Lately I have been feeling hungry all the time.
I even wake up at night a few times feeling so hungry and grab a snack from the kitchen (usually a banana).

But I wonder, am I really just thirsty and not hungry?
Or could this be emotional eating?


I am just a little bit disturbed by the fact that have these late night snacks EVERY NIGHT when I am half awake. This has been going on for like 2 months now and I'm not sure how to stop it before it gets even more out of control.

Or could I not be eating enough???

Anyone have similar experiences?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/2008 11:03PM by redstar_38.

I used to be one for nighttime binges. But my pre-raw diet was FULL of 1 AM gorging on the regular, so part of it was breaking a cycle of habit.

My goal for the month of March was to not eat after 10 PM and not before 10 AM--it took a lot of work and commitment, and finally, by the end of April, I can usually stop eating around 7-8. Not every night, but most nights. I also feel a lot better, have more energy upon waking, and a lot less gas. =\

Part of what I tried to do was eat more calories in the early day. This included days where I would totally load up around 2 PM and think, "Yes... now I'm good..." and I'd still have another Snack Strike. Set yourself reasonable goals. "No eating after dinner" would still be impossible for me. 10 PM, for my schedule, was a challenge, but I could do it. This also meant bringing snacks to work constantly (now all of my coworkers suggest I should have an after school special about healthy foods/exotic fruits).

Sometimes when I'm hungry late, I try to keep it as simple for my body as possible if I MUST eat. Fresh squeezed orange juice, or a very deep self-analysis with a cup of tea. Simple salads are nice and low-cal for a nip before sleep.

First, you need to confront the situation with CONSCIOUSNESS. Bring your mind into the eating, and go from there. Pay attention to your body--see if you're still hungry in 5, 10 minutes. What are you craving? Comfort foods? (mental/emotional?) Juicy foods? (not enough fruit/hydration?) Insane food combinations? (calories?)

Good luck!

It's probably a combination of things. If you are eating large amounts of HEALTHY foods....I certainly would not worry about it. You CAN eat more during the day......so hopefully you will be 'tired' of eating by the evening! LOL. This involves a gradual shift in schedule and outlook for many....who are used to eating virtually nothing all day....and then pigging out at night.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I do that right before my cycle. I'll get hungrier than usual and especially at night. With me, it's hormonal. I'll eat some fruit and that usually satisifies me.

Before raw, I used to down a half gallon of ice cream during my hormonal night binges. Then I couldn't understand why I kept getting fat. LOL

sometimes i get up in the middle of the night and binge on oranges - it's like i'm low on sugar. my naturopath tells me to eat more proteins rather than sugar to stabalise the blood sugar levels.

I can really understand the night hunger thing.
For years the late night munchies have been totally my "comfort eating" time.
How about having a big glass of water at those times?
Or some celery?
I know the water might keep you up though.
But I have heard that dehydration sometimes comes through as hunger.

Brian

When I'm eating vegan, I know I'm hungry when I eat--because "vegan" is not so tasty that it stimulates my palate. I can't eat "too much broccoli." I figure that, if I'm willing to eat broccoli, I must be hungry.

Now pizza is another matter! I'll eat that whether I'm hungry or not! So I have to stay away from addictive, comfort foods.

Ron