Night eater

(Tom) #1

I just can’t stop eating at night before bed
No matter wht I do even if I have a big dinner. Always want to eat something before bed. It’s Hotdogs, or peanutbutter. Or Tuna fish. No carbs tho but I don’t know wht to do to kill the the night time snacking before bed

#2

Sometimes I have such periods myself. It’s mostly mental and I doubt anyone could help, I need to change somehow.
I do what I can and choose the most satiating food so my macros won’t go crazy, at least… Or try harder and it will pass as it’s not how I normally function. I can’t try hard, if I get tempted, I eat.

But carnivore solves this problem too for me - or make it irrelevant. I only have extra snacking meals if I had a significant amount of carbs before. Or if I ate too little but then I get hungry and it’s right to eat. Not right before bed, usually but that feels fine for me as well.
I use very fatty pork or boiled eggs, no way I eat much of them without hunger.

If it’s some mental compulsion to consume something, maybe tea and a tiny bit more willpower helps…? I often use drinks in that situation.

It can be a habit, fight against it. I don’t resist temptation but if it’s just some very slight one, I ask myself if I am hungry. If the answer is no, I don’t eat at night. A good diet helps as I already wrote. At least it helps me.

#3

Hi Tom. I read that you lost 50 lbs! Thats wonderful! Why then does it matter if you eat late?

#4

What’s your age/height/weight, how physically active are you and what does a “typical” day of eating look like for you? The answer is in there!

(Tom) #5

Cause I’m gaining weight. And I was down 70 lbs

(Tom) #6

Due to the covid 19 thing I’m not working my usual 10 to 12 hour days but lately I have been going for walks starting out at 2 miles a day
And my macros have been staying in range 25 to 30% pro. 65 to 70% fat and 5 to 10% carb. I have been eating a lot of peanut butter daily Though, 4 to 6 tbl. Spoons a day. Sometimes mixed with a 1/2 tbl spoon of butter

(Full Metal KETO AF) #7

I know that feeling Tom. For me like last night I got into bed and my stomach had started rumbling. I drank a glass of water and went to bed. The hunger feeling was gone almost right away. You’re best stopping your eating as early as you can before bed. I’m usually on a very early eating window and lost a lot of weight keeping insulin low during the nighttime hours. I also sleep better without food in my stomach and digestion happening. But everyone needs to find their own groove with KETO. I wish you luck. I got off track after surgery and was eating late and off KETO for a couple of months. I’m working back towards my older habits now and cleaning up. Snacks are finished again for me. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #8

That can definitely put on some extra weight! :cowboy_hat_face:

#9

So is the eating before bed new? Like a new bad habit?
Maybe it would be best to keep the late night snack only fat? Not protein or nutty (contains carbs- I don’t even lose any weight when I eat nuts during the day!) Maybe some sort of fat bomb? Anything so insulin isn’t secreted during the night? But I noticed that if I hold myself back before I go to sleep- I am not hungry in the morning. That late night hunger is gone in the morning! Weird isnt it? One would think that if I go to bed hungry I will wake up hungry- but it doesnt seem to work that a way. In fact- sometimes I wake up and I am not hungry for hours, when I could have eaten a whole chocolate cake the night before. I honestly do not know how that works- except that it must have to do with insulin. But sometimes it feels like it is all in my mind and I am imagining things. Maybe that hunger is just a figament of my imagination? if I can resist it, its smooth sailing after the fact.
I find that keto isnt totally easy or simple. I need something sweet sometimes and when I eat it- like with stevia or erythrit- I dont lose any weight. Zero Cola will do the same. So I have to get more strict, and really only eat pure keto if I want to lose. Its a bummer. But I guess we have to put some effort into it if we want it to work. For this I have the most wonderful brunch and dinner - tasty and guilt free.
Another thing is driving me right now: Covid 19. They say it kills people who are fat and have metabolic syndrome more than any others. So I feel doubly motivated right now to lose some weight before I contract the infection. I think we will all get it one day- thats inevitable. Knowing there is a hospital bed for me should I need it is soothing, but it seems fatter people need that hospital bed more than thin ones. Scared enough to be more strict about keto right now just to get thinner. I am so glad that my prediabetic blood glucose is normal again and my blood pressure too.That all weighs heavily on the outcome of this infection. It is a strong motivator for me to put in the effort and keep losing again after a slip up.

#10

I probably would stop eating peanut, I actually did it as I had to. I already wrote what I eat if I eat too late, my top satiating (and very satisfying) things. I made a list what I should avoid or minimize and when I don’t, that’s a problem. It’s quite individual which food can run away with our calories and they do matter. Or which items have a bad effect for some other reason.

I am never hungry at night if I eat properly before. But if I do it really well, I don’t even feel any desire to eat. Today I had enough fatty meat to feel so, it was very very satisfying too :wink:

Don’t you have some other option that works better? A lot of PB would cause problems with many of us…
You can choose exercising more, of course especially if you are used to more. It’s way easier than eating a bit less for some of us and we need exercise anyway. It’s definitely true for me, no matter how lazy I am. 2 miles walks are very tiny, I have those (with some running parts), sometimes cycling, some weightlifting (I am so weak right now) but I probably will need something more.

Isn’t 10% carbs much? (I don’t even understand this popular number, it’s 20g carbs for 800 kcal!)
How many is that in grams? I can’t do much with percentages, grams matter much more.
Carbs may interfere, some of us are especially sensitive, I always eat more if it’s higher and I can’t afford that, just like you can’t right now.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #11

Actually it’s only 80 kcals. A gram of carbohydrate is about 4 calories not 40.

#12

Exactly. 20g (net) carbs, ~80 kcal so it’s 10% if one eats 800 kcal only… That’s why I don’t get this 10%. Even 5% should be too much for people if they can’t go way above 20g but it surely works for many.

EDIT: I get it now, no, 800 kcal isn’t the carbs, it’s the total food but who eats that tiny amount?

(Johan Sandgren) #13

Hey Tom

Thanks for sharing your difficulty and asking for support!

Im curious of 2 things if you could try them and then share after like a few days.

  1. make sure to cycle or swim or jog, a few hours before bedtime, so you have really gotten a good workout and your body is tired. Make sure your exercise is low heartrate ie fatburn and longer ik time like 60-90min but creating a small feeling of warm sweat but not drizzling. And no hard breathing, just a bit more active breathing but still comfortable. A brisk walk where you feel the tempo is making you warm and a bit sweaty is also a goof alternative. That has helped me. Of course not every day, since you need recovery as well. The increased fatburn and feeling used body and muscles made me feel completed and longing for bedz no ideas of feelings for snacks. Also make sure drinking lots of water with added salt (1liter, 1 teaspoon about).

  2. Log feelings you have at night when the need of wanting to eat just before bed as you describe starts to show up. What are you feeling emotionally? Lacking something from a person? If you had someone you could ask for a need (except food), emotional, physical, need from that person, what would you need at that moment? Perhaps share sadness, feeling empty unmotivated, or something else?
    Please log a few days (and its fine if you eat after, but log before, and also please log the change physically and emotionally.how you feel after the night snack you use to crave).

Looking forward to hearing from you
Johan