravings. Since it's not cold anymore, I've been snacking on SF Popsicles at night. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.

Here lately, I've been trying to eat 5-6 really small meals a day and that has helped some. The meals are small enough to hold me over without actually getting hungry and it feels like I am getting to eat more food. It also keeps that metabolism going.

These are just a few suggestions that have helped me a little. Believe me, you're not alone. I think a lot of us bandsters have the "night eating" problem and it just takes time to get it under control, kinda like trial and error. I know I still struggle with it. Hope you get it figured out soon.

Luscious · 05-14-2008, 07:42 AM

I have always suffered from night time hunger. I find that a nice Jarrah Hot Chocolate (around 40 calories) around 8.30pm gets me through until bed time.

If I'm really hungry I will have some diet jelly (jello) with Weight Watchers Fruit salad and a splash of low fat thickened cream. I find the cream really satisfies me without being too damaging. Better to have that and count the calories, then be standing longingly staring into an open fridge.

2befree · 05-14-2008, 08:36 AM

I've heard alot of people say increasing your protein will help you to stay full longer - worth a try!

**Jack** · 05-14-2008, 08:44 AM

re: "Am I letting the tank get too empty??"

Yes.

More hard protein earlier in the day will help that empty sensation before bedtime.

Sometimes I have a late snack of a bit of the hard rind of Parmesan (low fat of course) or ONE saltine. It doesn't take much to dull that edge. I prefer to have a LITTLE in the pouch. Puddings etc don't last long re the mechanical pouch sensations I prefer.

renewedhope · 05-14-2008, 08:58 AM

Thanks Jack. That makes a lot of sense. Last night I ate a 100cal bag of popcorn. It really seemed to help my cravings. I also have started eating 1/2cup oatmeal in the morning, but those are carbs. I will add some protein as well.

tapshoes · 05-14-2008, 11:32 AM

This thread has been wonderfully insightful, and I shall try to incorporate some of these ideas into my routine. The one additional thing that I would suggest (and which has helped me) is to eat later in the evening. DH and I were in a 'get home from work, get changed, read the paper, eat' rut. This meant that we were eating our supper at 530-600. We have changed our routine slightly and put off eating until 730 or so. Oddly enough, although I was hungry from the time I got home to supper, I could work through that hunger with water. This makes the time after supper much easier to deal with as I am still full from the evening meal.

Here's hoping we all find a way to beat the munchies!

coolcrystal · 05-14-2008, 12:28 PM

Yeah, I suffer with this also. Tight in the morning... by lunch I'm a little bit more open and can eat tuna, chicken, soups... but by dinner time the gates are wide open!! I wish it was the opposite. Last night I munched on SF jello, romaine lettuce dipped in hummus and then a piece of multigrain toast with hummus and turkey... throughout the night.. and that was on top of the tuna concoction I had at 5:30.. At least my choices aren't bad.. but I think I need another fill.. but, I'm scared if I get a fill I'll be too tight to probably get my protein shakes down in the morning..

hairband · 05-19-2008, 06:30 PM

hi!

what helps too is sitting very quietly and asking yourself "what is wrong" and having a notebook and pen..........just quietly waiting for yourself to start writing why you feel anxious and so incredibly ravenous for no good reason. write the answers your gut tell you out onto the paper and then release the feelings.
in the beginning i remember writing that at night was MY time...and i would reward my quiet time at night with food.....being able to enjoy MY time always consisted of adding high calorie food as an extra bonus.....

now i light scented candles and collect different oils and burn them and breathe them in and read good books or watch movies. if i ask myself what is wrong (i call it a gut check) and truly i end up being hungry, i have low calorie snacks that i must really chew and chew (like baby carrots) and after one or two, i am full and all is well for another day.

ladybug3 · 05-20-2008, 12:17 PM

I'm tight in the morning too and am a night eater. It honestly sounds to me like you're not getting nearly enough protein or calories. Foods like cereal and soups are not really good band foods from what I understand. Lots of carbs and lots of liquids don't keep you full. All carbs aren't bad, of course, but choose ones that will stick with you better. Here are a few things I do (most of which have already been suggested!):

- Eat protein. Keep cheese snacks, almonds, whatever, handy. I always make extra grilled chicken and if I'm hungry, I'll grab a piece. I also like cheese and whole wheat crackers or a small (saucer sized) plate of nachos with salsa.

- Eat dinner later and keep it protein heavy. If I eat dinner at 5:30, I'm hungry by 10:00. But if I eat dinner at 7:00, then I'm good for the rest of the evening. This is hard with kids, but I've done it. I find I eat less when I eat without my family, too.

- Drink something warm with a little fat: tea or coffee with cream (I use half and half). I don't like hot chocolate, but I could see how that would really hit the spot! Make it with milk so you get calcium.

- Go to bed early. This helps me a ton! I hate going to bed and am a total night person. But, I get hungry and I make bad food choices. So I've been really trying to make myself go to bed on time because I won't eat once I'm in my pj's and have brushed my teeth. This goes with Hairband's very good suggestion to think about why you're eating what you're eating. Night eating is a habit that is really hard to break. So you need to make new habits for yourself.

- If I feel the need for something sweet, I keep a stash of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms. With these, I get both a little sweet (I'm not a sweets person in general) but i can also tell myself they have protein! LOL! Just be sure to measure out what you want (5 or 6) and then put the bag away! And eat them one at a time and chew reeeeaallly sloooowly. :)

And seriously, if you're hungry, eat. The band is not about starving yourself. If you're too hungry, you need a fill. The band is supposed to supress your hunger to the point that you can think about your choices and make good ones. My doc tells me I should be getting about 800-1000 calories a day. That is not starvation. Your body needs energy to function, especially if you're exercizing a lot.

But eat before you're so hungry you can't wait any longer. One of my favorite meals is a whole wheat grilled cheese sandwich with lots of shaved chicken, honey mustard and tomato, raw spinach, avacado and whatever other veggies I can fit on it. I can only eat a half a sandwich, but there is so much nutrition packed into it! And it only takes a few minutes to make and it tastes like you ordered it in a restaurant.

Sorry to write such a long post, but since I've struggled with this, too, I wanted to tell you what helps me! Good luck! Always remember, tomorrow is another day!