Hunger and the time of day

[cinmell]

Is there a time of day where you seem to always get hungry or want to snack? What do you do about it?

For me, I always seem to get hungry between breakfast in lunch (around 10:30) and then around 2-2:30.

I'm trying to have a later breakfast then a later lunch and stock up on carrots, cucumbers, rice cakes, etc. for when I just have to have something. Any other tips?

 

[tlgoblue]

Cindy,
I have the exact same weak periods. At 10:30, I usually just try to hold off until 11:15, at which point I beging making myself lunch. I can do that since I'm at home. If I'm not at home, like yesterday, I make sure I have a healthy snack with me, and have that. The 2:30 time is much harder for me, because I'm also dragging my butt by then. Usually I have a huge glass of water, followed by a cup of tea. (used to be coffee, but the health benefits of tea convinced me to go that route) Usually works, but again, keeping a supply of healthy snacks is key for me. (I used to eat bread whenever I got hungry! ) You may want to think about having more protien in your snacks. The things you are having are mostly carbs, and I'm sure you know that while they work short term, they don't carry you very far. Try some nuts, or protien bars. (Be careful of these bars though. Some are no better than candy. Try the Pria bars. They are high in protien, and not loaded with sugar and unneccesary calories. Lot's of times you can get these relatively inexpensively at warehousr clubs, like Sam's and Costco.)

Also, think about wht you are having for breakfast. I used to eat cereals llike granola and Special K. I have since gone for more protien and bran and found that carries me much farthter through the day. Same thing with lunch. Try to get a good source of protien. Remember, not all protien foods have to be fatty. Go for soy based things. I really hated them in the beginning, but like anything else, I got use to, and eventually quite fond of them. One staple that I always try to keep with me are Odwalla Super Protien bars. Very low fat, (5g total, 1g. sat,) and 16 g. protien, and 240 calories. That is a lot of calories, but not for the amount of protien. I also have it with a glass of skim milk and call it a meal. It usually fills me up to the degree that I may only need a piece of fruit to hold me over.

Sorry so long, just some Ideas.

Keep the Faith!
Tracy

 

[cinmell]

Great ideas Tracy, thank you! I definitely have to add more protein and carbs are a big part of my diet which is really a hard thing for me to cut back on but I'll work on it. Thanks again for the tips, I appreciate that you took the time to help!

 

[mowsie dreamer]

I confess!! I'm a snacker!!

When I first joined WW, I had a terrible time lasting between meals. Then I realized that I was a snacker and I just incorporated it into my daily points.

I would eat a bowl of cereal at home, then a piece of fruit at work around 10:30. For lunch a sandwich and some FF Pringles or baby carrots and then a cup of lite yogurt around 2:30. I tried to make my "at work" snacks fruit or yogurt so I could make sure I got in my milk and veggie/fruit requirements. If I have an after dinner snack, then I'll have a cup of jello FF pudding, FF ice cream or SF jello w/lite cool whip. Jeez--I'm kind of embarrassed now--it looks like I'm just eating all the time.

I've noticed that over time, my hunger pangs arrive at different times. Now, I don't always have that mid-morning banana and I hardly ever have anything mid-afternoon. But sometimes I get the munchies right after I get home (around 4:45-5:00) as I'm starting supper. I usually have carrots when that happens, cause it's easy to grab them as you're cooking. The one thing that hasn't changed is the after-dinner snack, but I think it's more from habit than from actual hunger.

 

[helenk]

I do not get too hungry in the morning, I eat 2 pieces of low carb bread with peanut butter for breakfast or else I have an omelet. That ususally gets me through until my lunch, but I do get hungry around 3 or 3:30. I find that eating peanuts for my late afternoon snack really tides me over until dinner. I eat about 20 or 25 of them. If I get hungry late at night I do the same thing, they really satisfy your hunger.

 

[nativetxn]

Originally posted by cinmell
stock up on carrots, cucumbers, rice cakes, etc. for when I just have to have something. Any other tips?

I don't really have a specific time of day when I want to eat more anymore. There are certain foods that can cause me to want to eat more, like smoked almonds. If I eat a serving of smokehouse almonds I crave more. It's just mouth hunger, though

Which brings me to those rice cakes. You might want to consider not using them to "hold you over", they can make you feel <i>hungrier</i> because of the rice content.