Hungry at night

[amanda_leigh78 3]

I am 3 weeks banded and feeling great, but I am having some challenges and hope that some people here can give me advice. I am a night eater, meaning I can go most of the day not very hungry. I usually have a cup of coffee in the morning about 7am then eat lunch at 12 consisting of vegies (I love veggies) and then I am good till I get home. Apparently my internal clock is placed in my stomach, because come 7pm everynight I am starving and want to eat like a fat kid at a buffett.

Joking aside, last night after the gym (just started back), dinner and putting my son to bed I caught myself eating a bowl of my sons cinnamon toast crunch Cereal, mind you it was a small bowl but still not the best thing for me. Please tell me I am not the only one that has night cravings. Have any of you gone through this and were able to get past it? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to crave this night time hunger?

[728newlife 2]

You are not alone!! I have been a night eater for as long as I can remember. That was one of the main reasons as to why I couldn't lose weight in the first place. Once I had surgery about 3 1/2 months ago all of my cravings stopped because my body completely changed how it craved food. Well once I started eating "real foods" again, it was game over lol. I work second shift so Breakfast isn't until 11am lunch around 3pm and dinner, anywhere from 9-1am!!! I did this for quite awhile and realized I wasn't losing weight. After two weeks I decided it was time to switch it up. I started eating a Protein Bar for breakfast after the gym at 9am then I would snack all day long! Veggies, peanuts, a salad, etc. Then I would eat a decent dinner around 7:30 at work then when I get home from work at 11pm I will munch on chips and salsa. I started losing again thankfully. Just remember to eat small meals all day long to keep your metabolism up and you shouldn't crave as much at night! Good luck

[JerseyGirl80 12]

I'm a night eater too. After dinner I'm full and evertime I hope I don't get "hungry" again before bed, but I usually do. Although I can eat, it's usually mental hunger or out of habit hunger or just bordem. I only have healthy Snacks in the house for those unavoidable night cravings. I don't keep garbage foods around and most of the time when I go to grab something at night I don't even take it. This is because I really just want to eat garbage and it's my inner fat girl just having a fit, and she don't want yogurt or fruit lol. So I try to keep those type of things on hand, veggies, fruits, yogurt, cottage cheese, beef Jerky, turkey pepperoni, cheese, Weight Watchers of Skinny Cow ice cream.. I live alone so this is easy for me, but not so easy when you live with family. I'd suggest when buying "bad foods" that your family likes, try to get things they like more than you do to help you resist them, try to avoid buying YOUR trigger foods. Good luck!

[Cindy C 150]

You are not alone!! I have been a night eater for as long as I can remember. That was one of the main reasons as to why I couldn't lose weight in the first place. Once I had surgery about 3 1/2 months ago all of my cravings stopped because my body completely changed how it craved food. Well once I started eating "real foods" again, it was game over lol. I work second shift so breakfast isn't until 11am lunch around 3pm and dinner, anywhere from 9-1am!!! I did this for quite awhile and realized I wasn't losing weight. After two weeks I decided it was time to switch it up. I started eating a Protein bar for breakfast after the gym at 9am then I would snack all day long! Veggies, peanuts, a salad, etc. Then I would eat a decent dinner around 7:30 at work then when I get home from work at 11pm I will munch on chips and salsa. I started losing again thankfully. Just remember to eat small meals all day long to keep your metabolism up and you shouldn't crave as much at night! Good luck

Excellent advice!

[vlp1968 83]

Sounds like you may need to increase your protien. Instead of just veggies for lunch you could add some chicken or tuna or eggs. Something lean with lots of protien- fish would work too. Same for dinner. Protien should help keep your appetite under control. I agree with the poster who said try to keep "trigger" foods out of the house. Buy things for the family you don't really care for. Hopefully there are things they like that you don't. Good luck!

[BaileyRose 13]

Me too! It's always been my weakness. It sucks for me because my husbda doesn't get home from work until 10:30 and I like to eat dinner with him, but I just keep my portions under a cup. But when I'm craving snacky type food I usually have a sugar free fudge bar or those 100 calorie popcorns or something like that. Before my surgery, 50 lbs ago, I would eat candy at night... Usually a bag of Gummy bears haha... But now my band hates all things gummy. So if I still feel the need for candy I Have a jolly rancher or a couple sugar free lifesavers. That always does the trick. I stick to hard candy and don't let myself chew it because sucking on it takes so long that my hunger is usually satisfied with just one piece. Those are my tricks :-) lately I've also tried just drinking a glass of crystal light and cleaning for a bit just to get my mind off food. It works and it's a win-win!

[amanda_leigh78 3]

Thanks guys for all the advice.

[Shelley64 26]

Night eating is usually not based on hunger but "want". I've been a night eater my entire life so I know what you mean. The first piece of advise I'm going to give you is to nourish yourself properly during the day. It doesn't sound like you're eating any Protein. You need to eat breakfast to get your metabolism going. Drink a Protein Shake after your coffee. Eat a small protein snack a little later...handful of pistachio nuts. Get protein in at lunch along with your non-starchy veggies and then have a protein/veggie dinner. Plan your after dinner calories into your daily total. If you know you're going to eat at night, plan for it. Some nights are harder than others if you're not able to distract yourself with an activity. Have some things on hand that aren't going to screw up your whole day if you eat them. greek yogurt, sugar free pudding, sugar free popsicles, protein bar (read the label....they hide sugar in protein products and call them healthy. Also, read the book titled Band Wagon. It's a teriffic book and will give you tons of info and insight into the journey you are now on!

[roziecakes 20]

I agree with what others said about Protein. Space it out throughout the day. Even if you're used to just having coffee in the morning (and trust me, I was one of those people too), try to have something with some Protein in it. My go-to thing is cottage cheese, personally, also eat stuff with Fiber in it, because it fills you up and keeps you full until later. I tend to have cottage cheese and a banana in the morning (and coffee too, black). It helps me set the stage for the rest of the day.

I also know that night time eating is more of a behavioral issue than actual physical hunger. It's a pattern you've gotten into that you find comforting. Because of that, you can replace that behavior with something else; for example. Every time you have the desire to go to the fridge at night, you could pick up a crossword puzzle instead, or some other small thing that you enjoy, and eventually over time the habit will be changed, and you'll find the same comfort in whatever thing you chose to replace the eating with.

Hope that helps! Good luck

[Poodlelover56 2]

This may sound lame to someone who has a real night time eating habit, but I find that a hot cup of tea at night kind of settles me. I just bought some sugar free hot cocoa to try too. Good luck!