Late-night munchies

One month ago, if you had asked me, "Leslie, do you eat late at night?" I would have opened up my freezer and welcomed you to the debacle that is my evening dessert ritual. Ice cream, fro yo, frozen mini Butterfingers, Skinny Cows, sherbet, frozen chunks of Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars leftover from December when an oh-so-nice barista gave me a huge care package "just because"...I could go in but I'm starting to sound like some sort of sweet-toothed android that runs on icy sugar.

But now, I'm on this kick where I delude myself into thinking I can stop eating after 9pm. Why? Not pure torture alone. I'm trying to fix some of my long-standing sleep problems (yes, I've tried Melatonin, and lavender-scented baths, and acupuncture, and Ambien. Everything but electroshock, basically) and one of the things I've realized is that sticking a huge bolus of sugar in my stomach an hour before bedtime is prolly not helping things. I am trying to subsist on sugar-free hot cocoa and jello, with the occasional breakdown into real food territory - but I keep it healthy, like munching on All Bran or some almonds. I know, I'm a woman of danger.

MizFit recently posted about the importance of the Big B (breakfast), and waxed philosphical about eating at certain times (she mentioned the old tale - which I believe is true - about Bob Greene telling Oprah she was not to eat after 7o'clock(ish) at night.

I happen to be of the mindset that (a) breakfast is essential, (b) it doesn't matter, weight-wise, if you eat later at night, so long as your calories for the day are withing your normal range, and (c) fasting is for people going into surgery and no one else. But that's just me. So tell me:.

PS Last night, after a looong flight back from the Today Show appearance (wee!), which included being stranded in the cesspool that is the JFK Delta terminal (I mean, really - live birds flying around inside? Only Burger King to eat? REALLY?), I called Dan and asked/begged for thai food. Mission accomplished but being 9pm already, I totally broke my rule and chowed down late-night. The result: Indigestion and trouble falling asleep as a brick of chicken and peanut sauce fermented in my digestive track. Waa.

Comments

ok, you are SO rewarding my work procrastinations when I stumble over here and discover a *shout out* as my reward.

Thanks for that.

I could barely read your post, however, as my eyes kept drifting upwards to those *lips*

I HEART the sprinkles.

Back to the breakfast thing?

I truly believe in its importance AND the notion that should I, err, *one* wish to indulge a sugar-passion that the MORNING is the time to do it.

whatever your weakness is you then have all day to burn it off.(here? it's not pretty, People. It's frosting. Please NOT to lecture on the trans fats as a woman has GOT to have her vice).

so excited about your yesterday (sans birds, BK-ick and late night indigestion).

And.

RambleCompleteBackToWork.

M.

Awesome job yesterday!!!

I also don't sleep well if I've eaten late at night. Of course, being Ms. Excitement, "late" for me is about 8 pm. It's not a hard and fast rule, it's just something gleaned from (sometimes painful) experience.

When I was living in Spain we had dinner between about 8:30 and 10pm each night, and it made me have the most awful nightmares, so that's the main reason why I try not to eat before going to bed!

Also loved the segment- I think it's especially interesting what the one woman said about how when you're thin, people will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're smart. But then you've also got to wonder, who are you making that choice for? Yourself, or for the reaction that you'll get from everyone?

I try not to eat anything after dinner, unless I am really starving or running more than 6 miles the next morning. But, dinner time varies wildly depending on when we get home from work/school and whatnot.

I do try not to eat within 2 hours of going to bed, in order to try and prevent heartburn and sleeping problems.

my jaw literally DROPPED with the Id be viewed as "smart enough not to gain weight" remark from the woman who said she wanted to be thin.

Uh, ok.

so over weight equals not-bright?

(cant believe someone actually said that---but Im confident she gave beath to what others think as well. sad and) duly noted.

M.

For me, I eat the bulk of my calories in the AM, as that's when I work out & am hungriest. 12-3 pm is pretty much a smörgåsbord at my house. But then dinner is light-ish and... here's my problem. I'm usually not hungry after dinner but I too love something sweet before I go to bed. If I eat the sweet in the AM, I seem to be able to control it but if I give in and eat them late at night I eat waaay too much. So I try and just cut myself off after dinner. Unless I am truly hungry and then I eat food, not snacks.

And the fasting? I'm a fan! It has lots of health benefits and I think it is good to remind myself what real hunger feels like. I do it about once a month, on a rest day.

I had a long stretch where I'd stop eating after dinner, or 8 oclock, or both. Now I'm at the point where I eat 10 oclock or later maybe once or twice a week. I try to fill up on water though.

I think I'm the redheaded stepchild of the "dieting" world. I make it a point to eat after 8 p.m. :-) It's always after 8 p.m. when I have my evening snack. But I do avoid sugar. Wait, I do that all day. :-) My evening snack is generally a protein/complex carb combo.

If I have trouble sleeping though it's usually because my workout is ALSO nearly always after 8 p.m. So I'm not sure if the snack keeps me up or not.

I do know this. If I eat my evening snack late - say 9:30 or so - I don't seem to wake up as ravenous as if it's earlier. I have blood sugar issues so that's a big deal for me. And I think I sleep better when I do get to sleep.

I think every body is different, I really do. I don't think there are hard and fast rules as to when you eat or exercise. Whatever works best for you. But I do agree that BREAKFAST IS ESSENTIAL!!! Absolutely essential.

And that said, I totally HEART the MizFit. :-)

V.

Gotta jump on the breakfast bandwagon here -- don't miss it! I'm not much of a nighttime eater anyway, so maybe I'm not the best person to talk on this topic. But, I think WHEN you eat matters less than the overall calorie intake for the day. But I try to save my biggest, most carb-heavy meal for right after my workout when my metabolism is already humming and since I work out early, that wouldn't be night time.

But if you're within your overall calorie goal range for the day and have some room left over, I don't think a small (even sweet) snack is going to hurt. In the winter, I'm a big fan of a cup of fat-free cocoa while I'm watching TV.

I grew up in a household where we would almost always have a bowl of ice cream before going to bed. A few years ago I had to start taking a medicine on an empty stomach. I figured the best time to take the medicine would be at night when I take my vitamins. Since I typically go to bed at 11 (during the week, anyway), I would have to stop eating after 9. After a couple of weeks, I didn't miss eating at night. And now when I stay up later, and could eating after 9 if I wanted to, I don't because it has become a habit.

i try to have dinner by 7:30 pm, and if i'm absolutely starving by bedtime then i'll have a spoonful of peanut butter before i go to bed. i would love to have hot chocolate but it keeps me awake!

I haven't been a night-time eater since I've been roommate free (the husband doesn't count)...no more late night pizza binges or burrito stops. I sleep better AND my digestion is generally MUCH happier. Dinner sometimes isn't until 9, but I rarely eat anything once my meal is done.

Ha, sometimes I eat dinner at 4 PM (Apparently that's not acceptable for a disordered person). If I'm hungry, I'll have a snack later on in the day, but I try not to eat past 6 or 7, if I have it my way. I will have some fruit later on, if I'm hungry.

I don't have a hard and fast rule. I try not to eat after supper, but if I am truly hungry then I will have something. Though, I do admit to occasionally giving in to the munchies.

I work out at night, and I don't like to exercise on a full stomach so: I eat supper, then wait a while. Start workout somewhere between 8:30 - 9:00. Usually by the time I'm finished with the workout, I'm ready to have a shower and crawl into bed. Most of the time I don't feel like I want anything to eat. Believe it or not, I have no problem sleeping. My problem is more with the waking-up-in-the-morning.

I'm like Wendy's open all nite long, and it's gotten worse lately with the insomnia I've been having. Like you I have the sweet tooth cravings big time. My doc says to eat protein, and I try. Oh how I try, but that cupcake looks so darn dee-lish and I cave.

I had a biomedical science professor debunk this myth for me. If it's 11pm and you haven't gotten in enough calories for the day, eat more!

He said there was nothing wrong with eating late at night as long as you weren't over stuffing yourself.

I had a biomedical science professor debunk this myth for me. If it's 11pm and you haven't gotten in enough calories for the day, eat more!