Late night eating
Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
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LuciusMalfoy
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 4:56 pm
Late night eating
I've been following the No-S system for a few weeks with mixed results. I've almost totally cut the sweet stuff (maybe one donut or candy per week). Also, no more mid-afternoon snacks from the vending machine. That wasn't that hard. But I still get pretty hungry a few hours after dinner (around 10 pm), so I need to get something to eat. It doesn't happen every day, but maybe 1/2 of the time. I am wondering how would you deal with that. Is it because I am not getting enough food during the day and my body is "demanding" it? Or is it more of a psychological thing? Thanks.
Lucius,
I feel your pain because late night munchies are hard for me too. One thing that has been mentioned here before and that I've found helps is to have some kind of ritual you do after dinner that is a reminder to you that eating is OVER for the day. I clean up the kitchen and while I'm doing that make a cup of decaf tea. The tea is relaxing and having the kitchen cleaned up reminds me to stay out of there for the rest of the night. Then I usually post on my check-in on the check-in forum. It sounds silly, but if I post a success, that motivates me to keep it that way because I would feel like a liar otherwise! Another thing that helps prevent snacking if I get hungry later in the evening is to brush and floss my teeth.
Try to figure out what the difference is between the days you have the nighttime munchies and the days you don't. I find that if I don't have the right kind of breakfast, which for me, has to have some kind of protein and complex carbohydrates, I feel hungry all day, even beyond lunch. So maybe what you eat for lunch or dinner has something to do with it? Or if your dinner is not very big, maybe try eating a more substantial dinner by piling on more healthy vegetables or adding a pile of salad to your plate. If that helps, maybe your body was indeed needing more food, but if it doesn't, then maybe that will tell you that it is more psychological.
Finally, I would say just try to hang in there and see if over the next few weeks/months it doesn't get easier as your body adjusts to not eating at night. I think it will get easier. Remind yourself that you get to eat 3 meals again the next day, that sometimes helps me. Whatever you do, keep working on it, and building those habits, this is a great thing you're doing for your body and you deserve it.
Good job!
I feel your pain because late night munchies are hard for me too. One thing that has been mentioned here before and that I've found helps is to have some kind of ritual you do after dinner that is a reminder to you that eating is OVER for the day. I clean up the kitchen and while I'm doing that make a cup of decaf tea. The tea is relaxing and having the kitchen cleaned up reminds me to stay out of there for the rest of the night. Then I usually post on my check-in on the check-in forum. It sounds silly, but if I post a success, that motivates me to keep it that way because I would feel like a liar otherwise! Another thing that helps prevent snacking if I get hungry later in the evening is to brush and floss my teeth.
Try to figure out what the difference is between the days you have the nighttime munchies and the days you don't. I find that if I don't have the right kind of breakfast, which for me, has to have some kind of protein and complex carbohydrates, I feel hungry all day, even beyond lunch. So maybe what you eat for lunch or dinner has something to do with it? Or if your dinner is not very big, maybe try eating a more substantial dinner by piling on more healthy vegetables or adding a pile of salad to your plate. If that helps, maybe your body was indeed needing more food, but if it doesn't, then maybe that will tell you that it is more psychological.
Finally, I would say just try to hang in there and see if over the next few weeks/months it doesn't get easier as your body adjusts to not eating at night. I think it will get easier. Remind yourself that you get to eat 3 meals again the next day, that sometimes helps me. Whatever you do, keep working on it, and building those habits, this is a great thing you're doing for your body and you deserve it.
Good job!
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florafloraflora
- Posts: 219
- Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:03 pm
- Location: Washington, DC USA
Maybe you could try having dinner later. I don't usually eat dinner until 7 or 8 at night, and after that, I'm usually done for the night. This is after having breakfast around 7 or 8 AM and lunch around 1 PM. I sometimes get a snack craving in the afternoon, but some tea, or milk if I'm desperate, takes care of that.
Just a thought. Anyway, congratulations on your success up to this point!
Just a thought. Anyway, congratulations on your success up to this point!
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jiggapayne
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:07 pm
2-4 hours after eating, your stomach is empty again. (source: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/ma ... .An.r.html
So, of course you're hungry several hours after a meal. That is beside the point, though, because the No S diet doesn't mention how many meals you can have.
So, of course you're hungry several hours after a meal. That is beside the point, though, because the No S diet doesn't mention how many meals you can have.
Last edited by jiggapayne on Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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florafloraflora
- Posts: 219
- Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:03 pm
- Location: Washington, DC USA
Just a repost from the No-S homepage, on the subject of multiple meals:
I love the No S Diet, but my doctor says I need to eat 4/5/6 meals a day because of my medical condition!
The No S Diet has a little known loophole just for you. If you look closely at the site, you'll notice that nowhere does it specify the actual *number* of meals. Now most people will make a certain assumption, and most people had better stick with that assumption. But if you have a medical condition that requires you to eat more often, you can still do so and be a proud nosdieter. Just make sure to figure out what number of meals is right for you, stick with it (no changing the magic number every day), and invest in some really small plates. And talk to your doctor, of course. As for the rest of you, pretend you never read this. It's for people with doctor's notes only.
________________________________
Before starting this I sort of considered myself a grazer, and I even had sort of an official doctor's note to fall back on (blood sugar issues) if I wanted to stick with multiple mini-meals. But after an adjustment period I'm really happy with my three meals a day. I recommend trying hard for that first.
I love the No S Diet, but my doctor says I need to eat 4/5/6 meals a day because of my medical condition!
The No S Diet has a little known loophole just for you. If you look closely at the site, you'll notice that nowhere does it specify the actual *number* of meals. Now most people will make a certain assumption, and most people had better stick with that assumption. But if you have a medical condition that requires you to eat more often, you can still do so and be a proud nosdieter. Just make sure to figure out what number of meals is right for you, stick with it (no changing the magic number every day), and invest in some really small plates. And talk to your doctor, of course. As for the rest of you, pretend you never read this. It's for people with doctor's notes only.
________________________________
Before starting this I sort of considered myself a grazer, and I even had sort of an official doctor's note to fall back on (blood sugar issues) if I wanted to stick with multiple mini-meals. But after an adjustment period I'm really happy with my three meals a day. I recommend trying hard for that first.
Lucius,
If you're feeling hungry at night, have a glass of milk. It's technically allowed, has calories and protein to fill you, and apparently also has a soporific effect.
Be firm and patient and habit will make this much easier. 3 meals was what most people did through most of history ("famine, sword and fire" permitting). You'll get used to this, too.
If you find you can't pull that off, then maybe consider adding a fourth meal. But be careful. There is a trade off: each extra meal makes it easier for excess to sneak in.
Reinhard
If you're feeling hungry at night, have a glass of milk. It's technically allowed, has calories and protein to fill you, and apparently also has a soporific effect.
Be firm and patient and habit will make this much easier. 3 meals was what most people did through most of history ("famine, sword and fire" permitting). You'll get used to this, too.
If you find you can't pull that off, then maybe consider adding a fourth meal. But be careful. There is a trade off: each extra meal makes it easier for excess to sneak in.
Reinhard
I have the same problem. Dinnertime is at 2000 or 2100 at night because that's when we get home.
During the week I eat at work earlier in the day instead.
I'm also working on the "glass ceiling" with coffee so no more caffeine after my third cup with dinner, so when I get home now I dress for bed and brush my teeth and all that sort of thing, and use cinnamon flavored dental floss as the trigger to remind me all other kinds of flavors are now off limits.
f
During the week I eat at work earlier in the day instead.
I'm also working on the "glass ceiling" with coffee so no more caffeine after my third cup with dinner, so when I get home now I dress for bed and brush my teeth and all that sort of thing, and use cinnamon flavored dental floss as the trigger to remind me all other kinds of flavors are now off limits.
f
Evening hunger killed me in the beginning and I would always end up eating.
Plus, my husband seems to eat two dinners at night.
So, just when I started to get a hunger pang, he was always making something delicious to eat.
It doesn't help that because of his genuine love for food, he makes a big production out of it!
I was dying because I wanted to eat what he was eating!
Plus, if I did eat, I always ate waaaaay more than he did. (He is a foot taller than me!). Plus, I would have to end up topping it with something sweet. Pudding, ice cream, cookies....
I decided to use that time after dinner as a time of "fasting/abstaining" and not eat no matter what.
I started drinking chamomile tea without sugar or sweetener at night to get me through until bedtime.
I also try to remember that in this country filled with excess to the point that we are dying from overeating, there are millions of people who go to bed without a meal. So, that kept me going until it became habit.
Plus, my husband seems to eat two dinners at night.
So, just when I started to get a hunger pang, he was always making something delicious to eat.
It doesn't help that because of his genuine love for food, he makes a big production out of it!
I was dying because I wanted to eat what he was eating!
Plus, if I did eat, I always ate waaaaay more than he did. (He is a foot taller than me!). Plus, I would have to end up topping it with something sweet. Pudding, ice cream, cookies....
I decided to use that time after dinner as a time of "fasting/abstaining" and not eat no matter what.
I started drinking chamomile tea without sugar or sweetener at night to get me through until bedtime.
I also try to remember that in this country filled with excess to the point that we are dying from overeating, there are millions of people who go to bed without a meal. So, that kept me going until it became habit.
The late night munchie attack was my one and only problem on N days. So in the beginning I would have a cup of sugar free hot cocoa most evenings around 3 hours after dinner. I was "starving" and the hot cocoa saved me from getting into trouble. But as the weeks went on I decided to give up the cocoa once and for all. It was hard at first because I was still "starving". Then after a few weeks of no cocoa, no nothing after dinner, I found I wasn't "starving" anymore. So why was I not starving anymore? Well just proved I was hungry after all it was just habit to have a snack. And I think that was my wind down tool. Like how a baby can't get comfy enough to get sleepy, you have to rock them, get them there blanky, or pacifier. My late night snack was that for me. So as strong as that habit was I am hoping that the habit of not snacking becomes just as strong.
Habit takes a lot longer with some people.
Habit takes a lot longer with some people.
Dawn