Sunday, March 13, 2011

Night hungers... are coming to get me!

There's one thing... well, probably more than one, since my Band installation last year, that hasn't FIXED itself yet and I need your advice. I eat well all day, and once we get into night hours, the wanting takes over... I want to eat. I am not sure what but I want to eat. I don't feel like eating most of the day and have to "force" myself to get my protein in and have the energy to workout and keep off my A$$. I need to keep my body moving... since the more I move, the better I feel.

Here are the things I've tried to do to keep from nighthungers...

1)Cut my carbs down... I love chocolate(I eat sugar-free) and other sweets but I cut down my carbs without being willing to cut out chocolate completely. I don't eat white foods: Rice, Bread, and pasta... and hardly any potatoes, although for some reason after my banding I crave mashed potatoes even though I've never liked them. I have added some carbs when i added fiber to my diet but not too many. When I read
Jen(It's is all about me!) mentioned that her doctor just told her to eat no more than 30 carbs a day and at least 60 grams of protein, I was shocked. I have been eating like 50 carbs a day to 100 on a bad day... so I am cutting out my protein bars, greek yogurt, and cutting down as much as I can. So, how do you get enough fiber in your diet while keeping your carbs low? How much benefiber do you take each day?

2)I also try to fill up on low calorie/low carb snacks... like pickles, mostly pickles... that's what my doctor tells me to eat for a snack if I'm hungry between meals. I asked him if fried pickles were alright, but he didn't see the humor in that.

3)Keeping busy... I tried working out again at night, reading, packing and going through stuff, and going to bed early... even sex, to distract me from the night hungers... In the Geneen Roth books on Complusive eating, she says that when you want to eat when you're not hungry, it means you're really hungry for something else.

4)I've tried doing the mind exercises in Geneen Roth's books, basically to figure out what will fill the void... instead of food, It hasn't worked so far, but it has helped.

So what do you think I should try to get out of this rut... and jumpstart my weight loss. I expected it to slow or even stop with strength training but I didn't expect the hunger to get so much worse.

11 comments:

  1. Yer I am a bit like that. I can be in control all day and not eat much or not feel hungry and once I eat my main meal I want to snack on. So frustrating. You are doing such a wonderful job. Love your pic with the big pants.

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  2. I'm exactly the same, I find that if I eat some berries and grapes and if fruit flavoured yoghurt at night its sweet enough to stop me reaching for chocolate and I'm a huge (haha) chocolate fan.

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  3. I always want to eat late at night & feel legitimately hungry. I know its not good to eat late & night... but I find myself doing it anyway. On the advice of my dietician, I now save about 200 calories for a late evening snack. She says its better to do than that than to feel guilty for late night snacking & go over on calories for the day. I guess she's right, but really I could probably eliminate 90% of the problem IF I would just go to bed at a decent hour... but I don't see that happening, lol.

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  4. I eat plain greek yogurt with fresh blue berries or other berry mixed in with a tiny bit of splenda and it has very low carbs and its a great source of protein. At night sometimes I will have a glass of skim milk if I am hungry and that helps too. Night 'hunger' is still a problem for me too!

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  5. I've found that drinking a cup of decaf coffee when I feel snacky does the trick. I put in sugar-free hazlenut creamer so it is a touch sweet and between that and the warmth it satisfies any hunger I feel.

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  6. I sometimes have this issue, too. However, I take Ambien to sleep and it doesn't work if I have food in my stomach...so I have to stop eating 2 hours before bed no matter what or else I have a horrible nights sleep. This helps me stop eating by 7 and then I go to bed at 9pm. I make sure whatever my "last meal" is is protein rich, and that usually (not always) curbs the night-time munchies.

    I like the idea of saving 200 calories for late night.

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  7. How about just setting aside some calories for an after-dinner snack? If you plan on it and save the calories, it shouldn't be a big deal.

    I keep a few snacks on hand for after dinner in case I want something. Usually a 100 calories popcorn pack is my go-to food. I might have one once a month, if that. I find I seldom really want it when I have the option open.

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  8. 30 carbs is VERY low.. specially if you have any fruit in your diet. I think the important thing is what KIND of carbs you are consuming.

    I have PCOS & insulin resistance so carbs can be BAD news for me and weight loss... I have cut back but I still consume between 50-100 carbs a day.

    Fruit... greek yogurt... fruit... carbs carbs carbs.

    Just find a good balance.

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  9. M - I SWEAR I saw you at Epcot on Disney too!!! OMG... It was one of those things where in my head I was saying "I think that's..." and then Dennis sidetracked me, and I figured there was no way it would be you! Darn! Should have just hollered your name and seen who turned around!!! Hope you guys had a great time... We really enjoyed ourselves!

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  10. LOVE the paragraphs!!

    I have the same problem with night-time snacking. My husband leaves for work at 8:30 and my son gets home from work at nine. At least twice a week he ends up running to the drive-thru for ice cream before they close. If it's not then it's chips and dip or left-overs. BAD BAD BAD. I need to stop...but like you I'm not sure how to make the cravings go away. I'm fine when my husband is here but when he leaves for work the cravings kick in big time. Ok... so writing this it has occurred to me that MAYBE I'm trying to compensate for him leaving at night. Why has that never occured to me before. DUH!!! So here's what we should do...when you get the munchies you should call or text me. When I get the munchies I'll call or text you. You'll have to text me so I can get your number...when I got my iphone it dumped a lot of my contacts and I lost your number.

    I miss you terribly!! I have some clothes waiting for you when you're ready. Let me know what size you're in and I'll hook you up :)

    XOXO

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