Night time hunger prevention? Favorite teas, other tricks?

I work out at night and come home and eat a sensible dinner, but sometimes am still really hungry. I also tend to eat pretty quickly, which doesn't give my brain enough time to get the "full" signal. What are your tricks?

I'm not interesting in eating any additional calories, but was thinking about fruity herbal teas, maybe. Any tips to share?

Wed. Jul 11, 10:38am

My trick for nighttime workouts...

When I get home from the gym, I eat the salad/vegetable component of my dinner while I prepare the rest of the food. Then I hop in the shower, and by the time I sit down to the bulk of my dinner, it's been 20 minutes and my body is already registering some satiety from the veggies. With the edge taken off of my hunger, I don't inhale my plate in 3 minutes, nor do I go scrounging for more afterwards.

If you can't separate out your vegetables, have a small cup of coffee (go decaf if you're sensitive) with a significant amount of skim milk, like 3-4oz, so like 30-40 calories. I understand I'm not the only one who finds this disproportionately filling.

Finish your dinner with "dessert". Dessert can be a 10-calorie hard candy or a splenda-spiked cup of tea - just something sweet to punctuate the end of your meal because most of us respond to that signal.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 12:06 PM

After dinner, tea works for me as that "signal" the 12:06 poster was talking about.

At night, I usually have peppermint or chamomile tea, unsweetened, and rarely I'll treat myself to a single square of extra dark chocolate (which is about 40 calories). But actually just peppermint tea is sweet on its own. I really like Aveda's Comfort Tea. With the chamomile, I go cheap and buy the brand Stash, which is like $1.99 a box at most grocery stores.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 12:15 PM

12:06 is dead on.

I like to have a cliff bar about 4 pm and Im not starving at dinner. I have tried powerbars and fruit and other snacks but nothing seems to squash the evening hunger like ol cliff.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 12:36 PM

thanks!

Thanks for the tips. I eat small snacks before and after my workouts (per my nutritionist/trainer) and often don't get home until late, so it's tough.

The salad - shower - dinner trick is a GREAT idea and I'll try some new teas.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 12:55 PM

I usually work out right after work and on my way home I eat a South Beach bar and drink an entire bottle of water. That takes the edge off for awhile and then I have dinner a bit on the late side and I'm good for the rest of the night.

Definitely slow down. Put your fork down and chew - chewing and swallowing are signals for your brain that you've eaten enough, even more so than the amount of food you eat.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 12:59 PM

I eat oatmeal as my afternoon snack, it takes the edge off ( I eat it about 3 or4) but I am going to try the salad thing, that sounds like a GREAT idea, thanks!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 2:28 PM

Brilliant comments here...love the tea as signal to meal's end. Ant the veggies, shower, meal suggestion. This is PT at its best.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 2:33 PM

As soon as I finish eating my dinner but before I have my dessert fruit or whatever, I log on to Peertrainer and type in my workout and dinner, which usually leads to a quick look at updates from my teammates, maybe a quick check of my email, that sort of thing. Poof, 10 minutes have gone by and I'm starting to feel full, overeating danger zone averted, and that little bowl of melon balls feels more like a treat than a necessity.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 2:36 PM

I drink loads of Good Earth tea. It's pretty heavily spiced, tastes sweet to me on it's own, and takes the edge off my nighttime hunger.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 4:42 PM

Don't stay up late! I stayed up past 12:00 last night and was starving in my bad. I dreamt of pizza all night. Eat dinner and go to speap on time. I also drink a naturally sweet spicy tea to keep the hunger away. Hot liquids expand in your intertines and make you feel full. Candy could help but it's extra calories. I usually eat something filling for dinner that includes protein, fat, carbs, and lots of veggies. This keeps me full and the tummy from rumbling.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 5:07 PM

I have no tricks :( But something I've realized is that if you don't bring junk home then you won't eat it late at night because it's not there. So i try my best not to bring junk food home otherwise i'll eat it late at night. It's better to increase your fruits or veggies.

But I do find that increasing my protein intake at night keeps me fuller for longer.

Thursday, July 19, 2007, 9:11 PM

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