How do I stray away from having midnight snacks...?

Question

I got soo hungry tonight after coming home from bowling...I am 226, large framed, 5'6", 25 year old woman. Maybe this might help figuring out how many calories I should have or something to help me not eat too less in the day or w/e I am doing wrong. Sometimes I think I am unable to get over the hungry feelin. What other tips besides drinking water and brushing your teeth work for everyone. I need some help with this please. I am on a diet and I am really not supposed to do this, I feel sooo guilty!! =(

Answer 1

I wonder if we went to bed earlier if it would help?lol! What I have done is I stock my shelves with 100 calorie bags of microwave popcorn and I have one of those when I have to eat something late at night (I have one next to me now as I type). I'm fine during the day but I always get the munchies at night.

Answer 2

why not have a salad before getting home from bowling? And yes, try the water thing, but why not add some low/no calorie flavor to the water (like Crystal Light singles). Sometimes you just have to tough it through until you break the habit of night-time snacks....one day at a time. Good luck & best wishes.

Answer 3

Well if you were doing an activity and you need to stay awake a small snack (a healthy one of course) might be needed. If you don't need to stay up to do anything, then going to sleep would keep the hunger away, and you can wake up in the morning and get a good breakfast. If you continue that, then your body will adjust and you will not be hungry at night.

Answer 4

Do something to keep your hands busy. Knit, crochet, bead work, paint or watercolor, even the computer can occupy your hands. do yoga or stretches and if a craving hits think about how you are stronger than the craving, remind yourself of your responibility to yourself and your diet and try to conciously maintain your willpower- the more you do it the stronger you become, seriously. I have sat and eaten a cup of cooked spinach while my roomies all ate pizza around me and it wasn't hard at all, after I worked my power up.. I thought about how healthy I was being and how that pizza would just add to my belly, but how this choice would lead me to better choices.
Also, if you must eat I highly recommend eating a low fat low cal soup. Tomato soup, mushroom soup, bean and veggie soup, chicken soup, anything very brothy. It fills you up and leaves you with a warm tummy that is easy to sleep on.
Good luck!!!!

Answer 5

Don't feel guilty. It's ok to love food, you just need to get your eating habits in check. Make it a good healthful habit instead of a bad habit your trying to kick.

If you feel hungry your body is lacking something. You should try to pin point what it is while drinking a big glass of water.

You need to ask your body what you are hungry for. You could be hungry for attention, activity, food, or water. Anything from being bored to feeling lonely can make you want to eat.

Probably the worst thing you can do when you are hungry is completely ignore it. Your body has a need, so look into what it needs. Sometimes it takes awhile to find all your "triggers", but your triggers are things that turn on your hunger. Your brain has been trained that when X, Y, or Z happen it means you should eat. Find the triggers then you can address the need directly and satisfy it instead of making yourself numb to it with food.

Something you can do that will really help your hunger, weight loss efforts and over all health would be to take a fiber supplement sometime between 2 hours after dinner and going to bed and washing it down with 10 - 16 oz of water.

The amount of water depends on your tolerance. Don't drink so much that you're up and down recycling the water all night.

You can get some simple fiber pills at the pharmacy, but you might want to go to a health food store, or natural market and get a fiber cleanse system. There are all kinds out there, read the box and know what you are getting into, it will require taking pills, maybe as many as 20 a day and a glass of water for each pill.

I use a 30 day cleanse and detox about twice a year, but I buy the fiber pills from the kit and use them all the time. I'll take two fiber pills with a lot of water when I'm hungry but don't want to or can't eat.

The fiber will keep your bowels healthy and moving good, it will fill up your belly and take away hunger pains, and major super bonus get 35 grams of fiber a day, and you can subtract 20% from the calories you've eaten for the day because of the fiber.

For the best results, try to eat 30 - 40 grams of fiber daily, spread out over the day and use a fiber supplement in the evening to make up the difference.

Remember as long you drink enough water with your fiber it's really hard to get to much. If you get to much fiber you could get cramps, and it could back you up until it gets enough fluid to pass.

It also sounds like you want to figure out how many calories you need in a day, which is your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)

For adult males - Multiply the body weight by 10; add double the body weight to this value.
[i.e., for a 150 lb male, 1,500 + (2 x 150)=1,800 cal/day BMR]

For adult females - Multiply body weight by 10; add the body weight to this value.
[i.e., for a 120 lb female, 1,200 + 120=1,320 cal/day BMR]

As you know the most important part of not feeling hungry at night is getting enough to eat throughout the day.

You may want to look into a new diet called The Reverse Diet. You eat your biggest meal in the morning, a moderate lunch, and light dinner. It will work if you eat healthy and get enough fiber without cutting you calories.

A high fiber breakfast cereal with some fresh fruit for dinner is a great way to make sure you've got your fiber for the day and gives your body a lot of good vitamins to use while your sleeping for it's night maintenance and repairs.

Don't be afraid to eat, just make wise choices. If your schedule allows eat every 2 hours, just have smaller meals. You'll feel like your always eating, you'll lose weight, and you stomach will shrink quickly.

You may not see it right away, but eat this way for a week or two and then go out to eat one of your favorite meals and notice how your stomach feels after eating more food at this meal. Think about that feeling and how uncomfortable it is and remember it later when you want to comfort yourself with food. Over stuffing your belly with food shouldn't be a comfort, but a lot of us use it that way.

One final suggestions you might find helpful. If you give thanks (or even if you don't) for your food consider, giving thanks from your heart before you even start cooking.

It doesn't have to religious but it can. Here is an example of the kind of "prayer" I'm talking about. I'm a Christian, so you can remove or change the references to God if you like.

"Heavenly Father, I am so grateful for this body you have given me, my body gives me a natural strength and wisdom that is so amazing! Even when I don't think about it, my body does what it needs to keep me alive. Thank you, Father, for providing me healthy food choices and the wisdom to make them."

By doing this before you prepare a meal or eat you are reaffirming your desire to make wise food choices. Even if you aren't religious these kind of "positive affirmations" help you focus on why you are eating. I really hope this helps you!

If I can help in anyway let me know.

Shalom
Viki

Answer 6

I always try to chew gum and drink water, but if that doesn't work, try a light snack like cut up fresh fruit

Answer 7

Love yourself and listen to your body! Are you REALLY hungry or just emotionally eating?!? If you are really hungry, eat something and try eating it slowly, really really enjoy what you are eating! Then you probably wont eat as much. If your just emotionally eating then know that your inner self is trying to tell you something. Try to allow the feeling to be there, where is the sensation located in your body? What are you trying to tell yourself?? In what area do you need to engage in more self love?!?

Answer 8

How about doing exercise.. When I start doing them, my brain is telling my body those snacks are no good..it really works.. Do sit ups, they are really effective... If you can't do them, start off by doing one.. increase it by one every day...but you need to be consistent and do them everyday... good luck..you will get there.. it's just a matter of getting into good habits..

Answer 9

Go to sleep early!

Answer 10

sleep early. and dont wake up til its the morning after.=)