I'm a Night Owl, are late snacks ok?


(Di trying!) #1

Hi, I have a bad habit of being a night owl, typically don’t go to bed until 1-2ish, but with my recent insomnia I’ve been up all night! I am having a very hard time trying not to eat during night and early AM hours… I think part is due to me not eating a large dinner, as Im just not hungry! So, is it bad to snack on some protein or fat ? I am logging my macros and can afford a snack, but I need some pro Keto tips! I usually have a bullet coffee around 11am and snack 3ish, then dinner 7-8ish. TY!


(Running from stupidity) #2

The idea is to go as long as possible between insulin spikes. Snacking promotes insulin spikes.


(Di trying!) #3

Yes, Im just so used to snaking… Getting it down to 2 or 3 is sooooo hard! lol But, Im going to do it!


(Running from stupidity) #4

Bigger meals, no snacks


(Ashley) #5

I had the same problem when I started! Eventually the cravings slow down. Like juice said, try to eat big meals so less snacking. Keto works best when insulin spikes are reduced. I now go 24-48 hours regularly in between meals and don’t get hungry! It takes time to adjust but you’ll eventually hit a point where you just aren’t as hungry! And if it’s not hunger and boredom I suggest maybe reading a book? Browsing some apps or videos! Drink some water or tea and hopefully overtime your mind will be occupied and Boredom doesn’t ensue!


('Jackie P') #6

Change your meal times. Snack at 5pm and dinner at 10!


(less is more, more or less) #7

I am not a late-night person, but my wife is. Since I love her, and she still loves my company, I find myself needing to snack, like a coping mechanism for being up so late (for me, that’s after 9 PM). I can’t believe I’m about to advise this, but I’ve recently taken up drinking apple cider vinegar, and the early results astonish me. ACV also stops my snack craving. I consume two tablespoons in 12 ounces of water. It’s better in tea, and I’m acclimating to its pungency.

The worst-case scenario is your try it and if it’s horrible, spit it out.


#8

I worked nights for years, then even after switching to day shift had a hard time not being a night owl, especially on my days off. Can you alter your meal times? Skip the 3pm snack, or make it an actual meal then adjust your dinner to 8 or 9? Make lunch at 3, dinner at 9, for example? (or even 4 and 10…whatever works for you based on the times you’re hungry)

The time of day we eat is so ingrained in us. Lots of things are. When I lived alone, I had no need for a couch. I talked myself out of getting one dozens of times, because not having one was just weird. But I didn’t need one and it was MY apartment. Who says you need to eat lunch at noon and dinner at 5? It’s YOUR body.


(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #9

Snacking is bad for Keto and only hinders your progress if weight loss is your goal. You should take suggestions from previous posts, maybe change your meal times? Eat big meals so you can avoid snacking.


(Di trying!) #11

I realized my dinners were just not big enough and tonight I made a big salad and feel much less desire to snack tonight. So going forward I’ll make dinner my biggest meal and NOT just a snack! :rofl::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:


(Di trying!) #12

I also skipped lunch and made it with just a 12pm bullet coffee til 8pm dinner. I think that will be my plan going forward… maybe a snack in between, but small (like a handful of almonds). Im just now starting to loose, 5lb in 2 weeks but 3lbs in the last 2 days! Im also battling sinusitis infection so not feeling well with not much appetite has been hard to eat a full meal!


(Di trying!) #13

Good tip! I need to start up again, was doing the ACV my 1st week but getting lazy and stopped! Thx for the reminder!


#14

I might not be a “bad habit.” I’ve been reading about chronotypes recently. I am the same.


(Karim Wassef) #15

No.

Insulin sensitivity gets worse late at night


(Full Metal KETO AF) #16

I have been an extreme night owl in the past. I have worked 10pm to 6am for a year. I have had jobs when I had to go at 4am and work till 2pm. And I have worked 11am till 9pm shifts. My point is that things can change if you make an effort. You just have to gradually shift your hours. A good start is getting up early and this will lead to going to bed earlier. The circadian rhythm is something lost to many in modern society by time spent with artificial lights starring at monitors and television screens until we’re exhausted and then sleep poorly because our bodies are out of contact with the cycle of the sun. Getting up, hunting, gathering orworking in the field to insure daily food supplies. Our brains don’t produce melatonin because sunset means nothing in the modern world and our hormone production is off. My current habits have me up by 6 and sleeping by 10:30_11:00 pm.

I eat big early, 60% of the fat and protein I will eat in a day. I eat a second meal usually an early dinner around 5. I do not eat after dinner because it’s better to go 4-5 hours without food before bed as @Karim_Wassef pointed out. You could eat the exact two meals at 10am and 5pm or at 2pm and 9pm and your body will use the earlier window more efficiently and will less likely end up as fat stored.

Good night, it’s past my bedtime. :cowboy_hat_face:


#17

IF isn’t a no-no, but more like something which is better to let happen naturally. I wouldn’t worry about it. But you really should stop adding anything in your tea, and make sure that it has no added sugar. Coffee is not adviceable after the morning, really, if you want a good night’s sleep. Late coffee doesn’t necessarily keep you awake, but it often makes your sleep lighter without you realising because you slept.


(Ron) #18

I am also a night owl and have been doing keto for over a year.Down over 80 lbs and snack when the urge strikes without to much concern. I was also t2d so glucose spikes were something I watched avidly. My personal journey has proven that insulin spikes are minimal to none if the snacks are fat and/or protein oriented. (ex: pork rind, keto jerky, etc). I do try to keep the grazing minimal and so far have not seen it cause any problems in my weight control of BG levels.
If you can do without snacking then that would be the preferred, but I wouldn’t be afraid of it to the point of stressing as this might be more harmful than the original issue.
You might also notice that the video about time frame is all directed to a person that is functioning on a glucose diet and not a ketone burning body. Food for thought.
https://idmprogram.com/dietary-fat-hyperinsulinemia/


(Edgar) #19

I feel ya, I have a difficult time going to sleep when I’m hungry sometimes so this topic hits close to home. What works for me every now and then is making myself an electrolyte drink. Sometimes that satiates my hunger pangs and I can go ahead and fall asleep. If that doesn’t work then I do opt for the snacks, sometimes (or honestly most of the times) the benefits of a good night’s rest outweigh the benefits of avoiding a small insulin spike.

I don’t know if hunger adds to your insomnia so maybe our situations are different, but I think the most obvious solution is to force yourself to eat a little more at dinner time to keep the hunger at bay longer.


(Alec) #20

Hi, I have a different view from most of the above. Your description of your normal eating says you have a BP coffee at 11am, and your last “snack” would be at say 1am. That means you have an eating window of 14 hrs, I would say this is pretty good. The timing of your window is much less important than the length of it.

Also, you say your dinner is small because you are not hungry. So, each day you have a BP coffee, a snack in the afternoon, a small meal in the evening, and then a snack late at night. With this kind of regime, I would say eat when you are hungry and don’t eat when you are not. Simples.


(Jill F.) #21

I eat dinner around 7 PM and 8f I am up past 10 or 11 I get munch too. I eat a couple if pickles and drink water and that seems to help. *** I didn’t get fat in the past eating pickles late at night, it used to be ice cream***