Going To Bed Hungry

January 11, 2008 · 12 comments

I’m going to bed hungry tonight and I feel good about that. No, I haven’t suddenly gone off my rocker and am starving myself, don’t worry. But I am slowly but surely trying to remind my body that it doesn’t need to be full all the time. Of course take all of this with a grain of salt - I am not a professional. But, I don’t think one night is going to mess with my metabolism.

Here is the deal; for those of you having read me for awhile you know I have a screwy schedule. Today for example I left for work at 5:30am and got home at 8:00pm, which included a little less than 3 hours of round-trip commuting time. I had a good breakfast at home, a banana as a mid-morning snack, a healthy lunch and an energy bar at about 6:30PM as I headed out to home. When I got home at 8:00 I was pretty much ready for dinner.

But I didn’t do it.

I didn’t eat because while I knew I was going to try to eat light given the time, that I would not be able to stop with that small dinner. I have been in this same situation many times over the last few months and each time I eat a little bit and then a lot and the next thing you know I am filling my stomach late at night. I knew tonight I couldn’t even eat a little bit when I got home.

And so I am hungry right now.

And I am OK with that.

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{ 12 comments }

Sarah January 12, 2008 at 4:52 am: You should always keep some snacks with you, in your car, at your desk, in your briefcase…wherever you are. I have all sorts of healthy fruit and grain bars stashed everywhere that I spend significant mounts of time. That has really helped me in not missing “meals” or having to go hungry when I really should have eaten already. I don’t think this will do anything to your metabolism, we all can miss a meal, if ya know what I mean. wink wink nudge nudge.
groovybabe January 12, 2008 at 5:06 am: I think the real battle with weightloss is knowing your own strengths and weaknesses and playing to them. That is precisely what I have done these past 6 months. People may criticise me for doing in a way that is different to them (weighing in daily, eating more in the evenings for example) but it has worked for me and I have lost the weight. So for this reason I will refrain from commenting that “omg you must eat 3 square meals” and simply say, congratulations - for listening to your body.
john - from fat to fit January 12, 2008 at 6:35 am: Sarah - That energy bar I had at 6:30 is a common snack for me now and it has helped me avoid all the fast food places I used to stop at on my way home. Prior to this journey of mine there were many nights when I would have to stop at fast food on the way home, and then I would still eat a meal when I got home. It started to be a real habit. Having that snack available (which takes planning) has been an important part of my plan. When you travel and/or commute as much as I do it is real easy to find yourself at fast food, and we know that is killer.

And yes, wink wink, I can CERTAINLY miss a meal or three.

Groovy - You are so right! It’s kind of like when you first become a parent. Everyone (and their mother) has an opinion on how to raise a child. Everyone will do it differently, you have to find what works within the context of your family. You can take advice, but ultimately you have to do what feels right.

I will admit when you first started posting that you were “saving” points I really wanted to wade in and question whether that was good strategy. But I saw you were having success and the tenor of your posts was more positive. Why put a wet rag over that??
Thomas (twofatbrothers.com) January 12, 2008 at 8:56 am: I go to bed hungry just about every night. There’s nothing arcane about it - I just eat dinner at about 6 and go to bed at about 10. 4 hours is plenty of time for me to get hungry, but I have a new rule not to eat anything after dinner.
Andrea January 12, 2008 at 1:14 pm: Hi,
Congrats on self control and positive choices. I too often go to bed hungry, but lately when I feel those hunger pangs, I’ve been drinking water and to my surprise, that helps. Sometimes it’s not that I’m hungry, but thirsty. I lack drinking enough water.
I’m always crunching on carrots or soy nuts in between meals. I even find that the simple thought of me chewing on a little something lessens the need to eat more.
Good luck to you. Seems you’re in the good state of mind to succeed.
Fat Man January 12, 2008 at 4:28 pm: There isn’t anything wrong with that. Just change it up a bit each day. I am not eating past 7 pm any more.
Steve v4.6 January 12, 2008 at 6:40 pm: Good for you, John. Literally.
John January 12, 2008 at 7:07 pm: I have a great Miso soup mix with only 35 calories that I eat before bed. It is tasty, healthy, and warm on cold nights. It also fills up the old stomach pretty quick.
GeorgieGirl January 12, 2008 at 7:18 pm: Sometimes I wish I’d just gone to bed hungry. I should learn from you. Be glad you went to be hungry. No doubt you slept better than I did, me… snacking all night long and then going to bed with heart burn. Dreading to get near a scale this week. Not pretty.
Coop January 13, 2008 at 9:39 am: Hey John,
I congratulate you on the self control….that is a big one as far as losing weight.

A couple of quick snacks that I might eat at night are a few almonds, or some low-fat string cheese.

Best,
Coop
Vilma January 15, 2008 at 12:01 pm: Night time munching has always been a real big problem for me for as long as I can remember. I comend you for just going to sleep… that has worked for me at times, but sometimes I JUST HAVE to eat something… so I make sure it’s a protein meal with no carbs. A nice protein shake, cottage cheese, 3 oz of chicken fajitas, even scrambled eggs with salsa or a handful of nuts. I also drink water and see if I’m still hungry after 20 minutes… if I am, then I eat something small.

If it works for you, then by all means - keep on doing it…

~ Vilma
Stewart May 11, 2008 at 3:42 am: if i’m hungry at night time, i will take half piece of cracker and go sleep directly.