Eating in the middle of the night.

[Lacey1984]

One of the biggest problems I have struggled with dieting is I always snack in the middle of the night. I'm talking around 2- 3 a.m.  I have done this for years.  I have never been a real good sleeper and Ive have tried everything to get good rest but nothing ever works. I usually wake 1-3 times a night. My problem is when I get up I am always starving and always make my way downstairs to snack. I usually eat most of my calories I should during the day but cant stop the night eating. Any suggestions on what I can do.

[MikeBuck]

I don't sleep well either.  I always have some pre-made snacks to eat instead of quick junk food.  Celery and PB or cream cheese, nuts, fruit, cheeries, grapes, pre-cooked chicken breast cubes, carrots sticks and lite ranch dip, frozen juice bars, etc...  Sometimes I have to resort to some type of self control.  Celery sticks and peanut butter doesn't work if I eat half a jar of PB, or 5 searvings of nuts, or a chicken.  Learn to eat a very specific amount.  Hard sometimes but teach yourself you are in charge.  We all want to eat the container of ice cream but we know better and won't do it.

[JohnRyan]

What types of food are you eating throughout the day?  And more specifically for dinner and before you go to bed?  Are they high in processed sugar or carbohydrates?  Like breads, cereals, pastas?  They might be causing a sugar crash which wakes you up and starts the hunger pains.  If that is the case try reducing carbs and sugars and increasing protein and healthy fats.  That will keep you full, help regulate blood sugar and should eliminate sudden cravings or hunger pains ("hanger").  Let us know what your food intake looks like as it could be the culprit behind these midnight snacks. 

[Lacey1984]

I had a protein shake for lunch which was around 330 cals

For a snack I had strawberries and yogurt fruit dip around 3pm

Dinner I had a salad which had lettuce, ham, shredded cheese, crouton, 1 avacodo , ban. peppers and poppy seed dressing.

My snack after dinner was a 90 cal waffle with 1 tbs of P.Butter.

Now I only drink coffee for breakfast and eat nothing because I always feel guilty from snacking in the middle of the night.

[JohnRyan]

That's great that you tracked all those meals.  i'm not a certified nutritionist, but i've spent the last 4 years researching and experimenting with different methods.  Here's my take -

I see a lot of sugar throughout the day.  Take a look at the ingredients of the protien shake.  Even if it doesn't have specifically sugar, it probably has artificial sweeteners to keep the calories low.  these trigger the same response to sugar in your body, often with added negative side effects. 

Strawberries and yogurt may seem healthy, but that is also a sugar rush.  It will create a spike in blood sugar and then an insulin dump. 

The dinner looks good, but check the ingredients of the shredded cheese and dressing, often there are hidden sugars in items like that.  especially the dressing if it is store bought.  plus the dressing probably has seed oils like soybean or sunflower which have negative health effects as well.  but that's a different topic. 

The waffle and peanut butter before bed is definitely a major sugar rush.  The carbs in the waffle and the sugar in the peanut butter will cause another spike in blood sugar before bed, then a couple hours in will be the dump/crash causing hunger pains/cravings. 

I would suggest to increase protein throughout the day, especially in the morning.  This will help regulate blood sugar and keep you full longer.  Good fats from fish, eggs, avocados, nuts, etc... will help as well.  Techinically our bodies are fat burning bodies, and sugar storing bodies.  Our liver can only process so much sugar at a time, so any extra has to be converted to fat to be used for energy.  Whole grains, breads, pastas, syrups, etc...  all essentially act the same. 

If this seems to make sense, let me know if you are interested in some reading material.  There are some wonderful books out there and people with tons of free information on social media. 

[Lacey1984]

Thank you . Very informative .